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/128214
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Happenings In Motorcycling Slight Goes for a Spin May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, 'and Kawasaki's director of public affairs, Roger Hagie, and his assistant, Kim La Bounty, are making sure that a poster recognizing the month is affixed to one of the company's many semi-trailers that will criss-cross the country during May, Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) are also conducting awareness programs to increase automobile notice of two-wheeled vehicles in the traffic mix, Besides reaching out to car drivers, the activities also focus on the need for motorcyclists to have the proper training and to ride safely, By ALAN CATHCART .. • Moto Aprilia? the Moto Guzzi factory will be to manufacture the 250/45Occ liquidcooled, slngle-cyllnder. four-valve four·stroke engines which wiD power the forthcoming range of AprIIIa cB-lOlId I'I\OCW5, plans for which were first revealed In these columns, but all of which wlIIlIlIlI be rnanufac:tured on the AprIIia production lines lit Seorze - Guzzi will only act as the eng/IIle suppliers for the range of models, These:_ expected eo debut In the 2005 model year. with a projected launch at Intemlot 2004 of -...0. MX and superrnoto versions In both capacities, These engines and the rnoliOI'cyd'es they wHI power are currently ~deveIopment In nearby Varese by Aprilia's dedIc:llIIed cB-IOIld R&D telm. headed by former Husqvama technical chief Ampelio Macchi, who had fniIIIIIIy pro;eded a fast-forwarding of Aprilia's return to the dirt bike sector that is company_ Ivana BeggIo's first love. with an Interim range of bikes powered by broughtIn 2SOcc-.:l45Occ engines from Yamaha, Whge these may stiD be used to power prototype AprIlia a1f-road frames for endurance testing, it has noll/ been decided that they won't be used Another '*.-e role for A Mondial Piega Demo Ride took place at Adria circuit in Italy under the supervision of Aaron Slight, the New Zealand rider and former regular World Superbike Championship title contender. The demo took place on April 29. After Slight briefed the event's atten· dees, they were able to ride Adria for the whole day and try out the exclusive Mondial Piega. There was no official timekeeping, but nonetheless Slight himself put in a few laps and posted a lap of one minute, 16.7 seconds, well under Adria lap record. in customer products. Instead, Aprilia will return to the dirt bike sector exclusively with its own engines, which indeed will be even more self-developed and self-built than Its RSV MlIIe V-twin streetbike motors or existing Pegaso 650cc five-valve single, aD of which lll'e exclusively manufactured for Aprilla in Austria by Rotax. The engines powering the Italian finn's single-cylinder off-road range will, however, be built in Italy at Moto Guzzi, thus deriving further retum from the significant investment in new production fadlities Aprilia has made In the historic Mandello del Lario plant. There are no plans to stamp any of the off-road bikes with the Moto Guzzi label, though, confirms Ivana Beggio. "While it's true that Guzzi had undoubted success in the dirt, it's always really been better known as a tarmac marque: he says, "Really, the brand in our group which has most offroad history Is Aprilia, so when we come back to the dirt, I think it must be under that name. I really only want to focus Guzzi on three families - everyday/touring bikes. naked/custom, and tarmac sporting models only.• Prior to culling the deal that wrested Macchi and his team 01 engineers away from their Husqvama base at the rival MV Agusta opellltic:lI~ the rumor miD insists that Aprllia was taIdng to Cannondale about a supply of the American firm's racIicaI reverse-head. fueI-lnjected, dohc, 432cc, four-stroke single.c:ytInder engines to power Its projected comeback to the off-road maJKet. For whatever reason, that didn't happen - and in the meantime Cannondale has gone Into Chapter 11 receivership (the U.S. equivaJem 01 Italy's ammInlstraztone controllata bankruptcy lifeline. under which MV Agusta Is currently operating). leaving it up for grabs from a cash-rich company eager to gain an immediate foothold in the booming off-road maJKel, TD cast YDur vDte, IDg Dn tD - - - -..... ttp:/ /www.tytlenews.cDm. Ricky Clrmlchnl ........•..•..•.........q3.S2% Chid R..d ...............•.••..•...... 25.22% Kevin Windhl!lm ............•............ 1 1.15% Travis Pastrllnll ...••.•..••.....••.•...•..B.i!.q% Tim Forry .....................•..•......2.3 I % Miko LIRDCCD ....................•......2.20% Grlnt LlngslDn ................•..•......2.03% Sob..llon TDrtelll .................•...... I.Sq% Grog Albortyn .......•.........•..•...... 1.10% Of the following riders, whD dD YDU think has the best chance Df StDP ing Chril [_n'l S~rin fielil Mile win ItreBle thil M_II? A. Kevin AthertDn B. Kenny CDDlbeth r. Rich King D. JDe KDpp 6 MAY 14, 2003' EZlili Lusk ..........•............•..•...0.7 I % SOln Hlmblln .......•........•..••......O.qq% Olvid Vuillomin ......•..•................O.qq% Joequim Rodrigues ...•..•................0.38% Ernesta Fanseel .....•..•..•.............0.33% Travis Prestan .......•.....•..•..........D.i!i!% Siophino RDncldl .........•.............0.16% IBi!D cue • e neVIl's