[at the center of the year’s biggest story]
THE SPYDER RS. RIDING REINVENTED.
It’s not about where you take the Can-Am™ Spyder ® RS roadster. It’s about where it takes you. Equipped with a powerful Rotax® 990 V-Twin engine. Dynamic Power Steering. And a Vehicle Stability System for comfort and control. The RS turns everyday trips into full-blown adventures. Learn more at spyder.brp.com
Shannon Price
BikeWeekinDaytonaBeach,FLisknownfarandwideas oneofthegreatestfestivalsinAmericathat'senjoyedby bikersworld-wide.It'sapassageandapassionmanylook forwardtoyearafteryear.
With10daysoffunactivitiesandthousandsofthingstosee anddo,itseasytofindyourselfinbikersparadiseatBike Week.Wakeuptothebright,crispDaytonaBeachareasunshinewhileyoutakeinsomeofthemostspectacularbikes aroundandmeetthebestpeoplefromallwalksoflife.
Themanufacturesandvendorsyouknowandlovewillbe heretooalongwithafewnewsurprisesandgreatnew eventlocationstodiscoveralongtheway.
Needhelpplanningyourstay?Noproblem.Letourprofessionaltravelstaffworkwithyoutofindyourperfect lodgingrighthereintheDaytonaBeacharea.We'veeven goton-linesearchesandspecialeventpricingtomakeit eveneasiertofullyenjoyyourspringBikeWeekget-away.
Findoutmoreaboutthisincredibleeventandallthereistoseeanddoat www.GetNews.BikerBeach.com Yourresourceforeventinformationandeverythingyou’llneedtoplanyour perfectBikeWeekget-awaydirectfromourDaytonaBeachareaprofessionals.
1)
Congratulations! You’re the winner this month! Andy Tawata snapped this shot of his wife, Kalelei, as the couple rode near Waimea Canyon on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
just doing what
Get A Pair Of Dunlop Tires. Got an image that represents what’s cool about motorcyling? Send your high-resolution photos, name and mailing address to submissions@ama-cycle. org. We’ll pick one standout photo next month and send the photographer a certificate for Dunlop tires. Editors decisions are final. No purchase necessary.
Editorial officES
American Motorcyclist 13515 Yarmouth Drive Pickerington, OH 43147 (614) 856-1900 submissions@ama-cycle.org
Grant Parsons, Managing Editor
James Holter, Associate Editor
Bill Kresnak, Government Affairs Editor
Mitch Boehm, Contributing Editor
Mark Lapid, Creative Director
Nora McDonald, Production Coordinator
Jen Muecke, Designer
advErtiSing
Ray Monroe, Advertising Manager (815) 885-4445, rmonroe@ama-cycle.org
Misty Walker, Advertising Assistant (614) 856-1900, ext. 1267, mwalker@ama-cycle.org
All trademarks used herein (unless otherwise noted) are owned by the AMA and may only be used with the express, written permission of the AMA.
American Motorcyclist is the monthly publication of the American Motorcyclist Association, which represents motorcyclists nationwide. For information on AMA membership benefits, call (800) AMA-JOIN or visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com. Manuscripts, photos, drawings and other editorial contributions must be accompanied by return postage. No responsibility is assumed for loss or damage to unsolicited material. Copyright© American Motorcyclist Association, 2009.
Monty SoUngPraditH, Photographer Monty is one of our go-to photographers locally, and his easy-going nature and get-it-in-one-click style is reflected in this month’s Heritage spread on page 34. Look for more of his work in that space going forward.
tHE SUSqUEHanna PHotograPHic, Photographers Allison and Philip run this small photography group out of central Pennsylvania. When not photo-blogging about small towns and businesses, they love to travel around and meet new people, like Dennis Haggerty this month. You can see more of their work at SusquehannaPhoto.com.
JEnni HaHn, Photographer Jenni took some great photos of Bill Hearne for this issue in the foothills of South Dakota. And the weather was actually perfect! More of her work can be found at JenniHahnPhotography.com.
davEy cooMBS, guest columnist The publisher of Racer X and Roadracer X magazines, and a member of the family that runs the Air Nautiques AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships as well as MX Sports Pro Racing, Davey took time out to pen this month’s guest column. And yes, the bike he’s on in his picture is an exact replica of his first bike.
nora Mcdonald, Production coordinator The resto on the CB360 has begun, starting with a clean set of carbs—just in time for the usual slushy Columbus winter. What’s wrong with this picture?
aMa Board of dirEctorS
Contact any member of the AMA Board of Directors at www.AmericanMotorcyclist. com/whatis/trustees.asp
Stan Simpson, Chairman Cibolo, Texas
Jim Williams, Vice-Chairman Irvine, Calif.
