November 2013
Photo Jeff Kardas
Hall of Fame Class Of 2013
THE JOURNAL OF THE
AMA REWARDS
Watch this space for updates about your valuable benefits as an AMA member.
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AMA Roadside Assistance Offers: • Coverage for bikes, cars, pickups, motorhomes and trailers (excluding utility trailers) registered to you, your spouse, and dependent children under the age of 24, living at home or away at college. • Coverage in all 50 states and Canada. • Towing up to 35 miles, with all dispatch and hook-up fees. • Flat tire, lockout, battery and minormechanical assistance. • Emergency fuel, oil, water, fluid delivery. • No exclusions for older motorcycles. • Toll-free assistance available 24/7/365. • AMA Roadside Assistance pays first. No need to pay and wait for reimbursement.
STAYING INFORMED American Motorcyclist
Each month, you receive the best magazine covering the motorcycle lifestyle with two versions to choose from: street or dirt.
THE ESSENTIALS AMA Roadside Assistance
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Ride Where You Want In the United States, call Federal Companies, an agent for Specialized Transportation, Inc., at (877) 518-7376 for at least $60 off standard rates. For international shipments, call Motorcycle Express at (800) 245-8726. To get your discount, be sure to have your AMA number handy. Motorcycle Express also offers temporary international insurance.
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NAVIGATION Navigation Photo
Adventure motorcycling is about exploring wide open spaces, testing your limits and making the unknown familiar. Somewhere in northern Colorado this summer, this rider was doing all three at the 10th Annual KTM Adventure Rider Rally. Lucky for us, he paused long enough to capture this photo. Photo by Cole Kirkpatrick
10. LETTERS
You write, we read.
12. ROB DINGMAN
The Very Boring Rally is anything but.
14. RIGHTS
$82.4 million for building trails, educating state legislators on motorcyclists’ rights and electric motorcycles come of age. 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 2013. 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.
November 2013 Volume 67, Number 11 Published by the American Motorcyclist Association 13515 Yarmouth Dr. Pickerington, OH 43147 (800) AMA-JOIN (262-5646) www.americanmotorcyclist.com
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20. RIDING
The latest news, rides, interviews and more from the world of motorcycling.
34. HALL OF FAME
Dave Barr’s 1972 Harley-Davidson FX Super Glide and Hall of Famer Putt Mossman.
36. AMA MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013
On Oct. 19, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame will induct Ricky Carmichael, Danny Hamel, Norm McDonald, Randy Renfrow, and Mike and Dianne Traynor.
42. GO RIDE
What to do, where to go.
50. WAYNE A. DOENGES Becoming a motorcyclist.
Official AMA Members Receive 10% Off Sitewide!* *(exclusions apply, see site for details)
EDITORIAL OFFICES
Husqvarna is proud to sponsor the 2013 AMA National Dual-Sport Series
AMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
American Motorcyclist 13515 Yarmouth Drive Pickerington, OH 43147 (614) 856-1900 submissions@ama-cycle.org
Contact any member of the AMA Board of Directors at AmericanMotorcyclist.com/ about/board Maggie McNally, Chair Albany, N.Y.
James Holter, Managing Editor Mark Lapid, Creative Director Jen Muecke, Designer Jeff Guciardo, Production Manager/Designer Kaitlyn Sesco, Marketing/Communications Specialist
Russ Brenan, Vice Chair Irvine, Calif. Ken Ford, Assistant Treasurer Bartow, Fla.
ADVERTISING Steve Gotoski, Advertising Director (Western States) (951) 566-5068, sgotoski@ama-cycle.org
Perry King, Executive Committee Member Northern California
Zach Stevens, National Sales Manager (626) 298-3854, zstevens@ama-cycle.org
John Ulrich, Executive Committee Member Lake Elsinore, Calif. Sean Hilbert, Hillsdale, Mich.
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, 2013.
Scott Miller, Milwaukee Art More, Sun City West, Ariz. Stan Simpson, Cibolo, Texas Jim Viverito, Chicago
(800) AMA-JOIN (262-5646) AmericanMotorcyclist.com
AMA STAFF EXECUTIVE
AMA RACING/ORGANIZER SERVICES (continued)
Rob Dingman, President/CEO Rhonda Hixon, Administrative Asst./Litigation Manager Bruce Moffat, Chief Financial Officer Sen. Wayne Allard, Vice President, Government Relations Bob Chaddock, Vice President, Administration Jeff Massey, Vice President, Operations Jim Williams, Vice President, Industry Relations & Corporate Member Programs Rob Rasor, Director of International Affairs
Cherie Schlatter, Organizer Services Manager D’Andra Myers, Organizer Services Coordinator Serena Van Dyke, Organizer Services Coordinator Chuck Weir, Off Road Racing Manager Conrad Young, Timing & Scoring Manager
ACCOUNTING Dawn Becker, Accounting Manager Melanie Hise, HR Assistant/Payroll Coordinator Ed Madden, System Support Specialist Peg Tuvell, Member Fulfillment Specialist ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES Sean Maher, Director AMHF/MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME
Supporting Sponsor
www.husqvarna-motorcyclesna.com
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Connie Fleming, Manager of Events and AMHF Operations Beth Owen, Donor Relations Specialist Paula Schremser, Program Specialist Katy Wood, Collections Manager AMA RACING/ORGANIZER SERVICES Kip Bigelow, Amateur MX Manager Joe Bromley, District Relations Manager Jacki Burris, Organizer Services Coordinator Jane Caston, Racing Coordinator Lana Cox, Administrative Assistant Kevin Crowther, Director SX & Pro Racing Relations Bill Cumbow, Director of Special Projects Sandi Dunphy, Road Riding Coordinator Dave Hembroff, Road Riding Manager Alex Hunter, MX Operational Coordinator Tamra Jones, Racing Coordinator Ken Saillant, Track Racing Manager
AmericanMotorcyclist.com AMA_Husqvarna_Natl_Dual_Sport_Series_SeatConcepts_rev.indd 7/16/13 1 3:02 PM
COMMUNICATIONS Grant Parsons, Director of Communications DISTRIBUTION/FACILITIES SERVICES John Bricker, Mailroom Manager Heida Drake, Copy Center Operator Bill Frasch, Mailroom Clerk GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Marie Esselstein, Government Affairs Assistant Danielle Fowles, Grassroots Coordinator Nick Haris, Western States Representative Sean Hutson, Legislative Assistant Sharon Long, Legislative Coordinator Rick Podliska, Deputy Director Steve Salisbury, Government Affairs Manager - Off-Highway Imre Szauter, Government Affairs Manager - On-Highway INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Rob Baughman, Network Administrator John Boker, Developer Dave Coleman, Network Architect Amy Hyman, Senior Programmer/Analyst Bill Miller, Enterprise Architect MEMBER SERVICES/DATA ENTRY Lori Cavucci, Member Services Representative Deb D’Andrea, Member Services Representative Linda Hembroff, Member Services Representative Darcel Higgins, Member Services Manager Kimberly Jude, Member Services Representative Tiffany Pound, Member Services Representative Jessica Robinson, Member Services Representative Angela Warren, Member Services Representative
. . nd 64 ke 54 ee 2W 34 e th me at 0) of Fa ay (80 rt of od all pa ll s t c a Ha ket or g Be cle r tic .or cy ou um or t y s e ot e u M G lem c A cy AM or ot m w.
