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/128169
"Nothing would make us green-blooded race fans happier than to see Eric on 'Our' bike..." A Weighty Issue? I'm not sure I have picked the right spot to say my piece on this issue, but here it goes. I have been involved in many aspects of racing, with motorcycles being my first interest. During my limited time of racing Superbike Nationals (1991). I was and still am baffled by the weight issue. I do not understand why the rulemakers do not weigh at the completion of the race like drag racing (all up, including rider). Having been involved with drag racing at all levels, I must say this is the best way of creating "a level field" (notice how close NHRA Pro Stock is?). From this standpoint, I see instead of three or four riders as potential winners, an increase to eight or 10, or more. For sure this would be a better "show." As far as engine types and how to even them up, let them do what they want and put in an intake restrietor as needed. I don't like them, but they are the simple way to police and prevent "top level" rule bending. Since I am on the soapbox, I want to make another point: Money. To win the Daytona 200 does not pay any more than the winner of the same event took home 25 years ago - if you think about it, the winner last year took home half of what the winner did in 1977, if you adjust for inflation. Along this same line is the contingency program - a joke at best. If I buy an item and win, why should I advertise a certain company and the product they produce? I say this because "they" didn't help me get to the starting line, my own budget did. Entry fees are another joke. I thought better of "paying" for the privilege of putting on the show. I reason this is like asking a rock band to "pay to play." Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this. Keep up the good work. Peter Vlliacaro Via the Intemet e'mon Kawasaki After reading that Eric Bostrom may not ride for Kawasaki next season because Kawasaki may not be interested in his services, I couldn't help but chime in. Here's a racer who rode the wheels off an aging Superbike, who kept it running at the front most of the season, winning races, graciously thanking his team and his employer, who's got more heart and determination than most in the paddock, always showing up on the box even if he comes second (unlike past champions), kicking his own ass for not pushing harder - and Kawasaki can't find him a ride on their MotoGP team? Didn't he spank the other Kawasaki riders in World Superbike? What was the point in sending him to World Superbike a few times this sea- son if you didn't have something lined up for him in 2003? It was painfully obvious when great riders moved on from their association with Kawasaki because we had no 500cc Grand Prix team. But now we have MotoGP, and if you are serious about fielding a team, then make a home for Eric there - he deserves it if anyone does. Taking nothing away from our AMA champ Nicky Hayden, Eric is every bit the rider he is, if not more. Had it not been for a couple mechanical hiccups, the championship may have ended differently. Then, guess what? Honda would be banging on Eric's door with $$$$. This guy wants to stay with "Us." If it's about money, sell a few more earthmovers or ships, or whatever, but don't let another great racer get away. Nothing would make us greenblooded race fans happier than to see Eric on "Our" bike running at the front, showing Mr. Rossi a wheel late in the race, and giving the boys at Honda a severe case of heat rash. It's time to visualize and then realize winning on the world stage again! So, letter up a green MotoGP bike with "Boss Hog" on the tank and deliver it to him when he arrives in Europe to hang out with his brother, along with a contract. M. Norton Campbelt CA No Smokln ' II Just a response to the letter posted by Mr. Sowell. Who does he think brought this fine sport along when things got expensive? As for his stats on cigarette smoke killing all those people, especially the one's who didn't smoke, there's millions, yes millions, of unborn children killed every year via abortion. They didn't have a choice either! This sport can use every big name sponsor it can get its hands on. I'm a non-smoker, and never in the past 20 years of following Wayne Rainey, Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson riding the red and white bike lured me in that direction. Sorry for the rant, but I'm getting sick and tired of all the political correctness. JetrRichards VIa the Intemet Jeremy and Travis I think it is excellent for the sport that Jeremy McGrath has signed with KTM. Another seriously competitive manufacturer in the 250cc class will just raise the bar for everyone, resulting in better showroom models for all of us. Mike Fisher put in some excellent rides on the 250cc KTM back in the day, but I think Jeremy can give them that first win. I hope he was smart enough to make them throw in a Duke II as well - now that is a seriously fun ride! Meanwhile, I think Travis Pastrana has shown Team Suzuki a complete lack of respect by jeopardizing both his and their investment in his motocross career. I wish him the best of tuck and the best of health, but I won't be rooting for him anymore. David Jamison Peachtree City, SA TV Bloopers Boy, those guys on Speed Channel are good. In watching both VIR Superbike races, I marveled how they were able to incorporate funny outtakes of riders performing bizarre antics and then edit those into the actual race footage. I thought the weirdest was Aaron's [Yates] dead duck impression on the track to bring out a red flag. That was until I saw Nicky [Hayden] struggling against the fire extinguisher's keeper's wishes not to ever relinquish ownership of his prized equipment as the flames licked around the stricken RC51. Then my illusions were shattered when I realized that these circus acts actually happened during the race. The AMA and race organizers should hang their heads in shame that such amateurish control of safety exists at such a major event. I was so relieved that no serious injuries resulted and that our friends at Speed may have, without realizing it, chopped out even more stupidness by running commercials over the feed. Richard Norltl Irvine, CA Armstrong Blather As usual, Alan Cathcart provides us with journalistic wisdom, while ignorant folks from Santa Barbara such as Bruce Armstrong write letters without the facts in hand. While Armstrong starts right off saying that "Rarely has so much blather been spread between the pages of Cycle News as we witnessed in Sir Alan's August 7 interview ...... he immediately tops that with the most incredible warpage of the facts possible as Armstrong then goes on to say (while referring to Sir Alan) that, "It might interest this fatuous twit to know that Honda was founded the same year as Ducati. .. " It is unfortunate that the editors didn't just toss his letter right then and there, being so ungrounded in actual facts. As pointed out in the Official Racing History for Ducati, the Ducati company was founded in 1925. Sochiro Honda, who was the founder of Honda, was born in 1906. However, as a teenager in 1925, Sochiro Honda was merely an apprentice to a car repair shop in Tokyo, according to www.honda.com.au/HondaCars. Actually Sochiro Honda did not start making motorcycles until 1948, which of course was after Ducati. Thank goodness Cycle News has the good sense and taste to employ fair cue I e and knowledgeable journalists such as Alan Cathcart, rather than ignorant folks unaware of even the simple historical facts such as Armstrong. Of course, one does rather wonder why the usually knowledgeable staff of Cycle News didn't just junk Armstrong's letter as the work of an irresponsible prankster with a distaste for the classical brands and a total disregard of the history of motorcycles. While it is interesting to speculate how dominant Harley-Davidson would have been as a worldwide racing motorcycle firm had they been given the huge infusions of cash from the government that Honda and other Japanese manufacturers received, it is a moot point, since in the USA there is no public subsidy of private industries such as Honda and other Japanese manufacturers required in order to succeed. Indeed there was a huge public outcry when Harley received even the most modest of tariff protection during a short period of time, which didn't begin to compare to the amount of protection, to say nothing of the huge amount of cash received by the Japanese motorcycle industries since world war II when they had their beginnings in the late 1940s, 50s and 60s. Indeed this is a pattern which still exists today, as those close to the industry know. Even the racing community has long done things to help the Japanese motorcycles dominate by proscribing minimum weight limits, designed to make the four-cylinder machines competitive with the inherently much lighter single and twincylinder design favored by the classic marques which provide the superior handling and safety important for the consumer. Perhaps with restrictor plates in the future, that will help swing competition back toward a level playing field where the classical marquees have a chance in AMA racing. Peter Bonner Placitas, NM ne1N'S AUGUST 28. 2002 5