American Motorcyclist 03 2010_2

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Medals Motorcycles y

[ three Olympians with a passion for bikes ]

THE JOURNAL OF THE

it’s created a storm. even before hitting the streets.

It’s true. The BMW S 1000 RR kicks out 28 more hp than the Yamaha R1*. Maybe that’s the reason the buzz has been building. Or is it 193 hp, combined with amazingly light weight of just 404 lbs? Or the fact that all this staggering power is also supremely controllable, thanks to a 4-stage variable engine management system with Race ABS and Dynamic Traction Control?

The answer is all of the above. The S 1000 RR. To rule the streets tomorrow, test ride one today at your local dealer. www.BMWPlanetPower.com.

s 1000 rr UnstoPPabLe sPort. *BMW S 1000 RR Dyno test by MCN UK 12/09/09. Base MSRP is $13,800. Race ABS and DTC are $1,480 additional. Gear Shift Assist is $450. MSRP does not include tax, license and registration and excludes $495 freight. Aftermarket exhaust is shown. Actual price is determined by dealer. ©2010 BMW Motorrad USA, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name and logo are registered trademarks. Always ride safely and wear proper protective gear.

bmW motorrad Usa

the neW s 1000 rr

Motorcycles since 1923

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Navigation

VIEWPOINTS

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Snapshots Your Images, Your World Letters You Write, We Read Rob Dingman Sitting On The Sidelines Is Not An Option Charles Sasser Lone Riding

Cover Olympic hopeful Shannon Bahrke photographed by Tom Bear Navigation Photo Mosquito Pass in Colorado with Leadville, Colo., in the background and Jim Noteboom on the XC BMW. Photo by Gary Schmidt.

THE LIFE

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Protecting The Ride Western Off-Road Riding In The Crosshairs

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Living It Kawasaki Z1000 And Your Views On Motorcycles

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Connections The Call Of The Track

FEATURES

March 2010 Volume 64, Number 3 Published by the American Motorcyclist Association 13515 Yarmouth Dr. Pickerington, OH 43147 (800) AMA-JOIN AmericanMotorcyclist.com

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Medals & Motorcycles Olympic Athletes Use Motorcycles For Fun And Cross-Training En Route To This Month’s Winter Games

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Adrenaline AMA SX: Dungey Rising

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Go Ride What To Do, Where To Go

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The Journey, Not The Destination On A Ride From Dallas To The Pacific, One Rider Finds More Than Just The Country

Heritage Yamaha YZR500: A Two-Stroke Grand-Prix Weapon

American Motorcyclist magazine (ISSN 0277-9358) is published monthly by the American Motorcyclist Association, 13515 Yarmouth Dr., Pickerington, OH 43147. Copyright by the American Motorcyclist Association/American Motorcyclist 2010. Printed in USA. Subscription rate: Magazine subscription fee of $10 covered in membership dues; $15 a year for non-members.

Postmaster: Mail form 3579 to 13515 Yarmouth Dr., Pickerington, OH 43147. Periodical postage paid at Pickerington, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices.

1) Lee De Leonard of Waterville, Maine. 2) Garrison, Minn., race by Sue LeClair of Braham, Minn. 3) David Krise of Lander, Wyo. 4) Kodi Hoffman of Pittsgrove, N.J., posing. 5) Steve Jovais and Gloria Meehan in Cottonwood Pass, Colo. 6) Sloan Essman of Houston. 7) Tim Hilslamer riding near Superior, Ariz.—Terry Zechman of Glendale, Ariz. 8) AMA and Durty Dabber members from Mill Hall, Pa., visiting the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum: Lynn, Lana, Steve, Colleen, and Tommy.—Tommy Wise of Mill Hall, Pa. 9) “My nephew, Jeremy Christen, at St. Joe State ORV Park in Park Hills, Mo. I’ve been riding 40 years and the grin on this kid’s face reminded me of what off-road riding is about. No cool gear or fully prepped bike needed for fun!”—Jeff Henderson of Collinsville, Ill. 10) Robert Nichols and his son, Aiden, of Berlin, Md. 11) “A track day at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt track. That’s me on the Aprilia Futura!”—Jeffrey Meyers of Niskayuna, N.Y. 12) Taken in Death Valley during a big storm.—Ken Blasor of Chandler, Ariz. 13) Submitted by Steven Hauptman of Southfield, Mich. 14) Bob Fiesser of Highlands Ranch, Colo., “with one of the locals” in Krumholz, Czech Republic.

Snapshots

Congratulations, Gary! You’re the winner this month! Gary Grant captured the moment when his daughter, Christy, waved to an unknown rider on the Bear Tooth Highway, between Yellowstone National Park and Red Lodge, Mont.

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Got an image that represents what’s cool about motorcycling? 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 prize pack of AMA gear. Editors decisions are final. No purchase necessary.

There’s more where these came from! We get way more cool photos than we can publish here, and now you’ll find them all online, searchable and divided by category. Just visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com and click on the “Gallery” link on the left.

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March 2010

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Editorial officES

aMa Board of dirEctorS

American Motorcyclist 13515 Yarmouth Drive Pickerington, OH 43147 (614) 856-1900 submissions@ama-cycle.org

It’s prepackaged excitement, turnkey thrills, ready-made routes

through g America’s

Toughest T gh t roads

gnarliest g li trails. il

and

Yeah, we give you a map, but where you go with it is

up to

you.

For more information, see the schedule on page 55 or visit the riding section of AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

Contact any member of the AMA Board of Directors at www.AmericanMotorcyclist. com/whatis/trustees.asp Stan Simpson, Chairman Cibolo, Texas

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

Jim Williams, Vice-Chairman Irvine, Calif.

Jon-Erik Burleson, Assistant Treasurer Murrietta, Calif.

John Ulrich, Executive Committee Member Lake Elsinore, Calif.

advErtiSing Bob Buchanan, Advertising Manager (310) 505-3241, bbuchanan@ama-cycle.org

andy goldfine, Duluth, Minn. charles goman, Winder, Ga.

Ray Monroe, Advertising Manager (815) 885-4445, rmonroe@ama-cycle.org

Perry King, Northern California

Misty Walker, Advertising Assistant (614) 856-1900, ext. 1267, mwalker@ama-cycle.org

Michael lock, Cupertino, Calif.

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, 2010.

Maggie Mcnally, Albany, N.Y. arthur More, Surprise, Ariz.

Jim viverito, Chicago

(800) AMA-JOIN AmericanMotorcyclist.com

contributors and Staff

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toM BEar, Photographer Since we first used Tom’s photographic services more than a year ago, we’ve been blown away by his ability to make the ordinary look spectacular, and his work appears in these pages whenever we can make it happen--which in this case is the cover shot and opening spread of Olympic athlete Shannon Bahrke.

PEtE coPE, Writer Proving that motorcycle journeys can be as much mental as physical, Pete shares some insights in this month’s touring feature.

JEn MUEcKE, designer Looking to thin the herd a bit, Jen put a few bikes up for sale in January, including a ’00 MuZ Baghira and a ’67 Benelli/Wards Riverside cafe racer, which, of course, put the rest of the staff in “motorcycle planning” mode.

MarK laPid, creative director Mark jumped into the fray headfirst, salivating over the Baghira despite others best efforts to convince him that the Benelli is exactly the vintage racer he’s been looking for. He may or may not be coming around. nora Mcdonald, Production coordinator With the thaw on the way, Nora has rededicated herself to bolting up

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the final bits on the CB360. It’s almost done, she swears.

It’s just hard to maintain motivation when there’s snow on the ground.

Bill KrESnaK, government affairs Editor Shocked to discover that the GSX-R1000 was celebrating its 25th anniversary, Krez fondly remembered both his GSX-R750 and his 1100—and immediately started dreaming about getting another Gixxer. grant ParSonS, Managing Editor Grant figures one of the great things about having a couple motorcycles—even junky ones—is the massive domino-effect trades he can create entirely inside his own head that start with what he owns, and ends with a garage full of perfect motorcycles.

Delusional is what the guy is sometimes.

JaMES HoltEr, associate Editor Speaking of stalledout projects, James is chagrined to find that he’s way behind on his Yamaha IT250 project. He really needs to dig into the giant box of IT250 puzzle pieces he bought off eBay. other contributors include: Don Cook, Chris Humphrey, Jeff Kardas, Jim Kimball, Brian Martin, Shan Moore, Stephan Sarzetakis, Charles Sasser, Basem Wasef

“ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WHEN I’M ON MY HARLEY-DAVIDSON. I FEEL LIKE I CAN CONQUER THE WORLD.” ®

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD FEEL THIS WAY. MARCH IS WOMEN’S GARAGE PARTY MONTH AT DEALERSHIPS NATIONWIDE. A WOMEN-ONLY EVENT WHERE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT RIDING AND MEET LIKE-MINDED SOULS. GRAB LIFE BY THE HANDLEBARS.

For dates and dealers near you visit: h-d.com/garageparty © 2010 H-D. Harley-Davidson, H-D, Harley, and the Bar & Shield logo are among the trademarks of H-D Michigan, LLC.

Member Letters WHAT A GREAT EVENING Congratulations! The 2009 AMA Hall of Fame awards ceremony and banquet in Las Vegas was a big success. My husband and I were choked up at least a half-dozen times during those speeches. Really neat! What a great group of inductees. Thanks again for a great evening.

Kathy Weida, Vice President All American Racers Inc. Dan Gurney Alligator Motorcycles Inc. A FIRST-CLASS EVENT Thanks so much for all the hard work you did putting together the Hall of Fame banquet. What a huge success! We don’t know who was in charge of doing all the different tasks, but we know you were all very helpful to us. We were both shocked at how many people attended. It truly was a first class event.

Gary and Denise Mathers AMA Life Members Nos. 124015 and 284324 Hendersonville, N.C. EASY IS GOOD The pre-made postcards in the February issue of American Motorcyclist that made it simple for AMA members to sound off on the lead issue with children’s motorcycles was a fantastic idea.

It just doesn’t get any easier than that. Thank you, and well done, AMA! Trish Moran

Trish Moran AMA No. 874864 Garden City, Minn.

ADVICE FOR THE ROAD In the Ask the MSF column, February issue, the question was asked, “What can I do when I drive my car that will make me a better rider when I’m on my motorcycle?”

The advice given was good, focusing on maintaining 360-degree awareness, scanning for dangers around you and practicing safe, attentive driving at all times in the car.

I wanted to add something to this advice.

One thing I found, while taking the MSF advanced course, that does not come naturally for me is looking through the curve.

I tend to look at the road a short distance in front of me. I now practice looking through the curve while driving my car.

I will actually look through the side window on some freeway ramps.

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Send your letters (and a high-resolution photo) to submissions@ama-cycle.org; or mail to 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147.

This initially creates a very strange, uncomfortable feeling, but this training has helped me do a better job of looking through the curve while riding.

Hope this helps somebody.

Steve Reichman Sr. AMA No.1078237 Perkasie, Pa. OTHER WINTER HAZARDS Great MSF article on winter riding! I would like to note, though, another, perhaps lessobvious winter hazard I have encountered in the months where road-clearing activity is happening: mud/salt-covered brake lights and turn signals on cars.

Particularly in bright sunlight, the mud and muck can cause car lights to appear very dim, if they’re visible at all. Because of this, it’s hard to tell when another vehicle brakes suddently. So I make it a point to always leave an extra large space cushion. Same goes for dodging the snow and/or ice sheets that can come sliding off of the roofs of vehicles in front of you.

Also, in rural areas of some states, unmarked snowmobile crossings can also be a hazard, so keep a vigilant eye on the roadsides. It might not be just deer running around out there.

Ellen Flanagan AMA No. 940122 Amenia, N.Y. BIKES STILL RESONATE WITH REGULAR PEOPLE Fully a dozen years after Ultan Guilfoyle and I selected the machines for ‘The Art of the Motorcycle’ at the Guggenheim, the success of that exhibition continues to bring motorcycles to the attention of the larger non-motorcycling public. The latest example can be seen on the webpage of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): www.aaas.org/ programs/centers/pe/chopper/.

As is indicated there, very shortly the AAAS will launch a major campaign that will use an electric chopper to interest the general public in science.

Motorcycles and science—it’s a symbiotic relationship that benefits everyone.

Charles Falco AMA No. 362880 Tucson, Ariz.

ROAD ETIQUETTE? I’ve always been a lone rider, and I’m always looking for that one road that makes you turn around and ride it again. The other

day, I was out and saw a group of bikes heading down a road I’ve yet to try.

I wondered, though, if it would be rude to follow them? I never want to interfere with another’s ride. What’s the golden rule here?

Ian Adams

Ian Adams AMA No. 1090295 Oklahoma City Good question, Ian. We’ve seldom been put off by other riders when we’ve dropped in behind them for part of a ride. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but way more often than not, if we happen to wind up riding with others and pull into the same stop later, we’ve been welcomed. It’s just part of the common bond that motorcyclists share.

Generally, it’s a good idea to give riders you’re unfamiliar with a little extra cushion on the road. And, as with all group rides, don’t get sucked in beyond your limits. Ride your own ride, even when riding with others.

ANOTHER DISTRACTION TO CONSIDER? With awareness of distractions on the AMA’s mind, I’d like to add self-canceling turn signals to the list of distractions to be remedied for motorcyclists.

More specifically, I’m concerned over the lack of self-canceling signals on many bikes.

There are half a dozen proven technologies for making them, and they won’t add an awful lot to the cost of Mike Bradley a bike. Why don’t the bike manufacturers fit all bikes with them?

Mike Bradley AMA No. 1081756 Oakland, Calif.

CABLE BARRIERS I would like to comment on Mark Bloschock’s article about cable barriers. For 15 years I was a flight medic on board Dade County, Fla.’s Air Rescue helicopters.

Based on first-hand observation, I can recommend cable barriers over other types.

I recollect three situations where a cyclist went down and slid along the top edge of a corrugated-beam-type barrier. All sustained massive lacerations: an open chest injury,

a mid-femoral amputation, etc. Accidents involving concrete wall barriers brought about everything from abrasions to massive fractures and blunt trauma. Fatalities were the result in several. I do not remember any critical injuries involving cable barriers.

Robin Pomerantz AMA No. 664900 Newnan, Ga. NOPE, IT’S A STREETFIGHTER In the January edition of American Motorcyclist is a short interview with Bob Parsons discussing his love of motorcycles, and the wedding cake he had made in the form of a full-size Ducati. The picture of the cake bike is clearly a Ducati Streetfighter, so I was amazed when the set-up paragraph for the interview described it as a Ducati Monster. Come on guys; I could see that sort of thing from a non-motorcycling publication—but not from you!

Dave Ryan AMA No. 430460 Pittsburgh Right you are, Dave. Funny thing, though, both a Monster cake and a Streetfighter cake taste the same!

LETTER OF THE MONTH TWO PICTURES, 30 YEARS I have been riding and competing in off-road competition since the mid ’60s. When my boys—Donald, AMA No. 437346, and Dale, No. 562790— wanted to ride I purchased two 1975 TY80 Mini Trials bikes and took a year off from riding trials (riding a 1975 TY175) and enduros (riding a 1972 380cc Greeves) to ride with them and teach them what I knew about off-road riding.

As time went on, our interests were not always the same, but we always found time to ride together, sometimes in competition events, sometimes on weekend camping trips.

The first picture was taken in 1979, in western Pennsylvania, close to where we live. The second picture was taken this past year (2009) at an Observed Trials event in Florida. The pictures were taken by my wife. Carol, who has been a super team supporter all these years.

Dennis Ziolkowski AMA Life Member No. 180142 Crafton, Pa. Congratulations! You’re our letter of the month, and you win a free AMA T-shirt!

On Facebook? Us, too. Become a fan of the American Motorcyclist Association and you could be leaving comments like these: www.facebook.com/AmericanMotorcyclist Rocky Lopes Cage drivers don’t see us motorcyclists anyway, so the last thing they need to have in their cars is an internet-connected “infotainment” system. Sheesh!

I commend the AMA’s position on this important issue affecting the safety of all motorists, especially us bikers!—in response to an AMA news release urging caution on technology that contributes to distracted driving.

Gary Semo Lets push for cell service not working inside a vehicle when the car is running. Or some variation of that. Hands-free is bull. It’s the thought involved in the conversation that distracts you.—on the same subject.

Shar Zoden Sonnenberg This is such a ridiculous ban! Does the government seriously believe the kids are going to be licking or sucking on the metal in these vehicles? Whoever proposed this ban should be fired because they don’t have the commonsense they were born with!—on the federal lead-content limits in kids’ products that are affecting the sales of youth motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

Ryan Horst I’m a West Virginian. Just wanted to let you guys know that the same day I read the article about the ban on youth bikes (in the January ’10 issue), I sent my governor, Joe Manchin III (an avid motorcyclist), a letter asking him if there is anything his office can do to sway our senator’s minds.

Buzz Kanter Hi AMA, and thanks for what you do to represent American motorcyclists. RoadBike magazine (www.roadbikemag. com), a supporter of the AMA, just signed up here on Facebook.

RoadBike is a high quality print magazine for motorcycle cruisers and touring riders, too. (Kanter is also an AMA Hall of Famer—ed.)

Digvijay Singh Jansana Sweet!!—in response to the announcement of the AMA’s free live timing and scoring on AMASupercross.com for every round of the ’10 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship series.

Get AMA news—and chat with fellow members—on Facebook. You can also get the latest info at AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

March 2010

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From the President

Sitting On The Sidelines Is Not An Option As I reflect on the unprecedented attacks on motorcycling in 2009, and the enormity of the challenges ahead, I have reached an inescapable conclusion: No longer can any motorcyclist afford to sit on the sidelines.

The days are gone when we can page through bike reviews, get recommendations from friends, buy a used or new motorcycle, and just go riding. Not if we expect to do so in five, 10 or 20 years.

If this sounds like “Chicken Little” thinking, let me awaken you from this simple children’s story. Enjoy riding off-road on public land? Last year, we lost 2 million acres to inappropriate federal Wilderness designations, and there are many more millions of acres being targeted in Congress right now. OK, you tell yourself, I can always go riding at my local MX track. Not so fast—every week we learn of MX tracks in urban areas under threat of closure due to noise complaints.

Think street riding is immune to restriction? The same excessive sound complaints that threaten tracks are causing cities large and small to target street motorcyclists with unfair ordinances and laws, while allowing other loud noise emitters to remain unchecked. Street riding is also under attack from safetycrats who point to the increase in motorcycle crashes and fatalities on our highways and demand action, especially when automobile fatalities are at historic lows. The AMA opposes straight pipes; strongly advocates the voluntary use of protective gear, including helmets certified by the manufacturer to meet the DOT standard; and welcomes the expanded availability of anti-lock braking. But are you ready for mandated OEexhausts, inflatable riding suits, airbags and roll cages?

Impossible, you say? All it takes is a stroke of the pen.

That’s what happened last year when President Obama signed into law the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act, which validated the biggest Congressional land grab in modern history by designating more than 2 million acres as federally protected Wilderness—the majority of which didn’t meet the original Congressional definition of Wilderness—with virtually no public debate or scrutiny. Or in 2008, when then-President Bush signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Six months later, the leadcontent provisions of the CPSIA resulted in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s ban on the sale of youthmodel dirtbikes and ATVs, forcing families to choose adult-sized machines for their kids—putting them at great risk—and devastating a segment of the motorsports community, already reeling from a major recession.