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AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
INDuCTION CeReMONy — and —
LeGeNdS ReCeptioN October 18-19, 2013
Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino • Las Vegas, Nevada
CLASS OF 2013:
Ricky Carmichael Danny Hamel Norm McDonald Randy Renfrow Diane Traynor Mike Traynor FEATURED LEGENDS:
Torsten Hallman Mark Blackwell
2013 LEGENDS WEEKEND The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday night, Oct. 18, will see the Motorcycle Hall of Fame class of 2013 take to the stage to be inducted. The next morning will see the all-new Dave Mungenast Memorial Legends Reception, where the Class of 2013 and other Hall of Famers from previous years will be honored. www.motorcyclemuseum.org | (800) 342-5464
MEMBER LETTERS
Send your letters (and a high-resolution photo) to submissions@ama-cycle.org; or mail to 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147. Lisa’s is the first I’ve read that shares what being a motorcyclist really means. As a co-female enthusiast, who has motorcycled extensively throughout the United States, Lisa puts into words what I often feel, but can’t so beautifully explain. Each month, a lucky AMA member wins a Bike Bandit gift card worth $100. Didn’t win? No worries. You can still take advantage of your 10% AMA member discount at BikeBandit.com.
LETTER OF THE MONTH COMMON GOALS
We have a very eclectic group of riders here in northwest Vermont, but we do have one common goal: we love to ride (especially together). This group, “The Tuesday Night Gang,” has been meeting every Tuesday at the IBM parking lot in Essex Junction, Vt., for more than 15 years! We typically go out for two to four hours of riding followed by a dinner at one of the local restaurants during motorcycle season here in Vermont. The core of the group—Leon, Loretta, Larry, Mark and myself—have been on multiple longer rides including a ride to Salt Lake City (from Vermont) in 2009, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in 2011 and most recently a ride to the south end of the Blue Ridge Parkway (Franklin, N.C.) this past July. There are many other riders who join us on Tuesday night, but it seems that there is always one of the core group that is involved with leading, organizing or planning our rides. What makes this group so special is that we are from all different professions and backgrounds, which leads to some lively and interesting discussions at dinner. We have two teachers, a software program manager, an atomic force microscope technician and a business operations professional in the group. Four of the “Tuesday Night Gang” are Motorcycle Safety Foundation coaches and are some of the most committed persons I know to our sport. We have an even wider range of backgrounds/professions in our extended group. The one constant, however, is our love for motorcycling and motorcycle adventures. We have become close friends, close enough to spend up to two weeks on the road together for our extended trips. I feel very lucky to have found such a great group of riders and I highly value the perspectives of the very different people in our group. Colin Rehkugler Charlotte, Vt.
MIDWEST SUNSET Hey, fellow riders! Thanks for all your continued support. I believe AMA is truly one of the nation’s greatest organizations.
I took these pics this summer. I was out on a ride when a summer thunderstorm just rolled through central Illinois and left behind a beautiful sunset! The picture quality isn’t too great. It was taken on my phone, but I hope you still enjoy them. Keep the chrome side up and the rubber side down. Kris Crane Round Lake Beach, Ill.
Kris Crane
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WHAT MOTORCYCLING MEANS Kudos to Lisa Hatch for the wonderful guest column in the October issue of American Motorcyclist. As a university administrator, I’ve read my share of college admissions essays.
Cris Baldwin President Women On Wheels IN MEMORIUM My husband, Paul Benson, died this past summer in his home in Tucson, Ariz. While living in New York and New Jersey in the 1970s-2000, Paul was active in the BMW North Jersey Motorcycle Club. He was a motorcycle safety advocate and taught motorcycle safety with the late Gaspar Trama in New York. He was a long-time member of the AMA. He designed the tee shirts for the Gummi Kuh Rallies held on July Fourth weekends in the Catskill Mountains of New York state. He loved riding since he got his first bike at 15. I imagine he is still riding still. Eileen Erickson Tucson, Ariz. ROAD HAZARD We often hear reports of motorcycle accidents where the motorcyclist just lost control, especially in corners. Is it possible that these loss-of-control accidents may be the fault of tar snakes? If all localities in the United States were to add a mixture of sand/gravel or something like that to the tar mixture, similar to what you can paint on your garage floor, to increase traction, this could possibly reduce the slipperiness of tar snakes. I have even noticed while driving my truck that the tires will slip on roads covered in tar snakes. With all of your influence with Congress and possibly the Department of Transportation, could you influence them to add something to their mixture and possibly reduce accidents? Lawrence Wiggins Muskegon, Mich. We share your concern, Lawrence. The AMA has a history of contacting states about overuse of crack sealer, especially when it’s applied in violation of contract specifications. We also educate DOT engineers and administrators on the danger of applying slippery crack sealers and encourage them to use specific material that contains a traction-enhancer. Equally important is that motorcyclists
ride aware, receive quality safety training, wear appropriate personal protective equipment and report hazardous locations to the pertinent state DOT. For contact info for your state DOT, see “Report Road Hazards” on page 17 of the April 2011 issue or in Riding > Resources at www.americanmotorcyclist.com.
CORRECTION On page 42 of the September issue, we printed an incorrect first name for 2013 AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Champion and Sherco rider Quinn Wentzel, left in the photo above with AMA Vintage Senior Grand Champion Jeff Fredette.
HALL OF FAMER ED KRETZ JR. PASSES AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Ed Kretz Jr. has passed away. Kretz Jr. was an AMA Grand National Championship competitor of the 1950s and 1960s. His biggest career win came in 1955, when he rode a Triumph to victory in the prestigious Peoria TT. He was the son of Ed Kretz, winner of the inaugural Daytona 200 in 1937. “The motorcycle racing fraternity is a tight one, and guys like Ed Kretz Jr. and his dad, as a father-son racing dynasty, were real icons,” said Jeffrey V. Heininger, chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame. “In the 1950s, when Ed Kretz Jr. was a standout on dirt ovals across the country, flat track racing was in one of its most competitive eras, and to excel at that time and win a race like the famous Peoria TT, well, it handsdown made you a hero. Ed Kretz Jr. was a great racer, a great winner and a respected businessman with his family dealership in California. He will truly be missed by racers, riders and the
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entire AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame community.” Kretz was born in Pomona, Calif., in 1932. Motorcycling was always a part of Kretz’s life. He grew up going to races with his famous father and worked in the family-owned motorcycle dealership in Monterey Park from an early age. Kretz Jr. died on Sept. 9 at the age of 81.
