Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

JULY 19, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 6 V o l u m e X L I I I Sharon Clayton – President Robert NorVelle – Publisher EDITORIAL Paul Carruthers – Editor Kit Palmer – Off-Road Editor Steve Atlas, Jean Turner – Associate Editors Henny Ray Abrams – Contributing Editor Shan Moore – Contributing Editor Alan Cathcart – European Editor David R. Holther – Regional Events Editor Michelle Baird – Copy Editor ADVERTISING • WESTERN STATES (714) 751-7433 Terry Pratt – National Accounts Manager Ryan Merrill – Western Sales Manager Tom Lepper, Sam Jones – Advertising Sales Represenatives Rhonda Crawford – National Advertising Coordinator Ashleigh Klein – Assistant ADVERTISING • EASTERN STATES (770) 279-0304 Sheri Russell, Suzzie Smith – Eastern Sales Managers Carla Allen – Office Manager & Advertising Coordinator MARKETING • PROMOTION Ryan Merrill – Manager C L A S S I F I E D A D S Ashleigh Klein G R A P H I C S • P R O D U C T I O N Kathleen Lawlor – Production Manager Sunju Kwon, Robert Martin, Christina Pendón – Graphic Artists ADMINISTRATION Pam Klein – Administrative Assistant ACCOUNTING • DATA PROCESSING Donna Bryan-Diamond – A/R Coordinator Geneva Repass – Assistant Stacy Ryan – Credit Manager CIRCULATION Carol Maggio-King – Processing Coordinator Sandra Rodriguez – Dealer Coordinator SERVICE • SUPPORT Robert Escandon – Service and Support NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751-7433 • FAX (714) 751-6685 E A S T E R N O F F I C E 2775 Cruse Road, Suite 2603 Lawrenceville, GA 30044 (770) 279-0304 • FAX (770) 279-0360 E - M A I L • I N T E R N E T www.cyclenews.com editor@cyclenews.com subscribe@cyclenews.com advertising@cyclenews.com Cycle News (USPS 141-340) is published weekly except the last two weeks of the calendar year for $58.00 per year by Cycle News, Inc., 3505-M Cadillac Avenue, Costa Mesa, 92626. Period- icals Postage Paid at Costa Mesa, CA and at additional mailing office. Canada Post International Publications Mail #546615. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cycle News, P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084. To determine the expiration date of your subscription, check the four numbers on the first line of your address label. The first two digits indicate the last issue number you'll receive and the last two characters indicate the year of the last issue. Subscription rates: Rates for the United States and its posses- sions for one year (50 issues), $58.00; two years (100 issues), $111.00; six months (25 issues), $29.00; trial sub (15 issues), $21.00. Canada and Foreign, one year (50 issues), $105.00; two years (100 issues), $195.00; six months (25 issues), $55.00; trial sub (15 issues), $42.00. Cycle News welcomes unsolicited editorial material including stories, cartoons, photos, etc. Such material, if published, becomes the exclusive property of Cycle News. Reprinting in whole or part only by permission of the publisher. Advertising rates and circula- tion information will be sent upon request. See S.R.D.S. BPA Worldwide Membership Applied for June 2006 Printed in U.S.A. Copyright © Cycle News, Inc. 2006. Trademark Cycle News registered U.S. Patent Office. All rights reserved. Honda Helping Rossi? Now at the MotoGP season midpoint, it appears that things are falling into place and the HRC machine is in high gear ready to help Valentino Rossi retain his title. The pretender to the throne is stumbling and the new HRC young guns will only make it increasingly more difficult for him. Four years on the factory bike with only two unimpressive wins to his credit. I was there for the first one last year. If Nicky Hayden hadn't won that race, HRC would have had every right to fire him on the spot. His second win was an uninten- tional gift from Rossi. While it may seem that I'm overly harsh regarding Hayden's performance, I'm not. Wait until Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner get a few more races under their belt and see what hap- pens. They, along with Marco Melandri, will take more points from Hayden (like this past weekend) and Rossi will rise to the top - as Honda beats themselves yet again. Strength in numbers just doesn't work against Rossi. He thrives on this challenge that HRC has unwittingly created. Igor A Pelse via the Internet All Hail Rossi After crashing two races ago and having his wrist wrapped, Valentino Rossi gets second at Donington Park. The other guys must be shaking their heads. Rossi is truly unbelievable. I wish Mick Doohan would have switched bike brands, because I think he would have still beaten everybody. Doohan just went out and rode, like Rossi – truly class acts. Jim Clausen via the Internet World Speedway Rules! I've been a longtime speedway fan going back to watching Mike and Steve Bast, Alan Christen, Paul Orlandi, etc., in Northern California. I really appreciate your coverage of the World Speedway Grand Prix Series. The coverage in the July 5 issue (Issue 26), particularly the pictures, was outstanding! The pictures really convey the excitement and intensity of speedway. Keep up the great coverage! Chuck McAvoy via the Internet Handguards I agree with George Marshall 100 percent in regard to incorporating handguards on road-race bikes. I can think of dozens of