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/891001
CN III VOICES W H A T Y O U A R E S A Y I N G Leave Indian Alone I read with some amusement that the Harley faithful are claim- ing that Indian has an unfair advantage in AFT by racing a purpose-built motorcycle. Perhaps these same people can explain their silence during the years that H-D ran their XR750 (purpose-built racer) with great results, while others raced modified production machines. Or how about the early years when the OHV Brit bikes were limited to 500cc, while the KR was allowed 750cc because it was a flat head? I for one am so tired of the H-D protectionism that has been going on seemingly forever. Forcing Honda to run restrictor plates on their racers was an embarrassment to the H-D rac- ing department, in my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same thing happen to Indian. Note to H-D: Your new en- gine still needs work. Get with the program. Note to the AMA: Leave Indian alone. Dan Henry Archives: AFT 2017 Jared Mees dominated on the bike he and Kenny Tolbert built for him. Tolbert admits he cop- ied all the strong points of an XR750 and worked last year to iron out the engine. As the year showed, the Indian was Mees' bike, and even Bryan Smith couldn't cope with it, much less Brad Baker. The ratings might be good this year, but just like the years of "Formula XR," people will wonder off if AFT becomes a one-brand contest. Hopefully Harley will unravel the myster- ies in the XG engine and stage a comeback. Team Howerton won't want to become a "Me Too" team for Polaris if others buy Indians and succeed. Ka- wasaki might jump in fully with Howerton and give Polaris fits. Another Bryan Smith vs. Jared Mees season-long battle will make the series legendary. James Edward Zeiser An interesting point that many people didn't recognize is that Mees had an Indian late in the 2016 season at Willow and was steps ahead of the Howerton team that had never worked with a V-Twin (we know Smith and Baker rode V-twins before). Another interesting side note is that Mees, as a promoter of the Lima race, was allowed to hold pre-race testing on the track as long he invited at least one racer; video showed one racer on a single with a non-current number plate. Yes, teams or racers could test on off-weekends but how many privateers could test on a track on the schedule? I know that H-D went to DuQuoin, but we know they didn't race there. The points battle may have been quite different if H-D had allowed use of the XR as a racer decision, not to say that H-D on the combo of bikes would have contested for the number- one plate, but certainly [could have] finished better than they placed. It was obvious in the results of Carver and the pre- crash contest of Halbert and Mees in Carolina; I doubt many privateers are going to try to sell two Kawasakis or Yamahas to buy one Indian, or buy an Indian and hold onto other brands. It all comes down to whether a team racer sees investing the money in an Indian versus the return in racing against a factory bike, or can they out-race the top riders on the same motor? Herman Wallace KTM And Electric Bikes Kids and beginners on electric bikes is brilliant. There is no in- timidating maintenance for new riders and their parents—just charge and go. Further I assume one could make the power highly adjust- able, soft for new riders and increasing as needed. Finally if the owner has a large property their kids can ride there with out noise issues. The only issue with electric seems to be the high initial price tag. Dustin Heikkinen The future is near. I hope they have a plan for the sound. Where will we be without the brap-brap of the two-strokes or the brutish growl of the four-strokes? Al Banta Letters to the editor can be sent to voices@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won't be considered for publication and each letter should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number… Editor P6 "Note to H-D: Your new engine still needs work. Get with the program. Note to the AMA: Leave Indian alone."