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FROM THE PRESIDENT
THE VERY BORING RALLY WAS ANYTHING BUT
A Good Time With Friends By Rob Dingman Having missed Aerostich’s Very Boring Rally (VBR) the last time it was held five years ago, I was determined to make it this year. The VBR is put on in Duluth, Minn., by Aerostich, which was founded by former AMA Board member Andy Goldfine, to commemorate the anniversary of Aerostich’s founding. When the AMA Board of Directors was looking for an appropriate venue to present this year’s recipient with the AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award, the AMA’s highest recognition, it made perfect sense to present Andy Goldfine the award at his rally in front of hundreds of his most loyal customers and fans. This would be perfect. Not only would this be a great venue to present Andy his award, but I would get to go to the VBR as well. The best laid plans, however, never seem to work out. Out of an overabundance of humility, and in typical Andy Goldfine-fashion, Andy didn’t want to receive the award at the VBR because, in his words, “the rally isn’t about me, it is about Aerostich customers.” This attitude is precisely why Andy was so deserving of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the first place. As it turns out, Andy and his fiancée Shirah, along with a contingent from Aerostich, rode down from Duluth to Ohio for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days this past July so that he could receive his award. The presentation was made at the AMA Life Member appreciation breakfast and there were several AMA Board members on hand to give their former board colleague his award. While he was at Vintage Motorcycle Days, I told Andy that I was still going to try to make it to the VBR. Andy started telling me how I could travel from Ohio through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and given the curvature of the earth, it really wouldn’t be that much longer than going through Chicago. It seemed to me that any directions that included a discussion of the curvature of the earth were likely to provide a route for which I was not likely to have enough time. I was really glad I made the trip. AMA Past President and current International Affairs Director Rob Rasor and I left Columbus on the Thursday morning before the rally and headed out for Duluth. I was riding my Gold Wing, and Rob was on his R1150RT. We decided that, despite Andy’s assurances about the curvature of the earth, we would take the route that required us to catch a ferry across Lake Michigan. We rode the roughly 420 miles from Columbus, Ohio to Ludington, Mich., and caught a late ferry across the lake to Manitowoc, Wisc., where we stopped for the night. Taking the ferry was a great experience. As it turns out, the S.S. Badger that took us across the lake is the only coal-fired steamship in operation in the United States. The 6,650-ton ship is over 410 feet long and nearly 60 feet wide and has capacity for 600 passengers, 180 automobiles, tour buses, RVs, motorcycles, and commercial trucks. Traveling at 15.6 knots (18 mph), the trip took four hours. We left Manitowoc early Friday morning because we still had roughly 370 miles to go to get to Duluth. We arrived in Duluth in time for a dinner cruise on Lake Superior hosted by Aerostich and Mr. Goldfine. This was an enjoyable evening and a great opportunity to share
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riding stories with fellow motorcyclists. We even got to go under the Aerial Lift Bridge that connects Duluth’s Canal Park and Park Point areas. (For being on a motorcycle trip, we spent a lot of time on the water.) The next morning we rode from where we were staying in downtown Duluth to the rally site at Spirit Mountain ski area. There were some great seminars and a few vendors at the rally. Aerostich had set up a rally store and garment display with customer service associates ready to take orders. Of course, no motorcycle trip to Duluth would be complete without a visit to the Aerostich factory and showroom. Among the main attractions, however, were the final two rounds of the AMA/NATC AIReS MotoTrials National Championship Series that were held at Spirit Mountain in conjunction with the rally. We got to see some really talented trials riders, and I was able to present the AMA national No. 1 plate to series champion Patrick Smage. Rob Rasor and I even took a little side trip in search of Betty’s Pies that we were told had the best pies in the area. Since my GPS didn’t exactly like the address I typed into it, it took us a little longer to get there than we planned, but we finally made it and the place lived up to its billing. Riding out of the parking lot, we met a couple on an ST1100 that had run out of gas. After going to get some gas for them, I asked the rider if he was an AMA member. When he said he was, I told him that this was part of our roadside assistance program. Sunday morning found us back on the road headed for Milwaukee, scheduled to catch a 7:00 p.m. ferry back across Lake Michigan. On the return trip, we opted for the faster, more modern Lake Express. This ferry is a 192-foot aluminum hulled catamaran that can accommodate 248 passengers, 46 passenger vehicles and 12 motorcycles and travels at 34 knots (40 mph). The return trip across to Muskegon, Mich., took only two-and-a-half hours. After spending the night in Muskegon, we were on the road again early Monday morning headed for home with a quick detour to Ann Arbor for lunch with Rob Rasor’s son, Rob. The total mileage without the lake crossings was over 1750 miles, including local riding around Duluth and the trip to Betty’s Pies. It was a great trip that reminded me why we work so hard to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. Rob Dingman is the AMA president and CEO.
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$82.4 MILLION NOW AVAILABLE FOR RECREATIONAL TRAILS
Off-highway motorcyclists, all-terrain vehicle riders and other trail users stand to benefit from up to $82.4 million in federal funding to be apportioned to 49 states in 2014 through the Recreational Trails Program. Each year, states are able to opt out of the program. Only Florida opted out for fiscal 2014, which began Oct. 1. “As a federal grant program that provides funds to develop and maintain recreational trails, RTP is vitally needed to continue expanding and maintaining offhighway opportunities for riders,” says Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations. “In fact, RTP funds come from excise taxes generated by fuel purchased for off-highway vehicle recreation— off-highway motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and off-highway light trucks—so this is money that rightfully belongs to trail users.” Since Congress created the RTP in 1991, the program has leveraged $787 million of federal grants into more than $1.3 billion to fund recreational trails. Without this vital program, many trails wouldn’t have been built. Without continuation of the RTP, many trails would face reduced maintenance and possible closure. Each state manages its RTP money in consultation with an RTP board that represents both motorized and nonmotorized recreationists. RTP funds support motorized, non-motorized and mixed-use trails projects. The states are required to use 30 percent of the money for motorized trails, 30 percent for non-motorized trails and 40 percent for mixed-use trails. Over the last year, the AMA and the off-highway vehicle community successfully fought against the elimination of the RTP by Congress by stressing the economic and social benefits of responsible recreation. The current federal highway spending authorization law—known as MAP21—provides about $85 million annually in RTP funds for distribution to the states. However, OHV users contribute significantly more to the federal highway trust fund. “With next year’s RTP authorization now set, it’s time for off-highway vehicle recreationists across the nation to contact their grant-administering agencies and work to secure grants to fund trails projects,” says Sean Hutson, AMA legislative assistant. “After all, it’s the fuel taxes paid by the OHV community that fund the entirety of this important program.” This marks the second consecutive year that Florida has opted out of the annual RTP allocation, giving up $5.2 million in funding already paid for by that state’s OHV recreation community. As a result, Florida has fewer federal funds to create and maintain recreational trails for responsible users than it would have if it remained in the program, which is administered by the Federal Highway Administration. To find the RTP fund administrator in your state, go to www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/rtpstate.htm.
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Jeff Kardas
Federal Funds Are Used To Create And Maintain Trails
MOTORCYCLE SAFETY FOUNDATION OFFERS NEW ONLINE COURSE
ŠiStockphoto.com/alexsl
Course Benefits Veteran And Beginning Riders The new Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic eCourse that emphasizes personal safety and responsibility for riders is now available for $19.99 on the MSF website. The MSF says the interactive, threehour course is designed to promote lifelong learning in a convenient, informative online format and incorporates photos, graphics, video and more to provide participants with the basics of motorcycling with an emphasis on personal safety and responsibility. The eCourse can be completed on its own as a stand-alone program or taken in conjunction with the updatedfor-2014, hands-on Basic RiderCourse. The MSF says the eCourse is beneficial for new and experienced riders alike because it was designed to complement and reinforce the content in the updated 2014 BRC curriculum. The eCourse helps new riders decide whether motorcycling is appropriate for them, and it prepares them for their first ride in the formal,
hands-on training provided in the Basic RiderCourse. The eCourse also helps riders who are looking for a safety refresher to improve their current riding strategies. The eCourse outlines key safety concepts to promote responsible riding and risk-reducing behavior. It allows users to repeat segments at their convenience and provides end-of-segment knowledge checks that ensure the user understands the material addressed. The MSF says testing shows that the program communicates well to prospective riders while also renewing fundamental safety strategies for experienced riders.
Students get a certificate when they complete the ecourse. For more information, go to www.msf-usa.org.
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AMA ACTION ALERTS KEEP YOU INFORMED Sign Up To Help Protect Your Right To Ride
The AMA’s Danielle Fowles
AMA STAFF MEMBERS EDUCATE LEGISLATORS Stress Motorcycle, All-Terrain Vehicle Issues
AMA Government Affairs Manager Imre Szauter and AMA Grassroots Coordinator Danielle Fowles educated legislators and their staff members from around the nation about motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle-related issues in August. Szauter and Fowles undertook the educational effort at the National Conference of State Legislatures during the organization’s 39th annual Legislative Summit in Atlanta Aug. 11-15. The NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves all 7,383 state lawmakers nationwide
and more than 20,000 legislative staff throughout the country. Thanks to Zero Motorcycles, the AMA staff had an electric motorcycle on hand that attracted a lot of attention. “We had some good discussions with many lawmakers and staff members who seemed to have a genuine interest in what we had to say,” Szauter says. “Hopefully they will be able to educate other lawmakers in their states when motorcycle- and ATV-related legislation is up for discussion.”
The AMA Government Relations Department has an easy way for you to stay on top of hot topics affecting the riding community, to let you know about town hall meetings you can attend and to provide you with other opportunities to communicate with your elected officials. How? Through its e-mail Action Alert service. By signing up to receive AMA Action Alerts, you will be notified concerning when and how you can make a difference on important issues. You can also sign up to receive the monthly electronic edition of AMA News & Notes to keep informed about motorcycle-related issues and events around the world. Sign up for these free services today at http://americanmotorcyclist.com/Rights/ GetInvolved/ActionAlertSignUp.aspx.
