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/1335637
CN III ARCHIVES BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU T he annals of motorcycle-rac- ing legend are brimming with figures who have been in the right place at the right time to capture their share of glory. Then there are others, such as Mat Mladin, whose overwhelming presence practically forces their era to be recognized as a right place/right time scene. Two-time AMA Su- perbike Champion Wes Cooley's story combines a little bit of both. Cooley came along at a time when Superbike was clearly gain- ing definition as the future top class in AMA road racing, and he made the most of it to become one of the class' standout champions. A longtime Southern Califor- nia club racer with a successful amateur career, Cooley was hired P94 WES COOLEY: BEST OF WES that year, but better days lay ahead. Superbikes then were a far cry from the modern marvels ridden by top contenders today. Best described as Top Fuel engines in wicker-basket frames, handling was a constant battle, especially, it seemed, with the Kawasakis. "There's no doubt about that," Cooley says. "There was a hinge in the middle of those things, and when we put slicks on them, they would handle 10 times worse, be- cause then they were hooking up. At least with street tires on them, I could slide the thing then." A switch by Yoshimura from Kawasaki to Suzuki for the 1978 season would prove to be a positive step forward for Cooley's career, as the new Suzuki GS1000 proved to be a more solid platform by Hideo "Pops" Yoshimura, a Japanese who had quickly gained legendary status as a tuner of multi-cylinder Japanese four-strokes since moving from Japan to Califor- nia in the early '70s, to campaign the newly formed AMA Superbike Series in 1976. Riding a Yoshimura Kawasaki, Cooley finished fourth in the very first AMA Superbike Series race ever held, at Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 5 of that year, though he would finish out of the top five in the series points standings. Still aboard Kawasakis, Cooley's first win came at the final round of the '77 series, on October 2 at Riv- erside International Raceway, where he defeated Ducati riders Cook Neilson and Paul Ritter. He finished sixth in the AMA Superbike Series (Above) Wes Cooley out dueled Eddie Lawson and Freddie Spencer to win the second of his two AMA Superbike Championships in 1980. (Left) Both of Cooley's Superbike titles came aboard a Yoshimura GS1000 Suzuki.