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/128160
can literally buy an old bike for under $500 and be out racing the next day.11 Letters to the editor I'YOU < o _. n (1) ''. en should be sent to Voices. Cycle News. P.O. Box 5084. Costa Mesa. CA 92628· 5084. laxed to 7141751-6685 or e·mailed to editor(c cyclenews.com. Blunder? I was really excited about World Superbike Series finally allowing 1000cc across the board for 2003. Imagine: Rls, GSX-RIOOOs, CBR954s ... byebye Duckies. But wait. With restrictors? Brent Meeker's letter was absolutely right on. A giant blunder indeed. Look no further than dirt track. When Honda was winning, the AMA added restrictors. Even the famous Harley tuner Tex Peel was against them. This effectively ruined dirt track. Different sizes of engines competing in the same class has never, and never will, work. Kudos to Yamaha and Kawasaki for pulling out of World Superbike altogether. An all-twincylinder Italian bike series will never make it. MotoGP has the right idea. But let's do away with that dumb name. How about Formula One motorcycles? Wllflam Parker Hercules, CA Confusion? There seems to be some confusion over my "Speed Channel" letter; please permit me to simplify. In the U.K., the Grand Prix races are shown on commercial TV. No monthly fees, no tax support, no commercials for the duration of each race. Free! Got it? Speed Channel sucks! Are those apples to your liking Mr. Starr? Kevtn Molyneux Reseda, CA No Confusion In regard to Mr. Kevin Molyneux's bashing of the poor motorcycle coverage on Speed Channel, here's a little assignment for Kev to help him understand the issue: Take the smallest venue and turnout for a NASCAR weekend and multiply that by the money spent and then times that by 45 weekends. Then take the largest AMA Superbike weekend in the same equation, times by what, 10 weekends? Are you starting to get the picture Kevin, or do we need the short bus? :JIm Royd Lake Moly, R. Thanks I am writing to give a well-deserved thank you to all my friends (you know who you are) and all the local racing community for their thoughts, messages and prayers. I was injured badly while practicing at Saddleback Park last week; I am still not sure what happened, all I know is my bike just stalled up the face of a jump and the next thing I know I was slamming the mat hard. I ended up with a broken neck, but by the grace of the Lord, no permanent injuries. A special thanks to the REM crew for thinking about me at the riders' meeting (thanks Frank), and to the rest of the 40 Masters - I will be back. In addition, I would like to comment on the situation around Southern California with most of the tracks. As of this year, there has been an unbelievable amount of injuries at all the local tracks. I have heard the numbers and they are mind-boggling. Could it be the tracks or the conditions (crowds) are going too far? I mean, how many people do we need to lose from the sport before we realize what is happening? While I was in the hospital, four other riders were brought in from the same practice. Something is wrong with this picture. Anyone who was at the AMA Amateur day at Glen Helen could also attest to a poor and dangerous track that took out several racers (one by life-flight) in the first practice session alone. I was happy to just survive that day - it wasn't fun by any means. I have a newfound respect for Frank Thomason's REM track and the great safety record he has. Sure, you can get hurt there, or riding anywhere because it is dangerous, but there should be room for error while still having fun. I love jumps and technical tracks, especially rough tracks, but maybe it is time to seriously rethink motocross-track design so that we all have someone left to race with. I encourage the local racing and riding community to speak up on this subject and get something done about it. We all want to keep riding and it doesn't have to be this way. Bob :Johnson VIa the In~met Kudos To Lewis Honda has to be thrilled with the performance turned in by Kyle Lewis this year. Seeing how he is their only four-stroke hope in the outdoor nationals, I would hope they are wise enough to be giving him some factory support. Go Kyle, and keep up the good work! :JeffFriend Hesperia, CA Now that Mike LaRocco is back, he is also a {our-stroke hope (or Honda.. Editor OJ Hayden? Published letters do not necessarily reflect I thought the best race of the year was the AMA Superbike race at Road America. Even the attendance showed over 50,000, and to me, that means that motorcycle racing is on the way up. The hilarious moment was in race two, when Nicky Hayden got caught on the trigger too early. He was so lucky that the ruling was a false start. The replay from his bike-cam clearly showed that he jumped the gun. When he was interviewed, he pulled an "O.J." and completely stumbled over the questioning on what happened. Hey Nicky, be true man - you blew the light. If there was trouble with the thing, why didn't anyone else jump it? Regardless of the outcome, it was exciting to see the bikes so close together and Nicky hanging with the pack. Racing gets boring when it's constantly the same dude three and four bike lengths ahead every week. MorkOster Fountain Vafley, CA Irate Pollsters After nearly 30 years of reading your publication, I finally found something disappointing which has caused this message to you. My wife and I are concerned about the reason(s) why your publication chose to leave out one of the fastest growing motorcycle activities of the century? Vintage motorcycle racing has become a huge sport within the motorcycling community and seems to be growing bigger and bigger every year. Your publication provides quite a few great articles yearly on these events that leads us to wonder why vintage racing was left out of the Issue #24 Web Insite poll? :John and Valet1e Ulver Washougal WA Irate Pollsters II Fringe motorcycling? Speedway is pretty cool, but oh so specialized. Mayas well vote for ice racing: that is about as cool as it gets. As for hillclimbing ... well, all I know about that I learned watching "On Any Sunday." Vintage motocross (including its adopted stepchild, the Evolution class) is really cool. Super great family fun for everybody. You can literally buy an old bike for under $500 and be out racing the next day. And in terms of really cool bikes, you cannot beat the Evolution-era motocross machines, bristling with trickness. :John Ely 5eattfe, WA cue I _ the position 01 Cycle News. Inc. Letters should not exceed 200 words and all are subject to editin9. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's name. address •• and daytime phone number .. Editor. ~- Irate Pollsters III I just leamed that you were conducting a poll regarding the coolest fringe of motorcycling. I also learned that Vintage/Evolution Motocross is not one of the choices. You must've had your head stuck in a berm for the last few years! With hundreds of races going on every weekend of the year, National events like the Vintage Iron World Championships attracting the past superheroes of motocross back to racing, and AHRMA's Post-Vintage National and Regional series, vintage/evolution racing is almost on par with modern races in terms of rider turnout and support. Not to mention that you don't have to spend $8000-$10,000 on your bike to stay competitive. The racing is fast and furious, but no one is going to take you out in a corner to gain a position. Tracks are challenging and well-maintained. If you ride the same brand as the guy next to you, you have an instant friend and brother who is willing to help you find that last part you need to complete the restoration you've been working on for the last three years. No mini parents, and camaraderie that you won't fmd at modern racing. My vote is definitely for Vintage/Evolution Motocross! Scott McAllister VIa the Internet We were bombarded by Vintage-racing letter writers in regard to our Website poll that asked what the readers' favorite fringe sport in motorcycling was. The funny thing is: We don't consider vintage motocross a fringe sport, and that's why it wasn't included in the choices. Vintage motocross is extremely popular and has been around forever - it's more of a mainstream motorcycle sport than a fringe sport... Editor. n _ _ S • JUNE 26, 2002 5