NEW AMA FREEDOM FIGHTER
Steve Salisbury Joins Washington, D.C., Office The AMA has a new government affairs manager specializing in off-highway issues: Steve Salisbury. Salisbury, who joined the AMA’s Washington, D.C., team on Sept. 9, holds a bachelor’s degree in forest management from the University of Maine and an MBA from the same school. An avid rider, Salisbury has written about access issues related to off-highway riding and has been a member of, or active in, a variety of related organizations including the AMA, Maine Governor’s ATV Task Force, Tread Lightly!, the Maine Recreational Trails Program project selection committee, Downeast Sunrise Trail Coalition, Airline ATV Riders, New England Trail Rider Association and the Cycle Conservation Club of Michigan.
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S TATEWAT CH CALIFORNIA As of Oct. 1, user fees have increased at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, which is commonly known as Glamis to off-highway vehicle enthusiasts. Weekly fees increased $10 to $35 for permits purchased off-site and $50 for those purchased on-site. Season permits now cost $150, which is a $60 increase. The new fees will help close a $1.5 million budget gap and will help fund emergency medical services, law enforcement, search and rescue, and facilities maintenance. Meanwhile, on Aug. 6, U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) held a congressional field hearing in Sonora to discuss the serious implications of a proposal to designate more than 2 million acres involving 14 counties in the Sierra Mountains as a critical habitat listing for the yellow-legged frog, which could stifle OHV recreation. OHV riders turned out in force for the hearing. ILLINOIS A new law that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2014 creates a program administered by the secretary of state to set standards and establish training for volunteers to become certified motorcycle road guards. A motorcycle road guard would have the
authority to stop and direct traffic during a motorcycle group ride if certain conditions were met. MONTANA A federal judge rejected a legal challenge to a U.S. Forest Service plan to ban motorized and mechanized vehicles in 322,000 acres of newly recommended Wilderness areas in the BeaverheadDeerlodge National Forest. The suit contended that the 2009 U.S. Forest Service revised forest plan unfairly restricted access for snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and mountain bikes in certain parts of the forest until Congress decides whether the 322,000 acres should be designated as Wilderness. The ruling stated that the agency had fulfilled its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act. UTAH Three roads in the Deep Creek Mountains in Utah’s west desert will re-open under a settlement over disputed claims of road ownership across federal lands. The agreement, which follows years of litigation, allows motorized traffic on three roads between June and November. Under a new agreement between officials for Utah and Juab County and a number of anti-access
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groups, the federal government agreed to reopen Granite Canyon, Toms Creek and Trout Creek roads in the Deep Creek Mountains. WISCONSIN A new law resulting from Senate Bill 29 will create a seven-member off-road vehicle council in the state Department of Natural Resources. The members will be appointed by the governor and serve three-year terms. The duties of the council include making recommendations to the governor, the DNR, Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Legislature regarding trails, routes and grants for the landowner incentive program. Also as a result of Senate Bill 32, anyone under the age of 12 will be able to ride an ATV/UTV on land controlled by an individual who consents to the operation of the machine, provided the rider is accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other designated adult. An additional component of this bill is that individuals under 18 can operate an ATV/UTV at demonstration events if it is on a closed course, the rider wears protective headgear, and the rider is accompanied by a parent, guardian or designated adult.
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3 Questions With…
THE AMA’S ROB RASOR The Future Of Electric Motorcycles
Rob Rasor
Courtesy of Zero Motorcycles
American Motorcyclist: Are electric bikes a novelty because of their expense and limited range or is there a future for them in the United States? Rob Rasor: I don’t think of them as a novelty, but more like an emerging transportation technology that is in its infancy. Significant improvements in battery technology, just in the last couple of years, have extended their range and operation.
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Depending on the type of electric bike you’re talking about, the cost is relative. China mass-produces small electric bikes in great quantity at low cost. High performance, highly technical bikes used for racing are more costly but perhaps comparable to other sophisticated internal combustion racebikes.
AM: Do you see electric and gaspowered motorcycles co-existing in the future, or will bikes with internalcombustion engines go away? RR: Gas-powered motorcycles will be with us for quite a long time to come. Electric bikes are currently one more innovation in developing the transportation mix of the future. The world remains quite dependent on gasoline-powered vehicles, but electric technology allows us to think about options for the future.
AM: How are electric motorcycles faring in competition? RR: Electric bikes offer some interesting options for two-wheeled competition. Just in the last couple of years we have seen electric racebikes significantly increase [top] speeds and lap times at road race events. Soon the speed of these motorcycles will rival that of Grand Prix bikes. Electric motocross bikes permit riders to compete quietly in urban environments and small arenas. Trials bikes already exist, and the instant torque of the electric bikes make them easily adaptable to indoor and outdoor trials competitions. Enthusiasts should not be afraid that electric bikes will make motorcycling as we know it obsolete, and sanctioning bodies should nurture the development of the competition. Electric bikes can be equally exciting, and if somebody builds them, someone will want to race them.
©iStockphoto.com/FreeTransform
Rob Rasor, vice president of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme and the AMA director of international affairs, has kept abreast of worldlevel developments in electric motorcycles since early 2007 as the founding chairman of the FIM Alternative Energy Working Group. We caught up with Rasor to get his take on electric motorcycles today and in the future.
For more than 25 years, Al Holtsberry has supported the AMA. Now we’re offering something special for him and all other AMA Life Members. Welcome to Life Member Plus! We designed the new Life Member Plus program to stay connected with our Life Members and reward them for their years of dedication to the AMA. Offering up a package that includes American Motorcyclist magazine and AMA Roadside Assistance at a special discounted rate, Life Member Plus is a money-saving value. The new program is 100 percent optional, so if you choose not to enroll, you still receive all the current benefits of life membership—a voice on behalf of motorcycling in the halls of government, the ability to sign up for AMA-sanctioned events, money-saving benefits and more. With Life Member Plus, you get all that, plus AMA Roadside Assistance and American Motorcyclist magazine. And stay tuned for additional Life Member benefits to come. AMA Life Member Plus Includes: • FREE AMA Roadside Assistance • 12 issues of American Motorcyclist magazine • AMA Life Member Plus Membership card, pin (first year), and decal with your renewal • A voice protecting motorcyclists’ rights at the federal, state and local levels • Continued access to AMA Rights, Riding, Racing and Rewards—including money-saving discounts
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Seals Championship One Round Early
Charlie Mullins wrapped up the 2013 Rekluse AMA National Enduro Championship Series title with one race remaining on the schedule by taking the overall win at the Black Coal National Enduro in Lynnville, Ind., on Sept. 15. Mullins came into the race needing only to finish ahead of Radiant AirGroup Racing’s Nick Fahringer to sew up the title and the FMF/KTM rider did just that—and more. Mullins was also gunning for the Radiant AirGroup Racing Bounty money, which is awarded to any rider who can win all six tests in a single race. And while Mullins won four of the six tests, he was thwarted in the third and fourth tests by Andrew DeLong and Jesse Groemm, so the Bounty rolled over to the Oct. 20 Oklahoma round and increased to $5,000. After getting off to a great start—one that saw him win the first three tests of the day—Mullins overcame problems in tests four and five before finishing with a strong ride to win the sixth and final test. The Ohio-born rider and 2010 AMA National Enduro Champion finished the event with a minute-and-a-half edge over Am Pro Yamaha’s Groemm, with DeLong rounding
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out the podium on his FAR Husqvarna. “It certainly feels good to win another enduro title, and especially to do it early,” Mullins said after the race. “This was a great event, and I just got off to a good start and then just tried to manage the race from there.” Groemm’s runner-up finish was the New Jersey rider’s best performance yet in the series and it moved him up to sixth in the overall standings. Meanwhile, DeLong’s third-place finish was impressive
considering it was his first race back after spending the last few months recovering from a broken hand. Fahringer just barely missed out on fourth, but still maintains second in the standings despite finishing off the podium for only the second time all year. The Rekluse AMA National Enduro Championship Series resumes action with its series finale on Oct. 20 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The year-end awards banquet will take place on Sunday after the race. For more information on the Rekluse AMA National Enduro Championship Series, see www.nationalenduro.com. Charlie Mullins (center) with Jesse Groemm (left) and Andrew DeLong on the Black Coal podium.
