Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

topout spacing to s tiffen up the spri ngs. We placed the extra spacer in the bottom of the fork stack this time. Unfo rtunately, our final tweaks we re made too close to the bike's scheduled competition debut at Costa Mesa Speedway's San Diego Rat Track Association race at the State Fair for us to do a ny more testing. We would jus t have to hope. We entered two classes at Costa Mesa, choosing to debut the machine in the Modern Sportsman and Bomber classes. I have to admit that I wasn't too worried about the track itself as speedway pr omoter Brad Oxley always d oes a grea t job of p re p p in g the s u rface . Besides, I knew the track really well, ha vin g spu n cou n tless laps th ere in speed way co mpetit io n. Wh a t I wasn't rea lly prepared for was having to co un t on getting good starts again. As most of my CN colleagues w ill tell yo u, I like to brag that I am the qu ickest guy in th e office when it comes to getting off the line - I make no claims bevond turn o ne. But it had been over fiv~ years since I rode a speedway bike, and almost three since I raced a fla t track. There must have been rust on my eyelids or something because I completely missed the light in my opening heat race and quickly found myself running dead last. Having to come from behind a nd work my way into a transfer spot ma de analyzing the bike's hand ling a bit d ifficu lt. About all that I was sure of was that the fro nt end was stout enough to nudge people ou t of th e way. Th e ra ce seemed to end far too quickly, but so mehow I had ma d e it th ro ug h to the Open Sportsman main. The path to the Bomber d ivision glo ry was clearly going to be a tou gher row to hoe, as I quickly found out. I got a better start and rode the bike harder, but I w as still too timid, finishing around sixth. That was okay because eve ry o ne was going to the main in this class. But with guys like multi-tim e AHRMA champion Tom Horton and former U.S. National Speedway Champion Brad Oxley also lined up in there, bagging the class win seemed like a monumental task. It didn't matter, as my confidence was improving, and I wa s having a blast. The til II: III .. a. a. = en bike was every bit as good as we thought it wou ld be . Th e las t-mi nute fo rk m od was spot-on, Turn ing was effo rtless, the front en d not wa nting to push, nor the rear end wanting to get loose . Pitching it in yielded predictable, controlled slides, and the bike could be repainted anyw here to adj ust for my amateur indiscretions. Other tha n a slight rear-brake chatter that would later be eliminated by dialing in a little less pucker power, the bike was as good as it was going to get. And I got a little better as the nig ht went on, moving from backmarker to a solid fou rth place in the Oren Spo rtsman mai n even t. I was sto ked, as I con ti nu ed to pus h the b ike hard er and felt it wo rk even better. Buoyed at the pro spec t of seeing my nam e in the resu lts o f Cycle (Above) The bike (68) makes its eompetltive debut at Costa Mesa Speedway. That 's AHRMA fast guy Tom Horton (55) on the Insi de. (Bel ow left) Racing at Temecula Speedway, where Rousseau has scored top-five finishes in th e Spo rtsman ran ks. (h ey , I didn' t w rite th e story), I lined up for the eight-rider Bomber main event with Hort on on my left and Oxley on my right. Now was as good a time as any to go for it. A t the firs t hint of green I dropped the hammer, and the tractor- like power pulses of th e Yam aha catapulted us into the first tum. I wa s in the lead! "Careful now," I thought to m yself. "Tu rn the comer and get on the gas ." That thought wound up being my downfall, because in less time than it takes to tell it, Horton ground his way up the inside and bolted into the lead, while Oxley tried to jump me from the outside. For the next five laps, O xley s tayed N roJS ---- ---~~~~-~~~~ !~~~-----5953 En9 i nee r D r . H untington B eac h . CA 92649 Ph : 7 14/379·9040 Fax : 71 4 /379·9042 _!l _~~!'_~!.'