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/128320
"There is not a single "stock" part on any of the Pro Stock bikes at an NHRA event. Get a life." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A Response To Hoel In response to jack Heel's apo logy on beh alf of Bill janklow, jan klow shou ld have been tried for exactly what he is - a murde rer. Running a stop sign or a red light is not an accident. It's a willful act . It's not like janklow didn't see the stop sign. He apparently has a history of running them . janklo w's past good deeds don't matter w ith regard to t his issue . As far as him be ing a Marine, big deal , so was Lee Harvey Os wa ld - it has no re levance to th is situation . And what about Randy Scott? What did he enjoy? Did he attend sho rt trac k races? Did he have plans for the future? Was he a veteran , too? I don't know. But he was n't any less a person or of value t han janklow in spite of H eel's implications . It wou ld have be en sweet justice if Randy had bee n driving a cement truck rath er t han a moto rcycle . Th en it wo uld have bee n, "janklow was an idiot ; he shou ldn't have run th at sto p sign," and I'm sure Randy would have felt badly but wouldn't have felt guilty and would be alive . Most of t he motorcyclists I've spo ken with do n't have a prob lem w it h Sturgis. It isn't Sturgis' fault that janklow fe lt he was so me how above the law and common sen se and decency. What th ey have a problem with is jan klow and the punishment he didn't receive. T here se ems to be something amiss w it h w hat' s happe ned, and it's time to close the door on this kind of loophole for murder. To some it seems t he best w ay to attract att ention to this issue is not to attend Sturg is, w hich I agree is probably not going to be ve ry effective and impacts peopl e wh o had nothin g to do with t his situatio n. Others are suggestin g a protest ride wh ile at Sturgis; that probably ma kes more se nse . In my mind anyone w ho injures someone by the act of w illfully running a stop sign or light shou ld be t ried for murder, not manslaughter. T hey kno w very well that someo ne could be crossing t he inte rsection - they're betting someone else 's life on th eir actions. They shou ld pay th e price. janklow and every oth e r jer k w ho has killed o r injured som eon e should be sitting in a co ld ce ll for as long as t he law allows. Pre fe rab ly for life. It' s not a mistake - it's a choice. All moto rcyclists are potenti al vict ims of jan klow 's actions . It doesn't matter how many rider courses you've taken or how cautious you are . When someone violates a legal stop, you 're going to be a victim . It's time we forced legislation to make running of a stop sign o r stop light a felony, intent to commit murder, and shut t he door on the janklows of the world. I also assure you that if Mr. Hoel and I were to take competitive me ntal exams , I'd come out on top. Mike Vaughan via t he Int ernet Vaughan is the publisher Editor of Deo/ernews... Honda And RC Honda either has a very short memory or is just stup id. It let jere my McGrath go and didn't win another Supe rcross Championship fo r years after. Now it has done the same with Ricky Carmichael. Car michae l is worth keeping at all costs , and he's wo rt h eve ry cent he gets paid he's Carmichael! Lewis Greer via the Int ernet Tripes Fan just to let you guys know, the new fo rm at is aweso me! As an longtime motocross and des ert ride r and Cycle News read er, I have es pecially e njoyed the art icles in the back abo ut t he good old days. I grew up w ith the fam iliar names , and I have been w ait ing for an article on the o riginal Superbowl of Motocross. My dad took me to the L.A. Coliseum w he n I was 16. Th is was like the biggest thing that had ever happen ed . I went just knowi ng t hat Gary jo nes was going to make us Americ ans pro ud. Th en this kid nam ed Marty Tripes came out of nowhere and had eve ryone excited . The biggest thing I remember from that night was not w ho was rid ing, but ho w he was rid ing. He was stand ing up , fe et on the pegs , fo r th e comp le te lap - an d e very la p . N ob o d y had e ver d on e th at befo re . His "st yle" ins pired as m uc h ta lk a fterwa rd as what he d id. Keep up the grea t articles and awes o me cove rage! Bill Mortellaro Sher idan, WY Stop The Harley Bashing I can 't unde rstan d w hy th ese Harley bashi ng morons get t he ir pa nt ies in a wa d ....",_...,.