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We no longer have the luxury of tearing down organizations like the AMA that are trying to save motorcycling. It’s time to stop blaming those who don’t ride your kind of bike, or hang with your crowd, or share your political beliefs, and recognize that anyone in power who does not ride a motorcycle cares little about the future of motorcycling in any form. If we expect to preserve our sport and our lifestyle for our and future generations, we must close ranks like there’s no tomorrow.

How? If you’re reading this, as an AMA member, you’re already part of the solution. But there are not nearly enough of us to withstand these multi-pronged attacks.

Many AMA members like to think we are the National Rifle Association (NRA) of the motorcycling world, yet we only have 245,000 members out of 20 million estimated riders.

The NRA has more than 4 million members, not to mention a Constitutional amendment that protects their rights.

There is no Constitutional right to ride a motorcycle. It’s a hard-earned privilege that we must step up and defend.

The bottom line: Each of us has to recruit more members for the AMA army. We all have friends who ride but are not members. Persuade them to join. Also, only buy from motorcycle businesses that support the AMA. Tell those that don’t that they risk losing your business.

Now is the time to join forces and stand shoulder-toshoulder on the front lines.

Rob Dingman is president and CEO of the AMA.

Photo Grogan Studios

By Rob Dingman

covers each trip, there and back. has been riding to rallies since 1972.

TRIP INTERRUPTION COVERAGE. One thing Charlie St. Clair, Executive Director of Laconia Motorcycle Week, knows is the road can be pretty rough if your bike breaks down. That’s why Progressive offers Roadside Assistance for only $10 a year and Trip Interruption Coverage, which helps pay for places to stay and living expenses due to mishaps, for only $5 more.* This way, anywhere you are in the country, you’re covered. Call 1-800-PROGRESSIVE or call an independent agent.

PROGRESSIVE.COM #1 in Motorcycle Insurance Progressive Casualty Ins. Co, and its affiliates, Mayfield Village, OH. No. 1 in motorcycle from 2008 Millward Brown & Harris Interactive survey data. All coverages subject to policy terms and conditions. *Trip Interruption Coverage requires the purchase of Roadside Assistance and is not available in all states. 09D00285 (05/09)

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Protecting the Ride 16 • Living It 20 • Connections 25 • Adrenaline 30 • Heritage 34

Husqvarna named Marque of the Year for 2010 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days: AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Kent “The Rhinestone Cowboy” Howerton, a versatile motocross racer of the 1970s and early ’80s, is just one of the legends who rode Husqvarnas during their stellar careers. Others include Hall of Famers Malcolm Smith and Dick Burleson. To learn more about the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days’ celebration of all things Husky, see page 22. Photo by Jim Gianatsis

March 2010

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the Life | Protecting the Ride

act now to help protect your right to ride on public land.

Western Off-rOad riding in the crOsshairs The AMA is monitoring several new congressional bills that have the potential to close off-highway riders out of public land in three states.

Those bills are: • In Montana, S. 1470, the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (R-Mont.)

• In California, S. 2921, the California Desert Protection Act of 2010, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.); and H.R. 4304, the Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)

• In Colorado, H.R. 4289, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2009 sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).

The Tester bill would designate 600,000 acres in Montana as federally protected Wilderness, shutting out off-highway riders, bicyclists and others.

“The AMA appreciates Sen. Tester’s effort to reach out to the off-highway vehicle (OHV) community in an attempt to make this bill better for every user of our public land,” says Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “But the AMA opposes this bill as it is currently written. We ask that Sen. Tester work with the AMA and other groups to address rider

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concerns so that families can continue to enjoy OHV trails in a responsible manner.”

The California Desert Protection Act of 2010 would create the Mojave Trails National Monument, involving 941,000 acres between Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Preserve along historic Route 66 in San Bernardino County; and the Sand to Snow National Monument involving 134,000 acres between Joshua Tree National Park and the San Bernardino National Forest.

It also would designate 250,000 acres near Fort Irwin as Wilderness, and would designate a “special management area” involving 76,000 acres in eastern Imperial County. Plus, the measure would add about 74,000 acres to the National Park system, barring off-hihgway riding, and would designate four existing OHV areas in San Bernardino County as permanent OHV recreation areas.

The AMA is studying the proposal, but some of Feinstein’s fellow lawmakers have already expressed some concerns.

Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) indicates he is still studying the full impact of the proposal, but notes that it appears to lock up tens of thousands of acres that are not suitable for protection. The staff of Rep. Howard McKeon (R-Calif.) indicated the

congressman wants to be sure that the Johnson Valley OHV area isn’t impacted.

DeGette’s bill in Colorado would designate 34 areas totaling 850,000 acres as Wilderness, including 72,397 in Handies Peak, 20,025 in Browns Canyon and 38,594 at Redcloud Peak.

Meanwhile, Issa’s measure would designate as Wilderness more than 21,000 acres in northern San Diego County.

These are just a few of the bills in Congress that would close millions of acres of public land to off-highway riding.

Riders need to let their federal lawmakers know that they enjoy motorized recreation and want a full public debate, with citizen input, before any more land is designated as Wilderness, Moreland says.

People can contact their federal lawmakers by going to AmericanMotorcyclist.com > Rights > Issues & Legislation. There, you can find the names of the members of your congressional delegation as well as their addresses and telephone numbers.

You can also send a pre-written letter from there. Individuals can also sign up for the AMA Government Relations Department’s Action E-list to be notified by e-mail when their support is needed to make a difference on important issues.

Photos Riding: James Holter; Sound: Open Image Studio

LegisLation targets Land in Montana, CaLifornia and CoLorado

The Life | Protecting the Ride

U.S. Senate Committee Staffer Leads Federal Traffic Safety Agency

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Has A New Leader David Strickland, senior Democratic counsel to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, breezed through his Senate confirmation to serve as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

President Barack Obama nominated Strickland to the post in early December, and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, chaired by Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, held Strickland’s nomination hearing Dec. 15.

Strickland’s nomination went before the full Senate on Dec. 24 for final approval.

“We’ve dealt with Mr. Strickland on a variety of issues over the years and have found him to be thoughtful and accessible,” says Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “We believe he will exhibit these same qualities while carrying out his responsibilities as the head of NHTSA.” The traffic safety agency was established in 1970 to carry out safety programs previously administered by the National Highway Safety Bureau. The agency is a part of the U.S. Transportation Department and is responsible for saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing economic costs due to road traffic crashes through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activity.

AMA Again Awarding Sound Meters Key Tools For Educating Riders on Sound

For the sixth straight year, the AMA will provide free sound-testing kits to 10 qualified organizations through its Government Relations Department sound-testing grant program.

The program awards a kit that includes a sound meter, tachometer, an instructional DVD and manual, a spark-arrester probe, personal protective equipment and a certificate for a free annual recalibration of the meter from the

meter supplier.

“Few other factors contribute more to misunderstanding and prejudice against the motorcycling community than excessively loud motorcycles,” says Royce Wood, AMA government affairs manager. “With accurate sound testing, riders will know how loud their bikes are and can get advice from the testers about how to quiet down their machines.”

With a new in-the-field sound-testing procedure for streetbikes—SAE J2825— now in place, the sound meters can also be used to test on-road motorcycles.

For more information on the sound meter grant program, contact Wood at (614) 856-1900, ext. 1225; or e-mail rwood@ama-cycle.org.

Dealer Wants To Change The Law

Motorcycle Sales on Sundays are Illegal in Indiana

David Strickland

Like motorcycle dealers around the nation, Mark Forszt, who owns four Harley-Davidson dealerships in northern Indiana, is feeling the bite of the sour economy, with his bike sales down about 25 percent.

And what doesn’t help is the fact that, under Indiana law, it is a misdemeanor to sell motorcycles and cars on Sunday.

Forszt wants to change that.

He has enlisted the aid of state Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso), who has introduced legislation to repeal the law.

Charbonneau cites the proposal as a way to help small business and increase state sales tax revenue.

March 2010

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The Life | Protecting the Ride

Federal Product Safety Agency Delays Enforcement of Lead Testing

Agency Will Still Ultimately Enforce Law That Bans Lead In Kids’ Bikes

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reins of the CPSC as chairman in summer 2009, told the Associated Press that she is committed to enforcing the CPSIA. And she said that her agency has a new tool to do that. The maximum civil penalty her agency could impose for violations was previously $1.8 million, but on Aug. 14 that jumped to $15 million.

“Those, if the circumstances warrant it and the facts support it, will be used by the CPSC to make sure that people comply with that law,” she said in an interview with Associated Press reporters and editors.

The Coalition for Safe and Responsible ATV Use, made up of Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Arctic Cat, Bombardier and Polaris, said in September that “due to the risks of selling under the (enforcement delay), many manufacturers and dealers are no longer selling youthmodel off-highway vehicles, and there is now a limited availability of these products for consumers.”

The AMA is working with members and other groups to change the law so kids’ dirtbikes and ATVs can be sold.

“The law is so flawed in so many areas that lawmakers must act to fix it,” says Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “We need to ensure that the voice of youth riding is heard among all the various interests that will be clamoring for changes.”

Join the more than 100,000 AMA members who have used AMA tools to contact their lawmakers and urge them to change the law to allow kids to enjoy outdoor recreation on their dirtbikes and ATVs. Contact information for your elected officials is available at AmericanMotorcyclist.com. Go to Rights > Issues & Legislation, and enter your zip code in the “Find Your Officials” box.

Helping Those Who Help Motorcyclists

AMA Raising Funds To Get Friends Elected To Office The AMA fights for motorcyclists’ right to ride in a variety of ways, and one way is to support politicians who support motorcyclists.

That means electing officials who are willing to stand up and say “no” when legislation that threatens the motorcycling lifestyle is proposed.

To support friends of motorcycling, the AMA has what is called AMPAC—the AMA’s Political Action Committee.

“AMPAC supports the campaigns of congressional candidates and political leaders who advocate on behalf of motorcyclists,” says Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations.

“It’s important that we support these lawmakers so that they will support us.”

While a contribution of any amount is greatly appreciated, anyone donating $25 or more will receive a collectible AMPAC pin. Those who donate $500 or more earn elite status in the Leader’s Circle and receive a commemorative bronze belt buckle.

For information, or to donate, call the AMA Government Relations Department at (202) 742-4303, or e-mail Sheila Andrews at sandrews@ama-cycle.org.

Photo Shannon Price

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has given a break, at least temporarily, to the makers of kids’ dirtbikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).

In December, the commission voted to delay until Feb. 10, 2011, the requirement that makers of products for children 12 and under have those products certified by a government-approved independent lab that they contain little or no lead.

The testing is a requirement under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), which bans the making, importing, distributing or selling of any product intended for children 12 and under that contains more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part.

That threshold dropped to 300 parts per million on Aug. 14, 2009, and will drop to 100 parts per million after Aug. 14, 2011.

With no way to quickly test and certify that their products met those limits, motorcycle and ATV manufacturers told their dealers to stop selling machines intended for kids 12 and under because the machines contain lead in some components, such as valve stems and batteries.

While the CPSC move means that youth dirtbike and ATV manufacturers don’t need to go through the certification process yet, they still must abide by the CPSIA lead limits. The CPSC had previously voted to delay enforcement of the lead-limit requirement in the law until May 1, 2011.

CPSC officials have said they supported the delays to give CPSC staff more time to draft the rules needed to carry out the CPSIA, and to keep from forcing children to ride dirtbikes and ATVs that are too large for them to ride safely because smaller machines would otherwise be unavailable.

The latest vote, says Sean Hilbert, president of Cobra Motorcycles, which produces competition-level mini motocross bikes, buys the industry some time.

“The delay officially makes producing and selling bikes legal for us,” he says.

“However, it doesn’t change our plans, since we were going to keep selling under the stay of enforcement anyway. Our real deadline is May of 2011 when the current stay of enforcement ends.”

Inez Tenenbaum, who took over the

The Life | Protecting the Ride

Statewatch ARIZONA Arizona Game and Fish officers will be stepping up OHV registration compliance enforcement. The OHV decal program requires the annual purchase of a $25 OHV registration decal for most all-terrain vehicles, side-by-sides (utility vehicles), dirtbikes and some sand rails. Decals can be obtained online at ServiceArizona.com, any Motor Vehicle Division office or MVD third-party service providers. The fine for not having the decal is $250.

ILLINOIS House Bill 4701, introduced by Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington), would require all motor vehicles operated on a highway—not just motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, and motorized pedalcycles—to use headlights or daytime running lights at all times.

INDIANA Senate Bill 111, introduced by Sen. Timothy Lanane (D-Anderson), would make

it a Class C misdemeanor to use a handheld wireless communications device to transmit a text message or electronic mail message while operating a motor vehicle. It also would provide enhanced penalties for repeat offenders or if another person is injured or killed. Consistent with the AMA position on distracted and inattentive motor vehicle operations, SB-111 holds vehicle operators more accountable for their actions.

NEW JERSEY Assembly Bill 4164, sponsored by Asm. Ruben Ramos, Jr. (D-Hoboken), would provide an exemption from the salesand-use taxes for sales of recreational safety helmets, including those worn by motorcyclists. Also, Assembly Bill 4244, sponsored by Asm. Vincent Prieto (D-Secaucus), proposes a $150 penalty per violation for alteration of equipment or the performance of equipment of any vehicle that has been approved at an official inspection facility with the intent to defeat

the purpose of the inspection. The bill also would make the operation of any such altered vehicle a violation.

NEW MEXICO The New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance (NMOHVA) plans to use more than $322,000 in federal funds and $126,000 in matching contributions for trail work in the Cibola National Forest. NMOHVA will use the money to construct new trail segments, rehabilitate existing trails and install signs on more than 60 miles of trails. The group’s partners include the Sandia Ranger District, New Mexico 4 Wheelers, the Black Feather Trail Preservation Alliance and R&S Powersports.

WISCONSIN Assembly Bill 544, introduced by Asm. Spencer Black (D-Madison), would prohibit the installation, sale and distribution of wheel weights and other wheel balancing products that contain lead.

Bike Week in Daytona Beach, FL is known far and wide as one of the greatest festivals in America that's enjoyed by bikers world-wide. It's a passage and a passion many look forward to year after year.

With 10 days of fun activities and thousands of things to see and do, its easy to find yourself in bikers paradise at Bike Week. Wake up to the Daytona Beach area sunshine while you take in some of the most spectacular bikes and interesting people.

The manufactures and vendors you know and love will be here too along with a few new surprises.

Need help planning your stay? No problem. Let our professional travel staff find your perfect lodging right here in the Daytona Beach area. We've even got on-line searches and special event pricing to make it even easier to fully enjoy your spring Bike Week get-away.

Find out more about this incredible event go to

www.GetNews.BikerBeach.com Look up to minute information follow us on Twitter@BikerBeach & FaceBook.com/bikerbeach Or call us on Biker Beach Bike Week hot line at

1-866-250-6181

The Life | Living It

Bike Impression

RIDING IT: KAWASAKI’S 2010 Z1000 MORE MUSCULAR LOOKS,

AND MUSCLE TO BACK IT UP

Judging by the Z1000 would NOTABLE look of it, the all-new accelerate with • 1,043cc inline four is bumped up 90cc noticeably more 2010 Kawasaki • Horsepower jumps from 125 to 138 Z1000 appears to hustle. And you’d • Torque is now 81.1 pounds-feet have pumped up the be absolutely right.

• Chassis is 8.8 pounds lighter muscle and trimmed During a day of riding down the fat. Chiseled along the central with confident linearity, the naked bike California coast, we were taken aback by oozes resolve from its ominous headlamps the Z1000’s sharply tuned chassis. to its vectored tail section. And fortunately Some may wonder about parts of the for Z1000 fans, these visuals are a rather styling, like the stubby and decidedly accurate representation of the Z1000’s controversial gold rose exhaust cans, thoroughly re-worked underpinnings. and the shovel-like front cowl. But With more guts and 22 fewer pounds more seasoned riders will look past the to haul around, you’d think the $10,499 Kawasaki Z1000’s styling cues and savor

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its newly found dynamism and entertaining on-road persona. There are, after all, worse ways to age gracefully.—Basem Wasef See the full riding impression on AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

The Life | Living It

Member Review

2008 Kawasaki Z1000

Steve Hauptman has been riding streetbikes 31 years and has owned six motorcycles. He’s been riding his ’08 Z1000 for two years. Here’s his take on the previous version of the Z1000.

I’m an old-school high-performance bike rider, and the naked bike segment is right up my alley. What I like most about my Z1000 is its light weight and short wheel base, and that Kawasaki didn’t skimp on horsepower.

Power-to-weight is very similar to most liter sportbikes, which translates to similar quarter-mile times.

Money, I’m sure, factors into the choice of suspension pieces used on the Z1000.

The bike handles well out of the box but definitely doesn’t have the feel of a true

sportbike like the ZX10. A softer-sprung suspension is fine for the majority of the people who buy one of these bikes. Most will use it for touring and commuting, not as a track bike.

Brakes are good, not great like the ZX10’s brakes. The ZX10 has the best brakes I have ever felt on a streetbike, period. Again, some compromises were made for the sake of price.

I’m sure people looking to purchase a Z1000 wouldn’t want to pay a price close to the ZX10, so a lot compromises had to be made. I am looking for a totaled ZX10 with a good front end and rear shock. I have read that it’s almost plug-and-play to add that to my Z1000.

Member Review

Yamaha TT-R125 Shawn Isbell: My son rides a TT-R125 and beats that bike up. It is a great starter bike for a medium-sized rider with enough power to grow into.

Brett Hardy: I ride a TT-R125LE and have a blast on it. It is big enough to feel more like a “real” bike than the 110s, and smaller and more fun around the yard than my YZ250. It’s so quiet the neighbors don’t know I’m riding. Between me, my wife, brother, and niece and nephews we have seven TT-Rs. My two brothers and I rode TT-R125s on the 50th annual AMA District 23 (Minnesota) enduro just for kicks, and had a blast.

I have also MX’ed mine a couple of times just for laughs. I’m on my third TTR, but all of them are still being ridden and have held up great. I’m a 43-year-old A enduro rider and AMA life member. My other rides are an ’05 YZ250, V-Strom 1000 and a Hawk GT. Annette Brisbin: I had a TT-R125. good bike to learn on, but the suspension is terrible! And I’m not very heavy. Probably a good bike for a 5 or 6 year old, though. Lots of fun to play with, but to actually ride, I’d go CRF150.

Michael Ball: I have a 2003 TT-R125. I paid $2,000 for her, and I put about $2,000 more in her to race short track.

I got most of my ideas from Thumpertalk.com. I got most of my stuff from BBR. New stiffer rear spring, 17-inch wheels with 125 motoGP tires (softest at a low temperature slicks), new O-ring chain with a sprocket set for easy acceleration, and new stiffer aluminum frame support. I increased the motor from 125cc to 150cc, rejetted her and added a highcompression cam.

Member Review

KTM 990 Adventure David Ceniceroz: The KTM 990 is not for everybody, but perfect for those who need a double shot of adrenaline with their commute to work and a kick in the pants every weekend.

