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/128148
T he recent fervor over the fourrace suspension dealt to the factory Harley-Davidson team and rider Rich King has been nothing short of amazing to me, not only because of the actual incident and its aftermath, but because of the attention that it has drawn to the sport of dirt-track racing from other disciplines. The attention is certainly understandable. This is, after all, HarleyDavidson, the evil empire, the American motorcycle company that supposedly owns the AMA lock, stock and barrel. That Harley's factory dirt-track team would get caught cheating at an AMA event, and that a penalty would actually be implemented against them for that infraction by the AMA, is a day most skeptics of both parties never thought would arrive. I have already seen it on the Web sites and in the forums: the punters blabbering their opinions - many of them without having the balls to sign their real names, as usual - as to who, what, where and why this aU happened. There are those who think that the AMA has finally shown some sack. Others think that the factory dirt-track team has been cheating for years and that finally something was done to nail the bastards. Still others want to lay the entire blame on the doorstep of Harley-Davidson factory mechanic Bill Werner and absolve Rich King of all wrongdoing. After all, Werner builds all the engines, and King just rides 'em, right? So, Kill Bill. Still others say that King knows everything about his bikes, and that he knew full-well that his motor was illegal. So, Kill Rich. The rest just hate the AMA - nothing new there. The conspiracy theorists are running amok. As for me, I've already grown tired of a lot of the misinformation that has been spread in the wake of this whole mess. That said, let me tell you what I've learned through some highly covert snooping and consultation with several trustworthy sources inside and outside the factory walls: stroke combinations available for the Rotax single. The Harley-Davidson racing team derives its Rotax parts from its military motorcycle assembly line in York, Pennsylvania. The bikes are available in two displacements, 350cc and 481cc. The former uses a 79mm bore and a 70.4mm stroke, while the latter uses a 89mm bore and a 77.4mm stroke (when news of the Harley infraction was first brought to light, I was told that Harley had access to only one production crank, but this has since been proved false). * Most all of the new 505cc Rotax el}gines being built are sporting a 95mm bore. Doing the math yields a displacement of 499cc with the 95 x 70.4mm combo, and a displacement of 548cc with 95 x 77 Amm combo. * Depending on the rod and barrel that are used, the supposed "massive protrusion" of the piston above the deck can easily be alleviated - especially if you think that you've got the right crank in the engine to start with. * * It is important to recognize that there are several different bore and Florida, thus guaranteeing that the same engine (AMA has a record of the serial number on the engine during both tests) would be tested on the Whistler. This time, the engine blew a high reading and was torn down, at which time it was deemed to displace 548cc. * Harley-Davidson appealed the decision - on the basis of the penalty and not the infraction, and by rule King was allowed to compete and keep whatever points that he earned during the interim. Thus, by rule, he competed at the Municipal Stadium events on two 503cc Buell Blast-powered Harley 500Rs that the team had prepared specifically for the two Municipal short tracks. * Harley-Davidson has since elected to withdraw its appeal, hurting King's chances even further, as he must now miss four straight Grand Nationals instead of three and a Hot Shoe, which is how it would have shaken out had the team not appealed. The factory team ordered four 70Amm cranks from York to start the season. Three 70Amm cranks and one 77.4mm crank showed up, although the paperwork allegedly lists a quantity of four 70.4mm cranks shipped. * It has been stated that King had argued for a "stiffer penalty" of up to one year's suspension for anyone caught with illegal equipment prior to the start of the Savannah, Georgia, Hot Shoe. * King denies that he made such a statement. * It has been stated that Werner had argued for a "stiffer penalty" of up to one year's suspension for anyone caught with illegal equipment prior to the start of the Savannah, Georgia, Hot Shoe. * Werner does not deny that he * First of all, while Werner has taken full responsibility