Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Yamaha For AMA Superbike Return? " amaha is just ove r a month away from I testing an RI Superb ike that it may race in next year 's AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championsh ip, according to team manager Keith McCarty. "We're in the process," McCarty said of completing the machine, all of which is being down in-house by membe rs of the curren t race team . McCarty said they'd considered racing this year, but complicating facto rs, both internally and external ly , meant they couldn't be ready in time for Daytona. Their time table is complicated by having had to farm out the building of various parts , some of which fit, some of which don't. "It's bee n togethe r and back apart 20 different times," McCarty said ofthe RI. One of the most crucial components is the quick change gear, built specifically and solely for Daytona. Those parts are being done by MGC in France, a company with experience in World Endurance. In orde r to be com petit ive in the Daytona 200, and the refore the championship, you have to have good quick-change equipment. McCarty thinks putting all that time , effort and expense into one race is misguided. "It's somewh at bizarre that some body doesn 't see that," he said. Two big questions remain: Who's going to ride it, and what classes will Yamaha attack in 2oo5? "That' s the million-dollar ques tion," McCarty said about which of his four riders wo uld do the testing. "We're still kind of working on that ." The priorities are the current AMA Superstock and Supersport Championships, and they'r e not going to let the Superbike pro ject get in the way. ''As the races go on , the answer will becom e more clear," he said. The re's also the current AMA rule forbidding factory riders from taking part in Superbike and Superstoc k, a rule McCarty disagrees with. "I don't think that's a good rule," he said. "For the AMA to decide where people wo rk and how they earn the ir living is wrong ." Would Y amaha stay in tw o classes while joining a th ird? '1\nything's possible, but that's one of my recurring nightmares," he said, pointing out the logistics and parts supplies needed for three different motorcycles. "We'll come up with what suits us best." O ne of the unanswer ed questions is the rules for next year. The AMA has been historicallyslow in gett ing rules to the teams for the following year. "We need to have rules," McCarty said. This year, he said, the official rulebook didn't come out until December, though the rules w ere circulated in oth er forms earlier. "We'd like to have the rulebook by August I Briefly... Conrinued from page 9 Highway I S South; 9. Wisconsin - Highway 3S; 10. Arizona - US Highway 60. The Huntington Beach (California) Public Library will host the 19th annual Car and Motorcycle Concours on June 6. last year, a record amount of money was raised to benefit the children's division of the library. Featured marques will be the Chevrolet Corvette and Parsche automobiles, and Vincent will be the motorcycle of honor. Entries can be obtained from the website at www.hbconcours .org and will be accepted until May26 for vehicles that will be judged. Entries received later can be displayed in the show but will not be judged. Ride With Respect is offering the chance for you to ride with off-road legend Scott Summers. Summers will be joining Ride With Respect on its trail ride in the mountains, canyons and desert arou nd Moab, Utah, June 5-6. The rider limit is 25. For more informati on, call Dale at 435/2S97621 or visit www.riderswith respect.org. The Doubletree Hotel-Bradley Internationalln Windsor Locks, Connecticut (formerly the Holiday Inn), has been designated as the "official" race headquarters for the Motocross 338 AMA National Motocross, June 12- 13. For more Information, callthe Doubletree at 860/627-5171. at the latest. That's a fair request." McCarty said they were beyond the po int of won de ring if the 1000cc Superbikes would survive the AMAcircuits or if the tires were capable. "We all can say the looos are not going to be run because the courses are Clear Channel Entertainme nt's Motor Spo rts division has announced on -sale of sel ect arenacross events for the 20042005 season. The select arenacross eve nts unsafe," he said. Henny Ray Abrams that are listed below are currently on sale. Polaris CEO and president. "Polaris builds AlVs capable of withstanding rigorous use on some of the wo rld's toughest terrain . The confidence our nation's military has in our product gives this company a tremendous amount of pride ." The agreement , a result of mo re than two years of collaborative design work with Special O pe rations Command (SO COM), includes the Polaris Sports man MV (Military Ve rsion) mode l designed specifically for military use, Polaris says. The MV boasts the chassis and engine of a standard Spo rtsman 700 but inco rporates a number of unique features, making it ideal for military use in all types of terrain . Each Sportsman MV features: infrared lights for enhanced night vision: a roll bar to protect the vehicle; run- flat tires and keyless ignition; a fortified steel exoskelet on and enhanced suspension for greater support, increased prot ection. and Polaris Gets Government Contract Polaris Industries has bee n awarded a fiveyear, $ 10.3 million contract by the United States Depart ment of Defense's Special O perations Command for the product ion and de livery of up to 700 Polaris all-terra in vehicles, according to Polaris. U.S. military forces in Afghanisran and Iraq currently use Po laris AlVs. "We're honored to do our part to help defe nd the United States of Amer ica by providing the world's to ughest AlVs to the world's to ughest military," said Tom Tille r, the ability to cover rough ter rain; metal front and back racks that can car ry two times the cargo of a standard all-terrain vehicle; front and back winches capable of tow ing 2500 pounds each; and increased fuel capacity for longer range trave l. The agreement also includes Po laris Sportsman 6x6 mode ls, also mod ified to meet military specifications. Polaris began producing finished MVs for SOCOM in March of 200 3 and has supplied hundreds of additional mod els to oth er branches of the military based on ex isting Range r 6x6, Sports man 6x6 and Sportsman SOO models, according to Polaris. www.cyclenews.com The complete schedule will be available shortly, acco rding to Clear Channel. Des Moines, Iowa (Veterans Memo rialAuditorium) - O ctober 29-3 1, 2004; Grand Rapids, Michigan (VanAndel Arena) - January 7-9, 2OOS; Toledo, O hio (Toledo Sports Arena) January 14- 16, 2005; Baltimore, Maryland (I st Mariner Arena) - January 14- 16, 2005; Bridgepo rt, Con necticut (Arena at Harbor Yard) - January 14- 16, 2005; Nashville, Tennessee (Municipal Auditorium) - January 2113, 2OOS; Dayton, Ohio (Nutter Cente r) January 21-13,2005; Louisville, Kentucky (Broadbent Arena) - January 28-20, 2005; Springfield, Illinois (Prairie Cap itol Convention Cen ter) - February 4-6, 2005; Greensboro, Nort h Carolina (Green sboro Coliseum) - February 2S-26, 2OOS. For more infonn ation, visit www.arenacross.com . Indy Choppers, an Indianapolis-based builder of custo m performance motorcycles, is building a limited-edition line of custom bikes comm emorating the Indianapolis SOO. Indy Chopp ers also has become the exclusiVe/prefer red moto rcycle of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "We' re very proud to be part of the Indianapolis Motor Speed way and Its tradition," said Duke Sturges, vice president, marketing prom otions and operations for Indy Choppers. "We can't put into words what it's going to do for our company. The amount of expoContinued on poge /5 CYClE NEWS • MAY 12, 2004 11

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