Likes: Sexy, fast, nimble, precise. The V-twin LC8 does everything well—road, track, trail and technical dirt—just pick your tire. Dislikes: FI system is bug-ridden. Maintenance is intensive. Overall: Best bike I have ever owned.

Mark Gengler: Love the seat height, angular design, upright sitting position, low center of gravity, power (dropped a tooth on the counter sprocket), auxiliary 12V access in the glove box, precision braking, supple fully adjustable suspension and the color! Hate the buffeting windscreen, numbing seat, blinkers, tedious maintenance. Battery is too weak.

Duane Nienow: This bike is the most fun ride of any I’ve experienced. The Adventure is somewhat intimidating off-road but as long as you use discretion and common sense you will be OK. Just turn off the ABS. The bike is an absolute joy to ride on the street and any type of dirt road. The thing eats the twisties like no other bike short of a full-on racer.

Jeff Dennis: I feel the 990 is more dirt-savvy than most of the dual-sport bikes on the market. I have ridden the red clay of Alabama and Georgia, the rocks of Colorado and the desert terrain of Utah. It lives up to its name.

GOT ONE OF THESE? Honda’s GB500. Kawasaki’s W650. Yamaha’s GTS1000. Kawasaki’s KLR 650. What do these bikes all have in common? They’re all cult bikes, and they’ll all be featured in a future issue of this magazine. If you own one—or owned one—take a minute to e-mail us about what you liked, and what you didn’t—and please include a high-resolution photo of yourself. Send to: submissions@ama-cycle.org.

March 2010

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The Life | Living It

Celebrate Husqvarna’s History at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days Husky Is Marque Of The Year For 2010

Ask The Motorcycle Safety Foundation The Proper Way To Park On The Street

You Ask: “When I park on the street, I always make a point to back in at an angle. When a buddy asked why I did that, I couldn’t answer with much more than, ‘That’s what I’ve been told.’ Is that still the recommended practice?”

The MSF Responds: Our basic advice for parking in a parallel parking space next to a curb is to position the motorcycle at an angle with the rear tire gently touching the curb.

There are two reasons. First, many roads are sloped from the center down toward the curb. If you were to park parallel to the curb, your tires could be lower than the sidestand pad, so your bike might stand too upright and could fall over to the right.

Second, if you were to park perpendicular to the curb, the front tire might jut out into the traffic lane.

A careless driver looking for a parking space could knock your bike over.

So, the angled technique should work in most conditions. Plus, it positions your bike for easy entry back into traffic. Note that some states or cities may require a different parking procedure. Also, if the parking space has a meter, there may be a limit on the number of bikes that can park there. Don’t forget to the feed the meter, too!

Got a question for the MSF? E-mail submissions@ama-cycle.org.

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You’ve seen Husqvarna motorcycles rule the woods in the early 1970s and ’80s.

You’ve seen them make a comeback in recent years. Heck, you’ve even seen them ridden by legendary AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Malcolm Smith in the iconic “On Any Sunday.”

Now you can see some of the best vintage and modern Huskys in person, because the famed brand has been named Marque of the Year for America’s premier gathering of vintage motorcycles: AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, this July 9-11. The event, which attracts motorcycle fans of all ages, eras and brands, takes place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Ticket information is available at MidOhio.com.

“Arguably the most dominant offroad racing brand in the United States for a generation of racers, Husqvarna has recently returned full force to AMA Racing national competition,’’ says Tigra Tsujikawa, AMA special events and marketing manager. “We’re pleased to showcase both Husqvarna’s history and the company’s renewed investment in motorcycling’s present and future at this year’s AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days.”

Adds Husqvarna Motorcycles North America President Mark Brady: “Husqvarna Motorcycles is delighted to be the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days Marque of the Year for 2010. Launching

the new decade with this prestigious recognition is indeed an honor. Everyone at Husqvarna Motorcycles is very much aware of the great history of the brand, and we are determined to bring back the glory days.”

As part of Husqvarna’s participation in AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, fans will be able to get up close and personal with the marque’s moto-history, from its genesis in Sweden in the early 1900s to the high-tech off-road, motocross and dual-sport bikes the company sells and races today.

While educational displays and seminars at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will focus on Husqvarna’s rich history, the machines also will be among the many brands that amateur racers put on the track in the multiple racing disciplines that are part of the weekend’s competition.

In addition to vintage and post-vintage competition in motocross, trials, hare scrambles, roadracing and dirt track, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will feature North America’s largest motorcycle swap meet.

Also on tap: bike shows, demo rides of current production bikes, motorcycling seminars, stunt shows, the new-product Manufacturers’ Midway and club corrals featuring marque and regional clubs.

Proceeds from AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days benefit the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.

For more detailed information, just go to AMAVintageMotorcycleDays.com.

The Life | Living It

The Mid-Atlantic Motorcycle Magazine

Worth Reading

January/February 2010

E

E FR

This Copy Courtesy Of

Ride Well & Have A Happy New Year!

Motorcycle Times

The Voice Of The Mid-Atlantic The editors say: According to Publisher and Editor Jerry C. Smith, Motorcycle Times is a regional motorcycle magazine serving Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. “As expressed in our current slogan, ‘Giving Voice to the Motorcycling Community,’ almost all our contributors are local riders. Over

the years, nearly 400 individuals have contributed their thoughts, emotions, stories, photos, poems and cartoons to the Motorcycle Times.”

What it’s about: The emphasis is more on motorcyclists and motorcycling than motorcycles, along with an event calendar.

It’s a place for mid-Atlantic motorcyclists to communicate their concerns, contact their compatriots, comment about controversies, compliment and cajole.

Find it: It’s free through hundreds of mid-Atlantic motorcycle shops, and online at MotorcycleTimes.com.

9 Motorcycle Names That Make You Wonder

Photo Husqvarna: Holly Carlyle; Burger: ©iStockphoto.com/anopdesignstock

The Ducati Indiana?

When it comes to motorcycle names, some are brilliant—Daytona, Bonneville, Ninja, Fireblade and Rocker come mind.

Then there are the names that might have sold well, but leave you scratching your head: Ducati Indiana: This was a machine built by Cagiva with a Ducati motor, a Ducati tank badge and a name that happened to be a mostly flat Midwestern state.

Honda Rune: An ancient letter-like symbol, or an incantation?

Yamaha Virago: The dictionary defines Virago as “a loud, domineering woman,” or “a woman of great stature, strength and courage.”

Kawasaki Vulcan: “Seems logical to me, captain.”

Suzuki B-King: Did anyone not think “Home of the Whopper” when they first heard the name?

BMW 650GS: OK name. Except for the fact that the engine is an 800cc motor.

Yamaha Seca: A reference to the famed Laguna Seca Raceway? But without “Laguna,” we’re left with only the Spanish word for “dry,” or in Portuguese, “drought.”

Hodaka Road Toad and Combat Wombat: Only Hodaka could raise the funky name to a self-aware art form.

Got another questionable name? E-mail: submissions@ama-cycle.com.

The fun starts here.

Celebrating 30 Years of U.S.A. Manufacturing

Yuasa is the original equipment battery on more powersport vehicles than all other brands combined. And the preferred choice of outdoor enthusiasts when it’s time for a replacement. Thanks for making us number one for fun! To locate your nearest Yuasa dealer, visit www.yuasabatteries.com.

Buy Yuasa Batteries Online!

Now you have the power to purchase our most popular Yuasa batteries at www.yuasabatteries.com.

Have them shipped directly to you, or to your nearest dealer location for pick up.

Yuasa Battery, Inc. • 2901 Montrose Avenue, Laureldale, PA 19605 • www.yuasabatteries.com

The Life | Living It

Your Predictions For Motorcycling In 2010 The Crystal Balls Come Out

ON THE WEB

What will 2010 bring for those of us who live for two wheels? We asked for your thoughts on our Facebook page, and AMA members delivered: Chris Clark A title for Kevin Windham.

Tony Rabano Another title for James Stewart!

Denis Cammerato Green technology will continue to evolve in 2010, but we are still years away from it being an affordable solution, and likely even further

Gallery.AmericanMotorcyclist.com We receive many more pictures from readers than we ever could fit into the Snapshots area of this magazine. Now we’re putting everything we get up on our new online gallery. Check it out.

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away from it being adopted by traditional motorcyclists. Not many bikers will be willing to trade the rumble of their engine for the whoosh of an electric motor.

John Adamo Roehr went green today. Electric is the future of American motorcycles. Zero, Brammo, Electric Motorsport, Roehr, Motoczysz, Mission Motors, Electric Moto. When was the last time you could name this many American motorcycle manufacturers?

RedBullUSA.com The latest Travis Pastrana stunt: In case you missed it, everyone’s favorite AMA-Motocrossracer-turned-rally-driver-turneddaredevil jumped his car 269 feet for a new world record on New Year’s Eve.

Donovan Dixon Maybe not this year, but soon I think more people will realize that “green” is a scam and things will get more back to normal.

Shane Spence Some like sportbikes, some like Harleys. Maybe in 2010 people will stop saying their make or model is fastest or best. Let’s all come together as riders and not brand owners.

Scott Dabson I think in the coming years we’ll see direct injection, and a move back to a more reasonable engine size, whatever that may be.

Donald Mclaughlin If everyone involved in youth sports doesn’t act on the youth motorcycle ban, we will lose a generation of riders, and that is very sad. The ban comes back in 2011.

Even if you don’t have kids and are not interested in youth sports, please call your Congress members and insist they repeal the youth motorcycle ban. I predict we repeal the youth ban with lots of help from AMA members!

Tim Rose Harley will hold the marketing position, metrics will hold the road and buyers’ hearts, and Victory will emerge even stronger as a true brand. And Indian once again made a bad year choice for coming back onto the market.

Pat Baldassari This might be a little ambitious, but I believe Buell is going to make a comeback!

Chester Nodier More cool bikes, and fewer places to ride them.

Rob Rosenberger I predict we will see more performance exhaust systems that offer less noise.

Bob Dewey I predict that I am going to ride. ;)

OfficialBikeweek.com Looking for everything you need to know to do Daytona Bike Week, right? You’ll find everything here, at the city’s official website, including a detailed day-byday calendar.

The life | Connections

“can this be real?” you say to yourself. “is this really what i do for fun?”

Dispatch

The Call Of The TraCk

Photo TSH Photography

Who hasn’t Felt the Urge to go racing at one time or another? by Stephan Sarzetakis You look down and can almost see your heart pounding through your leathers, you can feel the sweat start to bead up, and your palms become shaky from the adrenaline. You look around and see the other 29 roadracers all looking the same way you do. “Can this be real?” you say to yourself. “Is this really what I do for fun?”

The first few moments are always the nervous ones, the ones where you begin to doubt yourself, and ask yourself whether you should even be there. Then you think, “If this is my first time, what

about the other people? How many of them have done this before?” The smell of exhaust begins to make you light-headed, and you close your visor.

You shift down from neutral into first and start the warm-up lap. You take the first turn following the rest of the pack.

You think that you’ve begun to calm down when, in fact, you are getting more nervous. Your whole body goes numb. You want to win, but you want to be able to enjoy the experience and not miss a detail.

Suddenly you realize that you have

missed the details of the track during the entire pace lap because you have been so focused on your own fears.

As the race light goes green all your fears, thoughts and adrenaline go with it as you come up to speed. You begin your assault on the first competitor, diving into a hairpin left turn. You manage to get your knee down, knowing that there is only 1/2 inch of plastic and leather protecting your skin from becoming shredded beef.

You pass him with no trouble. Finally, the straightaway. You get on the throttle and manage to pass three bikes. You steal a look at your speedometer: 168 mph.

You slowly work your way up through the rest of the pack, drafting behind other bikes to get the best drives down the straights. At the halfway point, you’re in the top 10. You keep working your way up, rider by rider.

With four laps to go, you get more and more aggressive in your quest to get on the podium. You are only in fourth place.

With two laps left, you’re in third place.

You stay focused on your target, the second-place bike. Suddenly in turn two you see him slide out in front of you. You let off the throttle and pick a line that will be one that avoids the fallen bike and rider. It works.

Final lap. It doesn’t get better than this—you and three other bikes are running four-wide to the finish line. You crouch down behind your windscreen hoping for any advantage. Your throttle is pinned and you’re hoping for more. You see the checkered flag waving in the wind.

It takes forever to reach it.

All your work pays off—you take first place! On the podium, champagne flows, camera flashes go off, and a massive trophy is placed in your hands. The crowd cheers. Sponsors line up to have you sign a contract, the confetti starts to fly, and… …the salesman asks if you need any assistance.

Wait—salesman?

Oh, right! You snap out of your daydream and realize you’ve been sitting on the bike in the dealership for a lifetime of five minutes.

Sounds like you want a new motorcycle.

March 2010

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The Life | Connections

Kenny Eggers, 1929-2009

A FLAT-TRACK SENSATION Kenny Eggers, one of the top racers on the West Coast during the 1950s and a member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, died in December. He was 80.

Eggers won the Bay Meadows Mile AMA National in San Mateo, Calif., in his rookie expert season, and he earned fame for winning the AMA national road race at Willow Springs Raceway in 1954, the first motorcycle race ever held there.

Eggers was born in San Jose, Calif., on June 13, 1929. A neighborhood friend had a motorcycle and Eggers learned to ride his friend’s bike when he was 12.

He paid $40 for a 1927 Harley when he was 14 years old. He learned to slide by riding figure eights in the gravel parking lot of a neighborhood school. Eggers met legendary tuner Tom Sifton when he went to Sifton’s San Jose dealership to find a piston for his bike. Sifton hired the young Eggers as an apprentice and put him to work assembling Cushman scooters until Eggers joined the Army in 1947.

After getting out of the service, Eggers honed his skills by riding in the hills with the “San Jose Bunch” that included such talented riders as Bob Shavs, Al Rudy, Larry Headricks and racing legend Sam Arena. He started watching local dirt-track races, and before long entered his first race on a short track in Belmont, Calif.

In the late 1940s, Eggers began winning Northern California races. He turned amateur in 1950 and won a slew of amateur races across the country.

Eggers continued winning after turning expert in 1951. The biggest win of his career came on July 1 of that year in San Mateo, Calif., at Bay Meadows. Riding

Hall of Famer a Sifton-tuned Harley-Davidson, Eggers shocked the best riders in the country by winning the AMA 20-Mile National, the first race on a mile oval that year.

Eggers finished runner-up to Bobby Hill at the national championship Mile in Springfield, Ill. He ended his season by finishing second to Dick Klamfoth in the half-mile in Shreveport, La. When the AMA Grand National Series was inaugurated in 1954, Eggers finished fifth in the series opener at Daytona

Cool Stuff

A Hall of Famer Helmet

Steve McQueen Graces New Troy Lee Designs Helmet What it is: An awesome tribute to one of motorcycling’s coolest characters—actor, racer and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Steve McQueen—in the form of a Troy Lee Designs off-road helmet that is officially licensed with the Steve McQueen estate.

What’s cool: Just about everything. The $525 helmet, available in June, is being produced in a limited edition run of just 700. It features McQueen’s face on one side of the helmet and on the other an image of the actor riding a motorcycle. There’s even a color-matched special helmet bag available.

The future: This lid is just the first of what Troy Lee Designs says will be a series of Steve McQueen helmet styles that will roll out over the next three years.

Get it: TroyLeeDesigns.com.

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AmericanMotorcyclist.com

Beach, riding a BSA Shooting Star for Hap Alzina. That same year he won the road race national at Willow Springs.

Despite the fact that the carburetors on Eggers’ BSA flooded on the starting line and he was last off the line, he blasted through the field and won the race over Ed Kretz and John Gibson.

Eggers retired in 1990 and lived with his wife, Kay, in San Jose. He had three grown children. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Life | Connections

Cool Stuff

Buchanan Joins AM Advertising Team

All For A Good Cause Don Emde Offers Benefit Bike

Photos Eggers: Action Photography; Buchanan: Grant Parsons

Industry Vet And Avid Rider Bolsters Sales Force

The AMA is pleased to announce the addition of a new advertising manager for American Motorcyclist magazine.

Bob Buchanan joins Ray Monroe on the sales staff and will be based in California.

A 20-year veteran of the action sports industry, Buchanan most recently was a regional sales director for Fox Racing, and he brings his extensive industry knowledge and experience to the job.

Buchanan is also an avid rider, both on the street and in enduro and desert racing.

“American Motorcyclist magazine is in a unique position within the motorcycling industry,” Buchanan says. “It’s a publication that reaches to the core of the country’s motorcycle enthusiasts—the riders who care enough about the sport to help ensure its future by becoming AMA members. American Motorcyclist has a reach and an audience that are second to none, and I look forward to working with companies to help them exceed their goals with American Motorcyclist.”

For contact information, please see page 8.

Throwback

A Look At Past Issues On...

Bikes don’t get much more exclusive than this machine, a one-off Yamaha R1 in special Valentino Rossi Livery that was built by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Don Emde to raise funds and awareness for Friends of Riders for Health.

If you like what you see, you’ll have a chance to buy the machine at auction later this year in a fundraiser for the charity, which provides health care to remote African villages using motorcycles and motorcycle ambulances.

More info at FriendsOfRiders.org.

February, 1986—History Comes Alive It was the 100th anniversary of the building of the first gasoline-powered motorcycle, and the AMA celebrated in grand style—with a parade lap of famous racers taking turns aboard a replica of the 1886 motorcycle originally built by Gottleib Daimler.

At a special ceremony in Anaheim, Calif., World 500cc Roadrace Champion Freddie Spencer, AMA Superbike Champion Bubba Shobert and AMA Flattrack Champion Chris Carr took turns aboard a replica of the Daimler “motorcycle” built by a talented group of Ohio fabricators.

“It was neat getting a feeling for just how far motorcycling has come in 100 years,” Shobert said. “It vibrated a bit, but I guess it was nothing if you compared it to a horse!”

Want to search past issues of American Motorcyclist On Google Books? Visit Books.Google.com and search for “American Motorcyclist.”

March 2010

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3 Questions With

The Crotona Midnight Run The Crotona Midnight Run is without ever exceeding the billed as the oldest AMA timed speed limits. There are a number road run, and it dates back of checkpoints, and you have to 1911, when the Crotona two points taken away for every Motorcycle Club first staged it. minute you’re early, and one point It goes off at midnight in New for ever minute late. Everyone York in the dead of winter (Feb. breaks for food and to warm up 27 this year), which makes for an at the halfway point, and if all interesting challenge. goes well you’re done at 6 a.m.

For an inside look at the 92nd AM: Why do you keep doing It takes hardy riders, running of an event that’s run it? both back in the day (top) and more almost every year except during DR: It started off as a longrecently, to master World War II, we caught up with distance ride, run by the Crotona the Crotona run Dick Roberts, the road captain of Motorcycle Club. Somewhere the Ramapo Motorcycle Club, which took along the line it evolved into a road over the run from Crotona in recent years. enduro. I help organize it because I really American Motorcyclist: What’s the appreciate the history of the run. It’s 92 main attraction for riders? years old, and I’d like to see it go to 100 Dick Roberts: Mostly, it’s the years. I love it when people come up at accomplishment of doing the run. It starts the very end and say they’ve had a great at midnight in middle of February, and all time. That takes care of all the organizing, finishers get a medallion. But just to finish staying up all night and everything else. It the run is the bottom line. When you finish should be a good time for everyone. in the morning, you think, man, I really AM: I’m sure gear has changed a lot had a good time. And then you can say over the years. you actually did the Crotona midnight run.

