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/128136
IISupercross is coming back to Northern California III Seiling Out? Thanking Speedvislon The Vote II So, Jeremy McGrath signs with AST so he can be marketed in Wal-Mart and K-Mart. What's next - the Metal Mulisha on the Home Shopping Channel? I wonder what the people who called Ricky Carmichael a sellout are thinking. Uve coverage of Supercross is the best Christmas present I could get. Thanks, Speedvision. sam KI5tter Denver, CO With all the fuss about the "supercross split," I can honestly say that now I don't care. Supercross is coming back to Northern California! It's been way too long. Thanks, Clear Channel. I am an AMA member and an avid on-roadjoff-road motorcycle enthusiast from the mountainous western U.S. It is an understatement to say that we riders up here have benefited greatly from the AMA's efforts. I see that Roadracing World is running a slate of three people for three open seats on the AMA board. I think AMA members in the southern half of the country need to be very leery of this slate. First of all, it seems fairly obvious that one person wrote all three nearly identical candidate statements. Don't the other two think independently? Roadracing World complains that there are big "secrets" at board meetings. On December 5-7, a very open board meeting was held in Palm Desert in conjunction with the Pro Racing Award Banquet. None of the three were there. Do you think Clear Channel or any other business has the open meetings and democratic process the AMA has? No secrets in the desert, sorry, or anywhere else. Roadracing World claims that the AMA board, the AMA Pro Race board and all staff are incompetent about racing and need to be removed. People like Cycle World's Paul Dean, Honda's Ray Blank, PJ Lubricant's P.J. Harvey, former two-time World MX champ and AHRMA CEO Jeff Smith are incompetent? I think not. Now more than ever, we need the AMA defending our rights. We need a broad-based enthusiast board. We need to guard against a takeover by a slate run by the unhappy owner of a niche enthusiast publication. This guy says on his Web Site that he cares about government-relations issues and gives as his example that he did something in the '70s and another something again in the '80s. Gosh, that is about a generation ago, and a lot more has needed doing. He doesn't mention that the other two he drafted for his slate ever did anything in this vital area. Be sure to ask this "coup" slate questions about their knowledge of the insurance, regulatory, statutory [issues] and influences radical environmental groups are having on our sport. They don't know, but I firmly believe that the current board does. Vote. Consider the future of motorcycling. Success needs no repairs. I hope everyone reads the platform statements of the canditates carefully; the similarities of the new candidates are quite clear. I have always believed that the diverse background of the board members has helped to build the AMA into the strong organization that it is today. Do we really want to elect trustees that seem to speak as if they were just one person, and if so, what is their real agenda? It seems that the present board has done a good job and should be allowed to continue its work. Howard HaltfHman Falrflelci CA Tom 6usttn vta the InffHnet Wanting Bulldogs John Johnson is not the only geezer who welcomes the introduction of ' Yamaha's Bulldog - the reincarnation of the Virago in sport-touring guise. I built my "Eurago" out of a Virago 750 bought new as a leftover in 1985, and a 1981 XV920R Euro parts bike. My machine uses the Euro forks and tank; I devised rearsets using the Euro bits, with a little welding and machining on the aluminum subframe brackets. The combination of the center-axle forks (which have less rake than the original 750 units, and the use of an 18-inch rear wheel (ex750cc Seca) gives the machine great handling - a little quicker than the stock 750, but still very steady for long trips. The front end has a good, solid feel, and the gear ratio is a bit higher than stock. I have made one or more crosscountry trips on this machine every year and it is a wonderful mount for a Pony Express-style putt. Engine vibration is negligible, and end-to-end 600-mile days are easy. By 1998, I had logged 120K miles on this machine. I wore out the drive-shaft Ujoint and the rear-wheel hub splines, and the first of two Corbin seats, but had no engine problems other than having to replace the stator. It never broke down during a trip. In 1999 I transferred my modified parts to a second 750 with 20,000 miles, and have made four more cross-country jaunts with it. The Bulldog is the first new machine to come along in quite a while that appeals to me. It will be interesting to see whether Yamaha decides to market the Bulldog here. It seems to me that there are a lot of geezers like me (I'm 63) out here who don't want a 200-mph sportbike, but are not ready for a cruiser, either. Jim Roth san FrandlSCo, CA Thanking Clear Channel Donnie Young vta the Internet The Vote jim McCulloch vta the Inf9met The Vote III As a 16-year AMA member in good standing, I must say 1 am seriously disappointed by the events of the last few years within the AMA administration. I don't pay my annual dues to the organization for lawyers to pocket, the result of the [Roger) Edmondson settlement. Nor do I pay for a select few people to play fast and loose with the rules of the membership in order to protect their own private use of the organization. If I lived in a region that had a trustee up for election, I would absolutely be voting for new blood on the board. I wholeheartedly support the candidacy of John Ulrich, Kevin Schwantz and Jeff Nash. The fact that they are all racers does not detract from the fact that they have the overall health and direction of the club well in mind. This is supposed to be a club that is for the benefit of its membership. I have not seen that focus recently. Rather, there has been great effort expended to keep new ideas out, and consolidate an administration that has made very expensive mistakes while attempting to hide those mistakes from the very people they are supposed to be working for. I must admit that I no longer have much faith in the current AMA hierarchy. I don't trust the people in charge to make carefully judged use of the money I pay in, nor to support and protect the grass-roots racing and public-policy efforts of the general membership. We are the AMA, not the few people at the top of the masthead. Let us decide who we want on the board. Make the voting easier. Keep playing these by-law games and the coup will be swift and merciless. The evidence is there to see in the upcoming election of the three new members to the board of trustees. You know I am not alone in these sentiments. Without positive change, the AMA will end up self-destructing. I, for one, don't want cue •• to see that. Thanks for your time and consideration. PehNMarttn vta the InffHnet Martin's letter was also sent to Robert Rasor, the president of the AMA... Editor The Sleeper Thanks to Alan Cathcart for recognizing the sleeper of all Supersport champions - the ZX-6R. I've been scanning Cycle News and other publications weekly, waiting for this bike and these teams to get their due after very successful seasons here in the States and in Europe. All year, Team Green seemed outnumbered on the grid, but when the dust settled, it was green - not red or blue - on top of the box. For years, I've gotten a big kick out of various publications and their street-bike "shootouts." "Test" riders usually blah, blah, blah about this or that and cast their votes for the Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki in the group! It's all the more pleasing when some of these same riders recognize a bike as a good street bike but pooh-pooh it on the track, only to see the very same bike win its class championship. Yes, I know there's a big difference between the stock bike I can buy and the one Andrew and Erik ride, but in this case I appreciate the fact that you guys had the stones to recognize Kawasaki for their David-like accomplishments this year. Big Red has got to be seriously bent that they couldn't buy either of these number-one plates. On the other hand, Ricky Carmichael would have won his championships on a Vespa with 14 rearview mirrors and swiveling cup holder - the kid can ride, and he was an excellent choice for Rider Of The Year. MIke Norton Campbel'CA n _ _ S • JANUARY 9, 2002 5