Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~ e Bisc S~ea d ~ e Tea a e= , • 30 YEARS AGO... JULY 10, 1973 cess, ie ften billed as the worst wildfire in forest travelways were used to suc- Fire Burned Area Emergency Reha- Oregon's history, the 2002 Bis- cessfully halt the southern march of bilitation assessment. cuit Fire destroyed over 460,000 the Biscuit Fire. The trails also pro- Sadly, the agency decided on its acres of forest land in the Siskiyou vided access for crews to cut fire plan to close almost 25 miles of O National Forest. Started by lightning lines, provide supply routes, and recreation roads to the general public storms last summer, it also devastat- clear forest fuels. The battle also with support from the California ed approximately 28,000 acres in the saved the High Dome trail, a prime Native Plant Society, the Sierra Club Six Rivers National Forest located in motorcycle and mountain-bike sin- and the North Coast Environmental northwest California. Dual-sporters gle-track experience. Center. The closure came even after Either due to a lack of roads or we told them that cedars in the High prohibitions on mechanical manage- Plateau area had never been infected On May 22, 2003, I toured the Bis- ment or both, the fire was apparently in over 30 years of motorized access. cuit Fire in the Smith River National allowed to burn through the Kalmiop- As I now look at the charred skele- and four-wheel drive enthusiasts had historically enjoyed this land. Recreation Area. Scott Sinclair, a for- sis Wilderness and certain roadless ton of the "Sentry Tree," a venerable mer U.S. Forest Service recreation areas until they could be successfully 1OO-foot Port Orford Cedar that once specialist on this unit, also joined the engaged by ground forces using stood watch at Diamond Creek dis- review. access roads and trails in other persed campground, the big lie of regions of the Siskiyou and Six Rivers "preservation" struck me. We demonstrated the lack of mass of the brand-new Honda CR 125M by lifting the entire bike by hand on the cover of Issue #26. With a claimed weight of 180 pounds, it was definitely on the light side. We tested the bike and concluded it was actually unfair to compare it to other 125cc two-strokes on the market, it was so good, so we compared it favorably with the CR250 Elsinore... Jim Lunde (Pen) topped the 125cc Senior class at the annual Mammoth Motocross, Doug Grant (Bul) won the 250cc Senior event, and Ken Zahrt (Bul) won the Open Senior event. Each won $500 ... Pierre Karsmakers (Yam) swept both motos at the Salt Lake City, Utah, l'lnter Trans Arama" motocross. Brad Lackey (Kaw) finished second overall, with Jim Pomeroy (Bul) third. Before hitting the trail, we soundtested two exhaust systems as part of The public has been sold a bill of National Forests. As I gazed westward from Elk goods by extreme green groups when products that will help all riders Camp Ridge trail to the now lunar- they say that preservation or non- become members of Team Stealth. like landscape of the High Plateau or management of, or no-access to, our The 2002 KTM 400 EXC was outfit- North Fork Smith River Special Inter- public lands is good for the environ- ted with a FMF Q Series spark est Area (SIA), I couldn't help but ment. The "protected and preserved" our efforts to get the word out on new arrester and their new retrofit "quiet remember the political battle recre- status of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness tip" - it measured 94.3 dBA. The ationists waged several years ago to area in Oregon and the High Plateau 2002 Yamaha WR426 with stock keep anti-access groups from closing SIA in California were completely muffler tested at 93.2 dBA using a forest roads in the SIA to motorized ignored by the destructive forces of high-performance factory GYT-R use. The irony of that road closure nature. insert. and subsequent decision to leave the The Biscuit Fire also may have As we rode up several thousand land alone is they were enacted to proved that access closures to the feet to the ridge, both of us were supposedly "protect exceptional public are statistically insignificant shocked by the visual impact of this botanical and ecological values." when compared to the impacts of On biblical-scale event. Looking north January 23, 2001, the natural catastrophes. In fact, those closures appear to have impeded the 20 YEARS AGO.•• JULY 13, 1983 The new Yamaha XJ900RK Seca sat still for the cover of Issue #26, and our impression of the machine was that it oozed sensibility - which wasn't something we were seeing much of at the time. It retailed for $3699... David Bailey (Hon) won his first and second National motos of his career at Red Bud Track 'n' Trail on his way to the overall 250cc National victory over Scott Burnworth (Suz) and Billy Ules (Kaw). Broc Glover (Yam) won the 500cc National, and Johnny O'Mara (Han) won the 125cc National. After 21 rounds, the first and only Grand National Championship standings had Mark Barnett (673) on top with Bob Hannah (640) second and Bailey (636) third ... Bubba Shobert (H-D) beat Ricky Gra.ham (H-D) and Scott Parker (H-D) by inches to win the Indy Mile... Kenny Roberts (Yam) won the Dutch TT. into Oregon and westward to the BlueRibbon Coalition, a national coast, brown mountains covered with recreation group, asked the Six firefighters' initial efforts to attack the trees looking more like black match- Rivers National Forest to reconsider blaze. sticks were all that remained of once- its efforts to close access roads in the This wildfire has exposed the eco- majestic timber stands of Port Orford SIA. The Coalition suggested the For- myth that banning public access or Cedar, Jeffrey Pine, and Douglas-fir. est Service adopt our "managed closing OHV or mountain-bike trails From my perch on an overlook, access alternative," a balanced pro- will protect the environment. Today its paces on the cover was also impressed by the fact that a posal, because we felt the two closure anti-access eco-groups once again of Issue #26. The TYZ featured a 250cc twostroke motor and six- heroic campaign was waged last year alternatives and the no action alter- want to "protect" these areas as they by the California Department of native were "not acceptable to the fight administration efforts to improve Forestry and Fire Protection, equip- backcountryjdispersed recreation forest health, and as always, Mother ment operators from the Simpson public." Nature will expose the folly of their Timber Company, and Forest Service The recreation community had firefighters to save the town of Gas- approach. offered to support only permitted quet, California. CN access or seasonal closures. We even Don Amador writes on environ- advocated an off-highway vehicle mental and access issues from Oak- Camp Ridge trail appeared to have (OHV) and four-wheel drive wash sta- ley, California, and he is a consultant played a critical role in the battle to tion to help prevent the spread of Port to the BlueRibbon Coalition. He may protect residents and resources. It Orford Cedar root disease, a concept be reached by email at: damador@ was clear that backfires from these now validated by the 2003 Biscuit CWO.com ... Editor. Several access roads and the Elk In an upcomIng Issue at Cycle News 112 JULv2,2003' e y e I e n e vv s Assen MotoGP Brainerd AMA Superbike Lima, Ohio, AMA Dirt Track Maryland GNCC Andorra World Trials Pennsylwanla AMA Trials 10 YEARS AGO... JULY 7, 1993 The all-new Yamaha TY250Z trials machine was put through speed transmission. and it wasn't available in the United States... Ricky Graham (Han) beat Rodney Farris (H-D) and Chris Carr (H-D) to win the Uma Half Mile. Scott Parker (H-D), Carr's teammate, blew his engine and DNF'd... Fred Andrews (Yam) won the Blackwater 100 over Randy Hawkins (Suz) and Tom Norton (Kaw) ... Greg Albertyn (Han) won round nine of the World 250cc MX GP Championship, his fifth of the year, and led tbe points by 96 following the event over Stefan Everts (Suz) ... 000 Upton (Hon) swept the 125 and 250cc Pro classes at the GFI ·Win a Truck" Night Series. Bret Milan (Yam) won the 250cc Novice class that night... Mike Brown (Han) swept both 125cc A motos at Muddy Creek Raceway.

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