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/128311
"Is the free ride for murder only for government officials, or is it for all people, equal under law?" The Janklow Case It is hard for me to believe that a person can comm it murder and get 30 days in jail. With all of the national publicity and media coverage this case got, it appears to me we are not all eq ual under the law. The gentleman who were killed was a trucker, as am I. The trucking com munity and trucking media, just like the moto rcycle comm unity, were outraged that this je rk was allowed to continue driving after his previous dr iving record . However, it appea rs that justice is arbitrary in South Dakota, and if you're a politico, you get a slap on the wrist. I wo nde r how wo uld this case have ended if it had been an unknow n citizen . Leslie D'Amico via th e Inte rnet The Janklow Case II Janklow gets away with taking a life - or what is the worth of a human life? Surely, more than 100 days. The cou rt system there shou ld be ashamed. Ma urice McCo y Martinsville, IL The Janklow Case III Afte r fo llowing the Janklow trial with grea t interest, I must say that after hearing the sente nce, I am com plete ly taken aback by what I consider an imponderous punishment. In the interest of our pe rso nal safety as motorcyclists, I feel this meager se ntence has do ne absolutely zero in te rms of pro tecting us. It has amassed noth ing to o ur ability to ride safely secured by the consistency of strong reprisal to those who might threaten our very existe nce . O ne hundred days of jail sounds terribly close to a manageable inconvenience. It sends a strong message to no one . It is insignificant and unbalanced com pare d to the life of Randy Scott. Bill Janklow killed another man with his recklessness, and t he se ntence orde red by Judge Steele represents an abomination of trust in our justice system and doe s nothing for th e memory of Randy Scott. It seems like the o nly cornerstone of protection we have is se lf-reliance . Long live Cycle News and the AMA. Cliff Williams via the Intern et The Janklow Case IV I am extremely excited and happy with South Dakota's treatment of its criminals (like Represen tative Janklow , who was charged with running ove r and killing a mot orcyclist). It now means that I, a ho lder of 127 moving violations (it's sad but true) can now range free th rough the beauty of South Dakota with no wo rries anymore. I was scared that with my record, if I killed anyo ne vehicularly, then I might have to face the consequences and serve some real jail time such as in other states. But, thanks to Rep. Janklow, I am now a free man . I have no fear of a IOO-day sen te nce for killing anyo ne in So uth Dakota now. Hell, I'd even recommend to anyo ne who wants to "off" their biggest pro blem person, such as a mea n boss, ex-w ife or a rotten judge, to go to South Dakota to do their business. I mean, for me, if I were so inclined to kill another living pers on , the n the w hole 100 days of jailtime wo uld be like a mini-vacation with three mea ls a day, roof over my head , TV, library and all my constitutional rights to prote ct me for my short stay. Man, it' s better than I have now. Murde r might be a very good option in South Dakota, now that it's set a legal preced e nt. Maybe make it a part of its to urist plan or econ omic survival (invite the mafia, dr ug lords, etc.). We ll, maybe with my record I might get, like , 120 days or something, but it' s not that bad. South Dakota , I'm sure, is nice place to visit and murder. On ly question I have is: Is the free ride for murder only for government officials, or is it for all people, equal under law? If so , I can always apply for a city janitor position or cou nty dogcatcher just to assure my murderous spre e is covered by the niceties of the judicial system . "So uth Dakota - you can kill the nicest people there" - a new advertising slogan! St even Halt via th e Inte rnet Sissycross? I'm writing in res po nse to Sissycross. Anyo ne w ho has watched th e close racing the last three races has to realize that the penalty assessed by t he AMA has had the desired effect. There have been numerous times in these races whe re either Chad Reed or Kevin Windham co uld have parked the other on e into the third row, but instea d they held thei r line, and some great racing has ensued . Even in the 125cc class the re has not bee n the carnage that we saw last year. Also, anyo ne who asked w here Steve Wh itelock came from obviously has not been read ing their Cycle News, or they would have read all about the various jobs he has bee n involved in on the way to his present position. Richard Manning Lubbock, TX Helmets And Such just had to give a friendly response to let ters to the editor should be senlla Voices, Cycle News, PO Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628·5084; faxed to 714·751-6685or emailed to editar@cyclenews.cam. Published letters do notnecessarily reflect the posit onof Cycle News, Inc Letters should notexceed 200 i . words, end all ore subjectto editing. An onymous letters will nol be conside for publicotlon. red AU letters should conlo in the writer's name, address and daytime phone number... Editor. Michael Parke r and his view of the