DR: To keep warm, basically riders are People take pride in it. Last year we had using electric gear. But as far as making it 90 riders. so they can see the route sheets at night, AM: What’s the secret to doing well?

Rube Goldberg would be thrilled to see DR: It really takes patience. You’re what they do. It’s everything from light operating at a scheduled speed of 30 bulbs in tomato cans to very technical miles per hour. That’s not exactly quick, things that are illuminated from inside. And but if a traffic light turns red and you have some of them only work for about the first to stop, the clock doesn’t stop ticking. five miles!

You should be able to do this safely Info: RamapoMC.org.

Photo Streamliner: Tom Bear

The Life | Connections

Breakfast With Champions Eat With The World’s Fastest Motorcyclists

What’s it like to pilot a streamlined motorcycle at nearly 368 mph for 30 seconds? What’s it like to work at building that machine for 30 years?

Viverito Elected To AMA Board

Represents North Central Region The AMA is pleased to release the certified results of the AMA North Central Region election for the AMA Board of Directors.

Candidate Jim Viverito was elected, receiving 61 percent of the votes. Current board member Bill Werner received 39 percent.

“We heartily welcome Jim Viverito to the AMA Board of Directors,” says AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “Jim joins the board at an historic time as the AMA increases its advocacy efforts, expands its menu of member benefits, improves amateur racing and implements a new association management system that will better serve the needs of all members.

“I also want to thank Bill Werner for his distinguished service to the AMA board, and wish him well in his future endeavors,” Dingman adds.

Viverito is an AMA Life Member with more than four decades in motorcycling.

His experience runs from amateur to professional racing, and includes more than 30 years of road riding and touring. A vocal member of grassroots motorcyclists’ rights organizations, Viverito’s background lends itself well to the AMA’s mission of promoting the motorcycle lifestyle and protecting the future of motorcycling.

“I look forward to working with the AMA board and the staff of the AMA, and representing the members of the North Central Region for the betterment of motorcycling,” Viverito says.

Viverito was to be seated at the Feb. 13 AMA Board of Directors meeting.

Get the answers to both questions— and plenty more—at this year’s AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona, March 5, where the guests of honor will include motorcycle land-speed record-holders Chris Carr and Denis Manning. The 22nd annual Breakfast at Daytona is a fundraiser for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Manning is the moving force, and Carr is the rider, behind the pair’s absolute

land-speed record of 367.558.

“People think that this is a lot of work, and it is—it’s been 30 years of effort leading to this point” says Manning.

“I may never make the Fortune 500 chasing land-speed records, but for us, it’s a real passion.”

The breakfast is 8 a.m. at the Daytona Hilton on March 5. Tickets are $49 prior to March 1 and $55 at the door. Info: 800-AMA-JOIN (262-5646), ext. 1234.

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FEAR NO TEMPERATURE! March 2010

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The Life | Adrenaline

Don’t take anything away from reigning champ James Stewart. The San Manuel Yamaha rider once again wowed fans everywhere with blazing speed with his win at round one of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan. 9.

But it was Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey, not Stewart, who raised those same fan’s expectations for the 2010 season.

Dungey did something few riders, let alone class rookies, have done. He led the first 16 laps of the 20-lap main event, at times gapping Stewart. Although Stewart passed Dungey on the 17th lap, the first 75 percent of the race sent notice to the fans and industry alike that the 20-year-old Dungey is ready for the next level.

Then, the following week in Phoenix, Dungey demonstrated that his Anaheim ride was no fluke. With Stewart slow to recover from an early race crash, Dungey won the second round rather easily, taking the points lead in the process.

Dungey had a superb 2009 on the smaller displacement bikes, racing his way to the 2009 AMA Supercross Lites West Region Championship and the AMA 250 Motocross Championship outdoors.

He also led AMA Team USA to an

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unprecedented 20th Motocross of Nations World Championship, winning the MX1 class on a Suzuki RMZ450 in the process.

But outdoor performance on a 450 doesn’t always indicate indoor big-bike prowess. Few rookies make the transition so smoothly, so quickly on the tight, technical, big-air tracks in Monster Energy AMA Supercross.

“I was able to put down some clean laps at the beginning of the race, but I got out of my flow toward the end,” Dungey says. “I think (Stewart) might have messed up at the first of the race, which allowed me to gap him. But then I messed up, which allowed him to get back around me.

I tried to make a little effort there at the end, but I just couldn’t get it done.”

What Dungey has done, however, is breathe even more competitive life into Monster Energy AMA Supercross. For a nation of fans looking for the Next Big Thing, you may have found him.

Live Timing & Scoring At AMASupercross.com Going to a round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, will always be the best way to experience one of motorsports’ greatest shows.

When you can’t get to the stadium, you can rely on free live timing and scoring at AMASupercross.com to deliver lap-by-lap action from the track.

Between practice, heat races, the lastchance qualifiers, and the main events, you can also read race reports, check out photo galleries and catch up on rider interviews.

One of the sport’s premier shooters, Jeff Kardas, is at each round freezing and posting the on-track action, while longtime motorcycle race reporter Shan Moore will be tracking down riders for their perspective.

You’ll also find the official series media guide, rider numbers and biographies, schedule and ticket information, the official series rulebook, as well as rider bulletins and competition notices from AMA Racing.

Photos Supercross: Jeff Kardas: Dirt Track: Jim Bowie; Pro-Am: RaceDayPix.com

AMA SuPercroSS: Dungey rISIng KID DOES GOOD

It’s Almost Like Being There

The Life | Adrenaline

New National Series Goes Retro

AMA Racing Vintage National Dirt Track Championship Is Set For some, vintage racing is an excuse to compete on an older bike — in other words, affordably. For others, it represents a rolling history of motorcycle competition, a museum at speed.

The 2010 AMA Racing Vintage National Dirt Track Championship targets both goals with a historically accurate rulebook that won’t break the bank by allowing expensive, non-period modifications that violate the spirit of vintage racing.

“Much of AMA history was written on oval dirt tracks across America, from the original factory Class A racing in the 1920s to the Class C production-based structure that emerged shortly after,” says AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley. “The AMA was there from the beginning, and this organization is in a unique position to lay claim to the history of this sport and give it the recognition it deserves on the national stage.

“We started that process in 2009 with the first-ever AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships, which were part of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days,” Bromley adds. “In 2010, AMA-sanctioned vintage dirt track will return to AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, but as part of the AMA Racing Vintage National Dirt Track Championship—a true national series that further elevates the heritage of our sport.”

Vintage racing expert Don Miller, owner of MetroRacing.com, is the technical adviser of the AMA Vintage National Dirt Track Championship Series. Miller says that the class structure reflects the diverse eras of dirt track’s history while avoiding

non-traditional modifications that violate the spirit of a vintage meet.

“As a vintage motorcycle enthusiast and lifetime dirt-track fanatic, I was thrilled when I was asked to help with the development of the series rules,” Miller says. “I poured over old AMA rulebooks, competition bulletins and old photographs to make sure that this series stays true to the heritage of AMA Dirt Track Racing.

This series is a great step in preserving motorcycling’s past by promoting historically correct racing in the spirit of this first American motorcycle sport. I hope to see everyone at the races.”

Promoters supporting the new series include Steve Nace Racing; the Orangeburg Motoplex, owned by former pro dirt tracker Ed Salley; the Square Deal Riders, the 2009 AMA Racing Club of the Year; the Waco Eagles Motorcycle Club, an AMA-chartered club since 1951; and AMA Racing.

The 2010 AMA Racing Vintage National Dirt Track Championship Series begins on Feb. 28 at the new short-track facility at the Daytona Flat Track in Daytona Beach, Fla. The 10-round series includes stops in South Carolina, New York, Ohio, Illinois and Texas.

Class rules and equipment regulations for the new championship series are available in an AMA Racing Competition Bulletin at AMARacing.com > Archived Results & Rules > AMA Racing Rules > Competition Bulletin: AMA Racing 2010 Vintage Dirt Track Classes.

The schedule can be found on page 54.

AMA Pro-Am Motocross Gets Upgrade More Support In ’10

What amateur motocrosser hasn’t dreamed of one day racing in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship?

One way to make that dream a reality is to hone your skills at AMA Racing Pro-Am events. It’s here where up-and-coming racers earn the points, purse money and contingency support to help them climb the competitive ladder.

“With around 40 races on the calendar and at least $150,000 in guaranteed purse available to the fastest amateur motocross racers on the planet, we’re confident this schedule will prepare these young racers for the next level,” says AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley.

Bromley adds that one factor in developing the current schedule was the increased minimum age requirements for a pro license.

“In 2010, the minimum age to acquire a professional license rises to 17, and in 2011, that will increase to 18,” Bromley says. “What that also means is that many of today’s top amateurs will spend more time in the Pro-Am ranks. That reality pushed us to create a schedule that best suits the up-and-coming A-class rider looking to build skill and confidence to race with the professional racers at the national level.”

AMA Racing Pro-Am motocross events are open to both professionally licensed and A-class amateur motocross racers. The events allow amateurs to gain experience on America’s top tracks and prepare for pro-level speeds.

To be considered for a pro motocross license, competitors must have at least 75 advancement points (at the time of application) in AMA Racing ProAm motocross events in a continuous 12-month period. Points are based on overall finishes in either the 250 Pro-Am and Open Pro-Am classes. Points from each class won’t be combined.

For the schedule, see page 54.

March 2010

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The Life | Adrenaline

Circles and Arrows

It’s Different. It’s Fast. It May Win A National Title Mike Lafferty Doesn’t Mind Things A Bit Whacked The new Husabergs are very cool in several ways. Borrowing most of their parts from parent company KTM’s proven line of thumpers, the Husaberg engineers aren’t afraid to still do things their own way—an upside-down motor, air filter in the gas tank, plastic (cross-linked polyethylene) subframe, etc.

Although reviews of the bikes, which come in 390cc, 450cc and 570cc displacements and in enduro and cross-country trim, have been positive, a national championship-caliber rider hasn’t tested the machines on the national stage.

That all changes this year when eighttime AMA National Enduro Champion Mike

“If you want to get the fuel tank off, you do have to do some work. That’s a bit of a pain. The air filter boot wraps around, and you have sensor wires and fuel lines that you have to route and unplug. But it does carry more fuel toward the center of the bike instead of out front.”

“I wasn’t sure about the air filter under the front of the seat. But now that I’ve ridden the bike, it stays much cleaner. I don’t change my air filter as much as I did, and I’m starting to feel pretty guilty about it.”

“Not sure on the concept behind the plastic subframe. It’s light. It looks like it takes up a lot of room, but I’m used to it.”

“It handles quite a bit differently. Not like a Japanese bike. Being linkage-less, it has the same kind of feel in one sense, but the way it transfers power is different. The motor makes the bike handle differently than what I’ve been used to from the past 15 years.”

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Lafferty lines up for his minute on the 2010 Husaberg FE390. In search of a recordsetting ninth title, Mike isn’t willing to compromise on anything in his program.

His willingness to ride the very different ‘Berg is telling.

But what does he really think? We caught up with him to find out.

“The fuel-injection, I freaking love it. I hope I never have to jet a bike or see a carb again.

We installed a racing ICU map and that was it. I was scared at first with the F.I. and all, but it’s unbelievably easy. There’s no popping or banging, and it starts right up every time.”

“When I got the bike, I weighed it. The weight’s the same as the KTM400 that I’m used to, but it carries 20 more pounds in the rear. That takes 20 pounds of steering mass off the front end, and it steers so effortlessly.”

“With the motor where it is, positioning the crank like that, that makes a major difference in handling. There was a bit of a different feel when the bike dropped into a hole to get the rear end to squat, but we’ve basically worked that out with setup. Actually, my baseline setup with the KTM worked real well. We cut a half a year off testing because of that.”

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Photos Husaberg: Adam Campbell; Arenacross: Shan Moore; Abbott: Steve Berkner; Gadson: Matt Polito; Nixon: Kinney Jones

Setting up websites, forums and, now, social media pages has become silly simple over the past few years. It’s no surprise to see stars everywhere becoming their own webmasters, so to speak. Racers are no different. Here are a few hot spots online where you can connect with your heroes.

DestryAbbott.com: The former AMA National Hare & Hound Champion and current contender for Monster Energy Kawasaki runs a pretty active forum.

If you log on at the right time of the year, you might land a killer deal on one of Destry’s old race bikes.

Ricky Gadson’s MySpace page: Read posts and check out personal photos from one of AMA Dragbike’s biggest stars at MySpace. com/rgsportbikezone.

Ricky’s current mood after another championship? “Accomplished.”

Gary Nixon’s Facebook page: Nixon often complains about the hassles of keeping up his page, but he still keeps it up with pics and witty posts. Old fans also contribute classic photos. Classic Nixon status update: “Still trying… I hate the Face thing, use my e-mail.

(Doing) good AS CAN BE EXPECTED. I WAS AT LAGUNA I THINK. GARY #9.”

Become No. 9’s friend at http://www.facebook. com/people/GaryNixon/685121679

Bowers On A Roll

Lays Early Claim To Arenacross Points Lead Winning three out of the first four rounds is one way to show you’re serious about taking a title. That’s the message Tyler Bowers is sending to both fans and rivals when it comes to the 2010 AMA Arenacross Championship.

Following up a win at the series’ first ’10 doubleheader in Grand Rapids, Mich., with a sweep of Baltimore’s two rounds, the Babbitt’s Monster Energy/Ti Lube Kawasaki rider has built a solid points lead with increasingly dominating rides. In the final Baltimore round, Bowers raced mostly unchallenged in the 25-lap main and now holds a 16-point advantage over his teammate Chad Johnson.

American Motorcyclist (AM): Tyler, how did the Babbitt’s ride come together?

Tyler Bowers (TB): Denny (Bartz, team manager) stepped up and offered me a deal, and it was awesome—it was like the week before (the season preview race in) Des Moines. I signed everything, and got the bike Tuesday. I rode Wednesday, then that night drove from California to Des Moines. It was like 27 hours, and not very fun at all. I got there pretty tired from the

trip, but the bike was amazing...

AM: Are you feeling a lot of pressure from winning so soon?

TB: No, not really. I knew coming into this series two of the guys that were definitely in my head as the biggest competition were Josh Demuth and Chad Johnson. Then I show up at the first round, and they’re on my team... I don’t really feel pressure just because I know how I can do. I wouldn’t say that I’m the fastest guy on the team, because even if you are the fastest, it takes a lot more than that to win.

AM: What have you learned from your teammates?

TB: Josh is hilarious, and he’s totally different than what I ever imagined. I grew up in Ohio, too, and I remember watching Josh when I was on 50s. He was all tatted up selling all this. But he’s different now that I’ve met him. He’s a lot cleaner than I ever thought he would be. He’s a good guy, and I’m happy to be teammates with him and Chad. The way that they handle themselves, they’re complete opposites, but they’re both just perfect. You can’t ask for better teammates.—Jim Kimball

March 2010

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Heritage

YAMAHA YZR500 ROADRACER

Photo Open Image Studio

A TWO-STROKE WEAPON FROM THE GRAND-PRIX WARS There aren’t many opportunities for mere mortals in the motorcycling world to get up close to a bona-fide 500cc Grand-Prix racebike. After all, they cost $1 million or more to build, and are the fastest roadracing bikes on the planet.

But you can get close to this one.

This Yamaha YZR500 battled on the world stage from 1992 through 1996 in the FIM 500cc World Motorcycle Championship, now known as MotoGP. The bike also competed in the famed Isle of Man TT, which features a 37-mile road course where riders race at speed, sometimes just inches from stone walls.

In fact, this YZR500 still carries the livery it wore in that race, including the number 6 that indicates it qualified sixth in its class in the ’98 TT, ridden by Welshman Nigel Davies.

Built by Harris Performance Productions of Hertford, England, this YZR features a works V-four, twin-crank, two-stroke motor, and is one of about a dozen built from 1991 to 1993.

The 499cc motor pumps out a claimed 170 horsepower at 12,500 rpm.

To handle all that power, the bike has extraordinary chassis bits, including an Öhlins steering damper and suspension,

Brembo front brakes, a Nissan rear brake, and Dymag wheels.

The bike also has carbon-and-steel brake discs and pads, and carbon brake disc covers with cooling scoops. The dry weight is a featherlight 287 pounds.

This bike is just one of many significant motorcycles now on display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum at AMA headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio.

It is owned by the AMA Hall of Fame, thanks to the generosity of Gary Coleman of Atlanta, Ga., who donated the motorcycle in 2008.

Heritage features the machines and people of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio. The Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that receives support from the AMA and from motorcycling enthusiasts. For info and directions, visit MotorcycleMuseum.org, or call (614) 856-2222.

March 2010

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Being the best in the world in the winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, this month takes hard work, dedication and sacrifice. For these three Olympians, it also helps to be a motorcyclist. Words By Grant Parsons. Portrait By Tom Bear.

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Photos Portraits: Tom Bear; Action: Mike Hormell

I

t was 2007, and Olympic silver medalist skier Shannon Bahrke was working through one of the occupational hazards of life as an elite-athlete mogul master—a blownout knee from a ski crash.

Knee rehabilitation following surgery is a painful, arduous process. Looking to let off a little steam one afternoon, she stopped by the Salt Lake City bicycle shop run by her boyfriend, Matt Happe. It was a slow day, and he and some friends were racing pitbikes in the vacant lot next door.

“They had bought a bunch of 50cc motorcycles and totally souped them up,” she laughs. “My boyfriend is 6-foot-4, and to see him on a 50cc bike was pretty funny—I thought that thing was going to explode.”

The riders suggested she take a turn on the makeshift track.

“I have a lot of crazy friends, and they talked me into it,” Bahrke says. She put on her knee brace, suited up and gave it a go.

She was instantly hooked.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I have to get one of these!’” she says. “They were so easy and simple to ride, and not scary at all. You look at motorcycle races on TV, and everyone’s doing these huge jumps, and that’s just crazy. But this little 50cc was not intimidating. I could just get on there and do it and get the hang of it quickly.”

It was the start of a beautiful relationship that soon had Bahrke buying her first motorcycle, a Yamaha TT-R125 followed by a Honda. Now, her bike is an important tool in her training as an world-level athlete.

She figures it’s good practice for mental focus, body positioning, cardio training and more on her regular trail rides. And as many motorcyclists know, it’s a great stress reliever.

“I really can’t imagine being without a motorcycle now,’’ she says.

In fact, Bahrke, who at presstime was aiming for a berth on the 2010 U.S. Olympic ski team, is not alone among Olympians in her love of motorcycles. Several members of the U.S. Team are motorcyclists to the core.

For luge racer Tony Benshoof, motorcycles are a great counterpoint to luge, where he’s usually found hurling down

runs on the high side of 85 mph on a sled the size of a large doormat, steering by feel alone. He favors enduro machines for the woods, and rides his Harley-Davidson on the street.