~ leiters to the editor should be sent to V oices, Cycle News, PO Bo 5084 , Costa Mesa, x CA 92628-5084; faxed ta 714-751-6685 or emoiled to edilor@cyclene ws.com. PubH shed leiters do not necessarily reflect the position of CycleNews, In L c. etters shouldnot exceed 200 words, and a llare subject to editing_Anonymous lette rs will not be considered for publication. Allletters shouldcontain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number... Editor. ove r the fact that there are no "stock Harley-Davidson" parts on the Vance & Hines V-Rods . I got a news flash for you : There is not a single "stock" part o n any of t he Pro Stock bikes at an NHRA event. Get a life. Ray Merkle Wilm ingt on, OH Stop The Harley Bashing II Holy smokes , why all the whining fro m people that Harley shouldn't call its purpose-built Pro Stock drag bike a V-Rod? Harley and everybody else races what the rule books say t hey can race . Suzuki cou ld make a V-twin Pro Stock d rag bike and call it a V-Strom, but why? That's because Suzuki's perform ance image is tied to the inline-fo ur GSX-R. as Harley's is to t he V-Rod . So we have purpose-bui lt, nonstock bikes t hat look vague ly like Suzukis and Kawasakis and VRods racing in Pro Stock. The bikes with t he stock parts race in ot he r classes , whin ers. Mac M iller Portland, OR Mladin Fan Mat Mladin may be arrogant and the most disliked Pro racer in the AMA Superbike Series , but he gets the jo b done - pe riod ! All th e media counted him out and o nly talked about th e Hondas and how th ey wo uld dominate t he 2004 series . Where are th ey? Oh , and by th e way, Mr. Eric Bostrom, wo uld yo u like som e ch eese to go w it h yo ur w hine?Wh at a lame excuse yo u gave on Sunday at Fontana saying you r bike w asn't geared right . How many pract ices do yo u need to sort you r bike o ut - and didn't you race th ere on Saturday? Didn't yo u have your gea ring sorted out by then? Wh en are all you guys just going to admi t yo u've just been beat fair and square instead of w hining? Dwight " Rapid" Martin Breo, CA What Silly Season? W hy are riders changing teams eve n before th e supercross seas o n is over? How o n earth can someone compete on a team that t hey are leaving aga inst on e that t hey are going to? I know loyalty went o ut t he wi ndow a long time ago, but th is is going to set a www.cyclenews.com new sta ndard for the term Bush League . It figures Ricky Ca rmichael would le ad th e w ay. Steve Walt ers Escondido, CA Response To AMA's Response Kerry Graeber's (the director of communicat ions for the AMA) lette r, wh ile well written and co ntaining some interesting and pertinent facts , lacks basic and sound logic. Was this year's Dayton a 200 a race without incide nts and red flags? Yes. But all that means is t hat everybody go t lucky. Does that me an Daytona is a safe venue? No! Wo uld a w o rld-class sanctioning body endorse Daytona as a venue for professional motorcycle races? No! Would any responsible organization ask parti cipants to unnecessarily place their lives in danger? No! Why is the AMA wait ing for a catastrophic event to occur, and it will if th ey ke ep racing Superbi kes there, before it acts in a re sponsible manner? It is all about sound logic , and t he AMA needs to take se rious ly th at it is playing w ith the lives of our most ta lented road races by hos ting the eve nt at an outdated and un safe ra ce t rac k for motorcycles . Th e race w o uld be just as impo rt ant if it were held at Barb e r o r Road Atlanta or any race t rack w it h acce ptable runoff areas and the safety require me nt s that shoul d be requi red for any motorcycle race. Mr. Graeber, q uit patting yourself and your organization o n t he bac k for o nly be ing "lucky" at t his year's Daytona, becau se that is all yo u w e re - lucky. The clock is t icking, and t he AMA is going to have a tragedy on its hands if it doesn't ta ke its responsibilities more se rio usly. Maybe you should take a Euro pean vacation t his year and see what "real" motorcycle race tracks loo k like . O r yo u could get out from behind you r desk and take a ho t lap around Dayto na and see if it was yo ur ass o n t he line that yo u might feel any differentl y about the trac k t hat yo u are defendin g. Your lett e r e nded wit h t he word "irrespo nsible," and it appears tha t yo u are an e xpe rt on t hat subject . And that is w here I, and o the r race fans, are hop ing fo r a change from th e AMA. Kent Sheldon via the Internet CYCLE NEWS • APRIL 21 , 2004 3