Cycle News

CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE W hat is the future of single-cyl- inder motorcycles in AMA Pro Flat Track racing? That is a question currently being pondered by AMA Pro Racing officials, riders, spon- sors and OEMs. There has been a fairly strong undercurrent, among fans and promoters, to bring the big bikes—the Twins (Harley XR750, Kawasaki EX650, Triumph Bonnev- illes, Ducati Scramblers, etc.) back to the Grand National TTs and perhaps even the short tracks. That's the way it used to be back in the 1970s. Fans at the Houston Astrodome packed the house to watch riders hustle their big twin-cylinder bikes around the tight little TT circuit. And there was nothing like watching Kenny Roberts or Hank Scott jumping their Yamaha or Triumph 650cc vertical-twins over the jump at the Peoria TT. The 1983 Peoria TT was the end of an era in the grand old TT event. That was the year Jay Springsteen won Peoria on a Harley-Davidson XR750. Randy Goss was second on another XR and Bubba Shobert took third racing a Can-Am 500cc single-cylinder. There was a good mix that year with about half the field on singles, the other half on Twins. The next year Ricky Graham won Peoria on a Honda XR600-based machine ahead of his Honda-factory teammate Bubba Shobert. Scott Parker managed to put a Harley XR750 on the box with third, but 15 of the 17 starters that day were on singles. The tide had turned. Soon Rotax-powered framers dominated. A few years later the AMA implemented a 600cc rule for TTs and short tracks and then in the mid-2000s came the DTX machines, basically 450 motocross bikes, with modified wheels and suspension. Look at what has happened to AMA Grand National Short Track and TT races in the interim. They've basically failed in every instance. Only Daytona and Peoria could be considered semi- successful, but it's only because those are long- established events and Peoria is a shadow of its former greatness in terms of spectator turnout. Look at the old shots of Peoria and you'll see the hillsides filled to the brim with fans. It's not that way any longer and the fans I've talked to say their friends don't come any more because that don't care to watch motocross bikes. One has to consider the psyche of flat track fans, especially older ones. For the most part they view motocross and Supercross as the ene- my. When they were kids flat track was king and motocross racing was little more than a niche club sport. In the 1960s and '70s hundreds of riders would show up to flat track races across the country hoping to get one of the 18-starting spots. In those days it was a major accomplish- ment just to make the starting grid of a national. Then came the rise of motocross. Dads could walk into a dealer and come out with a competi- THE FUTURE (OR LACK THEREOF) OF GRAND NATIONAL P116 Will fans get to see the big Grand National Twin bikes on tracks like Peoria, like this shot of Kenny Roberts on a Yamaha Twin?

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