“For me, I like the complexity of motorcycles,” he says. “Road bikes are great, but with off-road bikes, there’s a lot more going on. There’s balance, they’re nimble, you can jump them higher. They’re just fun.”

For freestyle skier Jeret Peterson, whose signature ski-jump trick involves a seemingly impossible three somersaults and five twists, motorcycles are a way to take a break, kick back and relax. Though he’s raced motocross, these days he prefers the laidback attitude of his Honda VTX1800.

“From the first time I rode, I loved the freedom a bike gave you to go wherever you wanted,” he says. “You didn’t have to stay on the road, you could run over rocks—you could do anything.”

And while these three athletes won’t be on motorcycles while they’re competing on the world stage this month at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, from Feb. 12 to 28, you can bet that come spring, they’ll be firing up their bikes and heading out just like the rest of us.

Shannon Bahrke is shooting for what will likely be her last Olympics after a 12-year run that has taken her to the top level.

The current U.S. National Champion in dual moguls took silver in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and she’s a 2003 World Cup Champion. She sticks to a withering training schedule throughout the year that involves daily four-hour workouts in the gym, lots of skiing and regular appointments with trainers and chiropractors. It’s a full-time job, and Bahrke remains extremely focused—which is why she finds it somewhat amazing that she’s become a die-hard motorcyclist.

“I consider myself a really big wuss, and the fact that I do the crazy sport that I do, and ride motorcycles, and want to get into car racing, I really have no idea where that came from,” she says. “With bikes, and with mogul skiing, once I did it, it was like, ‘This is the best thing!’ I fell in love with it.”

March 2010

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Photos Bike: Tony Benshoof; Others: Brian Martin

Bahrke eventually settled on her current bike, a Honda CR85. “Yeah, it’s kind of a kid’s bike,” she laughs. “But I’m short, and where we ride in the mountains, you need to be able to get your feet down.”

Trail riding is her latest passion. She rides often with friends, with her favorite trails in the area around Moab, Utah. More than anything, she notes, motorcycles have expanded her horizons.

“It’s just so much fun—I never knew you could go all these amazing places on a motorcycle,” she says. “I’ll ride the Slickrock Trail (outside Moab) on my mountain bike, and it’s just way more enjoyable on a motorcycle. My head doesn’t feel like it’s going to explode, and my muscles don’t want to die. It’s great.”

Bahrke finds plenty of crossover between skiing and riding. The main thing: You must be 100 percent focused in both.

“You have to be completely on it,” she says. “Skiing, you’re always reacting and trying to recover from your mistakes. It’s the same thing with motorcycling, so it really helps with my sport—being prepared, looking ahead, trying to go faster than you should. There’s a lot of overlap.”

Then there’s the mental training she gets out of it. Riding with all guys, she often finds herself having fun pushing hard at the beginnings to keep up.

“I ride way above my head for the first half-hour, trying to keep them in sight, and that’s crazy, because they’re way faster than me,” she says. “But throughout the day, I get more confident, and I realize I can do it. It’s good to realize that.”

It’s refreshing, Bahrke notes, to try an entirely different sport like motorcycling— and start from the bottom.

“It’s neat to work at something and see improvement quickly,” she says. “For me, the learning curve is small in skiing, and sometimes progressing is so frustrating.

Something like moving my hand forward a half-inch is like a really big change. But on a motorcycle, I’m still so new that when I’m out on the trail and maybe I fall or don’t do something the way I want, by the end of the day I’m doing it seamlessly. There’s such a sense of accomplishment.”

Motorcycling, she says, has become a big part of her life. “I just encourage everybody to try it,” she says.

“You watch people like Travis Pastrana, and it seems so intimidating. But there are so many levels that you can do. You can start on a 50 like I did and get the TT-R bike. It’s not hard. It really seems like there’s room for everybody on a motorcycle, she says.”

If you’re looking for thrills on ice, you could do a lot worse than the luge. The small, two-runner sleds are steered entirely

by leaning. When you’re riding one well, you’re not even looking forward, using the feel of the track and your peripheral vision to keep yourself on target as you hit speeds upward of 85 mph.

One of the best in the world on a luge is Minnesotan Tony Benshoof. He remains the highest-ranked American singles luger in Olympic competition, with a fourth-place in the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy. He also holds records for the most international medals won by any USA Men’s Singles athlete and most U.S. National titles won.

Given his adrenaline-charged world, it’s no surprise that he once had a serious love affair with sportbikes.

“I started on dirtbikes, riding around the farm, building jumps and things, but when I was 18, I got into sportbikes with a Honda CBR600RR,” he says. “To be honest, I got so many speeding tickets when I was in my early 20s that I had to give it up!”

Ultimately, he decided to keep his need for high speed on for the mile-long, convoluted sled runs, where he is the Guinness World Record-holder for fastest speed on a luge sled (86.6 mph) at the track in Park City, Utah. These days, Benshoof spends his time on his HarleyDavidson, and until he sold his latest offroad bike, enduro machines for trail riding.

Like Bahrke, he sees some real crossovers between motorcycling and luge.

The key factor in both? Traction.

“On a modern sportike, I think you get close to the feelings you get on a luge,’’ he says. “If you take out the engine element, the principals are very similar. If you’re going fast around a corner, you’re pushing the threshold of friction and traction.

“With a luge, you’re constantly pushing how little of an edge you can be riding before you’re out of control,” he says. “That balance point between in and out of control is where the fastest runs come from. It’s the same off-road on a motorcycle.”

Benshoof is away from his home in Minnesota for six months at a time, when he’s competing around the world or training at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. For several years, he’s taken his dirtbike or his Harley-Davidson with him to training.

“Personally, I look at riding motorcycles as cross-training,” he says.

“When you’re running singletrack, there’s a lot going on,” he continues. “The faster you ride, the more forward you have to look and think. Things are coming at you quickly, and you have to prioritize them very fast—you know, ‘Which of these things can I forget about?’

“There’s a lot of that that’s the same with luge,” he says.

Also, the Harley-Davidson has been a great escape. There are several athletes

and trainers at the center who ride, he says, and they’ll often get together and head out for a cruise.

Benshoof readily admits to missing riding—especially lately since he sold his most recent enduro bike to be sure he’d avoid injury before the Olympics. But he is 100 percent psyched to be focused on the Olympic Games for now.

“I feel good about our chances,’’ he says. “The track in Vancouver is my style of track. It’s technical, and there’s small margin for error, and that fits my style.

We’re definitely looking forward to it.”

In the world of elite-level skiing, the athletes closest to freestyle motocross riders are aerial skiers, who launch from massive ramps to pull flips, spins and twists before time runs out and the snow comes screaming toward them.

Few aerial skiers go bigger than Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, whose signature trick is a three-flip-and-five-twist combo he calls the “Hurricane.”

Bikes, he says, were a natural from the first one he bought in eighth grade—a Suzuki RM80 with a blown engine.

“I wasn’t able to have motorcycles when I was really young,” he says. “By the time I was in eighth grade, I was kind of able to do what I wanted. It took about three months to fix it back up. I was stoked the first time I kicked it and it fired up.”

He would ride with a friend who had a dirtbike, and eventually moved up to motocross racing as he got older, all the while skiing in the winters.

“I just liked the adrenaline and sense of freedom of both sports,” he says. “I was definitely better on skis. I had to stop motocross racing a while ago. On the motocross track, I had the guts to go big, but I didn’t have the brains for the brakes.

So I switched to trail riding.”

Like Benshoof, he also rode on the street, on a CBR600RR, but found it much easier to keep himself in check after he bought a Honda VTX1800.

“The cruiser is definitely the choice for me,” he says. “The VTX makes me smarter.

I get to enjoy the relaxation a little more than the adrenaline.”

Not surprisingly for a guy who spends a lot of time in the air pulling off seemingly impossible stunts, Peterson is blown away by freestyle motocrossers. Learning the hurricane took months of practice in the Olympic Training Center’s ramp and pool.

Watching someone like Pastrana pull a double-backflip on a motorcycle, he says, is amazing.

Even more amazing, he says, was the time Pastrana came out to the training center to try out the swimming pool.

“I taught him how to flip on skis and he

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Talk to these athletes, and you really get a sense of the sacrifice it takes to contend to be the best in the world.

They’ve been focused on these Olympic Games for the past four years—and on some level for much longer than that.

They’ve left behind normal lives and normal jobs to pursue their dreams. Because of that, all three have plans for after the games.

And all their plans call for motorcycles.

Vancouver will likely be Bahrke’s last Olympics. She’s focused on expanding the coffee-roasting company she founded two years ago, Silver Bean Coffee. And she’s looking for some more fun on two wheels.

“Everything is going to have to fit in somehow,” she says. “I really want to try to do some Supermoto racing, where you’re doing asphalt and dirt. That looks like a lot of fun. And I’ll start doing a lot more jumping on my dirtbike on the trails. I’ve kind of kept that in check with the Games coming up.”

Benshoof says he plans to get a new enduro bike after the Olympics. He’s also got a very specific plan involving his HarleyDavidson and his coach.

“I’ve been thinking of a few motorcycle trips. My coach, who’s from Lichtenstein, recently bought a Harley-Davidson, and we’ve talked about going to Sturgis. That will just blow his mind.”

And Peterson? He’s already thinking of new motorcycles.

“I’ve always wanted a Harley, but there’s a lot of other bikes out there that I think are neat, too,” he says. “Getting a custom bike would be pretty cool. I would love a chopper that you could actually ride.”

Plans for new rides, new adventures and new bikes? On one level, at least, these elite athletes are just like the rest of us. •

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Photos Action: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly; Motocross: Tia Masters

taught me how to do a backflip on a bike. He was doing things on the ramps the first day that it takes some people two or three years to do,” he says.

For Peterson’s part, learning the backflip on a bicycle/tricycle contraption came quickly as well.

“The first two tries were horrendous,” he laughs. “But I really stuck it the next two tries.”

Friday, March 5, 2010

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The Journey.

Not The Destination.

On A Ride From Dallas To The PaciďŹ c And Back, One Rider Finds Much More Than Just The Country.

Words & Trip Photography By Pete Cope. Portrait by Andrew R. Slaton.

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O

K, so things weren’t going according to plan. But I learned long ago that adventure is what happens when your plans go out the window.

And at that point, my plans had definitely gone out the window.

I was standing on the side of a rocky Colorado hill, in a miles-long gnarly, narrow, rutted, switchback gravel road, looking down at my Buell Ulysses, which suddenly had no clutch and no way to go forward.

And this was just the first day of a trip that was definitely throwing me a few curves, but would ultimately teach me a few things about life and about myself.

At the age of 4 I’d had the hook of motorcycling set so deep that I knew I’d never shake it. A quick ride around the block on the tank of my uncle’s Kawasaki would lead to a lifetime of moto-hysteria.

By 14 I became a fixture at my local dealer scheming how I’d bungee a sleeping bag to a bike and disappear for a few weeks.

I’d done a few Iron Butt endurance rides, and ridden plenty of miles since I got my first bike at 18. What I hadn’t done was take a few weeks to go across the country on my

own schedule with my own agenda. Work and life have always conspired to derail my plans and keep me busy. But when I realized that the U.S. round of MotoGP at California’s Laguna Seca Raceway was the weekend before a rally I really wanted to attend out West, I decided to go for it.

Besides, I figured it’d be good to get away and sort through a few things in my head. Motorcycle journeys always seem like a good way to do that, and frankly, I had been feeling a little down lately about a few parts of my life and my work.

What I felt really good about, however, was my recent marriage to the most wonderful woman in the world, who would be joining me later on the trip.

So on a Wednesday in July, I headed out from Dallas on my fully loaded Buell Ulysses for the first leg to Colorado. My friend, Robert, joined me on a BMW K1200LT. By late afternoon we had made it to Trinidad, Colo. We were just a quick ride away from Robert’s cabin in Weston. He had warned me about the road up to the cabin, but he said he would be leading on the LT. No sweat, right? Well, no. The rutted, switchback driveway soon claimed the LT, which fell over with both wheels pointed uphill. It was one heavy sucker for the two of us to lift, but somehow we managed.

But the hill wasn’t through with us. I had stopped a few times to make sure Robert was upright and to help pick up the LT. Each time, I had to re-launch my overloaded bike.

On the final launch the bike wouldn’t move, even with the motor pinned. When I put the bike in gear to get off, it rolled backward, and I ultimately dumped it.

Great. Robert went up the hill and retrieved me with his Jeep, towing me up the hill while I zig-zagged to keep tension on the tow straps. By the time we crested the summit, I decided to take a deep breath and enjoy what was left of the day.

Hey, being broken down on vacation beats work any day.

The next day, we trailered the Ulysses 100 miles to the nearest dealer in Pueblo.

I checked into the La Quinta, which I think is Spanish for “the place right next to the interstate where you stay when your bike breaks down.” Or something like that.

Since it was Sunday and nothing was open, I spent the day by the pool with a frosty beverage, and watched “Dogfights” on the History Channel. Not a bad day.

Day three started with a free ride from the helpful folks at Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson/ Buell about 45 miles down the road, and I was soon good to go. It turns out that the mechanic who did the 15K service I’d had performed before I left hadn’t adjusted the clutch correctly.

My plans had me in Utah that night, and 475 miles of slab later, I was burning a hole in the night with my Hella lights and rolling into Moab, back on track.

Since it was dark when I came in, I didn’t know what to expect. When I opened my curtains in the morning, I was blown away by the mountain views straight out of a Roadrunner cartoon. I headed out for Arches National Park like a kid running downstairs on Christmas morning.

To stay on schedule, I went to everything before noon: Balancing Rock, Delicate Arch, Double Arch, Petrified Dunes, the Tower of Babel and a bunch of other mind-blowing sights. There really was too much to see, but now I know it’s worth a return trip.

On the road to California,

I got to thinking about the two types of riding that I love.

The first is that super-intense allencompassing type that forces you to not think at all. You must be fully engaged, anticipate and react. There isn’t time to think

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about how much work the backyard needs or whether or not you remembered to clean the gutters. You must focus entirely on the task at hand. I really enjoy that kind of clarity, and find it surprisingly peaceful.

The second kind of riding I enjoy is different. It’s when you find a great section of road and let your mind wander. It’s like meditation. The difference is that at a relaxed pace, your mind has time to work in the background. I often come to huge realizations about myself, my life, my relationship and work.

I headed northwest on 95 toward Glen Canyon and Hanksville. At a scenic overlook, I pulled over for a break, and the gears in my mind started turning.

Too often as of late I had let things get me down when I shouldn’t have. I know that happiness is a choice, but I also knew that I was forgetting that choice, day to day. If things in your life make you unhappy, you have to decide to deal with them or change them. I knew I had to focus on the little joys and simple pleasures that surround all of us.

I fueled up at the Hollow Mountain Gas & Grocery in Hanksville—a Phillips 66 station with a convenience store that is completely inside a mountain, with an interior entirely of exposed rock. It’s just like Disney World, except it’s real.

That night I made it all the way to Beaver, Utah, after getting caught in a freak hail storm that took me from near heat exhaustion to shivering cold.

After taking a hot shower, I walked down the street as the sun set on a perfect summer night. I walked through the center of town and watched a group of kids on their bikes. It brought me back to my own childhood and summers long past, when

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there was nothing better than a hot summer evening fading into a perfect sunset, watching the sun drop deep against the horizon, knowing all the while that you didn’t have to go to school the next day, or the next.

I felt like I had something in common with those kids that night. We shared that sense of freedom you get on those long summer breaks from school.

The next morning,

I was headed out across Nevada. I had lived in Reno for two years before I moved to Texas, so the area was familar. I headed down the Extraterrestrial Highway—Nevada Route 375 that passes near the famed Area 51.

Rachel, the “town” that is closest to Area 51, appeared out of the desert, and the sticker-covered “Extraterrestrial Highway” sign proved too good a photo op not to stop. Unfortunately, when I leaned the bike to park it, the sidestand bolts sheered off.

The Creative Parking Rodeo had begun.

I rode the couple hundred yards to Rachel’s main attraction, a restaurant calling itself the Little A ‘le Inn, leaned the bike against the wall and walked into Weirdoville, U.S.A. The place was full of U.F.O and alien posters, and tons of crazy bumper stickers, some dealing with aliens and others political.

I couldn’t tell if the people here were in on the joke, or they really believed in aliens.

My guess is somewhere in the middle, but which side of the middle is open for debate.

The sidestand issue forced another change in my schedule, and I soon found myself headed for Reno. Luckily, I had some friends in town from when I used to live there, and I soon had a new plan. The

ride was a grind through the desert and the speed-trap towns of Lee Vining and Tonopah. I made it to Reno just in time to hook up with my friend at a nearby bike night.

It was great catching up with old friends, but I was forced to come face to face with my limitations as far as the trip was concerned. With time getting tight, my planned loop through Yosemite was out.

Instead, I rolled with the changes.

By 11 a.m. the next day, I had the sidestand fixed, and was headed over Kit Carson Pass on Nevada Route 88.

Thankfully, the road got twisty and I could really have some fun. I had a short ride planned for the day—less than a tank of gas. Surprisingly, this turned out to be my second-favorite riding day of the trip.

I took my time passing through Kirkwood and stopped for lunch at the Kirkwood Inn— the half-pound burger with Monterey Jack, green chilies and bacon was awesome. I didn’t hurry all day. It was a rare feeling on the trip for me. As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said: “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”

I was getting closer to being a good traveler. This trip was already helping me reconnect with myself, who I am, what I want to be, and was awakening my spirit from too many days sitting in front of a computer punching keys.

Back on the road, the rest of the day reminded me of why I love my Buell. It has acres of abundant torque, excellent suspension and a great chassis that helped me rail apex after apex with confidence.

And when the road turned ugly on Omo Ranch road on my way to connect to County Highway 16, the inside of my helmet

started to sound like a girls-only elementary school classroom with a substitute teacher.

Uncontrollable giggles.

Next up:

The Laguna Seca round of MotoGP. My plan was to be a volunteer, and sleep in a volunteer “dorm” in a gym. I soon discovered the volunteer organization was overwhelmed. Eight hours into a four-hour shift, I discovered this would not meet my requirements for “vacation.”

I changed my plans. A move from the gym to my tent at the nearby fairgrounds improved things a bit, but the nights (and days) there were still pretty loud and rowdy. The highlight of Laguna Seca was definitely hanging out at the races all day and Cannery Row all night. The final race came off great—shame that Honda’s Nicky Hayden couldn’t pull off the win—but I sure had fun.

As the races ended, I had a chance to get into a hotel room that didn’t cost a fortune. I got the world’s best shower and some great sleep for the first time since I rode into Monterey.

Day 10 of the trip,

and I was on the road again, headed down the Pacific Coast Highway towards San Diego, where

I would meet up with my two little brothers, eat their food, sleep on their couch and pay them nothing for the pleasure.

It was a cool, overcast morning typical of Northern California. The fog was hovering over the coastline. I was alone with my thoughts in my helmet, still reveling in the festivities of the weekend.

The road was great, full of nice sweepers that were relaxing and enjoyable. The last time I had done this trip was on a HarleyDavidson Road King Custom. It had tons of torque, a nice relaxed riding position and the rumble of that big V-twin pushing me from apex to apex.

I missed my Road King.

