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/128198
[jJ Continued from page 3 with an exclusive event to celebrate the opening of its new exhibit. "Heroes of Harley-Davidson. presented by Progressive Motorcycle Insurance." The museum, in cooperation with Harley-Davidson Motor Company. is presenting "An Evening of Heroes," a special exhibit preview and silent auction benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The event. open to industry, media, AMA members and special guests, takes place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m .. Tuesday, March 4, at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, directly across from HarleyDavidson's Daytona headquarters, the Ocean Center. "It is the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum's mission to tell the stories and preserve the history and culture of American motorcycling," said Don Emde, chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which operates the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, and winner of the 1972 Daytona 200. "What better place to celebrate the 'Heroes of Harley-Davidson' than in the location that has become a globally recognized icon of motorcycle culture?" • An Evening of Heroes" previews highlights of the exhibit, and guests will have the opportunity to meet several of Harley-Davidson's modern-day heroes, including noted racers and Motor Company personalities. Guests can be among the first to sign up to win a 2003 Harley-Davidson Heritage Springer Softail, personally autographed by Willie G. Davidson. Throughout the evening, attendees also have the chance to bid on unique museum and Harley-Davidson collectibles, including specially autographed Motor Company merchandise. Auction items will range from limited-edition artwork to several "one of a kind" items. Tickets for" An Evening of Heroes" are $100 per person and can be ordered by calling the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum at 614/856.2222, extension 1293, by February 21. A portion of the amount may be tax deductible. Duga and the Buell Racing Support van will be present at each F-USA National event to provide assistance to Buell racers. ~ MX Rentals is under new ownership C for 2003 and is now open for business, according to the company. MX Rentals offers a full-service motocross bike demo service in Southern California, providing customers with the ability to ride new motocross bikes on some of the area's motocross tracks. According to MX Rentals, customers just show up and ride with personalized service to make sure they have the best possible experience on great bikes riding Southern California's most famous motocross tracks. Customers just show up and ride. while MX Rentals takes care of all preparation and clean-up at the end of the day. A demo session usually last four to five hours. and the cost is $275 per rider which includes two bikes, with each additional bike adding $30 to the fee. A pit is set up with a trailer, shade/shelter, refreshments and chairs for relaxing between bike comparisons. For more information, call 714/685-6944 or 8001727-MX4U. C C [ C C C , -. - Kawasaki Racing MotoGP team rider Andrew Pitt concluded three days of testing in Sepang, Malaysia. on January 16 with a personal best time of 2:06.3, more than four seconds faster than on his MotoGP premiere at the Malaysian Grand Prix on October last year. Pitt's teammate Garry McCoy also tested, along with German Alex Hofmann and Japanese test rider Akira Yanagawa. McCoy was just slightly slower than Pitt, lapping at 2:06.40. "On Wednesday, we started to move the pivot point of the rear sWingarm," McCoy said. "We went the compiete opposite direction to what we had in our previous tests and in the last couple of days. We had to change the rear shock and a few other settings to suit it. and it wasn't really feeling too bad, probably a bit better than anything we've had in the past. It just seemed as if I had to push really hard to do times which are two seconds off the pace, so it was obvious that we needed to work and play with it more. I was pretty happy about the chance of another half a day of testing on Thursday, because track time is definitely what we need at the moment. We went through a few more settings and further improved the bike, and my idea was to put in one fast lap and then to try and set up the bike to ride at this pace comfortably. I tried several times to go for a lap in the 2.05s, but I never accomplished it. because either the tire wasn't right. or we had other problems. On my fastest lap, the clutch was slipping pretty much all the way. Without that, I would have been a second faster for sure!" Larry Shoemaker, 61. died on January 15 while riding his snowmobile in the mountains in Bend. Oregon. Shoemaker was well-known in the motorcycle industry as the former owner of International Yamaha. Ron Winget of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and Dave Janiec of Ridgecrest. California, are the two newest members of the AHRMA's Board of Trustees. The two were elected to three-year terms in voting which ended January 15. Winning re-election were Jeff Smith of Wausau, Wisconsin, and Robert Borg of Smithfield, Utah. Two trustees will be ending their terms on the board: Beno Rodi of Winder, Georgia, did not receive enough votes to be