Shan Moore
CHARLIE MULLINS WRAPS UP AMA ENDURO TITLE
Shannon Price
FIVE YEARS LATER
New Thoughts On The Time Youth Riding Almost Died Five years ago federal lawmakers did the unthinkable, banning the sale of kids’ dirtbikes and all-terrain vehicles with the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Shocked parents, riders and others across the country rallied to change the law and eventually succeeded. It was a long battle with no guarantee of success. If fact, at times the prospects for change appeared grim. Here’s a look at what happened during the fight and some of the important lessons learned for current and future battles. The lawmakers intentions were good. But you know what they say about good intentions. In 2008, reacting in part to the death of a 4-year-old boy who swallowed a charm that contained dangerous amounts of lead, federal legislators passed a law to try to protect other children from a similar fate. The CPSIA took effect on Feb. 10, 2009. It banned the making, importing, distributing or selling of any product intended for children 12 and under that contained more than a trace amount of lead in any accessible part. Swept up in
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the broad language of the legislation were kids’ dirtbikes and ATVs. The CPSIA, which became known as the lead law, also required that all children’s products undergo expensive periodic testing by independent laboratories approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which administers the law. The law was aimed at children’s toys. But it also affected other products meant for children such as dirtbikes and ATVs, which contain trace amounts of lead in parts such as brake calipers and engine cases. So when the legislation was signed into law, the sale of kids’ dirtbikes and ATVs became illegal as of Feb. 10, 2009. Besides putting an end to riding by youngsters, the lead law also had the potential to put small manufacturers such as Cobra Motorcycles out of business, or to prompt bigger firms to stop making kids’ dirtbikes and ATVs, because of the high costs related to the lead law’s testing requirements. In other words, while the law contained some important provisions to protect children, it also had serious flaws. Nancy Nord, a longtime member of the CPSC who supported what she saw as good aspects of the law, was critical of the lead-related provisions that outlawed kids’ off-highway vehicles.
“While [the] CPSIA contained important provisions such as making it illegal to sell recalled products and emphasizing import surveillance, it also contained provisions with little foundation in science,” Nord wrote recently in a blog entry marking the lead law’s fifth anniversary. “For example, lead limits were arbitrarily drawn and made retroactive so that products safe on store shelves, or even children’s books on library shelves, were safe one day and suddenly unsafe the next day, confusing the consumer and the marketplace,” Nord wrote. “Incongruously, the lead content of a screw on the back of a children’s night table that will never be touched by a child was treated the same as the lead content of a toy frequently handled and mouthed by that child. “While [the] CPSIA did give the agency some authority to determine the lowest lead content level in children’s products, here, as in other instances, the commission chose to over-read the statute, even when staff indicated any safety benefit of further lowering the limit was minimal,” she wrote. While the lead law took effect on Feb. 10, 2009, strong protests from the AMA, the riding community and informed legislators resulted in the CPSC delaying the enforcement of certain parts of the law until the end of 2011. The delay gave those concerned about the lead law valuable time to address its flaws. The AMA, its All-Terrain Vehicle Association and their members were in the thick of the fight, participating in news events to focus media attention on the issue, lobbying on Capitol Hill and organizing grassroots campaigns to encourage riders and parents to contact their federal lawmakers to exempt kids’ OHVs from the lead law. “Hundreds of thousands of parents, kids and motorcycling and ATV club members responded to calls for action to contact their elected officials, says AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “Their efforts, along with all those volunteers who circulated petitions and took other actions, brought the issue to the attention of Congress and eventually turned the tide in our favor.” One AMA member, Nancy Sabater, embodied the spirit of the dedicated volunteers and earned AMA Motorcyclist of the Year honors in 2011 for her efforts. Sabater wrote to her congressman, led petition drives, spoke to racers and families, created videos, set up Facebook pages and more to help get kids’ dirtbikes and ATVs exempted from the lead law. Dingman says that the letters, emails and telephone calls to Congress from people like Sabater played a pivotal role in convincing lawmakers to exempt OHVs. He also notes that others were
seeking exemptions from the law for their products, but federal lawmakers only granted an exemption for OHVs. Dingman credits the AMA Family Capitol Hill Climb in May 2011, a lobbying day in Washington, D.C., as an extremely important event that personalized the issue for lawmakers. “It put a human face on the issue by showing lawmakers that kids and families were suffering unnecessarily because of the lead law,” he says. Dignman says others played important roles, including Racer X magazine, Doublin Gap Motocross Park, Mason Dixon Riding Association 6 and 7, Tomahawk MX Park, the Middle Atlantic Motocross Association, Budds Creek Motocross Park, High Point Raceway, the Motorcycle Industry Council, Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, Sean Hilbert of Cobra Motorcycles, the Coombs family and Tim Cotter of MX Sports and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer and motorcycle dealer Malcolm Smith.
On Aug. 12, 2011, H.R. 2715 was signed into law, exempting kids’ OHVs from the lead-content limits of the lead law and making it legal to sell those machines. “Everyone involved deserves a lot of thanks for their efforts to get an exemption to the lead law,” Dingman says. Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations, echoed Dingman’s comments, noting that many people were involved in the battle to convince lawmakers to change the law. “Overturning the lead law transformed an ill-advised federal provision into an opportunity,” he says. “It demonstrated that the riding community can come together under the AMA’s leadership. “This victory created a blueprint for future successes, reminding motorcyclists and ATV riders that we can make a difference on issues,” Allard says. To get involved to help protect your right to ride, go to www.americanmotorcyclist. com/rights/getinvolved/actionalertsignup.
A TIMELINE IN THE FIGHT FOR YOUNG RIDERS
cOOL dEALs
On HOT prOducTs.
Grip HEATErs
sEAT HEATErs
For several years, it was illegal to sell kids’ dirtbikes or all-terrain vehicles because of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which is known as the lead law. Here’s a look at some of the key actions related to the law during those years, from the legislation being signed into law to an exemption that allows the sale of kids’ dirtbikes and ATVs.
08 09
Aug. 14, 2008 The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 is signed into law, banning the sale of any products for kids 12 and under containing certain trace amounts of lead, including dirtbikes and ATVs.
pOrTABLE HEATEd VEsTs
Feb. 10, 2009 The lead law takes effect. March 19, 2009 In an act of civil disobedience, off-road racing legend and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Malcolm Smith sells three kid-size offhighway vehicles at a rally at his motorsports dealership opposing the new law. April 3, 2009 AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman, and MX Sports and Cobra Motorcycles representatives meet with federal officials and lawmakers seeking relief from the lead law.
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May 1, 2009 The Consumer Product Safety Commission delays enforcement of the lead-content part of the law until May 1, 2011.
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Jan. 15, 2010 The CPSC tells Congress that it can’t exempt kids’ dirtbikes and ATVs from the lead law unless the law is changed to give the CPSC more flexibility. Bills to change the law are considered in 2010 but do not advance. HEATEd Grips i HEATEd sEATs i HEATEd AppArEL
Jan. 25, 2011 The CPSC delays the law’s lead-testing requirements until Nov. 27, 2011. Various bills are introduced in 2011 to amend the lead law. May 26, 2011 The AMA organizes the AMA Family Capitol Hill Climb in Washington, D.C., so that riding families can lobby their federal lawmakers to change the lead law. Aug. 1, 2011 The House votes 421-2 to approve H.R. 2715, which exempts kids’ off-highway vehicles from the lead-content portion of the CPSIA. The Senate approves the measure by unanimous consent the same day.
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Aug. 12, 2011 H.R. 2715 is signed into law, making it legal to sell kids dirtbikes and ATVs.