Jon-Erik Burleson, Assistant Treasurer Murrietta, Calif.
Bill Werner, Assistant Secretary Brookfield, Wis.
John Ulrich, Executive Committee Member Lake Elsinore, Calif.
Erik Buell, East Troy, Wis.
andy goldfine, Duluth, Minn.
charles goman, Winder, Ga.
Perry King, Northern California
Michael lock, Cupertino, Calif.
Maggie Mcnally, Albany, N.Y.
arthur More, Surprise, Ariz.
(800) AMA-JOIN AmericanMotorcyclist.com
Kevin Schwantz MotoGP-replica leathers from back in the day, but he keeps them in an unobtainium Corin bag from Japan.
grant ParSonS, Managing Editor Grant is wrestling with the eternal question for the bikes in his garage: To winterize, or not? The safe money is on “not,” for two reasons: 1) He’s hoping for the occasional riding days through the winter; and 2) He’s lazy. Tune in in March when he’s cleaning every carb and throttle body he owns.
MarK laPid, creative director The key to learning to ride off-road? Covering every inch of the bike you’re riding with mud, of course. And as Mark discovered, the best way is to submerge said bike in a giant puddle to a point that is (thankfully) just below the intake snorkle.
JEn MUEcKE, designer Ah, democracy. It’s been 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Jen celebrated by going for a ride on a bike that was made in former East Germany.
JaMES HoltEr, associate Editor After riding the Suzuki owned by Hollywood Joe’s partner in crime, Tom Desideri, James suddenly finds himself answering everyone’s question of “What bike should I buy next” with a shout of “Hayabusa!” other contributors include: Steve Beckner, Mark Kariya
flat out pushes land speed limits.
makes sure a flat won’t slow her down.
24/7 ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. After traveling at a record speed of 232 mph, if there’s one thing Leslie Porterfield dreads it’s being stranded with a flat. So for less than a buck a month, help from Progressive Roadside Assistance is never too far away. Protect yourself today at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE or call an independent agent.
I f there was one event that brought motorcyclists together in 2009, it was the federal government’s move that stopped the sale of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs.
When a law aimed at eliminating lead in children’s playthings suddenly made it illegal to sell kids’ motorcycles and ATVs because of lead in parts like batteries and valve stems, motorcyclists everywhere reacted.
Using online tools provided by the AMA, parents wrote more than 70,000 letters and e-mails to Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which was charged with enforcing the law, called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008.
The AMA worked with—and met with—members of the CPSC to convince them of the harm the law would do to motorcyclists’ way of life. This magazine and others campaigned for change. Industry groups like the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) rallied supporters. Race promoters circulated petitions among their competitors.
Dealers were moved to action, with one of them—Malcolm Smith
Motorsports in California—staging a much-publicized flouting of the law with seven-time champion and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Jeff Ward and others openly buying bikes in defiance of the CPSIA.
Motorcyclists even rallied in Washington, D.C., voicing opposition.
One young rider, 6-year-old AMA member Chase Yentzer, who took the podium with AMA Vice President for Government Relations Ed Moreland at a rally in the U.S. Capitol Building in April, spoke for tens of thousands of kids when he said, “I ride dirtbikes with my family. I race dirtbikes. Please give me my dirtbike back. I promise not to eat it.”
The effect of all that pressure?
The CPSC issued a two-year stay of enforcement that resulted in some level of sanity being restored to the sale of kids’ bikes and ATVs while efforts continue to permanently exempt these products from the CPSIA.
As the dust continues to settle on the biggest issue impacting motorcycling in 2009, the real victors were our youngest riders—the riders who the AMA has named the 2009 AMA Motorcyclists of the Year: Kids.
“I
ride dirtbikes with my family. I race dirtbikes. Please give me my dirtbike back. I promise not to eat it.”
Chase yentzer, 6-year-old MX racer, addressing a crowd of onlookers at a protest rally in the U.S. Capitol building.
To See Why Motorcycling Is So Important To Kids And Families, Look No Further Than Your Local Riding Area. By James Holter
It’sa sunny Saturday at the Fox Valley OffRoad riding park in northern Illinois, and kids and families are everywhere.