for the incident (Harley-Davidson never denied that the engine was illegal), he did not build the engine in question. * King won the race in Barberville, made such a statement. * After the races at Savannah, Georgia, the engine in question was tested on the AMA's new Whistler device, which measures the displacement volume in the cylinder. The engine was deemed legal. So what does it all mean? It depends on what you want to believe, but ask yourself this question: Do you think that the factory team would knowingly build an oversized engine to put in a motorcycle that it had no plans to use at the Daytona Short Track, but instead to contest a round in a series that it had no plans to chase, then shoot its mouth off about the lack of teeth in a penalty that could mean that said team would sabotage its only rider's chances at the U.S. Flat Track Championship crown by showing up at a meaningless Hot Shoe race with a bike that was deemed legal at the first round and then grossly oversized at the next? That's the kind of conspiracy theory that would make a JFK buff's head explode. Though I feel that Harley-Davidson might have done well to take its chances with one of AMA's loosecannon appeal boards, the case is closed. In the end, all that HarleyDavidson can do is accept responsibility for the infraction, which it always has. And all the AMA can do is tow the line that it said it would in this case, which it will. But does that mean that Werner, King and Harley are a bunch of cheaters? Don't believe it for a second. eN • Idaho Hare & Hound • BMW Yin and Yang • Tacoma Arenacross finale 120 APRIL 3, 2002 • cue •• n e _ s 3IJ YEARS ABO_. APRIL 11, 1972 On the cover of Issue l/13, we featured a picture of our test riders aboard Yamaha's 250 and 360cc econocrossers. The 250 put out a reported 31 hp, while the 360 put out 39. Also, the 250 weighed in at 224 pounds dry, and the 360 was 227 pounds, and the 250 retailed for $998, while the 360 cost $1098... The Americans went up against the English in the John Player Trans-Atlantic Trophy Road Race Series, and the Brits beat the Yankees soundly. The Brits scored 254 points with their six racers, and the Americans could only manage 212 with their six. The bright spot for the Americans was that Cal Rayborn (H-D) was the overall most successful rider in attendance, followed closely by England's Ray Pickrell (BSA) ... CMC Motocross at Saddleback Park in Irvine, California, saw Ken Zahrt (Bul) win the 125cc Expert class, Gaylon Mosler (Mai) win the 250cc Expert class, and Greg Smith (Mai) win the 500cc Expert class. 20 YEARS AGO•.• APRIL 14, 1982 Alex Jorgensen (C-A) won the Ascot TT, round four of the AMA Grand National Championship/Winston Pro Series, and was placed on the cover of Issue *13 because of it. Ricky Graham (H-D) and Ted Boody (H-D) rounded out the podium... Mark Barnett (Suz) and Brae Glover (Yam) took the 125 and 250cc victories at round two of the AMA National Motocross Championship at Saddleback Park in Irvine, California. Johnny O'Mara (Hon) and Bob Hannah (Yam) rounded out the 125cc podium, while Rick Johnson (Yam) and Scott Burnworth (Yam) rounded out the 250cc podium. Barnett and Johnson led their respective points championships after two rounds... Frank Stacy (Mai) won round three of the AMA One-Day Qualifier Series in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, which qualified him for the ISDE... David Busby (Yam) won the Long Beach Grand Prix 250cc GP Invitational, ahead of Alan Labrosse (Yam) and Sam McDonald (Yam). 10 YEARS AGO... APRIL 8, 1992 Reigning 500cc MX World Champion Georges Jobe graced the cover of Issue l/ 13 for the 500cc U.S. MX GP preview inside the issue. The third running of the Grand Prix at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, promised to be a good one, as it had become the series' opening event, rather than the series finale it had been previously... Jean-Michel Bayle (Hon) won the Tampa Supercross, with Jeff Stanton (Han), Guy Cooper (Suz) and Damon Bradshaw (Yam) rounding out the top four. Brian Swink (Suz) won the 125cc main but was issued a written warning by the AMA for moving over with only a halfa-bike-length lead in the middle of the start straight, taking out Doug Henry and many others... Danny Hamel (Kaw) outdueled Larry Roeseler (Kaw) for the win at round three of the AMA National Hare & Hound Series... Scott Summers (Hon) won round two of the AMA GNCC Series in Cadiz, Kentucky... We found that the Kawasaki KX250 and the Yamaha YZ250 were our favorites in the 1992 250cc MX Shootout.