Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128098
"The AMA should adopt the FIM points system..." Letters to the editor should be sent to Voices. Cycle News. P.O. Box 5084. Costa Mesa. CA 92628· 5084. faxed to 714'751 -6685 or In Defense Of John Once again, I find myself replying to comments about John Kocinski (Voices, Issue *10, March 14). It is funny how most of the truly good friends I know form opinions on people after they have all or most of the facts on that person. Michael Lehning needs to stand up when he rants about John, because he's talking out of his ass. After having spent over 10 years as a personal friend of John, I can only conclude that Michael Lehning has spent little if absolutely no time with him. Maybe he tried to get an autograph while John was swinging his leg over the bike, or right after John blew up his motor on the last lap at Laguna Seca while leading! Gee, he is human, but far from a freak. As for humility and kindness, the tone of Michael's letter indicates John could teach this person some of each. Be it water skiing, go-cart racing, real estate, or motorcycle racing, John is the most focused person I have ever been around when it comes to accomplishing a goal. Now if people misconceive this as self-centered or egotistical, they have just never been around champions or highly successful people. To conclude, I've only seen John cry once, and that was when I still beat him water skiing after he spent the winter in Florida training to beat me. JIm Platt Sacramento, CA Bike Swapping I was astounded when I realized that three riders had discarded their broken bikes and re-entered the Daytona 200 on back-up bikes. I vividly remember Scott Gray standing on the grid in full racing gear at the Road Atlanta AMA National in protest to the AMA's decision not to let him start the race after Yoshimura mechanics rebuilt his bike after a crash left his bike with a battered frame. I am not aware of any motorsport that allows complete vehicle replacement after the race has started. I bet Jeff Gordon would love to be able to replace a destroyed car during a race. If the AMA is going to allow full replacement of bikes during a race, then I pity the poor privateer. When we raced the AMA circuit, our bike had a frame tag that was checked at final tech just before the race. I know that system was discarded. I would appear that the AMA has rules that are not enforced or even considered. I remember one racer who broke down, rode through the garage area on his way back to the "hot pits" to get his bike repaired so he could reenter the race and was immediately DQ'd by AMA officials. Okay, so rules change, but replacing the entire bike during the race? Give me a break. What's next? Bikes placed at strategic points around the track in case one fails, you could just jump on a new one and take off. In the same ruling, where are those 200 Harley VR 1000 streetbikes that the Superbikes are based on? Have you ever seen one being ridden around on the street? Ralph Daugherty VIa the Internet Wearing Blinders? After reading Pam Falcioni's letter to the editor (Issue #11, March 21) in reference to a previous letter written by Mr. Bell on March 7, I felt the need to respond. Ms. Falcioni, from your response, it appears to me that you're one of the many people in the motorcycle world with blinders on to a very real problem. I have been riding motorcycles now for almost 36 years, and have been working in the motocross industry for the last 10, so I am extremely sympathetic to off-roaders. But where I live, I see every single day, teenagers on dirt bikes blasting down horse trails, tearing around on private property just 20 or 30 feet from people's homes and livestock. Now, in all fairness to these teens, it's only about 25 percent of them who are the problem. Most of these teenage riders were obviously taught to respect others, as they pass by our homes at 15 mph and when they are about to cross paths with someone on horseback, they shut thejr bikes off until the horse has passed. But the other percent are destroying it for everyone else. My neighbors and I are now working on getting stricter laws passed to stop these riders. We have posted "No Trespassing" signs, and now when one of these disrespectful little punks comes f1¥ing by our homes at 60 mph, we chase them down until we catch them or they crash trying to get away. Funny thing, they know exactly why they are being chased. After catching them, we place them under citizens' arrest and call the Sheriff with a cell phone and press charges. The charges are no longer limited to just trespassing; we are also pressing charges for destruction of property (knobby tires chew up grading) and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit grave bodily injury or death (our children play and ride horses here). There are just too many people in the world these days that do not feel the same way you do about a twostroke engine being the sweetest sound in the world. Most of the people who live here moved out here to get away from the city and the daily rat race. They don't want to listen to your little junior riding his motorcycle 20 feet from their house when they get home. I realize that, if this letter is printed, it will cause a whole lot of flack. That's too bad - you had better wake up and start teaching your children some respect or we all won't have any place to ride anymore. The damned tree huggers cause us enough problems without us creating our own. MlkeSnlder Lake Mathews, CA Another Response I thought I would respond to Pam Falcioni's reply to my off-road noise letter to clarify a few items. First, I mistakenly used the word wilderness to specify off road. I did not mean "wilderness area" as in an official designation. Second, it was a 1983 XL 250 I put a SuperTrapp exhaust system on. At the time, I purchased every option to quiet the pipe with the results stated in my last letter. For that matter, I also owned an '89 Yamaha SRX 600 that I put a White Brothers/SuperTrapp pipe on. Same results. As for aftermarket exhaust manufacturers improving their record on noise, I think this is excellent, but there are still a lot of manufacturers whose street and off-road pipes are way too loud. Look at all the straight pipes on Harleys. Also, why would Yamaha put a pipe on its 250 that has baffles that unbolt? Even magazine tests have called this pipe too loud in the modified form. Third, by "race" I did not mean an official race, but riders who haul ass on trails. My point is that flying down mixed-use trails at speed endangers hikers, et ai, and alienates them. This leads to land closure. I noticed you state that "most hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders choose to recreate in nonmotorized areas." Why do you suppose this is? As a side note, I live near Redwood Park in the Oakland hills. Mountain bikes consistently use singletrack trails where they are not permitted to ride. These riders fly down trails, make little noise and essentially want everyone to "get out of their way." On mixed-use trails there is a speed limit that also seems to be ignored much to the chagrin of others. cue I ... e·mailed to edltoT''; cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Inc. Letters should not exceed 200 words and all are subject to editing Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's name. address and daytime phone number . .. Editor. < 0 _. n C1) en The point of my letter was "race in single-use areas where it is appropriate, trail ride with courtesy (and at an appropriate speed) in mixed-use areas and do not purchase loud exhaust systems." Most of my riding now is on the street. When I purchase my next bike (e.ither an Rl or 929), I intend to put a pipe on it. But, prior to purchasing the pipe, I will investigate the power vs. noise of each design. I appreciate magazines such as Sport Rider whose tests of pipes include noise as one of their evaluation criteria. DavId Bell Castro Valley, CA Failing On Deaf Ears After watching the crash-infested Daytona 200, I started thinking about the way the AMA pays points. Here it is, the first race of the season, and half of the top title contenders' seasons are basically over due to a nonfinish because of a mechanical failure, a bad tire, or worst of all a crash. The AMA should adopt the FIM points system so one bad race does not ruin a season. Get rewarded for being on the podium. Anthony Gobert, Aaron Slight, or Nicky Hayden can win just about every race left and as long as Mat Mladin finishes consistently in the top five, he's basically the champ. And while they are at it, why not adopt the FIM format and make the 600cc Supersport class a steppingstone class. If the top guys are riding two Superbike races on Sunday, they wouldn't be racing 600s as well - and that would allow the younger talent to compete in that class and move up. And one last thing: bring a Supercross to the San Francisco Bay Area next year. Also, good wishes to Scott Russell and Aaron Yates and whoever else was hurt in the Daytona 200. Greg Colyer San Leandro, CA n • _ S • Af>RIL4.2001 5