They’re laughing together in the pits, cheering each other at the racetrack, practicing their skills on the trails, and making new friends all around.
The common elements? Smiles. Hugs. Encouragement. Bonding. And the best kind of family time you’ll find anywhere.
The event is an end-of-year awards gathering and riding day at the Wedronbased track, a fixture of AMA District 17 (Central, Western Illinois). But in most ways that matter, it’s also a typical Saturday at the Fox Valley Off-Road riding park, where this kind of fun, growth and excitement happens nearly every weekend as families make a point to spend time with each other doing something they love.
It’s also the kind of experience that will evaporate if the federal government’s ban on the sale of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs is not lifted for good.
No one knows better how devastating that would be to families who treasure motorcycling than the families themselves.
On a recent weekend day, many of them
shared some of their personal insight into motorcycles, family time and the CPSIA “lead law.” They also told us very clearly why it’s so important that the AMA’s 2009 Motorcyclists of the Year—kids—be allowed to continue to enjoy something as simple as a relaxing weekend doing what they love.
Ask a parent, and they’ll tell you that motorcycle racing and riding is not just about competitive success.
Families with kids who ride say that motorcycling builds relationships, teaches kids responsibility, encourages healthy activity and allows them to spend time together that they wouldn’t normally have.
That’s clearly the case for the family of Bryce, 11, and Eli Otterbach, 9, of Mendotta, Ill., who are enjoying the day with their Dad, Kenny. Most weekends, Kenny says, the family, including mom, Kathy, can be found at a hare scrambles race somewhere in District 17. Motorcycle racing is just a part of their lives.
“It’s a nice family sport for us,” Kenny says, “We work through the week for Sundays, the day we go out and ride. It’s
just a great day for us.”
Other families here share that sentiment. Nick Christman and wife Holly, also from Mendota, have five kids. Two of them, Kelly, 14, and Nicholas, 12, have joined them today. It’s a time that is precious to the family, Nick says.
“Just a couple years from now, Kelly will go off to college,” he says. “Here and now is your time to spend it with your kids because once that time is gone, you can’t get it back.”
Holly adds that riding “is part of our life now.”
Jeff Oldenburg, from Ottawa, Ill., has two granddaughters who ride, Autumn, 9, and Jaden Torres, 6. Oldenburg says he got his granddaughters involved in riding so he could teach them about a sport he loved growing up. The girls have taken to the sport well—particularly Autumn, who flies around the Fox Valley kids’ track. Oldenburg says they’re hooked.
“If I was ever to go riding alone now— which I could never do—somebody would be heartbroken,” he says. “And these two just got a new little sister four weeks ago, and it will only be a matter of time before
she’s riding, too.”
Although many families’ roots in the sport go back generations, some have just discovered it. Rob Kelly, who also calls Mendota home, has two sons who race, Logan, 14, and Luke, 13. Last year, Kelly bought a couple used bikes, and the two kids started playriding. This year, Logan and Luke started racing hare scrambles. In just their first year of competition, they’ve raced in 19 events.
“When I get them out of bed, they always have smiles on their faces on Sunday,” Kelly says. “Once we pull into a race, they get signed up, go put on their gear. They’re excited about it. It’s great for them.
“This was a great summer of Sundays,” Kelly says.
Although quality time is a nearly universal benefit of riding together, families say there are a number of other reasons to ride.
“It’s an individual sport,” Kelly says. “On the track, it’s just the kids and their bikes,
and I think that it gives them a sense of freedom when they ride.”
Otterbach says his kids have learned how to build relationships.
“They’ve made a lot of new friends because we’re traveling all over,” he says. “They get to know kids from other towns because they’re with them every weekend. So, they make a lot of new friends, and I believe they get a lot out of it.
“They also learn to respect other kids,” he says. “The camaraderie they share with the other kids—that’s what I enjoy, because they make all new friends and they just get along so well together.”
Kelly says that he’s seen racing bring his sons closer together.
“They get off the bikes, and I have one who always finishes ahead of the other one, so he’s waiting to see where his brother is,” Kelly says. “Then they’ll talk non-stop for 25 minutes about how they got over a log or something. Then, all week, they talk about the race, at least until the next one starts.”
The sportsmanship lessons don’t end with the kids. Although the families say that racing, like all sports, is competitive, everybody knows how challenging off-road racing is, and a helping hand is nearby during the races.
“At an off-road kids’ race, all the parents are usually around the whole track, and that’s what’s nice about it,” Otterbach says. “Everybody gets along really well. So if, say, my son gets stuck in a mud hole, there’s usually another parent there who will help him out. Everybody helps each other out.”
