Cycle News

fastest in practice for half the races. The thing just rode like a dream_ If you have the time you can set the Uni- Trait up for any track. The only thing was we were down a little bit in hone· power at the beginning of the season. What was the final engine lize? 420. "I think that he (Heikki Mz'kkola) made a wise move to retire because he's proven everythz'ng that had tq be proven. " The European prell was a bit hard on you, said you were rady to pack up and go home. What's the story there? In the beginning we were the big joke on the new bike - until we staned winning motos. Then at Sweden we covered the bike after the frame broke. We didn't want anyone to take pictures of the bike. It's obvious, like the time Roger's bike broke apan at Livennore. The bike was gone and no one saw it. So we covered the bike and put it in our tent. There are no off-limit pits; it'l not like America. Just 18 million idiots wa.Ilting in the pits. You can't even tum around and grab a wrench be- cause there's a guy standing in your tool box. So you have your own roped- off areas}vith som~nepatrolling. came pver, opened the tent and came wa.Ilting in with a camera. He was asked to leave but didn't pay attention. So Steve told him to get out or he would break his camera. So from then on ~e were the bad guys. It was stupid. After that there was really bad press for no reason. So after awhile we really didn't like those guys. There was some very unprofessional journalism. That really upset me. A perfect example: One of the En- glish journalists from a road race weekly put it in his paper that I was fired. The head racing manager from Kawasaki was with us, so I took him to the writer and introduced them: Hello, Mr. Journalist, this is the head racing manager for Kawasaki and he was just reading in the paper that I was fired and I asked him and he said I wasn't fired. And right there, in front of everybody, he still wouldn't apologize. They're pretty hard to deal with. One out of every three finishes. And the world champion, Noyce, won three. Yeah, I won a quaner of the motos, but you have to be consistent. If I hadn't broken down or made tbe mis- takes that I did it could have been dif- .ferent. Did Noyce's riding improve that much Iut year, or'" it just a com- bination of the various injuries and bile problema the competition had? He was riding well and he finished every race until he clinched it. Two yean before you had to win motOi to win the championship when Heikki and Roger were going at it. That was the key. Like '78. I missed two motos and, Heikki missed one. Consistency was the key this year. We've covered the problema with the new bile. What about the strong poina? After the fint race they knew that the bike handled well and worked good. I still felt all season that it handled better than anything. When we got to the rough traW I could ride it really good. I didn't have to learn to ride it - it was easy - and like I said, I was Jim Pomeroy and some M~XFos: and LOP riden went over for the 250 GPa. You and Chuck Sun were in the 5OOa: cJa.. Do you feel the Americana 01'erIelII Ft the conrage they should hack here? Well, I'm gone all the time and I don't have my family saving every magazine, but I never see anybody over there that I know, I don't think they really cover the GPI the way they should. I did an interview with Cycle World before I left last March and t did a physical training test with Dave Hawkins of Cycle last September. That's really it. Ia GP bile setup different than it would be for a race here? You could win a Trans-USA or National over here with a 590 motor, but in Europe you have to have a strong, monster motor because of the tracks and the long starts. And it'l always wet and loamy and the bike has to handle really well. Like Unadilla is the rough- est track in the U.S., and it's nothing compared to lOme of them over there. Some of them are so fast and the starts so long you have to have killer hone- " power and reaD}! good suspension, '" A journalist from an English paper Sounds Iile the Uni-Tral auapenaion worked out fine. The production bike will probably be quite similar to mine. It's really like a regular spring shock, that's what's so neat about it. We had 10 or 12 color- coded Iprings - single and dual rate. The shock changed quite a bit during the year. In the beginning it was an adjustable shock that gave you lix different damping positions. For both compression and rebound? In the beginning it was just rebound. Then we had non-adjustable shocks - one for each of the different damping settings. And then we went back to six- position adjustables. The production bike will probably be like that. What about the travel adjustment? You can adjust them up to like 14~ inches. We never really messed with the height of the bike much, just ran it about 14 with really soft springs and strong damping shock so you're really sacked out. That way you can sit on the bike and it's not too high, but you still have that travel when you hit something. 