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November 2013 8/19/13 2:51 PM
SPRINGFIELD REMEMBERS Dirt Track Community Supports Own
The AMA Flat Track Rookie Class of 1979 was one of the most impressive in history. It included Tommy Duma, Ronnie Jones, Scott Parker, Wayne Rainey, Charlie Roberts and John Wincewicz. Today, those riders continue to give back, combining an annual reunion with a golf tournament to benefit the Aid to Injured Riders, a nonprofit group that offers monetary assistance to flat-track racers who are injured during competition. Held this year during the Springfield Mile in Springfield, Ill., over the Labor Day weekend, there was a bonus: an afterparty the night before the big race. The Orr Building was filled with 1,250 attendees at the height of the evening. Fans crowded around the stage area to cheer on this year’s recipients of the AMA Flat Track Rookie Class of ‘79 and Friends’ Lifetime Achievement
Awards. Tables on either side of the stage were overflowing with donations for the evening’s auction. Photographs, helmets and other racing memorabilia (most featuring the autograph of the legend who donated it) were interspersed with gift baskets, gift certificates and other merchandise donated by teams, sponsors and local businesses. The riders giving autographs were a long list of dirt-track legends, AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers and current stars. They included: Bubba Shobert, Jay Springsteen, Chris Carr, Kenny Coolbeth, Jake Johnson, Sammy Halbert, Kevin Atherton, Shayna Texter, Tommy Duma, Steve Morehead, Willie McCoy, Sammy Sweet and many more.
The excitement built even more when the auction began. The bidding wars were on, as participants purchased giant banners, racing shirts, one-of-a-kind number plate plaques, and more. The event raised more than $25,000 for A.I.R. For more info about the fund, email air.fund@gmail.com.
Pat Smage Wins AMA/NATC AIReS MotoTrials National Championship Series
Rob Rasor
After getting topped by Beta rider Cody Webb on the first day of the seasonending doubleheader event on Aug. 24-25 in Duluth, Minn., Sherco’s Pat Smage turned up the heat on the competition. Smage cleaned his first of two loops and dropped only one point on the second loop to dominate Day 2. It was Smage’s ninth win on the year, his only second-place finish coming in his loss to Webb. Here, AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman presents Smage with the AMA National No. 1 plate.
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Mia Moore
Clockwise: The Orr Building, as guests arrived. Replicas of the Easyrider motorcycles were among the items on display. Kevin Atherton (former National No. 23) and his girlfriend, Maggie Simon
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH… Pro Motocross Racer Adam Cianciarulo
American Motorcyclist: Adam, what’s your take on your rookie season? Adam Cianciarulo: It began with a bummer as I got sick only five days before Hangtown. I didn’t even realize I was coming down with something until just two days before the race, and then went to the hospital. I knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to race. After getting out of the hospital, I went home and just tried to recuperate. I didn’t even get on a bike until three weeks later. I felt that I was a 100 percent when I returned at Budds Creek, but those first few races were rough. It was a good learning curve, but I definitely wasn’t myself with my fitness level as good as it should have been. I train with Aldon Baker, the best trainer in the business, so to fade like I did at those first couple races back, I knew I wasn’t healthy enough. Eventually, I ended up having some blood tests that revealed that my iron was really low, and that I am chronically anemic. I have now been on iron supplements and have been feeling good, like my old self. We really had a good program coming into the motocross series, but the illness pretty much took it all away. AM: People have been waiting for your
AMA Pro Motocross debut for years. Has that created any additional pressure on you? AC: I know that the pressure is there, but I don’t let it bother me too much. You know, I have been racing for so long, and doing pretty well, so I have had that pressure there for some time, and it’s almost second nature for me. It’s been there from the start of my career. It can sometimes be an unfair expectation, but it’s a part of the sport, and I don’t have a problem with it. AM: Has it been a big transition from the amateur motocross scene to life as an AMA pro racer? AC: There have been a lot of adjustments. The motos are longer, it’s a one-day event to where the big amateur races are usually over a week, and the schedule is a lot tougher. You are in and out every weekend, flying somewhere new. For me, it has been difficult to get used to the tracks. You basically have only two laps to jump every jump on the track, and get all your lines down before you have to do your fast laps. If you don’t set a fast lap, it really messes up your gate pick. Then you get a poor start and have to try to work your way through the pack. The field in the 250 class is so deep that it’s hard to make up ground. People may think that the 16th place guy is slow, but it takes so much effort to get past that rider, people have no idea. The depth of the field, and the sheer intensity of the racing are probably the biggest things to get used to! AM: What are your thoughts on 2014? AC: To begin with, we came into the 2013 outdoor season as a way to prepare for 2014. We did not come into Jeff Kardas
Labeled as the next big thing in motocross for several years now, 16-yearold Adam Cianciarulo made his pro debut a few rounds into the 2013 AMA Pro Motocross Championships. During his rookie season, the Kawasaki rider’s best performance has been a third-place moto finish and a fourth at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. We recently sat down with the Floridian to learn more about his leap to the pros.—Jim Kimball
this summer’s racing to set the world on fire. We’ve been focused on learning the tracks, learning the riders and understanding the intensity needed to compete. Obviously, when you are out racing against these guys, you are learning a lot more than when you are practicing alone. I think that by racing this summer that it will really help for 2014. I will know most of the tracks, and know how fast the guys are. Even though I did not really have all the results that I wanted this summer, it will pay big dividends in 2014.
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Charlie Mullins came away with a huge win in the Pro division at the AMA Kenda Big Sky Off Road National Championship, presented by KLIM.
AMATEUR TITLES WON AT OFF-ROAD NATIONALS AMA Kenda Big Sky Off Road National Championship, Presented By KLIM Story and Photos by Shan Moore
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Off-road competitors from across the country came together in August for a new amateur national championship event: The AMA Amateur National Off-Road Championship at Big Sky Ski Resort in Big Sky, Mont. Officially known as the AMA Kenda Big Sky Off Road National Championship, presented by KLIM, the amateur off-road nationals were the culmination of a year’s worth of qualifying, bringing together the top riders from multiple off-road series and regional events to one centralized venue. Modeled after the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships, the Hill Climb Grand Championships and others, the event awarded AMA National No. 1 plates in 34 divisions defined by rider age, skill and bike displacement. In keeping with its representation as an extreme race, the Big Sky XC offered plenty of tough obstacles. Perhaps the most daunting of all was its altitude, which averages about 8,000 feet at the starting area (right next to the lodge) and winds its way up the ski slopes to about 10,000 feet above sea level. In a nod to its diverse ridership, Big Sky featured five race courses, so there was something for every ability. However, the
event has become famous for its Black Diamond Loop, which is reserved for A- and pro-class racers. One of the most popular spectator areas is the infamous rock garden where these riders are challenged by an uphill sea of loose rocks. In the pro division, FMF/KTM’s Charlie Mullins came away with a big-time win, finishing nearly 2 minutes ahead of Obermeyer Yamaha’s Brad Bakken, while Am Pro Yamaha teammates Jordan Ashburn and Ricky Russell filled out the top four. “The only problem I had all race was I came into the ‘rock garden’ section and there were lappers in my usual line so I tried to go straight up the rocks and I got hung up about halfway,” said Mullins. “I lost about 5 seconds there, but I was able to get going again without killing my engine or falling over.” South Carolina’s Ryan Belue was ninth overall and first in the 250 A class. “This was a great experience travelling out to this event,” said Belue. “This is a wonderful place to have a race and it was a great trip for me.” JT Baker was one of the top performers in Saturday’s amateur program, taking the overall win in the Youth Overall Senior class and winning a national title for the effort.
JT Baker was one of the top performers in the Amateur classes, taking the overall win in the Youth Overall Senior division.