Then I rounded the corner and came to a stop for construction. Filing to the front, I was welcomed by a pack of bikes awaiting permission to continue their journey. As the construction flag worker dropped the flag. we all took off. As the order sorted out, I caught up to a pack of three bikes I felt confident riding with. A Ducati 1098s led, followed by an older 900SS and a brilliantly ridden BMW RT touring bike.

The road was spectacular, full of twists, turns, peaks and valleys. Anticipating and reacting consumed every lobe of my brain. I was at peace.

I didn’t miss my Road King anymore.

The four of us ran for a solid 30 minutes of unbridled fun, and when they pulled off for a stop, I kept on rolling.

L.A. was the usual maze of freeways and traffic. I put my head down and worked my way through the mess. Soon I was south of L.A. and alone in my helmet again. I kept thinking: It’s amazing how motorcycling for a few days can clear your head.

The things that had been bothering me at work and elsewhere came back, and I was forced to come to some powerful self-realizations. I do know that if I don’t like something that I can change it. I have the ability to take chances and change the world around me. If I hate it, I have to change it or stop complaining about it. Beyond that, I’m not willing to waste precious hours in this existence being miserable.

When I arrived in San Diego, a huge mental burden had been lifted from my shoulders. Soon I was with my brothers, and all was right with the world.

Headed out of San Diego

the next day, I realized it was an important turning point in the trip. It was my first day heading east. East toward my wife, April, and my friends at West Fest, a motorcycle rally around the ADVRider.com community.

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East toward my home and my dogs. East toward my future.

It was hot, but my Camelback took the edge off. I laid down the miles. I rode on to meet my wife at my mom’s place in Los Alamos. The plan was to hang out at West Fest in Sipapu, N.M., do some riding and have a good time. The next morning, I ditched the gear I wouldn’t need and made room for April’s stuff. We hopped on the bike and headed out toward Sipapu.

When we arrived, I was surprised at how many friends I had made in the short time I have been active on ADVrider. April was surprised at how many people she knew, as well. It was great to be among so many good people. It was an awesome night.

We were on our way

back to the rally site after spending the next day in Taos, when I saw a U.S. Forest Service road that looked like a potential shortcut. It seemed like a good idea at the time—the best idea I had had all day.

It wasn’t. In fact, it was on that trail that I learned that a man has got to know his own limitations. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The bike was loaded down with gear and two people. In the early going, the road was a breeze. It was steep in spots and muddy in others, and there were even some rocky parts. It was probably about twice as difficult as any road I’d ever ridden. Prior to this trip, the extent of my off-road experience had been bouncing up and down on the dirtbikes at my local dealer. Now, I was starting to feel like a real adventure rider.

At a crossroads, I punched the address

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for the rally site into my GPS. Hang a right, it said. Go 2.5 miles to home.

Worst case, I knew I could get 2.5 miles even if I had to carry my bike on my back.

Soon, we were happily cruising off-road, two-up, with a 17-inch front wheel, street tires, steering geometry and wheelbase similar to a GP bike and loaded down with supplies for the weekend.

The trail got hairy. Fast. The mud got thick, the front tire loaded up and started wandering. The bike started to slide away from me. I tried my best to keep it up. I put my right foot out and gave it everything I had. The problem was that we were still moving. I caught my right foot between the bag and the ground. Backward.

I heard it pop twice. Loudly.

We went down, and I rolled off the bike and onto my back. After a moment, my eyes met my wife’s. I caught her wince, and I saw the look that a parent tries not to give when they see their kid is hurt. Neither of us said a word. I didn’t let on how bad it hurt, but I knew it was bad. It wasn’t blackoutlevel pain, but the world sure got woozy for a bit. Not good.

It took me a bit to gather up. Eventually, we were ready. April helped me get the bike back up. I climbed on and she hopped on the back without giving it a second thought.

1.8 miles to home, I thought. I can do this. I didn’t think of turning around.

Half a mile later, I dropped it again in some roots. The third time I dropped it, April volunteered to walk alongside until it got easier. Things had gone from bad to worse.

I was struggling to stand on my seemingly broken foot. Exhaustion was setting in.

The two of us could barely pick up the bike when it fell. Under way, the ruts were deep enough that the bags rubbed on both sides.

After hours of struggling, I checked the GPS again. 2.8 miles to home, the GPS lied, adding an extra mile to the previous reading.

We kept plugging on. The sun was starting to set.

The trail got even worse, with boulders and rocks the size of basketballs. I was exhausted. I dropped it again—1.7 miles to home. I dropped it again—1.6 miles to home. I dropped it again. I couldn’t catch my breath, and I couldn’t stand on the pegs anymore. We stopped to rest and take stock of our situation.

I told April my foot was probably broken.

We had one of those discussions that only a husband and wife who are good friends can have, where we discussed options.

We had only about two hours of light left, we were high up in the mountains and the temperature was dropping. I knew I was done. I couldn’t go any farther with the bike.

April is an amazing woman. Ultimately, she decided she would walk the final miles out and get some help from our friends.

Waiting there for what seemed like an eternity, shivering in my Olympia jacket, I had plenty of time to think about my bad decisions. Each one of them had raised the stakes. I should have turned around the first time I fell. Instead, each time I rolled the dice and came up with snake eyes.

That’s a lesson in life that I continually seem to be forced to learn the hard way, I thought, as the day grew darker and colder.

I spent the time trying to not think about what could have happened to April.

As I sat in the pitch black of the night, I heard someone down the trail say, “Mate... is that you?” Salvation!

The Brit who appeared introduced himself as Lyndon, a friend of another friend, Anthony, who was walking up behind him.

They had to leave their KTM 950s a ways down the trail because it got so bad. Oddly, that made me feel at least a little better.

Lyndon got the bike down the trail to a massive tree that had fallen over and blocked all access—had I been able to keep going earlier, it surely would have stopped me. The three of us actually had to lift the bike over the waist-high tree. From there, we met up with Kevin, another volunteer. I couldn’t thank them enough.

Just before midnight, I came out of the woods to see my wife, standing there waiting. I didn’t have words. I muttered something about never splitting up again.

She agreed, and was awesome enough not even to punch me in the face.

My friend, Jeff, was waiting with his truck, and I rode back in the passenger seat, totally defeated.

I was banged up, but I learned the next day the foot wasn’t broken, so I spent the final day of the rally around camp. I found a cold stream to soak my foot, and my new bride and I spent a wonderful day talking, enjoying a few cold drinks and generally having a good time.

We talked about my trip, my job, my thoughts and feelings on this voyage and our future plans. On that cold, dark mountain everything that was sloppy in my life had come into sharp focus. I had never

felt closer to her.

What mattered was what was good in my life. My relationship with my wife, our great house, our families, my dumb dogs, her crazy cat, having our health, our future together—that’s what matters. Not the trivial but the essential. The day was perfect.

I could move my foot slightly, and the swelling was coming down. For her part, my wife got a “you are going to do whatever I say because you stranded us on a mountain and made me walk out by myself” card.

Since then, I have been to a birthday party for a 2-year-old, a wedding, several gatherings of her family and the circus—all with a huge smile on my face.

The next day,

it was time to head back to reality. April got the better end of the deal and caught a flight out of Albuquerque home. I had about 675 miles of hot, boring road ahead of me. It still beat work.

More time alone in my helmet, with a stream of consciousness running through it.

Dallas had seen so much rain this year that it never really felt like summer had arrived. With this trip, I felt like I had squeezed an entire summer into two weeks.

Even better, I had turned the corner to start appreciating all the things that make me who I am. All the things I want to change weren’t magically fixed, but I was able to put them in perspective.

I was choosing to fix them or make them better. I was choosing to be happy and not miserable. After all, I had the hard parts figured out already.

In Clines Corners, Texas, I stopped for

fuel and ran into a friend from the rally.

His bike had been sidelined with a motor problem, and their return home in a rental truck had been delayed. We decided to team up and dash back to Dallas on the freeway. It was blazing hot and boring, but I was glad not to be stuck in that truck.

We rode and rode. We would ride until my reserve light came on, then fill up, slam a Gatorade and a water, and pound out another 160 miles. We had a great day inventing new hand signals and making fun of each other.

As my journey came to an end, I decided to stop delaying and start planning to have my own family. I also decided that I would ride with my family and show them the world from the seat of a motorcycle.

It was a great trip. I had figured out a lot about myself and a lot about what I was willing to put up. There are limitations in this life. Limitations to what my body will do, limitations to my skills on a motorcycle, limitations to what I’m willing to put up with in my personal and professional life.

But I also knew that I can move some of those limitations around, and be as good a man as I want to be. There is no reason not to be the best person I can. I have all the reasons I need around me. My family, my friends, my colleagues and my wife.

Eventually, I rounded the last corner and was home. It had been fun, crazy, painful and dangerous, all rolled into one. It was also the end of the best trip ever, but only the start of putting my life, my mind and my spirit back on track. It was 5,000 miles that I wouldn’t have done any differently. •

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A few of the hundreds of AMA-sanctioned events this month, detailed on the following pages.

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Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, is in full swing. James Stewart, Chad Reed and the rest of the best Supercross racers on the planet will be in Indianapolis Feb. 20; Atlanta Feb. 27: Daytona Beach, Fla., March 6; Toronto, Canada, March 13; Arlington, Texas, March 20 and Jacksonville, Fla., March 27. Check out the full schedule on the next page.

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Meet the fastest motorcyclists in the world—Chris Carr and Denis Manning— at this year’s AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona March 5. Manning built the land-speed-record bike, and Carr was the pilot, setting a new record last year of 367.558 mph in the measured kilometer. For more info, see the story on page 27.

3

For a real adventure, check out the Death Valley 350 presented by Countdown that is set for March 27-28 beginning in Ridgecrest, Calif. The ride goes from

Ridgecrest to Beatty, Nev., and back on mostly graded dirt. Knobbies are recommended. Info: District37AMA.org or (775) 884-0399.

4

The AMA Pro Racing Superbike Championship series gets under way at Daytona International Speedway on March 3-5 and then moves to Fontana, Calif.

March 26-28. for the full schedule, see page 53.

5

The 73rd running of the Sandy Lane Enduro hosted by the Meteor Motorcycle Club is set for March 21 in Greenbank, N.J. The event features 70 miles of South Jersey trails. Info: Meteormc.com or Michael Reighn at (856) 287-8170.

6

The gladiators of the AMA Arenacross Championship series will be in San

5

6

1

Go Ride

Antonio, Texas, Feb. 20-21; Fresno, Calif., Feb. 27-28; Reno, Nev., March 5-7; and then they head to Council Bluffs, Iowa, March 1214; Dayton, Ohio, March 20-21; and Denver March 26-28. For the full schedule, see page 53.

7

This Feb. 27, 28 and March 1, amateur dirt-trackers will race for No. 1 plates on the new Daytona Flat Track dirt-track course.

Then, March 2 will feature the Vet/Senior Shootout that will include classes for vet/ senior amateurs and pro exhibition classes.

More info at AMARacing.com.

COMING UP Start making your plans now to enjoy Arizona Bike Week at WestWorld in the town of Scottsville April 1-5.

There will be rides, bands, food and more.

Info: AZBikeWeek.com or Ralph Wilson at (480) 644-8191.

March 2010

51

THE

GUIDE TO EVENTS

The following pages list AMAsanctioned events for this month, up to date at press time. Current listings are in the Riding and Racing sections of www.

AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

The biggest events—pro races, national-championship amateur competition, and major rides and rallies—are highlighted in color boxes.

Type of Event

Date MOTOCROSS

For these series, we list all of the remaining events for the entire year.

Then there are the local events, the backbone of the AMA’s riding and racing calendar. These events are listed by state and are broken down by type, so you can quickly find the ones near you.

Here’s a guide to what you’ll find in these local listings:

Event Class (Competition events only) S - Standard (Amateur classes) Y - Youth Classes T - ATV classes G - Progressive M - Pro-Am classes Location/City

Event Promoter

MAR 6 (S,Y): BREAUX BRIDGE: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: DIRT BIKE MIKE LLC, ; 6 AM; 1640 MILLS HWY; (870) 342-5373; DIRTBIKEMIKE.COM Sign-in Time

Directions

Contact Phone Number

ALABAMA

MOTOCROSS MAR 27 (Y): PELL CITY: NATIONAL; 2 DAY EVENT: VICTORY SPORTS INC, SAM R GAMMON; 4 PM; MILLCREEK MX PARK /I-20 EX 156/GO SOUTH; (423) 3235497; VICTORYSPORTSRACING.COM

CALIFORNIA

ROAD RUN MAR 20: ACTON: 2 DAY EVENT: SHAMROCK ROAD RIDERS, DALE BRASSFIELD; 7 AM; CRAZY OTTO’S / CA HWY 14 TO SANTIAGO ROAD ONE BLOCK NORTH; (818) 486-3736; SC-MA. COM MAR 27: SAN JOSE: P & D PROMOTIONS INC, PETE FRANCINI; 5 PM; SANTA CLARA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS /344 TULLY RD; (408) 249-4336; SANJOSEINDOOR.COM POKER RUN MAR 6: CORONA: PASADENA MOTORCYCLE CLUB, JEFF; 7 AM; INDIAN M/C /1611 POMONA RD #C; (626) 483-2271; PASADENAMC.COM MAR 14: STOCKTON: PORT STOCKTON M/C, BILL WOLLNER; 2 PM; 728 S LAUREL ST; (209) 948-5918; PORTSTOCKTONMC.COM ADVENTURE RIDE MAR 27: RIDGECREST: 2 DAY EVENT: COUNTDOWN, JERRY L COUNTS; 8 AM; MOTEL 6; (775) 884-0399; DISTRICT37AMA.ORG SHORT TRACK MAR 25 (G,T): SAN JOSE: INDOOR; 3 DAY EVENT: P & D PROMOTIONS INC, PETE FRANCINI; 5 PM; SANTA CLARA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS /344 TULLY RD; (408) 249-4336; SANJOSEINDOOR. COM SCRAMBLES MAR 14 (S,T,Y): LUCERNE VALLEY: HUNTINGTON BEACH MC, JIM J HRUBY; BESSIMER MINE ROAD /I15 BEAR VALLEY RD EX, RT HWY 247 BARSTOW RD; (661) 510-3245; HUNTINGTONBEACHMC.COM HARE SCRAMBLES MAR 20 (S,Y): HOLLISTER: VINTAGE; 2 DAY EVENT: GHOSTRIDERS MC, RICK ARAUJO; 6 AM; HOLLISTER HILLS OHV PARK /7800 CIENEGA RD; (408) 2652122; GHOSTRIDERSMC.NET HARE & HOUND MAR 7 (S,T,Y): EL CENTRO: NATIONAL; ROADRUNNER OFF-ROAD RACIN, KIRK HESTER; SUPERSTITION OFFROAD AREA /”THE DIP”; (760) 275-9852; RODRUNNEROFFROAD.ORG

COLORADO

ARENACROSS MAR 26 (M,Y): DENVER: 3 DAY EVENT: FELD MOTOR SPORTS, JAYME DALSING; 10 AM; DENVER COLISEUM /4600 HUMBOLT ST; (800) 216-7482; ARENACROSS.COM

DELAWARE

POKER RUN MAR 21: NEW CASTLE: MOTORCYCLE

52

AmericanMotorcyclist.com

ACCIDENT VICTI, LEO SINCAVAGE; 10 AM; MIKES FAMOUS HARLEY DAVIDSON /2160 NEW CASTLE AVE; (302) 658-8800; MOTORCYCLEACCIDENTVICTIMS.ORG

FLORIDA

ROAD RUN MAR 3: DAYTONA BEACH: DAYTONA 200 MOTORCYCLE CL, TOM CLAUSEN; 9 AM; ALLIGATOR ROAD TOUR /3602 INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY BLVD; (386) 748-1678; DAYTONA200MC.COM MAR 21: FT LAUDERDALE: CHARITY;: BIG BIKE RIDERS ASSOCIATI, DR EDWARD N SZERLIP; 7:30 AM; CHRIS EVERT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL /1600 S ANDREWS AVE/CELEBRATION OF SMILES RIDE; (954) 346-3343; WERIDE4KIDS.COM MYSTERY RUN MAR 5: DAYTONA: DAYTONA 200 MOTORCYCLE CL, TOM CLAUSEN; 9 AM; 3602 INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY /1/2 MI WEST OF I-4 ON HWY 92; (386) 748-1678; DAYTONA200MC.COM SHORT TRACK MAR 1 (S,Y): DAYTONA: NATIONAL; AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST ASS, TAMRA JONES; 10 AM;; (614) 856-1900; AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM MAR 2 (S,Y): DAYTONA: NATIONAL; AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST ASS, TAMRA JONES; 8 AM;; (614) 856-1900; AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM ENDURO MAR 4 (S): DAYTONA BEACH: NATIONAL; DAYTONA DIRT RIDERS, STEVE PETTENGER; TOMOKA FARMS RD /3 MI W OF US 92/W OF INT’L SPEEDWAY; (386) 615-0722; DAYTONADIRTRIDERS. ORG

IDAHO

HARE & HOUND MAR 21 (S,Y): MURPHY: NATIONAL; DIRT INC, BILL WALSH; 12 PM; RABBIT CREEK TRAIL HEAD /HWY 78 TO TOWN/FOLLOW SIGNS; (208) 459-6871; DIRTINCRACING.COM

ILLINOIS

MOTOCROSS MAR 13 (S,Y): DU QUOIN: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: PARADISE MOTOPARK, DOUGLAS COCHRAN; 6 AM; 7598 GREENS MKT RD /1.7 MI W OF JCT HWYS 14 & 51; (618) 542-6203; PARADISEMOTOCROSS.COM OBSERVED TRIALS MAR 28 (S,Y): BYRON: NORTHERN ILLINOIS TRIALS, JENNIFER MAUPIN; 9 AM; GERMAN CHURCH RD /BYRON MOTOSPORTS PARK; (630) 690-1625; NITROTRIALS.COM

INDIANA

MOTOCROSS MAR 14 (S,T,Y): WABASH: WABASH CANNONBALL MOTORCY, STEVE W HENSON; PO BOX 59 /595 W 250 S, WABASH; WABASHCANNONBALLMC. COM MAR 20 (S,Y): ROSSVILLE: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: WILDCAT CREEK MX,

DEMETRIUS KNOP; 6 AM; 6390 S WILDWOOD /I-65 TO LAFAYETTE/ SR26E TO TOWN; (765) 379-2482; WILDCATCREEKMX.COM MAR 27 (S,T,Y): AKRON: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: READS RACING, CAROL KLINGER; 5 AM; HANGTIME MX /13253 E ST RD 114; (574) 893-1649; READSRACING.COM

IOWA

ARENACROSS MAR 12 (M,Y): COUNCIL BLUFFS: 3 DAY EVENT: FELD MOTOR SPORTS, JAYME DALSING; 10 AM; MID AMERICA CENTER; (800) 216-7482; ARENACROSS. COM

LOUISIANA

MOTOCROSS MAR 6 (S,Y): BREAUX BRIDGE: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: DIRT BIKE MIKE LLC, MICHAEL L LAMBERT; 6 AM; 1640 MILLS HWY; (870) 342-5373; DIRTBIKEMIKE.COM