racers, including Mick Doohan, Alberto Puig, Christian Sarron, Randy Renfrow – to name just a few – who permanently chewed up their hands while crashing - in particular while "lowsiding." Most of these injuries were caused by their hands being trapped between the tank and asphalt, and getting ground off. Heavy- duty handguards would prevent almost all of these types of injuries. Plus, the aerody- namic benefits would be enormous - not to mention an improvement in aesthetics. It is a long overdue innovation. Please tell me one good reason why "not" to have them? I cannot think of one. Howard Halterman Big Bear, CA Why No Aprilia? AMA. Does it stand for the American Meddling Association? I recently read that Aprilia's outstanding new SXV 450 V-twin couldn't compete in the AMA Supermoto Series as a 450, but needed to pack around 30 extra pounds and race against the 550s. That sounds like the same stuff that in my mind killed dirt track years ago by making it an all-Harley show. Attempts at resuscitation have been futile! Innovation by design is the crux of what makes racing and motorcycling the great sport it is. It's also what keeps gear heads like me buying this and other motorcycle- related publications. We can't wait to see what the manufacturers and tuners are cre- ating next. Throwing a sack of flour on a new design before it even sets a wheel on a track is such a load. I hope Bill Werner brings new thinking to this band of misfits before they become the real laughing stock they've been attempting to become. Manufacturers sell and showcase their products via racing. Aprilia deserves to have the spotlight if they engineer a superior design. They also deserve a better shot at the U.S. market. That said, Supermoto in the United States needs all the help it can get, too. If something isn't done to get the TV rights away from OLN, and promote it with more vigor, it, too, will go the way of other great, but poorly marketed, products we see come and go. Paul McKendry Bend, OR Still Bent With Syracuse Ah, yes, AMA Pro Racing strikes again. Not content with the Daytona mess, now flat- track racing suffers. In all of the AMA's wis- dom, having the Syracuse Mile on the same weekend as Bike Week in Laconia, they have effectually lowered the already mea- ger crowd at this spectacular race - thereby jeopardizing its existence. And if that isn't enough, the AMA botched its organization (using that word in the same sentence with the AMA is so wrong) by the stupid 3 p.m. gate opening, practice, heats, and the three-plus-hour wait for the final. Hey, I've got a wild idea - run the final after the heats. Or check the lighting at some point before the day of the race. Or don't water the track before the final (there didn't seem to be any dust) - or run the final on Sunday as advertised. Please get someone to take over flat- track racing before it's just something you tell your grandkids about. As race fans know, it's the most competitive racing in motor- sports and it would be a waste to lose it. Bob Paans Pine Key, FL And Lima Too Come on, AMA. I just returned from the Lima Half Mile - great job riders, track preparation people, but AMA - get your act together. It seems that the AMA can't get the fact that racing is entertainment for many of the people at the track. This is especially true if the AMA wants to pull in new crowds. Case in point: For the second week in a row, I have to ask, does- n't anyone come in advance and check the facil- ity? Why didn't someone check out the public- address system? Instead, for three to four hours, we get some guys screaming at the crowd over the PA. You couldn't understand what they were saying and it was so loud it was giving many a headache. Nice way to keep those new fans coming back. Sorry, guys, you need to get some differ- ent announcers. You don't need two guys talking over themselves at the same time, and how about a little common sense, or tact? You don't need to be running your mouth on the PA when there are five riders down on the track and they are waving the ambulance flag. The fans know it's not a good thing. A little bit would have done just fine, and what about "ha, ha, ha, ha" every 10 minutes. Man, that gets old. Something needs to be done with the schedule. As a former racer, I know it is very difficult to see through the sun in turns three and four, but you can't stop the race for 30 minutes just for that. Time out the heats so they should all be done - then let the sun go down. And caution flags: Tell me of any other racing series that gives the racers an extra 10 minutes to fix stuff, after the wreck or whatever has been cleaned up? You're killing the show. Finally, why is it that the mechanics, family members, etc., can't stand on the inside of the track for fear of blocking the fans' view, yet the AMA parks trailers, water trucks, etc., there so you can't see turn two. What's up with that? Every time I see stuff like that, the AMA reminds me of Don King - always praising the competitors, yet nothing gets better, but his (their) wallets. In my opinion, you have some of the greatest racing on earth, but you're letting it slip away. Ron Schroeder Celina, OH "Please get someone to take over flat-track racing before it's just some- thing you tell your grandkids about."

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