Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Cycle News 1982 10 13

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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New for 1983 is the Laverda Jota RGS . The Italian triple now features a new crank layout of 120 degrees and rubber engine mounting for smoother running . Only 200 of these machines will be imported into the U.S . in 1983, with t he first deliveries expected early in January. Contact the Slater Brothers at 707 /833-2622. . .California tightens 1984 motorcycle emission standards LONG BEACH, CA, OCT. 4 Motorcycle manufacturers recent ly petitioned t he California A ir Resources Board for reconsideration of the one-gram-per kilom et erdydrocarbon exhaust em ission standard currently scheduled for 1984 and subsequent model year motorcycles above 280cc (called Class III). Such a stringent standard will require catalytic convertors on 38% of the on-highway motorcycles, according to C.A.R.B. estimates. Class III motorcycles are presently complying to a 2.5 g /km HC standard. C.A.R.B. will hold a hearing on Oct. 27 in Sacramento before adopting their staff's recommendation for the low er standard. If the manufacturers' and dealers' testimonies fail to convince C.A.R.B. that catalysts are not a feasible or cost effective alternative at this time, California consumers may be faced with: A) an increase in retail costs of a Class III street motorcycle ranging from $176 to $385; B) "California only" models with different emission controls from the other 49 states; C) restricted aftermarket exhaust system sales on catalyst-equipped motorcycles; D) some models being unavailable in California. California dealers may also find that potential customers may choose to purchase their new motorcycles out-of-state because they are cheaper, perform better and are available earlier than the California model. Manufacturer's comments point out that catalyst technology on motorcycles is not cost effective. Problems can also arise from effects of road vibration, misfueling with leading gasoline, exhaust system modifications and excessive heat. Despite the technical difficulties and increased costs, the C .A.R .B . staff still recommends implementation of the 1 g /km HC standard for Class III motorcycles to the Board. The issue wil be discussed and probably decided by the Air Resources Board on Oct. 27, at the Beverly Garland Motor Lodge, 1780 Tribute Road, Sacramento, CA. The public hearing begin's at 10:00 a.m. California dealers and other affected interests are encouraged to attend and express their views about this regulation. KTM's Donni e Ca ntaloupi won the Oct. 3 rou nd of the AMA 's TransUSA MX Ser ies, h eld in Bucha n an , MI. Dave H ollis. th e privateer Suzuki rider who wo n the openi ng ro und. finished secon d ahead of Husky's Kris Bigelow. Com pl ete coverage next week. John Martin (C-A) was the winner of the Black Coal National Enduro held Oct. 3 at Waukee, IN. Martin dropped 33 points en route to the win, while AMA National Enduro Championship Series points leader Terry Cunningham DNF. Second overall, first AA , was Darryl Kuenzer (KTM) with Husky's Mike Melton finishing third overall. At 10th overall, John Fero (Suz) was the 200cc AA winner. 2 At the final all-motorcycle NMRA drag race meet of the year in Atco , NJ, Craig Burns (Kaw) used a converted Funny Bike to take the Top Fuel wi n, turning a 7.84 second run a tl72 mph to defeat Suzuki's Terry Vance, who still captured the season's Top Fuel Championship. Vance also wrapped u p the Pro StOCK title, although he lost in a semi to the two-stroke Kawasa ki of Dave Schultz. J oe Folgore (Suz) was the Pro Stock winner. beating Schu ltz in the fina l with an 8.71/ 151.26 effort. Rick Stetson remain u ndefeated in Pro Co mp to take home bo th event a nd season tit les, while T erry Kizer (Kaw) defeated Jon Baugh in the Fu nn y Bike final via a ru n in th e sevens at 181 m p h . Kizer also won the Funny Bike crown . Joe Yeager (Ya m) won the Super Modified class a nd ritle. At the NMRA Atco finale, it was announced that Terry Vance had been named Pro Rider of the Year for the second consecutive year. Also ho no red for t he second t im e was Byron Hines, again named Pro Mechanic of t he Year. Joe Yeager received Sp ortsman Rider of the Year honors, while Rick Stetson was named Sportsman