MARYLAND

MOTOCROSS MAR 6 (S,Y): BUDDS CREEK: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: BUDDS CREEK MOTOCROSS PAR, JONATHAN E BEASLEY; 6 AM; BUDDS CREEK MX PARK /27963 BUDDS CREEK RD; (301) 475-2000; BUDDSCREEK.COM MAR 14 (S,Y): BUDDS CREEK: BUDDS CREEK MOTOCROSS PAR, JONATHAN E BEASLEY; 6 AM; BUDDS CREEK MX PARK /27963 BUDDS CREEK RD; (301) 481-6148; BUDDSCREEK.COM MAR 27 (S): BUDDS CREEK: VINTAGE; 2 DAY EVENT: BUDDS CREEK MOTOCROSS PAR, JONATHAN E BEASLEY; 6 AM; BUDDS CREEK MX PARK /27963 BUDDS CREEK RD; (301) 481-6148; BUDDSCREEK.COM

MISSISSIPPI

ENDURO MAR 7 (S,Y): LAUREL: RIDGE RUNNERS ENDURO TEAM, GEORGE WALTERS; DESOTO NATIONAL FOREST; (601) 6496418;

MISSOURI

MOTOCROSS MAR 27 (S,Y): HUNTSVILLE: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: HLR MOTORSPORTS INC, STEVE HALTERMAN; 8856 HWY BB; (660) 263-4321; HLRMOTORSPORTS. NET

NEVADA

ARENACROSS MAR 5 (M,Y): RENO: 3 DAY EVENT: FELD MOTOR SPORTS, JAYME DALSING; 10 AM; LIVESTOCK EVENT CENTER /1350 N WELLS AVE; (800) 216-7482; ARENACROSS.COM

NEW JERSEY

ENDURO MAR 21 (S): GREENBANK: METEOR MOTORCYCLE CLUB IN, MICHAEL D REIGHN; (856) 287-8170; METEORMC. COM MAR 28 (S): SHAMONG: SOUTH JERSEY ENDURO RIDER, DAVID BROGDEN; 8 AM; INDIAN MILLS DEER CLUB /RT 206S/ATSION RD; (609) 268-9272; SJER. ORG

NORTH CAROLINA

MOTOCROSS MAR 5 (S,T,Y): FLETCHER: INDOOR; VICTORY SPORTS INC, SAM GAMMON; WESTERN NC AG CENTER /I-26 EX 40@ ASHEVILLE AIRPORT; (423) 323-5497; VICTORYSPORTSRACING.COM MAR 6 (S,T,Y): FLETCHER: INDOOR; VICTORY SPORTS INC, SAM GAMMON; WESTERN NC AG CENTER /I-26 EX 40@ ASHEVILLE AIRPORT; (423) 323-5497; VICTORYSPORTSRACING.COM

OHIO

MOTOCROSS MAR 14 (S,Y): BLANCHESTER: DIRT COUNTRY, CINDY KING; 6901 RT 133 /3.5 MI S OF TOWN ON RT 133; (513) 6257350; DIRTCOUNTRYMX.COM MAR 21 (S,T,Y): MARYSVILLE: AMERICAN MOTOSPORTS LLC, MATTHEW D EASTMAN; 7 AM; 24400 YEARSLEY RD /FROM MARYSVILLE TO SR 31N TO SR

347 W; (937) 358-2427; AMERICANMX. COM MAR 28 (S,T,Y): SUGAR GROVE: CENTRAL OHIO COMPETITION, JANET FOUT; 6 AM; 9171 BUCKEYE RD /6 MI E OF LANCASTER/LEFT AT LIGHT; (740) 983-3937; COCRMX.COM HARE SCRAMBLES MAR 14 (S,T,Y): LITTLE HOCKING: WILDWOOD LAKE RACEWAY, BRENT WINDLAND; 7 AM; 2392 WILDWOOD LAKE RD /SR50/7 TO SR555 TO WELCH RD TO WILDWOOD LAKE; (740) 9892866; WILDWOODLAKERACEWAY.COM MAR 27 (S,T,Y): NEW LEXINGTON: KRASH RACING DIRT PARK, JAYME KONKLER; 8 AM; 7250 TWP RD 219; (740) 605-2711; KRASHRACINGDIRTPARK. COM MAR 28 (S,T,Y): LOGAN: HOCKING VALLEY MOTORCYCLE, KEVIN FLEAHMAN; 8 AM; 13121 JAKE TOM RD / US RT 33 EX SR 328/FOLLOW ARROWS; (740) 385-7695; HOCKINGVALLEYMC. COM ENDURO MAR 21 (S): RAY: CHILLICOTHE ENDURO RIDERS, TOM MEEKER; 8 AM; 33428 HEADLEY RD /US50 E. 20 MI E OF CHILLICOTHE RT ON KELLY RD; (740) 773-6115; CHILLICOTHEENDURO.COM ARENACROSS MAR 20 (M,Y): DAYTON: 2 DAY EVENT: FELD MOTOR SPORTS, JAYME DALSING; 10 AM; ERVIN J NUTTER CENTER /3640 COL GLENN HWY; (800) 216-7482; AENACROSS.COM

PENNSYLVANIA

CARNIVAL RUN MAR 28: REAMSTOWN: GARDEN SPOT MC, JOHN SNYDER; 9 AM; 1840 N READING RD; (717) 336-5451; GARDENSPOTMC.COM SHORT TRACK MAR 21 (S,T,Y): HANOVER: TRAIL-WAY SPEEDWAY, BRAD J HOSTETTER; 9 AM; 100 SPEEDWAY LANE /5 MI W OF TOWN OFF PA RT 116; (717) 359-4310; MOTORAMAEVENTS.COM MAR 27 (S): SPRING RUN: TWO WHEEL PROMOTIONS, VICKI FLOWERS; 3 PM; 17911 DRY RUN RD W /PA TURNPIKE EX 189 RT 75 N, 641 W TO DRY REIN; (717) 368-5902; PATHVALLEY.COM MOTOCROSS MAR 7 (S,Y): MAR 21 (S,Y): SHIPPENSBURG: DOUBLIN GAP MX PARK INC, ROD YENTZER; 8 AM; 100 REASNER LANE /6 MILES NORTH OF DOWNTOWN SHIPPENSBURG; (717) 249-6036; DOUBLINGAP.COM MAR 14 (S,Y): MAR 28 (V,Y): FREDERICKSBURG: SLEEPY HOLLOW MOTO CROSS, ERIC SWARR; SLEEPY HOLLOW MOTO CROSS PARK /2 MILES E OF FREDERICKSBURG US ROUTE 22 EAST; (717) 653-4830; SLEEPYMX.COM MAR 21 (S,Y): BIRDSBORO: PAGODA MOTORCYCLE CLUB, RANDY KASTLE; 7 AM; 441 RED LANE /422 TO 82 TO LINCOLN RD TO RED LANE; (610) 5823717; PAGODAMOTORCYCLECLUB.COM MAR 27 (S,T,Y): MARKLEYSBURG: 2 DAY EVENT: DBL SPORTS PROMOTIONS, BUDD LITTLE; 6 AM; ROARING KNOB MOTORSPORTS CMPX /RT 40 20 MI E OF UNIONTOWN; (724) 929-5396; DBLSPORTS.COM MAR 27 (S,Y): SHIPPENSBURG: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: DOUBLIN GAP MX PARK INC, J YENTZER; 8 AM; 100 REASNER LANE /6 MILES NORTH OF DOWNTOWN SHIPPENSBURG; (717) 249-6036; DOUBLINGAP.COM

SOUTH CAROLINA

MOTOCROSS MAR 20 (S,T,Y): BLACKSBURG: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: VICTORY SPORTS INC, SAM GAMMON; IRON CITY MOTORSPORTS PARK /120 HENSON RD; (423) 323-5497; VICTORYSPORTSRACING.COM

TEXAS

MOTOCROSS MAR 7 (S,Y): HOCKLEY: SWMX PROMOTIONS, KEVIN BARNELL; 5:30 AM; 18034 KLEB ST /HWY 290 WEST TO BECKER RD NORTH; (832) 541-2251; SWMXPARK.COM ENDURO MAR 28 (S,Y): LUBBOCK: NATIONAL;

LUBBOCK TRAIL RIDERS INC, KELLY SIMMONS; GLASS RANCH /4 MI W OF INTERSEC. HWY 261 & HWY 651; (806) 548-1260; LUBBOCKTRAILRIDERS.ORG

VIRGInIa MOTOCROSS MAR 13 (S,T,Y): PETERSBURG: 2 DAY EVENT: VMP MX, STEFFANIE EDEN; 6 AM; 8018 BOYDTON PLANK RD; (804)

MOTORCYCLE SHOWS CYCLE WORLd InTERnaTIOnaL MOTORCYCLE SHOWS MotorcycleShowS.coM Feb. 19-21: Chicago: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center; Rosemont.com

732-7888; VMP-MX.COM MAR 20 (S,T,Y): DISPUTANTA: 2 DAY EVENT: SOUTH FORK MX CLUB, TONY FOWLER; 6148 BAXTER RD /20 MIN FROM PETERSBURG OFF I-95; (804) 221-3689; SOUTHFORKMX.COM MAR 27 (S,T,Y): DILLWYN: 2 DAY EVENT: ACTIONTOWN MX CLUB, CARL REYNOLDS; 257 SPROUSES LANE; (434) 836-7629;

BIRCHCREEKMOTORSPORTS.COM GRand PRIX MAR 28 (S,Y): SOUTH HILL: VIRGINIA CHAMPIONSHIP HAR, DARRYL DALTON; (273) 957-4155; VCHSS.NET CROSS COUnTRY MAR 21 (S,T,Y): AXTON: LONE RIDER PRODUCTIONS, TIM NORRIS; 12 PM; 400 MOVIE MOVERS EAST /US 58 15MI. W OF DANVILLE N ON MOVINE MOVERS;

(866) 967-8927; VXCS.ORG

May 1: Salt Lake City: Rice-Eccles, TicketMaster.com, (801) 581-UTIX

May 30: Springfield, Ill.: Springfield Mile, Illinois State Fairgrounds

(580) 504-6750; roshaw@cableone. net; TexhomaTrialsClub.com

May 8: Las Vegas, nev.: Sam Boyd Stadium, TicketMaster.com, (702) 895-3761 aMa PRO SUPERBIkE CHaMPIOnSHIP

Mar. 3-10: daytona Beach, Fla.: Ocean Center; OceanCenter.com

March 3-5: daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona International Speedway

MUSEUM EXHIBITS

March 26-28: Fontana, Calif.: Auto Club Speedway

aMa MOTORCYCLE HaLL OF FaME MUSEUM MotorcycleMuSeuM.org The Hall of Fame is located on the AMA campus in Pickerington, Ohio, and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Closed: Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

april 16-18: Braselton, Ga.: Road Atlanta May 14-16: Sonoma, Calif.: Infineon Raceway June 4-6: Elkhart Lake, Wis.: Road America

June 5: Gas City, Ind.: Gas City Short Track, Gas City I-69 Speedway June 19: Lexington, ky.: The Red Mile June 26: Lima, Ohio: Lime Halfmile, Allen County Fairgrounds July 10: Lake Odessa, Mich.: I-96 Half-mile, I-96 Speedway July 25: Castle Rock, Wash.: Castle Rock TT, Castle Rock Fairgrounds July 31: Calistoga, Calif.: Calistoga Half-mile, Calistoga Fairgrounds

July 16-18: Lexington, Ohio: MidOhio Sports Car Course

MotoStars: Celebrities + Motorcycles: Priceless machines, memorabilia and tales from celebrities’ favorite adventures. On display through April 2010.

aug. 7: Hagerstown, Md.: Hagerstown Half-mile, Hagerstown Speedway

July 23-25: Monterey, Calif.: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

aug. 14: Grove City, Ohio: Beulah Park Half-mile

aug. 13-15: alton, Va.: Virginia International Raceway

aug. 22: Peoria, Ill.: Peoria TT

awesome-ness: The life and art of Arlen Ness: King of Choppers.

Sept. 3-5: Millville, n.J.: New Jersey Motorsports Park

aMa Motorcycle Hall of Fame: Bikes and memorabilia recognizing those who have made significant contributions to all aspects of motorcycling.

Sept. 24-26: Birmingham, ala.: Barber Motorsports Park

Sept. 4: Springfield, Ill.: Springfield Short-track, Illinois State Fairgrounds

LUCaS OIL aMa PRO MOTOCROSS CHaMPIOnSHIP MXSportSproracing.coM

Sept. 5: Springfield, Ill.: Springfield Mile, Illinois State Fairgrounds

Founder’s Hall: Honoring the Hall of Fame’s generous contributors. aMa PRO RaCInG 2010 MOnSTER EnERGY aMa SUPERCROSS, an FIM WORLd CHaMPIOnSHIP SupercroSSonline.coM Feb. 13: anaheim, Calif.: Angel Stadium, TicketMaster.com, (714) 940-2000

May 22: Rancho Cordova, Calif.: Hangtown Motocross Classic May 29: San Bernardino, Cailf.: Glen Helen Raceway June 5: Wortham, Texas: Freestone Raceway June 12: Mt. Morris, Pa.: High Point Raceway

aug. 28: Indianapolis, Ind.: Indiana Mile, Indiana State Fairgrounds

Sept. 11: Minneapolis, Minn.: Canterbury Park Mile Sept. 18: knoxville, Iowa: Knoxville Half-mile, Knoxville Raceway Oct. 9: Prescott, ariz.: Yavapai Downs Short-track Oct. 10: Prescott, ariz.: Yavapai Downs Mile

June 19: Mechanicsville, Md.: Budds Creek Motocross

aMa naTIOnaL CHaMPIOnSHIP SERIES

Feb. 20: Indianapolis: Lucas Oil Stadium, TicketMaster.com, (317) 262-8600

June 26: Lakewood, Colo.: Thunder Valley Motocross

aMa aREnaCROSS CHaMPIOnSHIP SERIES arenacroSS.coM

Feb. 27: atlanta, Ga.: Georgia Dome, TicketMaster.com, (404) 223-9200

July 17: Milleville, Minn.: Spring Creek Motocross

March 6: daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona Int’l Speedway, DaytonaInternationalSpeedway. com, (800) PITSHOP March 13: Toronto, Ontario: Rogers Centre, TicketMaster.com, (416) 341-3000 March 20: arlington, Texas: Cowboy Stadium, TicketMaster. com, (817) 892-4161 March 27: Jacksonville, Fla.: Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, TicketMaster.com, (904) 633-6100

July 3: Buchanan, Mich.: RedBud

July 24: Washougal, Wash.: Washougal Motocross aug. 14: new Berlin, n.Y.: Unadilla aug. 28: Southwick, Mass.: Moto-X 338 Sept. 4: delmont, Pa.: Steel City Raceway aMa PRO FLaT TRaCk CHaMPIOnSHIP aMaproracing.coM March 3: daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona Flat Track

april 10: Houston: Reliant Stadium, TicketMaster.com, (832) 667-1400

March 4: daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona Flat Track

april 17: St. Louis, Mo.: Edward Jones Dome, TicketMaster.com, (314) 342-5036

May 1: Prescott, ariz.: Yavapai Downs Mile

april 24: Seattle: Quest Field, TicketMaster.com, (206) 381-7500

May 29: Springfield, Ill.: Springfield TT, Illinois State Fairgrounds

Feb. 20-21: San antonio, Texas: Alamo Dome, TicketMaster.com, (800) 884-3663 Feb. 27-28: Fresno, Calif.: Save Mart Center, TicketMaster.com, (559) 347-3401 March 5-7: Reno, nev.: Livestock Event Center, TicketMaster.com, (775) 688-5750 March 12-14: Council Bluffs, Iowa: Mid America Center, TicketMaster. com, (712) 323-0536 March 20-21: dayton, Ohio: Ervin J. Nutter Center, TicketMaster.com, (937) 775-2060 March 26-28: denver, Colo.: Denver Coliseum, TicketMaster. com, (720) 865-4220 aMa RaCInG/naTC OBSERVEd TRIaLS naTIOnaL CHaMPIOnSHIP SERIES May 1-2: Tishomingo, Okla.: Robert Shaw, Texhoma Trials Club;

WaSHInGTOn MOTOCROSS MAR 20 (S,Y): RICHLAND: QUALIFIER; 2 DAY EVENT: HRMC INC. HORN RAPIDS MOT, RAYMOND L COFFMAN; 6 AM; HORN RAPIDS MOTORCYCLE COMPLEX; (509) 496-2958; HORNRAPIDSMX.COM

June 19-20: Exeter, R.I.: Bob ONeil, Stepping Stone Ranch; Rhode Island Trials Club; (508) 285-6074; trialsriders@hotmail.com; RITrialsClub.com June 26-27: Cayuta, n.Y.: David Reed, (607) 796-9558; District 4 Trials, District4Trials.org July 24-25: Pueblo, Colo.: Stan Hensley, (719) 564-6476; Rocky Mountain Trials Assoc (RMTA), webmaster@rockymountaintrials. org; RMTA.org July 31-aug. 1: norden, Calif.: Mike Codde, (530) 426-3635; Sacramento P.I.T.S., Inc.; dsrinfo@donnerskiranch.com; DonnerSkiRanch.com aMa RaCInG naTIOnaL HaRE & HOUnd nationalhareandhound.coM Feb. 14: Spangler Hills OHV, Ridgecrest, Calif.: Four Aces MC, Richie Wohlers; (805) 3582668; richie@fouracesmc.org; FourAcesMC.org March 7: Superstition OHVa, El Centro, Calif.: Roadrunner OffRoad Racing, Kirk Hester; (760) 275-9852; roadrunneroffroad@ hotmail.com; RoadRunnerOffroad. org March 21: Murphy, Idaho: Dirt Inc., Bill Walsh; (208) 459-6871; braaap@ cableone.net; DirtIncRacing.com april 10: Jericho, Utah (no aTVs)*: Sageriders MC, Kari Christman; (435) 851-1138; dezchik111@yahoo. com; Sageriders.com april 25: Johnson Valley OHVa, Lucerne, Calif.: Vikings MC, Alex Rodriguez; (760) 834-5006; alex@ arrowdevelopment.net; VikingsMC. com May 15: Jericho, Utah: Sugarloafers, Rob Davies; (435) 743-4180; offrdsp@hotmail.com; SugarloafersMC.com Oct. 10: TBa: SoCal MC, Justin Shultz; (949) 981-6776; justins@ bgainsurance.com; SoCalMC.com *The U.S. Bureau of Land Management does not allow ATV competition at these locations. aMa REkLUSE naTIOnaL EndURO CHaMPIOnSHIP SERIES PRESEnTEd BY MOOSE RaCInG nationalenduro.coM Feb. 21: Greensboro, Ga.: Garrett McKey, Cherokee Cycle Club; (678) 231-5858; SETRA.org March 4: daytona Beach, Fla.: Steve Pettenger, Daytona Dirt Riders; (386) 615-0722 March 28: kalgary, Texas: Kelly Simmons, Lubbock Trail Riders; (806) 548-1260; LubbockTrailRiders. org april 18: West Point, Tenn.: Paul Traufler, NATRA; (256) 837-0084; NATRA.DirtRider.net March 2010

53

May 16: Park Hills, Mo.: Michael Silger, Missouri Mudders; (636) 639-6373; MOMudders.com June 20: Upton, Wyo.: Paul Douglas, Inyan Kara Riders; (307) 468-2840; NationalEnduro. com July 25: Moorestown, Mich.: Jeff Hunt, Lansing Motorcycle Club; (231) 267-9534 Aug. 22: North Berwick, Maine: Peter Anania, Seacoast Trail Riders; (603) 436-4331; SeacoastTrailRiders.org Oct. 2: Matthews, Ind.: Doug Spence, Muddobbers MC; jspence@me.com; Muddobbers.org GEICO ENdUrOCrOss ENDUROCROSS.COm July 17: Las Vegas, Nev.: The Orleans Arena Aug. 14: Guthrie, Okla.: Lazy E Arena Aug. 27: Indianapolis: Pepsi Coliseum sept. 11: Everett, Wash.: Comcast Arena Oct. 30: denver: Nat’l Western Complex Nov. 20: Las Vegas, Nev.: The Orleans Arena CAN-AM GNCC sCHEdULE GNCCRaCiNG.COm Feb. 27 - March 2: River Ranch, Fla. March 6-7: Washington, Ga. March 20-21: Morganton, N.C. April 10-11: Union, S.C. April 24-25: Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

May 8-9: Yadkinville, N.C. May 22-23: Somerset, Pa. June 5-6: Millfield, Ohio June 26-27: Snowshoe Resort, W.Va. sept. 11-12: New Berlin, N.Y. sept. 25-26: Lafayette, Tenn.

