Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

in a network TV show. We have already signed a con tra ct wi th MGM to take over Larry Wi lco x 's role under certa in circumsta nces. These circum stan ces have not been reso lved, in cl uding the option of Bruce continuing to race." Pen hall said , " I "ha ve al ways wanted to do somethin g th at wou ld promote the sport of speedwa y bu t nothing will co me in th e wa y of me racing in th e Worl d Final Au g. 28 a t the Los An geles Coliseum. T h is is a great opportunity for me and the p rom o tion of speedway racing is n um ber one in m y mind. I have a com m itm ent to my country, my fans a nd espe ciall y to my sponsors. I ha ve no in tentio n of entirely lea ving the sport of speedway under any circu m sta n ces, but I feel the best way to p romote th e sport would be to give it th e recognition that it would received if I accep ted this televis ion ro le." Im media to further explained that no decision would be made unti l they could speak to all of Penha ll 's sp o nsors in rega rds to this transaction . Bruce is cu rrently in Germa n y and Northern Irela n d and is prepa rin g for the final Qualifying leg Ju ly 23 before co m ing to Los Angeles for promotion o f th e World Final. Th e Miller High Life Superbowl this Saturday night will see D oug D om ok o s, the "Honda Wheel ie Ki ng," making an attempt for the Hang Ten wheelie. This first-timeever- attem pted trick will consist of his CR250 in full wheel ie form wit h no hands on the handlebars. It w ill also be Los Angeles' first vi ew of the su per tricked-out ATC 1 8 5. Immediately after the Superc ro ss Dorriokos will be going t o M ex ico for a 12-city, 14-d ay tour, hig h light ed by performanc es in M ont erey, Guadalaj ara an d Mex - " ico City. H osP IT a l STOP : Multi- fl a vo re d speedway star Rob Pf etzing broke his collarbone at the J u ly 9 Costa Mesa speedwa y event an d will be o u t of action for a while. It wa s a clea n brea k and he is home now. If yo u want to encourage his return to th e spee dwa y scen e, send those cards to Rob, 6282 San Lorenzo Dr. , Buen a Park, CA 90620. R. C. Engineeri ng has announced that Bill Slope of Slope & A ssoci at es will be t he ir exclusive re present at ive for international sales . Slope can be reached at P. O. Box 54 4 9, Fullerton, CA 92635. So u thern Ca liforn ia Mex ica n food afficia nados should be aw are th a t pa rtici pa tin g Del Taco resta urants are co nducting a $ 15,000 sweepstakes in conjunction wi th the July 17 Mi ller High Life Superbowl of Motocross . Among the prizes are an Isuzu fou rwheel drive p icku p and a H onda CR250R motocro sser. M X u pdat e '83 : Yamaha 's new 12 5 cc MXer is reported to have a r ad i at o r si m i l a r to Su zuki' s, m ounted near the eng ine instead of off the t riple clamps. Th e shock will be shorter and mounted more vertically, but the bi ke will retain m ono c r o ss suspension. A i rbox access w ill be under t he seat . Th e new YZ w ill have 4 1 millimeter fork tubes and is reportedly t en pound s light er than the '82 m ode l. Suzuki ' s ne w 125 is said t o have a different ai r box, adjustable rear st rut s, 41 m illim et er fork t u bes , square slide carb, and a dark bl ue w orks- st y le sea t . Kawasaki lo oks ready to release a KX80 with single strut rea r suspension, front disc brake, water -c ooling and works styling w it h the radiator mounted on the left side. The Kaw- asaki 125 is reported to be faster, lighter (by four pounds) and will in cl ud e a side-access airbox. The 250cc Kawasaki is reported ly water-cooled with works st yling . Kawasaki will also release a 480cc big bore, and a KX60 similar to the KX80, but with air-cooling . Th e ' 8 3 Hondas are said to have w orks styling and the low center of gravit y gas tank with fuel pump. Maico will release a new 490cc MXer with a reed valve and new bottom end, with gears in stead of a prim ary chain and a si x coil spring clutch instead of the disc washer clutch Maico has used in the past. There are also reports Maico will be marketing the Italian Gilera 125cc in America as their small bore machine. A lim ited nu m ber o f copies of the 1982 Natio na l Sp eed Sports Directory are now ava ilable a t a red uced price of $8 per copy, acco rdin g to publisher Houston A. La wing. T he 240-page book, which originally sold for $12, is loaded with in fo of interest to every race organization, promoter, track owner, manufacturer of any type of racing equipment, racing teams, media reps and spectators. It lists speedways, racing associations, race publications, race media organizations and individuals involved in both car and motorcycle racing: Orders should be mai led to Houson A. Lawing & Associates, P.O . Box 2728, Ormond Beach, FL 32074. The all -Husqvarna mounted World Trophy team for the ISDE had rid ers qualify on 125cc (Mike Melton), "2 5 0 cc (Terry Cunningham and Ed Lojak) and Open class machinery (W ally Wilson, Mark Hyde and Scott Harden). FIM rules require there be f our displacement categories represented . The answer - Hyde will ride a 175cc bike. Husqvarna doesn't make a 175cc bike - yet . When questioned whether the bike would be a preproduction 1 9 83 model , Husqvarna 's Terry Cunningham would only say, " It'll be legaL " Kitted bikes are not allowed under FIM rules. AnAMAPr~Amroa drareh~b~n scheduled for Sep tem ber 25-26 at West Palm Beach, Florida 's Moroso Motorsport Park. There will be championship rounds for Su pe rbi ke, Formula Two and Ba ttl e of th e Twins. The final rounds will be run the following weekend at Dayto na Intern a tional Speedway. For more info call H enr y DeGouw at 305/793-3394. Here's Kawasak i ' s anti-dive front end as displayed on Eddie Lawson's KR500 road racer. Using no hydraulics, it utilizes the full float ing brake arm principle, but the struts connecting the calipers to the lo op above the fender can be adj usted to allow for dive, allow for no dive, or t o raise the nose of t he bike under braking. Sl ide for li f el Honda's Steve Wise heads for the haybales after crashing in turn eight wh ile leading his Superbike heat at Laguna Seca. Wise hi t the haybales hard, but w alked away unhurt and made his Formula One heat race less t han an hour lat er. How many racers do you know who have had a song written about them after they've won a National? Terry Poovey i s one . Poovey's friend, and fellow dirt track racer, Buck Boren sat down and penned a ditty about Poovey's w in in the June 26 Smoky Mountain Half Mile' National. A couple of Boren 's f riends put together the music and rec orded it on a cassette tape. The song was the hit of the pits at t he Indianapolis Mile. Dick Burleson, eight-time National Champion enduro rider, will be coordinating Team H usqvarna's MX activities. "Mark Blackwell is still our boss, but Dick is goin g to be involved with more of th e tech n ical advice," said Husky mec hanic Mark Dodd, tuner for Bill y Gro ssi. Water-cooling may be the way to go for 250cc prod uction MXers, but take no t e: The top ten ranked riders in t he 250cc World Cham pi onshi p MX Series are on aircooled 'works machines. • 3

• Cover