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/1408163
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 P139 prising? Honda has not won an outdoor title in the premier class since—wait—2004! Even longer than Yamaha. 2004 was the last year Ricky Carmichael rode for the red team before switching to Suzuki. Perhaps Ken Roczen or Chase Sexton will give Honda its long-awaited next title soon. I think one of them will. But which one? In case you're wondering, Ka- wasaki has the most titles with six in the 450cc four-stroke era, start- ing in 2006. Suzuki has four titles, KTM three, and Husqvarna one. Anyway, congratulations, Ya- maha and Ferrandis. Speaking Of Langston… Last week, I was disappointed to learn that Grant Langston was no longer announcing the Nation- als alongside Jason Weigandt on television and wasn't behind the mic when the last rider to win the 450cc championship on a Yamaha (Langston) announced the next rider on a Yamaha (Fer- randis) to win the championship. That would've been pretty cool. I'm not here to question Lang- ton's reason for leaving NBC's broadcast team, but I will say that I will miss his outstanding com- mentary, description and insight on the racing action while cover- ing the Nationals for television. Weigandt and Langston made an exceptional team in the booth, so Langston's sudden departure after nearly 10 years of announc- ing motocross was simply a huge bummer in my book. But all is not lost. Luckily, Langston's spot has been filled by another very competent "color guy," former AMA Motocross Champion Jeff Emig who obvi- ously knows a thing or two about motocross and is a pleasure to listen to, as well. Go team. Generation KLX650 Last week I had the pleasure of joining the folks at Kawasaki in New Mexico, where they intro- duced the company's all-new (yes, it is all-new and, you're right, Instagram, I do know it) KLR650 to a few members of the media. It was a special trip for me because it meant that I'd be attending the introductions of all three generations of the KLX650, the first in 1984, the second in 2012, and now this one. Kawasaki led us on an approxi- mately 400-plus-mile journey tour- ing some awesome (literally) ter- rain of northern New Mexico on pavement and dirt roads aboard the KLR650 Adventure. When that was finished, I filled up the KLR's side bags in Albuquerque and rode the bike back home to Southern California over the next two days, primarily via back roads of Arizona with an overnight stay in Prescott. After all was said and done, the KLR650 and I covered more than 900 miles in just four days. Luckily, I managed to dodge the many thunderstorms out there along the way but not the oppres- sive heat and crazy winds of the lower desert of Southern Califor- nia. But the "little" single-cylinder KLR650 never complained. You'll be able to read my review of the new KLR650 in a future issue of Cycle News, but I can tell you now that I thoroughly enjoyed the bike and hope to make another cross- country journey on it again soon. So glad to see the KLR650 back in Kawasaki's lineup. No Motocross Of Nations For Team USA Well, last Friday, the AMA announced the United States would not be fielding a team in this year's Motocross of Nations later this month in Mantova, Italy, mostly due to several Covid-19-re- lated issues. No surprise here, really, after the team announce- ment was already delayed several times and some of our top riders already having said they weren't in favor of going for various reasons. We'll try again next year. But, hey, it was full steam ahead for the U.S. ISDE team, which put in a valiant effort to defend the gold in the premier World Trophy division. Still, a bronze medal is nothing to sneeze at, but after winning gold last time, you know our guys won't be super thrilled with bronze. Funny how high the bar has been raised late- ly. Not long ago, there was a time when winning a bronze medal at the ISDE seemed as shiny as gold for Team USA. Not anymore. However, all was not lost for Team USA, as the American Women's team came through big- time by winning the gold. Congrat- ulations, Britney Gallegos, Rachel Gutish and Brandy Richards! CN