Oct. 9-10: St. Clairsville, Ohio Oct. 23-24: Crawfordsville, Ind. AMA drAGBIkE CHAMPIONsHIP sErIEs amaDRaGBiKE.COm March 5-7: Valdosta, Ga.: South Georgia Motorsports Park April 10-11: Commerce, Ga.: Atlanta Dragway May 15-16: Martin, Mich.: US 131 Motorsports Park June 12-13: Montgomery, Ala.: Montgomery Motorsports Park July 31 - Aug. 1: Indianapolis: O’Reilly Raceway Park sept. 10-12: Atco, N.J.: Atco Raceway Oct. 9-10: Norwalk, Ohio: Summit Motorsports Park Nov. 12-14: Valdosta, Ga.: South Georgia Motorsports Park AMA rACING EAst HArE sCrAMBLEs amaRaCiNG.COm March 7: No Youth: Washington, Ga.: Rita Coombs, Racer Productions; (304) 284-0084; GNCCRacing.com April 11: No Youth: Union, s.C.: Rita Coombs, Racer Productions; (304) 284-0084; GNCCRacing.com April 18: Youth Only: Berwick, Pa.: Duane Fisher, Evansville MX Park; (570) 759-2841; EvansvilleMXPark.com May 1-2: dorchester, N.J.: Dennis McKelvey, Tri-County Sportsmen; (609) 390-3772; TeamHammer.org July 17-18: Valley View, Pa.; Tiffany Tobias, Rausch Creek Powersports; (570) 682-4600; RauschCreekRacing.com July 31-Aug. 1: Catawissa, Pa.: Mike Soudas,

High Mountain Dirt Riders; (570) 954-7799; HMDR.org Aug. 7-8: Hill City, Minn.: Paul Otto, Range Riders MC; (763) 229-1177; RangeRidersMC.org Aug. 28-29: Cortland, N.Y.: Cindy Davis, Knobby Acres; (607) 756-5277; WYNOA.org sept. 18-19: Lynnville, Ind.: Kenny Moore, IN, IL, KY Enduro Riders; (812) 549-8385; Blackcoal.org AMA rACING WEst HArE sCrAMBLEs amaRaCiNG.COm Feb. 13-14: Paicines, Calif.: Charlotte Gomes, Salinas Ramblers; (831) 594-6136; SalinasRamblersMC.org March 13-14: Cow Mountain, Lake Port, Calif.: Jeff Bauer, SCSCA; (707) 480-0792; AMA-D36. org/events March 27-28 - Nixon, Nev.: Jeff Henning, WSRA; (775) 851-1527; WesternStatesRacing.com April 17-18: Chappie-shasta OHV Area, Calif.: Kurt Schneider, Redding Dirt Riders; (530) 2450342; ReddingDirtRiders.com June 19-20: Elkton, Ore.: Toni Bamford, ETRA; (541) 688-5428; ETRA.net Aug. 21-22 - Big sky, Mont.: Jamey Kabisch, Lone Peak Racing Big Sky XC; (406) 223-0478; BigSkyXC.com Nov. 6-7: rancho Cordova, Calif.: Ed Santin, Dirt Diggers North MC; (800) HANGTOWN; HangtownMX.com AMA VINtAGE NAtIONAL dIrt trACk CHAMPIONsHIPs sErIEs amaRaCiNG.COm Feb. 28: short track, daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona Flat Track; AMA Racing; Ken Saillant, (614) 856-1900 March 2: Half-Mile, Volusia, Fla.: Volusia Speedway; Steve Nace Racing; (270) 442-7532, Stevenaceracing.Com April 17: short track, Orangeburg, s.C.: Orangeburg Motoplex; Ed Salley, (803) 664-2942, Orangeburgmotoplex.Com April 18: tt, Orangeburg, sc.: Orangeburg Motoplex; Ed Salley, (803) 664-2942, Orangeburgmotoplex.com June 26: short track, Harpursville, N.Y.: Square Deal Motorcycle Club; Don Miller, (607) 725-3069, Squaredealriders.com July 9: Half-Mile, Ashland, Ohio: AMA Racing; Ken Saillant, (614) 856-1900, AMARacing.Com July 24: Mile, du Quoin, Ill.: AMA Racing ; Ken Saillant, (614) 856-1900, AMARacing.com July 25: Half-Mile, du Quoin, Ill.: AMA Racing ; Ken Saillant, (614) 856-1900, AMARacing.com sept. 11: Half-Mile, Waco, texas: Waco Eagles Motorcycle Club; (254) 875-9955 sept. 12: Half-Mile, Waco, texas: Waco Eagles Motorcycle Club; (254) 875-9955 AMA PrO-AM MOtOCrOss sCHEdULE amaRaCiNG.COm Feb. 21: Litchfield Park, Ariz.: Arizona Cycle Park; (623) 853-0750, ArizonaCyclePark.com March 7: Hesperia, Calif.: Competitive Edge; (909) 456-10701, RideCEMX.com March 8-13: Whitney, texas: Bama Cycle Park; (817) 270-1814, LakeWhitneyMX.com March 21: Blacksburg, s.C.: Victory Sports; (423) 323-5497, VictorySportsRacing.com April 11: sanford, N.C.: Devils Ridge Motocross; (919) 776-1767, DevilsRidgeMotoX.com May 2: Blountville, tenn.: Victory Sports; (423) 323-5497, VictorySportsRacing.com May 9: Walnut, Ill.: 4P Promotions Inc.; (815) 379-9534, SunsetRidgeMX.com May 16: Longon, ky.: Victory Sports; (423) 3235486, DanielBooneMX.net May 21: sacramento, Calif.: Dirt Diggers North MC; (800) 426-4869, info@hangtown.com, HangtownMX.com

2010 RAFFLE BIKES

May 23: Bloomingdale, Mich.: Dutch Sport Park; (269) 521-7800, dspmx@msn.com, DutchSportParkMX.com

Sept. 25-26: Wabeno, Wis.: Wisconsin Dual Sport Riders, Duane Baer; WIDualsportriders. org

May 30: Athelstane, Wisc.: Pine Ridge Raceway; (715) 856-6612, PineRidgeRaceway. com

oct. 2-3: Refro valley, Ky.: 4-Fun Trail Riders, Vicky Stephenson; 4FunTrailRiders.com

May 31: Brush. Colo.: Sweney Cycle Park; (970) 768-0518, SweneyCyclePark.com

oct. 9-10: McCloud, Calif.: McCloud Dual Sport Adventures, Mike Lingsch; McCloudDualsportAdventures.com

June 5-6: Hesperia, Calif.: Competitive Edge; (909) 456-1070, RideCEMX.com

oct. 23-24: Chatsworth, N.J.: Meteor MC, Mike Reign; MeteorMC.com

June 6: Wortham, Texas: Freestone County Raceway; (713) 880-5533, FreestoneMX.com

Nov. 6-7: Port Elizabeth, N.J.: Tri-County Sportsmen, E. Polhaumus; TeamHammer.org

June 13: Mt. Morris, Pa.: Racer Productions; (304) 284-0800, RacerProductions.com

AMA KTM NATIoNAl DuAl-SPoRT TRAIl RIDING SERIES AMADirectLink.coM/roADriDe/DS/

June 21: Mt. Carroll, Ill.: MC Motopark; (815) 238-1614, reidabook@centurytel.net, MCMotoPark.com July 4: Buchanan, Mich.: Red Bud Recreation; (269) 695-6405, RedBudMX.com July 11: Kingsbury, Ind.: Motoland, (218) 9886686, Motoland.com July 11: Delmont, Pa.: Bellco; (304) 284-0080, RacerProductions.com July 11: Blountville, Tenn.: Victory Sports; (423) 323-5497, VictorySportsRacing.com July 16: Millville, Minn.: Spring Creek MX Park; (507) 753-2779, SpringCreekMX.com July 25: Washougal, Wash.: Washougal MX Park; (360) 837-3975, WashougalMXpk.com More Pro-Am MX events at AMARacing.com AMA RIDING SERIES AMA BMW NATIoNAl ADvENTuRE RIDING SERIES AMADirectLink.coM/roADriDe/ADV/ Apr 17-18: Bybee, Tenn.: JB SAKI Promotions, John Strange; jbsaki@gmail.com May 1-2: Buck Meadows, Calif.: Family Off Road Adventures, Lawrence Borgens; FamilyOffroadAdventures.com May 22-23: Zaleski, ohio: Buckeye Dualsporters, BillKaeppner; Kaeppnerswoods. com June 5-6: Bixby, Mo.: Midwest Trail Riders Assn., Robert Kaufman; RideMTRA.org June 5-6: Custer, Mich.: Great Lakes Dual Sporters, Jeramey Valley; www.goldsmc.com June 5-6: lock Haven, Pa.: Durty Dabbers, Nils Mantzoros; Durtydabbers.com June 12-13: Wabeno, Wis.: Wisconsin Dual Sport Riders, Duane Baer; WIDualsportRiders. org June 12-13: McCloud, Calif.: McCloud Dual Sport Adventures, Mike Lingsch; McCloudDualsportAdventures.com June 19-22: Fairbanks, Alaska: Aerostich Tours, Roger Pattison; AerostichTours.com July 10-11: McCloud, Calif.: McCloud Dual Sport Adventures, Mike Lingsch; McCloudDualsportAdventures.com Aug. 21-22: McCloud, Calif.: McCloud Dual Sport Adventures, Mike Lingsch; McCloudDualsportAdventures.com Aug. 21-22: Columbus, Ind.: Stoney Lonesome MC, Nathan Gaskill; Stoneylonesomemc.com Aug. 23-27: North Cascades, Wash.: Sound Rider!, Tom Mehren; Soundrider.com/dsport Sept. 11-12: Cadiz, Ky.: KT Riders, Jesse Thomas; ginny42211@yahoo.com Sept. 11-12: logan, ohio: Nutcracker 200, Buckeye Dual Sporters, Bill Kaeppner; kaeppners@verizon.net, Kaeppnerswoods.com Sept. 18-19: McCloud, Calif.: McCloud Dual Sport Adventures, Mike Lingsch; McCloudDualsportAdventures.com Sept. 25-26: Wolverine, Mich.: Great Lakes Dual Sporters, Jeramey Valley; GLDSmc.org

ENTER TO

WIN:

a 1965

HONDA CUB C100

May 1-2: Renfro valley, Ky.: Renfro Valley Dual Sport Ride, 4Fun Trail Riders,, Vicky Stephenson, (859) 363-8332; rvstephenson53@ fuse.net; 4FunTrailRiders.com May 22-23: Zaleski, ohio: Hanging Rock 200, Buckeye Dualsporters, Bill Kaeppner, (740) 380-3050; kaeppners@verizon.net; Kaeppnerswoods.com June 5-6: Bixby, Mo.: Show Me 200, Midwest Trail Riders Assoc., Robert Kaufman, (314) 4345095; ridemtra@hotmail.com; RideMTRA.com June 5-6: Custer, Mich.: Whiskey Creek Classic, Great Lakes Dual Sporters, Jeramey Valley, (989) 751-6863; ridemtra@hotmail.com; GLDSmc.org, RideMTRA.com June 5-6: lock Haven, Penn.: Durty Dabbers Nat’l Dual Sport, Durty Dabbers, Nils Mantzoros, (570) 748-9456; DurtyDabbers.com

HONDA & CB750 FOUR a 1969

June 12-13: Wabeno, Wis.: Ride for Research, Wisconsin Dual Sport Riders, Duane Baer, (920) 350-2030; bigwoods200@hotmail.com; WIDualsportRiders.org June 19-20: Bend, ore.: China Hat Dual Sport National, Lobos MC, Billy Toman, (503) 6565801; n7wxd@aol.com; Lobosmc.com July 24-31: Newberry, Mich.: 26th Annual Six Days of Michigan, Cycle Conservation Club of Mich., Lewis Schuler, (517) 781-4805; ccckids@ verizon.net, CycleConservationClub.org Aug. 21-22: Columbus, Ind.: Buffaloe 500 D/S Adventure Ride, Stoney Lonesome MC, Nathan Gaskill, (812) 343-9772; ngaskill3@yahoo.com; StoneyLonesomemc.com/DualSport/index.html.

Sept. 11-12: Cadiz, Ky.: LBL 200, KT Riders, Jesse Thomas, (270) 522-3703; ginny42211@ yahoo.com Sept. 18-19: Sterling, Ill.: Cow Patty Cruise, Brushpoppers MC, Jack Sumption, (815) 622-4099; tgerken@wireless.essex1.com, BrushPoppersmc.com Sept. 25-26: Buck Meadows, Calif.: Yosemite Dual Sport Adventure, Family Off Road Adventures, Lawrence Borgens, (209) 6493633; lawrence@familyoffroadadventures.com, FamilyOffroadAdventures.com Sept. 25-26: Wolverine, Mich.: Ted’s Chandler Hill Challenge, Great Lakes Dual Sporters, Jeramey Valley, (989) 751-6863; info@gldsmc. org; GLDSmc.org Sept. 25-26: Wabeno, Wis.: Big Woods 200, Wisconsin Dual Sport Riders, Duane Baer, (920) 350-2030; bigwoods200@hotmail.com; WIDualsportriders.org oct. 9-10: McArthur, ohio.: Baby Burr Nat’l Dual Sport, Wisconsin Dual Sport Riders, Enduro Riders Assoc., Steve Barber, (614) 5827821; sbarber@att.net; EnduroRiders.com oct. 23-24: Chatsworth, N.J.: Meteor Ride in the Pines, Meteor MC, Mike Reign, (856) 2878170; sbarber@att.net; Meteormc.com oct. 23-24: Study Butte, Texas: 13th Annual Terlingua Nat’l Dual Sport Ride, Trail Riders of Houston, Jack Jennings, (713) 248-7222; captjack530@aol.com; TRH-cycle.org Nov. 6-7: Port Elizabeth, N.J.: Hammer Run, Tri-County Sportsmen, E. Polhaumus, (856) 7852754; mdreighn@msn.com; TeamHammer.org

1965 HONDA CUB C100

All original, never sold or titled, with 1 mile on the odometer.

1969 HONDA CB750 FOUR

Restored by Vic World of World Motorcycles.

$5 donation per entry, five entries for $20.

More information: (614) 856-2222 WWW.MOTORCYCLEMUSEUM.ORG ALL PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT THE AMA MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME MUSEUM a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to preserving the history of motorcycling

AMERICAN EXPRESS, VISA, MASTERCARD or DISCOVER accepted or call and reserve your ticket and pay by check or money order.

The drawing will be held during AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2010. The winner need not be present at the time of the drawing. Rules for this raffle are available wherever tickets are available or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to: AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147

56

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March 2010

57

Guest Column

Lone Riding

The day after being discharged from the military, I set forth on a shiny new red 80cc Yamaha to see the world, slay dragons, rescue maidens and become a famous journalist. I traveled on that little bike for a year from coast to coast, from Seattle to Miami by way of Canada and Mexico, living in a tent and working odd jobs. I became a Miami cop, an Army Green Beret, a combat correspondent and a NASA Journalist-in-Space finalist.

Eventually, I published over 50 books and thousands of magazine pieces. While I may never recapture the innocence of that glorious first year of questing, I still look to a motorcycle whenever I feel the urge to experience the freedom and adventure of the open road.

As a professional writer, I often find myself in jerkwater corners of the world either running toward or away from action. During the Sandinista-Contra dustup in the 1980s, I had my teeth shot out in a firefight on the Honduran-Nicaraguan border. Bleeding and in pain, I rode a Honda 250 along dark mountain roads to seek help in Tegucigalpa. That was a memorable ride.

Others were not so dramatic—although riding narrow English lanes on the “wrong” side of the road comes close. The proprietor from whom I rented a Honda 500 in London offered some sage advice: “Drive aggressively, ignore the gestures.”

A deluge caught girlfriend Nita and I while we were hiking the English moors. Soaked, we pulled into the next B&B, where a kindly lady took us in.

“Poor dears, come in before you catch your deaths. I’ll brew up a spot of tea.”

People seem to open up when you’re not cocooned off from the world. In Scotland, I pulled into a fish ’n‘ chips where the fare came wrapped in newspapers.

“Where are you aboot to on the motor, lad and lassie?”

The entire village turned out to welcome two American strangers on a motorcycle.

I prefer to ride mostly alone or with a lady behind me.

People are often intimidated by numbers. Had a group of bikers pulled into the Scottish pub, they would have had it to themselves.

Jamaica, however, might have been a good time for a group. Girlfriend Teresa and I found ourselves lost in Kingston on a 90cc scooter that couldn’t have outrun an assertive Schwinn. Shady characters eyed us like starving pilgrims looking over a pair of turkey drumsticks.

Considering the price of fuel, I ride a motorcycle for business and pleasure. If I have a writing

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assignment somewhere, I stuff my blue Honda Shadow 600 with gear and roar off. Working is almost as much fun as biking out to New Mexico for trout fishing.

I rode to Langley AFB, Virginia, to interview subjects for my new book Predator (Zenith, 2010). While researching None Left Behind (St. Martin’s, 2009), I made the 2,800mile round trip to Fort Drum, N.Y. Soldiers of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division mobbed my bike.

“You rode that from Oklahoma? How old are you?”

I’m 67—but I suspect when I’m 87 I’ll still be hitting the open road with the wind in my face and the good earthy scent of the land in my nostrils, a “lone rider,” free and easy with a good motor between my knees and adventure lying around the next curve.

Charles Sasser has been a full-time freelance writer/ journalist/photographer since 1979.

Photo Chris Humphrey

Looking Back On 45 Years Of Motorcycling By Charles Sasser

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