re-elected. and Allen Wenzel of San Ramon, California, did not seek another term. The top two vote-getters The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum will kick-start Daytona Bike Week 2003 64 JANUARY 29.2003' eye I e nevvs in each region won election, according to AHRMA. After 27 years of focusing on fourstroke motorcycles and ATVs, White Brothers will be the first company to offer a factory-backed exhaust rebuild service to consumers for White Brothers E-Series and R4 exhaust systems. White Brothers feels that the repacking and servicing of consumer exhaust systems has been an overlooked part of vehicle maintenance and will be addressing the consumers' need through this new program, according to a release from the company. E-Series and R4 Exhaust consumers may work with their local White Brothers dealer or return their systems directly to White Brothers for servicing. Costs per exhaust rebuild run from $29.95 for Mini R4 to $34.95 for E-series and R4. Along with regular servicing, consumers wishing to upgrade their systems to the latest specifications can pay an additional fee to do so. White Brothers also offers a full assortment of do-it-yourself rebuild kits for the exhaust brands available through White Brothers, including: Pro-Circuit, Yoshimura, Big Gun, Bill's, Dubach and Supertrapp. Middle Tennessee Sport Riders are hosting a track day at the Nashville Superspeedway on March 23. For more information, call 615/851-4402 or visit www.castlepowersports.com . Pro-Flo Performance Motorcycle Products has signed on as the newest sponsor of AHRMA national-championship competition, according to AHRMA. Pro-Flo will provide support in 2003 to AHRMA's national vintage and post-vintage motocross series, along with the historic cup road race series. "We are very excited that Pro-Flo is expanding its support of AHRMA racing to the national level, and we look forward to haVing them along as our motocross and road race programs grow during 2003," said David Lamberth, AHRMA executive director. The Harris PerformancelWCM team will complete the grid for this year's MotoGP World Championship. The team has hired British rookie Chris Burns and German veteran Ralf Waldmann. The 36year-old Waldmann raced in three races last season under his own wildcard team colors, but the 20-time GP race winner (six in 125cc and 14 in 250cc) apparently missed the competition of full-time racing: "That is, more than anything. why I want to race. It is not the money; I love racing. I have raced in every class from 80cc through 125. 250 and 500 to now MotoGP," he said in a team release. "I have also ridden Superbikes and Supersports 600s. I know that my style suits the big bikes because I am not really a high corner speed rider." The team will race Yamaha R l-based motorcycles. Starting on February 1, practice fees at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino. California, will go up to $20 per bike. Spectators are free. According to Glen Helen, this is the first price hike in 10 years. For more information, call 909/880-3090. According to the San Diego Union, there are big plans for the Manzanita Indian Reservation in the East County of San Diego, California. In addition to gambling casinos and an RV facility, the Manzanita Indians plan to open five motocross tracks and a 1000acre off-road park. The location is 55 miles east of San Diego. The Trailblazers Banquet has been scheduled for February 22, with the club slated to induct Gene Romero into its Hall of Fame. For more information, call 626/446-2195. The new Fortuna Yamaha Team pairing of Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri made a discreet start to their first tests of 2003 on January 20 in Jerez, Spain. In cold and blustery conditions, Checa completed 55 laps and recorded a best time of 1:44.3, which is more than a second slower than his qualifying time at last year's Spanish Grand Prix. Having worked on dialing in the new fuel-injection system and suspension settings on his YZR-M 1, he was prevented from having his usual run of fast laps toward the end of the day by a problem with one bike, the team said. New-boy Melandri made good progress as he familiarized himself with.the Yamaha YZR-M 1 four-stroke. The 20-year-old Italian has joined the Fortuna Yamaha Team in the premier MotoGP class, having become the youngest-ever winner of the 250cc World Championship in 2002. He completed a total of 50 laps on the first day of the test with a best time of 1:43.8. Both Fortuna riders were outdone by Alex Barros. the Gauloises Yamaha rider lapping at 1:42.9. Mike Tolle of Vortex Ignition says he will be hosting free Vortex Ignition tests at Cahuilla Creek MX Park in Anza, California. The tests will give people the opportunity to try out the company's adjustable ignitions on certain motorcycles: 2002-'03 Honda CR125Rs, '00-'03 Suzuki RM125s, '00-'02 Kawasaki KX125s, '00-'03 Yamaha YZ125, '01-'02 YZ250Fs, all Honda CRF450Rs, '01-'02 Yamaha YZ426Fs, TM 125s, KTM 125200cc, KTM 400-520cc, and '00-'03 Yamaha YZ250Fs. Riders must call to set up an appointment; there are limited numbers of bikes permitted per test session, and test riders must be 18 years of age or older. For more information, contact Tolle at 909/353-1253 (phone), 909/353-1259 (FAX) or e-mail him at mtracing250@earthlink.net. eN