~~:!! _ ~p_~~~ _~ _I..I~~_ 805 w . Ei9 ht h St . Az usa . CA 91702 Ph : 626/969 -4 655 Fax: 626/8 12 -0243 933 A m er ican St. Sa n C a rlos. CA 94070 P h : 800/55 1-77 5 5 Fa x: 650/654-01 9 4 Cometic Gasket Power Pros 8767 East A v e . Mentor . OH 44060·4303 P h : 2 16 / 9 7 4 · 10 77 Fax: 2 16 / 97 4 -9 135 Go o dy e a r 0 1 II 27.0 x 7.00 x 79 -inch dirt track. tires . $1 1 7.00 ea . S p ro c k e t S p e c ia li s t 4 8 1. SO T. 52T real sp rockets. $44. 20. 5 50 . 15 550. '5 ____ ___ ~i_~_ ~':.I~_'!'~~_~ 8 17 N . Lakeview . -I Plac ent ia . CA 92870 P h : 714;777 · 3278 Fax: 7 14 /777-90 10 He a d and base gasket. 522.9S - -~!.'~':!:"- ~~~~~~ ~!~~~~~- 140 1 P io neer Wy .. S uite 15 EI C ajo n . CA 92020 Ph : 6 19 /444-8 772 Fax: S am e ___.~~~_ ~~~_ ~~_,:~~i::' ~C?~I..J 124 S . Norman dy Ct. Anah eim . CA 92806 E-Ma il : bi9 dc yde@aol.c om S he ll re plica tailpiece. 57 2 5 Fue l tank. 5 225 S ide panels . 550 Front num b erplate. SIS C usto m p aint. 5350 C u sto m exhaust p ipe a nd m uHler S 180 _ 22605 La Palma Av e .. # 51 7 Yo rb a Lin da . CA 92 887 Ph : 7 14 /694-0 06 6 Fax: 7 14 ·69 4 - 1566 Cons u ttetion a n d labor (Price va rie s per job) Fra m e modifications an d swin ga rm. 57000 _ _____ __~P--:~_I! _~_~P-C? ~ 25 162 c a m s hah (billeV. 51 59: ChardfscedJ. 5 98 Rock e r arms . 549 ea . S ta in le s s s p ok.e k its . 569.84 ea . - __ ___ _ ~~I?¥~_I~ ~~~ ~ ~': since then - heck, I even ended up joining the clu b . I u su a lly ra ce the bike in two clas ses: Open A ma t eu r a nd Bomber, and o ther tha n an ignition failure that was traced to a poorly grounded condenser, there have been no p roblems wi th it. Only with me, as so far that elusive first win is still out there. But we'll g et i t. I know ·t ha t the machine is more than capable. And even if it weren't, I'm having a great tim e racing with my buddy Dennis Voll, and emulating heroes like Kenny Roberts and Jay Springsteen. Those dreams were all a part of this mission from th e very beginning. Mission accomplished . _ 9 0 M it c h ell B lv d . S an Ra fae l. CA 94903 P h: 41 5 /472 ·3195 Fa x: 4 15 /472 -1 497 S u n rim s 2. 15 x 19 .5 14 6 ea . 13T and 14T counte rs haft sprockets ('99 Y2250J. 519.95 es . ----~-~~!=~!.'_~ _~~~I~_': right out there off my sho ulder, d iving in harder than me, only to lose groun d as I got it hooked up and motored d own th e s tra ig h ta w ays . Finally, a fter w hat seemed like a n eternity, O xley disappeared from my peripheral visi on. Hunting down Horton wa s ou t of the question. Du ring my battle for seco nd , he had jumped out to a half-straightawa y lead which he took to the flag . At least he never increased the gap, and nobody else gained on me . Second pla ce. Very satisfying. Voll was the last guy to touch the bike, applying that flawles s Yamaha "bumblebee" paint job on it. And I have been competing at more SOFTA races Total Performance Racers & Restoration _ -----------------------------67 10 East Pi n e Tu lsa . OK 74 1 15 Ph : 9 18 /836 -6 999 Fax: 918 /836-0099 En gi ne rebuilding a nd ba lan c ing. 5400 S h ifter conversion. 5750 (magnesium cases) Front hub . 5 140 Re ar hub. b e a ring s . 51 70 A irhe art brake system. ha nga rs . e tc . 5300 _ Ph : 562-4 90-0012 E· m ai l: ss ~speeda nds port .com Handleba rs . 535 C hain. 535 Po w de r-c oa tin g . 5250 W lseco P iston 72 0 1 In d u st ri a l Park B lv d . M e nt o r . O H 44060 Ph : 440 /951-6600 Fa x: 440 ·951 ·6606 90mm p iston k it w 517 7.50 rings p in an d c lips Works Peformance __~!_~ _~p!.i~~ _«.?!'!J~~....~~I~~ __ -- -- - - - ~~ ~-~~~!_~~~:_-----P.O . B o x 403191 2 104 5 O s b orn e 5 1. Hesper ia . CA 92340 Ph : 760948-4698 Fax: 760; 9 48 -4856 Tita n iu m valve spring k it. 597 .47 C an oqa Pa rk . CA 9 1304 P h : 81870 1· 1010 Fa x: 8 t 8 70 1-9043 D ua l-ra te . alum in um-bodie d s nocke 5389 En g m e e rin g fee . 525 White Brothers -----------------------------24845 Corb it PI. Yo rba Linda . CA 9288 7 Ph : 7 14 /692 · 3 404 Fax: 7 14 / 692-3409 M ikuni VM38 c s rbu re tor. 5 71S Kill switch . 534 .95 K&N Filte rs . 55 i .95 Yamaha Motor Corp. .. ~~C?!J ~_~r.:r.:_~ ~ .!.I!!!¥_!l_I!~~~ _ 65 55 Kate ll a . Av e . C yp ress . CA 90630 V ario us OE rep lac em e nt parts (Pa rt s and pricing avsilable through your local Yamaha dealer)

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