1980. Who will be tuning for you? What will the new GP bile be like? I'm leaving for Japan soon, and I'll find out about the new bike when I get there. I'll have Stig Pettenson as my tuner. He's Ole Pettenson's brother. Ole did a lot of development for Suzuki and later Kawasaki on the fint two- strokes while racing GPs. Stig used to race. He was the mechanic for Ham- margren when he rode for Kawasaki. He speaks English, he'l a likeable guy and pretty sman too. I originally wanted him to be team manager, but I think he's going to do the whole thing. Steve did a really fine job. I think he played more of a pan in developing the bike than I actually did. I rode it and tested it, but he had a lot more ideas. I think he did a great job for me, and, I thought, for Kawasaki. Were you surprised that Heilki retired? Well, I asked him near the end of the season and he said he wasn't. Then when I heard it I was a little surprised. He staned out the year getting hun bad. He fell off a lot by himself during the year. And then when I came back home he crashed really heavily practic- ing for Motocross des Nations. I think he made a wise move to retire because he's proven everything that had to he proven. Being that old and experienced, he shouldn't have been falling off by himself like that. That has to mean something. So the sman move is to stop while you're ahead. Were you surprised about Iloger switching to Honda and deciding to race this year? Yes, I wal, quite a bit. Roger's had a lot of great offen in the past, and he never moved when the time was really right. Sticking with Suzuki all that time and going through all the problema and all the good things and passing all the good deals. It wasn't the switching, but the fact he did it now. I wasn't ready for that. I can see Honda want- ing Roger for his name and personality and what he can do for Honda and what's he's done with motocross. Just like my deal, he knows a lot more than we do ~ow and I'm sure he's making the right move. I think the main reason was Honda needed a bike that handled as good as the rest of the bikes. There were some problems, especially over here in the States, and they have hired him to son it out. And if he has to race to son it out, then that's what's really happening. You and Jim Weinert have raced the entire decade of AMA pro racing. looking hack, what were the aurpriaea and diaappointmena? The biggest surprise was going to the first Trans-Am in Ohio. I was going to the Inter-Am and somehow my entries got 100t aud I was stuck back East with no money. I went to Ohio because I heard there was a race there, too. And I got to ride and win some races and make some money. I continued on to do the circuit, and I stuck to the AMAracing. The Europeans dominated at the beginning and then it got to the point they weren't that hot. Then they didn't want to come over and get beat. May- be only the ~op couple of guys could come over and win now. . didn't win the World Championship in the 19705. I staned a long time ago and I wanted to do that. I never put a date on it. Every year I felt I was get- ting closer. But as the Europeans will tell you, it takes a long time even if you don't think so. And I think the moat amazing thing is that Weinert is still riding. (laughs) You want to be the only one left, right? No, just knowing Jimmy as long as I have and all the things we've done and gone through and he'l still around doing a good job. All these young kids don't realize what 10 yean of racing does to you. It takes a toll. How? You know how you used to walk along a fence and just jump over it or a shop- ping can or a parking meter. You don't do that after 10 years. You just kind ofgo do-da-do-do-do. And ramble on by. It'l like hanging around with the young_ er guys. I go: Damn, I remember when I used to do that stuff. You have a IIIOtoC:J'ma book out now. Sure do, it's available from Kawasaki or Moto-X Fox. Were you surprised by the raponae to your book in England, the fact that aaIa over there alrady equal such a 1arge percentage of (Qlllpetition licenses in the country? Well, maybe it's from the press I get there because of the races I win. They have a major race in April called the Hants Grand International I won that three years in a row and I won the British GP in '77 and '78 and finished second last year. So I've had a pretty good racing career in England. ''/ was doz"ng kz"nd Ofa Hannah, runnz'ng alongsz'de the bz'ke, hanging offthe back. And the throttle's on so the bz'ke's dozng a hundred and drag- gz'ng me." And perhaps being a teamm1te of Noyce's for a year helped. Yeah, I was getting the preas because we were teammates. My name was out there long enough that when some- thing came alonJ - a book, esFally - it was something they could Identify with and that they felt would help them because they've seen me winning races. In the States I don't have that recognition. The country is 10 much bigger. I think it's just a matter of win- ning more races in England. You've been hooked up withM~X Fox for a number of yean now. I have a good working relationship with Bob and Geoff. I think I've helped them with quite a few things and I think they've shown me that they really appreciate it. I'm really happy to have such a good working relationship with somebody who has as good equipment as they do. I'm not as close to any of the other companies as I am to them. Bob Fox is a perfectionist. That'l why 00 0') o I think the disappointment is that I ~ 21

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