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/128121
"...Honda is four years late to the war!" Will Davis I was stunned and saddened by the loss of Will Davis at the recent Sedalia Half Mile. He was one of dirt track's most talented and popular riders. With the loss of two of the West Coast Series riders, Dan Hart and Rob Damron earlier this year, 2001 has been a tough one for the sport. With rider counts lower than usual this year, these losses are magnified even greater. My thoughts and prayers go out to Will Davis' family and friends. Number 21 is gone, but not forgotten. Kevtn Howard Turlock, CA Will Davis II Scott Rousseau's tribute to Will Davis was wonderfully written and captures the heartfelt loss all those who knew Will must feel. This "acting like a motocross racer" mentality Kyle Parsons has is part of the reason we have no live races broadcast, and when they are on television, it's a one-time-only deal for a daytime viewing with the repeat being in the middle of the night. Personally, I want to see the sport grow and finally enter the mainstream along with those boring stick and ball sports. We should take lessons from other motorsports that are much bigger than our great sport if we ever going to get on America's radar screen. Nonetheless, thanks for putting a smile on my face with your response, Kyle, but I still haven't forgiven you for parking me at the bottom of the downhill at Mammoth in '93. MIchael Rigdon VIa the Internet the Hondas with a weight penalty. The Honda wrecking crew continued to win. Result? More weight was added. The Hondas continued to win with more whining from Harley, and what happened next? The restrictor rule! That was it for Honda. They pulled out because they had already spent millions to develop a competitive bike/engine, and did not want to spend more to overcome the restrictor. The Honda, having a four-valve OHC layout, was clearly a superior design, and it showed on the track. The restrictor did not have the same choking effect on the two-valve push rod Harleys, and as such the Harleys started to win again while the Hondas, now in the hands of privateers (Honda sold all their bikes and washed their hands of dirt track), just languished. If Harley had done the right thing, going. In '93, I was glad I hadn't, as the privateers had finally overcome the restrictor and had made the Hondas competitive again, and boy was it ever so sweet to see Ricky Graham kick everyone's butt that yearl If they hadn't driven Honda out, I don't think Parker and Carr would have been so dominant (the only two factory riders against the Harley and Honda privateers), but that is another issue. BIll Nordquist V10 ttle InffNnet Will Davis III Reading about the death of Will Davis was one of the hardest things I've had to do in my life. I'll always remember the times 1 rode with him and hung out with him at Danny Walker's Supercamp and the efforts he made at promoting dirt track racing. There were none finer than Will. Every time I get on my bike from now on, I'll make believe I'm chasing him around on that XR200. Will Mansffeld VIa ttle Internet Too Late? I just finished reading your report on the Millville Motocross National. You refer to the Honda CRF450R as revolutionary. If I'm not mistaken, the revolution began in 1998, and Honda is four years late to the war! Fred Brostl/elt Jr. VIa ttle Internet Mother's Day AndMX In response to Kyle Parsons' letter (Voices, Issue *34, August 29) justifying why manly men should attend the 2002 Glen Helen National, 1 feel a strong urge to clarify some of the points raised in his letter: 1) I am not P.W., know where my genitalia is located, and was raised to be a gentleman who respects a woman; 2) I don't have a wife, but having a girlfriend with two daughters has sensitized this motocross racer to how important this day is to women with children; 3) My mother is 2300 miles away, but I still see her three to four times a year; 4) I have never attended a Vet Banquet and completely agree that 50 points doesn't mean anything in the motocross world; 5) Next year for Mammoth, my girlfriend and daughters will be joining me for the first time on Sunday at Mammoth for a three-day stay in the Sierras. Mike McGowan VIa ttle Inmmet We Stink This letter is in reply to Jim Gravenhorst's letter (Issue *34, August 29). For someone who claims to have been going to motorcycle races for 45 years, that may be all he has done. He complains about Cycle News' lack of coverage, but if he had kept up on his reading, he wouldn't have made the statement: "Why do you want to blame Harley-Davidson for being the only brand in dirt track racing?" One of the biggest reasons why you don't and won't see other manufacturers in dirt track racing is the way the AMA and Harley handled the competition from Honda in the '80s. Honda spent millions developing a competitive dirt track racer, the RS750, within the guidelines of the rules. They did such a good job that Ricky Graham and Bubba Shobert would regularly kick Harley's butt. So badly, in fact, that Harley complained to the AMA. Result? They penalized Dirt Track Again and designed a new, more modern engine, instead of whining to the AMA, Honda would have probably stayed, and there might be even more brands involved in dirt track. What manufacturer is going to spend millions to develop a bike, only to have it negated because one of the players refuses to step into the modern age and can sway the sanctioning body (AMA) to change the rules to baby them? No onel To answer Mr. Gravenhorst's question about why hasn't this happened in road racing, I think the AMA learned a lesson from their handling of the Honda affair. That is, if they ever tried something like that again, the manufacturers would simply bolt from the AMA and back another series. It is a shame what has happened to dirt track racing. I used to go the San Jose Mile and Sacramento Mile races every year. When they drove Honda out, I continued to go, but my interest waned and I almost stopped cu cla n In response to the August 22 article by Paul Lynch/Jason Tyer in Voices, I would like to strongly disagree with the last two paragraphs. I have been a dirt track racer and fan since the '50s and I quote from your letter "almost all the riders are really great people and would never do anything to hurt the sport" and "to see someone come out and blame the riders for the downfaII of the sport is absurd." Lynch and Tyer, as a fan, would you travel 500 or 1000 miles to go to a race if you read or saw on TV that there would possibly be a rider boycott? Also, if you were a TV producer/network, would you even consider sending a crew to film or live televise a race that was threatened by a rider boycott? Think again, the riders are great, but they are their own worst enemy with boycott threats to media and pit hassles with the officials. ByronBoaz Scottsdale, AI a _ S • SEPTEMBER 12,2001 5