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OFFROAD “I had a couple of crashes but luckily I was able to get back on the gas and worked my way back up for the win,” said Baker. “This is a cool race and I’m glad we came out here.” Another top performer was the winner of the Girls division, Serena Newby. “The course was great, it was fun but definitely challenging,” said Newby. Longtime off-road competitor and one of the sponsors of the Big Sky XC,
Matt Stavish, says a centralized off-road championship is important. “There are many different series in the United States and amateurs normally do their respective series—hare and hound, enduro, and so on—so for everyone to be able to come together at one venue for one national championship is a good deal,” he says. “To have something like this where champions can be crowned in amateur classes is a great thing.”
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A VIEW ON WOODS RACING Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series
Hare scrambles racing is one of the purest, simplest forms of motorcycle sport, with the nice bonus of being a real throwback to the past. Since motorcycle competition began, variations of scrambles racing have been popular around the world. Competitors race through fields, down trails, over hills and on natural-terrain motocross tracks. Like most AMA-sanctioned amateur competition, hare scrambles offer a class for nearly everyone, from the youngest youth racers to riders 60-years old (and older). Courses are challenging but, most importantly, are safe and fun. Some of the country’s best hare scrambles events are part of the AMAsanctioned Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series (www.vchss.org), where
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the accompanying photos were taken. “Hare scrambling is a fantastic, family-friendly sport and the VCHSS provides venues for racers and aspiring racers of all ages and skill levels,” says Mike D’Antuono, VCHSS series officer. “Entry level novice riders through pros have participated in our races. Some families have as many as five or six riders across three generations racing on the same day. The competition is tough but the camaraderie and sportsmanship is awesome.” For a taste of modern hare scrambles, here are some scenes from this past summer’s events in Virginia. Look like fun? We thought so. Search the events at www.americanmotorcyclist.com to find a race near you.
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AWNING S Clockwise from left: Evan Burkholder (529) and Rick Hall (811) navigate a rocky creek bottom. Alex Benhart (7AA) and Chance Baker (57) fly through the woods in Rural Retreat, Va. A mini-bike racer waits for a turn on the course. The youngest VCHSS racers rail through the first turn.
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really helped me focus on getting to the front of the pack. There is also plenty of ventilation throughout the helmet from front to back. The ventilation moves air up and out to keep you cool on those hot and humid summer days. On July 4, I was racing in Marysville, Ohio, and the temperature was in the 90s. I raced in multiple classes with double motos. The ventilation helped keep my head cool so I did not overheat. The padding in the helmet is lightweight and soft. The crown and cheek pads are removable and washable. I have washed my pads many times with no issues. I have worn several other helmets from other manufacturers and the HJC RPHA-X is my favorite because of the lightweight design and keeping the roost out of my mouth and nose.—Anthony Brettell
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Photos courtesy VCHSS November 2013
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THE STATE OF AMA SUPERCROSS New License Procedure Headlines Upcoming Changes
AMA Supercross is one of the mostthrilling stadium sports in the world. The high-flying, bar-to-bar action has had fans on their feet since the early 1970s, and the competiton just keeps getting better. The main ingredient for the success of AMA Supercross is rider talent, of course. Over the years, superstars such as Bob Hannah, Rick Johnson, Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and more have wowed millions of fans with their incomparable skills, while a field of determined contenders chases dreams of championship glory. Also important is the organization and production provided by the AMA and championship promoter Feld Motor Sports. Executing a successful season year after year requires planning, flexibility, cooperation and, occasionally, evolution. One change on the horizon is the qualification process. Starting in 2015, the AMA will have a new procedure for acquiring an AMA Supercross license. We caught up with AMA Director of Supercross Kevin Crowther to find out the details, including why aspiring riders must plan now for a jump to the big leagues. Q: What’s the new procedure for getting an AMA Supercross license? A: In broad stroke terms, to qualify for a 2015 AMA Supercross license you must compete in the 2014 AMSOIL AMA Arenacross featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross. The details of the
points needed and how you get them can be found in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, rulebook. Q: So to compete in Supercross starting in 2015, an aspiring 250SX rider must qualify through Arenacross and an aspiring 450SX rider qualifies as a 250SX rider? That’s a couple years away. Why the big push to get the word out now? A: Riders need to know now because it will affect their 2014 program, which is just a month or so away. That is, if a rider plans to apply for their first AMA Supercross license in 2015, they would have to earn their Road to Supercross points from the 2014 AMSOIL AMA Arenacross season to be able to be eligible for an AMA Supercross license at the beginning of the season. That said, the AMSOIL AMA Arenacross season runs January to March, so a rider would have the option to get their Road to Supercross points in early 2015 and then jump into the 250 class for the East Coast Region. Q: Why make this change? What makes Arenacross a good proving ground for professional 250SX riders? A: Professional AMA Motocross and Supercross share a common heritage and technical similarity. However, each discipline has evolved to be distinct in a number of different ways. It’s to the point
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that compared to AMA Pro Motocross, it takes a different skill set to compete at the professional level of AMA Supercross. Neither one is better, just different. Over the years, we have found that the riders who come through the AMA Arenacross program are better prepared for what they will find at Supercross. The Road to Supercross creates the framework to ultimately develop safer, more-experienced riders for Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Also, Feld Motor Sports is the AMA’s promotional partner for both AMA Supercross and AMA Arenacross. Feld has taken AMA Arenacross to new heights and has created a championship that is up to the task of preparing our riders for the next level of competition, both in competition and the skills needed to interact with the fans, sponsors and the TV audience. Q: Have you gotten any feedback from current 450SX riders about this change? A: Overall, the feedback has been positive. Ricky Carmichael jumped right in to support this, going so far as to add his name to the program. I can’t think of a better endorsement than that. Q: What have you seen as the biggest hurdles for new Supercross riders? A: The first one is the track and the level of competition. When a rider comes to Supercross after only competing in traditional motocross, they can get intimidated by the track pretty quickly. After that, I would have to say that it is the magnitude of the event and its tempo. AMA Supercross is quite the show, and it runs like clockwork. Each year we are able to have more live events on TV and this does make it important to stay on time. We have a schedule and we stick to it. Sometimes at certain stadiums the paddock isn’t that close to the staging area so riders and teams must be disciplined with respect to the schedule and good at time management during the event. Arenacross operates with the same basic principles. Q: What makes AMA Supercross unique from a rider perspective, and how does Arenacross better prepare riders for that? A: An AMA Supercross track is built with specific angles of the jumps and distances between the obstacles. This can vary a little bit from event to event, but the goal is to have a track that the riders will be
9/13/13 8:44 AM
Jeff Guciardo
comfortable on each week. Because of our track layouts, timing is very important. A rider coming from Arenacross is going to have a distinct initial advantage because Arenacross tracks are designed with the same philosophy. Q: What does a rider have to do, then, to punch his 250SX ticket in Arenacross? Where does he have to finish? A: To be eligible for a 250SX license from the 2015 season and beyond, a rider needs to earn one Road to Supercross point from the Arenacross class at a minimum of three events for a total of three points. Q: Can the Arenacross program handle the extra qualifying requirements? A: Yes, Feld and the AMA are committed to a quality event regardless of entry numbers. Q: So to get to Supercross, you have to qualify through Arenacross. How do you qualify for Arenacross? Is it open to any A-class ranked rider? A: Yes any A classed rider can enter. Q: Shifting gears from the qualification process specifically, what is the atmosphere of the AMA/rider relationship? A: Overall, we are in a pretty good place right now. We understand that we are all in this together, between the AMA, FIM, Feld, the riders, teams and all the sponsors, it’s very important to work together. Obviously, everybody has their own agenda but as long as we can communicate and work together, we can work things out. Q: What other big rule changes will be coming soon? A: The 2014 season is going to bring some operational changes in the program. We will be bringing back semis for the 450SX class, so for them it will be heats, semis and then a last-chance qualifier to get into the main event. I know that we
have done that in the past, but we are going to change it up. The 450SX heats will now be the first thing the fans see in the night show. We will also be switching up the finishers from the two heat races so the fans get to see them racing other riders in the semis. Lastly, we are going to put 22 riders on the gate for both the 250SX and 450SX main events. Bringing back the semis will be good. It gives more riders the opportunity to get on the podium throughout the night, which is good for their teams and sponsors, and putting 22 on the gate will make it so those guys who are always on the bubble will have a better chance now. We will continue to allow alternates as needed into the heat races. Most of the other changes that you will see in the rulebook this year are geared toward clarification. We learn every year as things come up and try to create better rules from them. Q: How long have you been directing Supercross for the AMA? A: This will be my sixth year as director of the series for the AMA. I also stay pretty involved with the FIM [Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the world governing body for motorcycle sport]. I am one of the members of the FIM Motocross Commission, which involves attending some international events and meetings throughout the year. I’m also the director of the AMA Motocross of Nations team, so that carves out a chunk of time during the summer. I’ve also worked as the clerk of course for the MotoGP events in America for the last six years. Q: What’s your motorcycling background? A: It started when my parents gave me a Yamaha Mini Enduro for Christmas in 1972. I rode the wheels off that thing all over the trails of the Mendocino National forest in Northern California. I did a little bit of MX but mostly off-road, and then in the early 1980s, I discovered road racing and got hooked. My first road racer was a Kawasaki GPZ 550. After joining the Navy and moving to southern California, I picked up a YZ250 and started racing at Carlsbad. After the Navy was more road racing, even holding an AMA Pro license and competing in the 600 class at Laguna Seca and Infineon. I also rode enduros in District 36 in Northern California. After taking the full-time job with the AMA in Columbus, I played around with Supermoto a bit and then settled back with my roots in riding off-road. I currently ride a KTM 300 here in Ohio, trying to do as many trail rides as I can.
