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/1485886
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 48 NOVEMBER 29, 2022 P81 STANDOUT FEATURE Great stories and insight into dirt track racing and Honda's racing program from the '70s and '80s READER ANALYSIS I have been a fan of motorcycle racing since I was a kid and followed the sport primarily via Cycle News and the old MotoWorld TV shows. I was in high school during the four-year run that Honda dominated dirt track racing with four champion- ships, so I found it cool to learn a lot more about the back stories behind that era. This is different from a typical book that you read front to back. It is a compilation of 67 interviews with many of the racers, mechanics, team managers, wives, girlfriends and other people connected to this era of motorcycle dirt track racing. The in- terconnected stories and many of the names involved make for compelling reading. Ricky Graham and Bubba Shobert were the riders that won five championships for Honda, but peo- •$225 WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOME STICKER SHOCK. HOWEVER, WITH 560 PAGES, THIS IS REALLY SEVERAL BOOKS WORTH OF CONTENT. •$225 WILL LIKELY CAUSE SOME •GREAT HISTORICAL INSIGHT INTO DIRT TRACK RACING AND AMERICAN HONDA OPERATIONS FROM THE LATE '70S AND '80S. •AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY WITH SEVERAL RESTORED HONDA DIRT TRACK BIKES THAT STILL LOOK COOL TODAY. LOWDOWN List Price: $224.99 Website: www.motionpro.com DIRT TRACK RACING to 1987, which prompted restrictions to try to allow the other brands, primarily Harley-Davidson, to compete. Honda closed down its factory dirt track team at the end of the 1987 season, but sev- eral riders continued to race the Honda RS750 that won those four consecutive championships, and Ricky Graham won the 1993 AMA Grand National Championship on a privateer Honda. It was the late Graham's third title and Honda's last. The interviews, old photos and archive Cycle News content pull together several great stories. to 1987, which prompted restrictions to try to allow the other brands, primarily Harley-Davidson, to compete. Honda closed down its factory dirt track team at the end of the 1987 season, but sev- eral riders continued to race the Honda RS750 that won those four consecutive Championship on a privateer Honda. The interviews, old photos and archive Cycle News content pull together several great stories. ple like Skip Eaken, Rob Muzzy, Doug Chandler, Terry Poovey and countless others you have likely heard of were part of those stories. The book starts with Dennis McKay, responsible for Honda's mo- torcycle racing programs from 1978 to 1981, and the person credited with getting Honda into dirt track racing. He handed out some single-cylinder XR500 off-road motorcycle engines to a few racers, including Mickey Fay, who won the TT race at the Houston Astrodome in 1979 on one of those bikes. By 1981, Honda had a factory team racing NS750s that included Freddie Spencer (who went on to win multiple World Road Racing Champi- onships) and Jeff Haney, one of those first riders to race the single-cylinder Honda-powered bikes a few years before. McKay's stories about the creative budgeting necessary to pull off those early years of Honda's rac- ing program are fascinating. There are enough great stories, photos, and old race coverage within this 7.25-pound book to keep you occupied for countless hours of read- ing, so be warned that you will need time to get through it. But like any good book, you will likely have a hard time stopping. Sean Finley