AMAand its efforts pe rtaining to helmet laws, but first a litt le pe rspect ive. I am a 48-year-ol d male who has ridde n in the dirt off and on (mo stly off) since I was 14, ridden street bikes and toured since I was 2 1 (over 350,000 miles), and road race d since I was 3S (late starter?). That is my pe rspect ive as it pe rtains to motorcycli ng. I wou ld bet Mr. Parker is a young man. What I would like to tell him is the AMA is not fig ht ing against helmet laws per se , but is fighting the loss of personal freedoms. Can I give you a co mpletely unre lated example? I don't smoke, and I neve r have. The sme ll is very foul to me. My life wo uld be nicer if we com plete ly outlawed smok ing in ou r soc iety so I never eve n had a slight chance of smelling a cigarette. I do, however, really e njoy a glass of red wine with a good Italian meal, or a beer with a pizza. But so mewhe re the re is so meone whose life has been affected in a negative way by someone w ho had a drink, and that per son wo uld love to o utlaw alcohol cons umption in our society. You can bet I will ho ller loud about my "personal freedoms " to co nsume responsibly. Yet I want no one to smoke around me? Not fair. See what I mean? Mr. Parke r, I hope you enjoy motorcycles fo r many years , wear a helmet whenever you wish, by your own choice, and never, ever, really need it for personal pro tection. I also hope you keep a copy of my respo nse to you for about 20 yea rs, and then re-read it to see if it makes mo re se nse to you. I wish I cou ld ride soon, w ith or without a helmet , but at 12 degrees am bient tem pera ture and 10 inches of freshly fallen powde r, with more on th e way, it won 't be soon. Kert Maul St ilwell, KS What did you say? After reading Mr. To m Hockett 's lett e r, wh ich is among many com plaining abo ut the 250cc four-strokes in the 125 class and no ise at the supercross races, I wa nted to post a response. As for the no ise, I att ended Anaheim III and really enjoyed the racing. I didn't feel that the noise com ing from the four-strokes was obnoxiously loud. Certai nly not any loude r or more o bno xious than t he announcer. These are closed -course eve nts, and as such can be as loud as they want, read private land. On e certain ly doe s not nee d earplugs to watch these races . The same cannot be said for other motor sports, such as the NHRA. Noise is a part of the racing. If it' s too loud, pe rhaps t hese people should take up bicycle racing as a spectator spo rt. Mr. Hockett goes on to accuse t he AMA of www.cyclenews.com wanti ng to help e nviron mentalists shut down public land for riding by allowing these high noise limits. Well, maybe in Washington they allow high noise levels, but here in California, on public land, wh ich includes California parks, and BLM land, the noise limit this year is 96db, or a SO-pe rcen t red uction from past levels. This is strictly e nforced. Don't get me wrong, I don't care much for the AMA, but helping the e nvironme ntalists? I don 't think so. Mr. Hocke tt , the last time I checke d, there we re a whole lot more t han three quiet pipes sold nationwide . So here we go again with t he 250Fs in the 125 class or the 450Fs in the 250cc class. I'm wo ndering if the peo ple who write thes e letters eve n understand the basic function of fou r-strokes and tw o- str oke s. It see ms to me that at any given RPM, a fou rstroke is only going to flow half t he amou nt of air of a tw o -stroke of the same displacement. That means that rough ly half the amo unt of fuel, too. So do the math . It' s the way the power is made that makes the differe nce. The AMA is a stepchild of the FIM, and as such the AMA:s rules reflect those of the FIM . If you watched any of the FIM motocross or Motocross des Nat ions over the last few years , you would have known that the Europea ns have bee n running unleade d fuel for some time. Same thing with the displaceme nt rules regard ing fourstrokes in the two-stroke class. The limit used to be 550 cc just a year ago for four-strokes in 2S0cc AMA supercr oss/ motocross racing. As I said in my lette r to Cycle News fro m a cou ple of years ago , why does n't the AMA impou nd the to p bikes (tw o - and fo ur-stroke) after each race and put the m on a Dyno and check the powerto -we ight rat io? It's that simple. The re are lots of rumors arou nd abo ut how much power a 250 two-stroke makes , so me say as high as 58 o r 60b hp for the factory bikes. And these factory 250s are about IO ta IS pounds lighter than the factory four-stro kes (450cc), which are rumored to make about SOor 55 bhp. Mr. Hockett , I find that your claim of the AMA pushing four-strokes down our th roats to be ridiculo us. The main driving factors for this "evolution" are e missions and tech nological advances . In California we have green- and red-sticker off-roa d licenses. Green meaning EPA-approved, and red not. That means that during ce rtain times of the year, you can't ride you r re d-sticker bike becau se yo ur bike pollutes to o much for t hat t ime of year, read: crimes against all humanity. Th anks to our friends in FI racing, we now have ult racom pact and high-rew ing four-str oke engines. Dale "E" Covingt on Sunland, California CYCLE NEWS • FEBRUARY 18 , 2004 3