Mechanic of the Year . Los Exploradores Rescue will be hosting a BBQ at 6 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the Rock House in California, as a prerunner to the Mike Rose Memorial race to be held Oct. 10 near the Rock House on private land. All proceeds will go to the Rose family in me mory of Mike Rose, his competitive sp irit and frie ndship. Can-Am's Jeff Smith was among the competitors in the 57th ISDE in Czechoslovakia, and when it was over, the oldest rider in the field (48) had himself a bronze medal. The tough event, which was completed by less than half the field, was the third ISDE that Smith has finished . The first was in 1 952, aboard a 500cc Norton at the age of 18. Smith rode a 175cc Can-Am Qualifier in this . year's event, going on the Canadian team. The annual AMA awards banquet is scheduled for Nov. 7 at the Disneyland Hotel. The event is open to the public (or at least the first 400 to order tickets), and a $22.50 ticket gets you into the ban q uet, with Wrangler hosting a cocktail party, followed by di n ner an d the awards presentation. Be there to see the big q uestion of the year answered - with all the Wo rld Champions the u.s. has this year, who will be selecte d as th e AMA P ro Athlete of th e Year? Send tic ket requests to Pa t McCoy, AMA, P .O. Box l4 1, Westerville, OH 43081. of a petition by the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc., which asked DOT to allow installation of the modulating headlight as an option. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration' has accepted the Harley-Davidson petition , but N HTSA notes in the Sept. 23 Federal Register notice that the " co m mencement of a rulemaking does not signify, however, that the standard will be amended." NHTSA does say that it "believes that cyclists should be allowed to choose this type headlight." The agency also says it is interested in the comments from states and individuals who h a ve used these lamps. AMA Legislative Affairs Manager Gary Wi nn indicated tha t AMA has "assisted three states in enacting legislat ion to allow modulating headlig h ts on their street motorcycles in advance of the N HTSA proposed rulema king , and in response to requests of motorcyclists that have foun d them ben eficial as a safe ty device. Neverth eless, the AMA applauds NHTSA and Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc. for their actions and sensitivity to the problems associated with mo torcycle safety. An amendment to FMVSS 108 will n eg a te further time consuming work with individual states." Persons or organizations wishing to send comments to the docket on headlight modulation should send them, n ot exceeding 15 pages, to this address: Docket Section, Room 5109, National H igh way Traffic Safety Adm inistration. 400 7th St., SW, Was hington, DC 20590. Ten copies are requested , " but not req u ired" by the ag ency. AMA req ues ts a courtesy co py of comments su bm itted by its members. The AMA 0-36 Wi lseyville Hare Scrambles event has been rescheduled to Sunday, Nov. 7. Pre-entry closes Oct. 24. Check the eN calendar section for more information. If you've been looking for coverage of the annual Bonneville Speed Week that was scheduled for the end of September, you can end the search. Rains in western Utah reduced the amount of usable salt to less than one mile, and the event was cancelled. The Sept. 23 issue of the Federal R egister proposes to amend the Federal Moto r Ve hi cle Safety Sta nd a rd (FMVSS) 108 in order to a ll ow "modulating h eadl igh ts" on motorcycles . Suc h a device changes intensity o f th e vehicle's lamp o utpu t from high bea m to almost completely off abo ut th ree times per seco nd. C urrently FMVSS' 108 makes n o allowa nces for thi s rece ntly deve lo ped a nd highly po pular device. Th e amendment came about as the result We were in error last week in not correc tly identifyin g Roxy Rockwood as the man behind th e microp hone who introduced in jured road racer Bruce H ammer to the crowd at the Wi nston Pro Series award banquet in Long Beach on Sept. 26. Rockwood go t Hammer a standing ovat ion, an d th e veteran an nounce r says he pl ans to do more to help the T eam H a m mer leader get a van with hand controls, a nd will give the detai ls in an upco m ing National Papers column. .

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