Christman says fun is the bottom line.
“You’re not going to get rich, and you’re not going to get famous doing this,” Christman says. “It’s all about having fun,
whether that means you beat someone you’ve never beaten before, just enjoyed yourself or just finished the race—that was my goal.”
Kelly adds: “It also teaches you a lot of responsibility, and not just at the track. It’s become a bargaining chip. I can get them to do a little more around the house. If they want to go race on Sunday, they wash their bikes, clean them up and change the oil in them. They’re learning a valuable skill, to take care of things.”
Brian Doughty, from Utica, Ill., has four kids. He’s brought two, Donovan, 11, and Shea, 7, to Fox Valley today. He says that riding with his kids keeps them out of trouble and provides “a little stress release.”
In addition to what they get out of it now, Doughty says riding also prepares his kids for any motorcycling ambitions they may have later in life.
“As they get older, if they decide to get on a motorcycle when they’re adults, they’ll be more experienced if they’ve ridden and raced as kids,” Doughty says.
Looking around at all the families having fun together, it’s chilling to think that all of this could have begun vanishing when the CPSIA went into effect in early 2009.
Aimed at eliminating lead from children’s toys, it also unreasonably ensnared motorcycles and ATVs because of lead in motorcycle parts. And for a while, bikes, ATVs and even replacement parts were pulled from dealer showrooms.
Ultimately, the voices of tens of thousands of parents and concerned motorcyclists prevailed. The enforcement of the law was delayed for two years, allowing
time to permanently revise the CPSIA.
But the threat is still out there. And the families at Fox Valley are hopeful that the lead issue will be fully resolved.
All those interviewed for this story were baffled when motorcycles and ATVs were suddenly targeted. They figure it must have been a mistake—an unintended consequence of good intentions.
“I don’t think they planned on it,” Oldenburg says. “I think it was a good law for toys, for babies that chew on toys, but I don’t think they knew what was coming, what it was going to do to the motorcycling community.”
Otterbach saw very real consequences from the law, when bikes and ATVs were actually pulled off showroom floors as the issue was sorted out.
“We already had our bikes for this year before the law, but there were other families that were looking for bikes, and they weren’t able to get them,” he says. “I don’t believe lead in motorcycles is a problem at all. I don’t really understand why there would be an issue with lead in a motorcycle.”
Others faced real difficulties in maintaining their bikes due to the law.
Terry Virgil is at Fox Valley with his grandson, Jay Pelka. Jay is 8 years old. Both Virgil and Pelka, who rides a Yamaha
TTR-50, had to deal with the law this spring.
“It was a nightmare,” Virgil says. “You couldn’t buy parts. The only place I could get parts for that Yamaha was in Canada. Now I can buy parts, but earlier in the year when there was more of an issue I had to go through Canada to get OEM Yamaha parts.
“I was real unhappy. I had a brand new 2008 Yamaha, and he couldn’t use it. It shut down our family time.”
Although the stay on enforcement has alleviated the problems some families faced earlier in the year, they are aware that their pastime is at risk if there isn’t a more permanent fix.
Otterbach says that his kids’ lives would be very different without motorcycles.
“The kids would probably sit home and watch TV,” he says. “They’d just be cooped up in the house. Racing gets them out, and it’s a good activity for them—for all of us, really.”
Virgil’s grandson, Pelka, says videogames would take over his free time.
“I’d play on my Nintendo DS,” he says. Grandpa says he’d ultimately get Jay back on a motorcycle, though.
“I’d go out of the country and buy a bike if I had to,” Virgil says.
If the lead law isn’t repealed and the stay expires, Oldenburg says families would be
able to keep riding for a while.
“There would be a lot of old bikes being rebuilt,” Oldenburg says. “Still, a lot of kids will miss out, and a lot of companies would miss out on a lot of money. They’ve already lost a few dollars.”
Eventually, though, Oldenburg says kids would have to stop riding.
“We’re not going to be able to rebuild those old motorcycles forever,” he says.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of bicycle riding, I guess, but I just can’t imagine no motorcycles in our family now.”
Oldenburg’s granddaughter, Autumn, can, and she doesn’t like what she sees.
“I would play something new,” she says. “And I would try to forget about dirtbikes.”•
Terry Virgil and his grandson, Jay Pelka.
So this holiday season, choose an AMA Membership for everyone on your shopping list.