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DAVE BARR’S 1972 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FX SUPER GLIDE A ’Round-The-World Survivor
Some of the motorcycles on display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame are pristine examples of classic machines, meticulously restored and presented as if they just rolled off the production line. Dave Barr’s 1972 Harley-Davidson FX Super Glide is not one of them. Barr’s stalwart bike, in fact, proudly shows evidence of the trials and tribulations that Barr and the then-18year-old motorcycle faced in an epic journey around the world. The trip took the man and machine 83,000 miles, across six continents and through some of the world’s most dangerous and unforgiving regions—and required three-and-a-half years to complete. The journey is all the more amazing when you realize that Barr is a double amputee, having lost both his legs to a land mine during his time as a professional soldier. The ’round-the-world trip started with an idea Barr had after returning to his
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home in California and retrofitting his Super Glide with adaptive controls so he could ride using his prosthetic legs. “Wouldn’t it be something to share this simple accomplishment of riding a motorcycle as a double amputee with disabled people the world over,” he wrote in “Riding the Edge,” his book detailing the journey. “Perhaps I could be a role model for those people who might someday suffer the loss of good health.” As a warm-up, he rode the Super Glide from
Johannesburg, South Africa, on a 9,000mile transcontinental ride in support of the Leonard Cheshire Foundation, which assists disabled people. Nine months later, Barr again left Johannesburg, headed north, and just kept going. “Riding the Edge” tells and illustrates how difficult the journey was for a man with prosthetic legs. Grainy black-and-white images show the legless man wrestling the bike through axle-deep mud in Cameroon, him hanging on as the machine throws up a rooster tail of sand in the Sahara Desert and Barr standing next to it at the Arctic Circle in Norway. There’s a bike parked at the foot of a primitive bridge across a Brazilian river, waiting for a tractor to clear an avalanche from a pass 12,000 feet up in the
Photos Jeff Guciardo
Chilean Andes, and overturned on a dirt road in the Australian outback. After enduring such hardships, overcoming mechanical failures and plowing through thousands of miles of red tape that dozens of governments had wrapped around the ride, Barr made it home in May 1994. He retired this trusty machine with more than a quarter-million miles on the odometer, ultimately offering it for display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. There are plenty of singular touches to the Harley-Davidson that visitors can appreciate, from the makeshift
motocross-style front fender, to the timing cover from China, to the actual prosthetic legs he used during the trip. For his part, Barr remained anything but idle. After finishing the trip aboard the Super Glide, he rode from France to Vladivostock, Russia, a 9,375-mile trek in the dead of winter—the only time much of the swampy terrain was passable by vehicle. In 2003, he also completed the first motorcycle journey to the four corners of Australia, a 10,000-mile ride that earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, features the people and machines that have defined the sport, lifestyle and business of motorcycling in America. The Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that receives support from the AMA and from the motorcycling community. For info and directions, visit www.motorcyclemuseum.org, or call (614) 856-2222.
November 2013
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Hall of Famer
PUTT MOSSMAN: THE ORIGINAL ROCK STAR Daredevil ‘Stunt Merchant’ Thrilled 1920s, ’30s Crowds
In the 1920s, it was hard to find a more daring and fearless motorcyclist, or a more inventive self-promoting rider, than “Putt” Mossman—stunt merchant extraordinaire. While Mossman may not have been the first to try motorcycle stunts—that probably came within hours of the invention of the first motorcycle—he was certainly the principle practitioner of the craft in the 1920s and ’30s. Barnstorming the United States and then Europe, Mossman and his troupe would perform seven nights a week in high-schools, stadiums, racetracks and fairgrounds, performing amazing feats of motorized derring-do. He’d ride with his sister standing on his shoulders. He’d shoot helium-filled balloons out of the air with a pistol as he rode. He’d ride while juggling eggs or skipping rope. He’d ride with a sack over his head while using a broomstick to feel the stadium wall while circling around the track. He’d crash through plate glass or burning wood. He’d put a burlap sack over his head, light it on fire, and jump into a river. He’d jump off a ramp into a tub of flaming water. Mossman’s signature trick was riding a motorcycle with a vertical ladder attached to the back, and, while circulating a track, climbing to the top of the ladder. By the mid-1930s, Mossman’s fame had spread worldwide, and he began making appearances around the globe. He called his traveling show “Putt Mossman and his American Motorcycle Rodeo Circus and Speedway Aces.” One performance in Yokohama, Japan, drew 80,000 spectators, including the son of
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the emperor. All told, Mossman visited and performed in 45 countries. Born in 1906 in the small farming community of Eldora, Iowa, Oren Mossman became adept at a young age at the extremely popular sport of tournament horseshoe throwing. In fact, he became a national and world champion thrower and invented the first hooked horseshoe that has been adapted and still used today. He was honored by elevation to the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association Hall of Fame in 1967. When he was 20, Mossman bought his first motorcycle. On the ride home from the motorcycle shop, Mossman came upon two pretty young ladies and performed his very first motorcycle stunt. He stood up on his seat as he rode by the young ladies and nodded as he passed. Even though Mossman would later say his performance was rather shaky, he still received applause.
It was the money that drew him to performing stunts and later forming his stunt troupe, and once he tasted success, he didn’t look back. Mossman fulfilled his dream of making a lot of money. He was said to have earned and lost fortunes many times over. During World War II, Mossman served in the Merchant Marine and later worked with the USO and performed his show for troops. After the war, television, radio and the rising popularity of sports eroded Mossman’s draw. He continued to work as a stuntman in Hollywood and doing his shows on a smaller scale, often for schoolchildren and various charities. He continued working into his 70s. He retired to Arizona and died on Sept. 8, 1994, at the age of 88. Perhaps the most daring stunt rider in motorcycling, Mossman was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.
YOU CAN HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.
AMA members do it all—long-distance rides, offroad races, cruising main street, vintage dirt track... To better serve our broad membership base, American Motorcyclist magazine is now published in two versions. The dirt version includes more off-highway and racing content. The street version includes more articles for road riders. Want to switch? Just call (800) 262-5646, ask for membership services and tell them which version you want. Want to read both versions? Call the above number to get both delivered to your home for just $10 more a year. Members can read both online at www.americanmotorcyclist.com/magazine for free.
Put yourself in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame is YOUR hall of fame—we couldn’t exist without the generous support of our donors. Now there’s a new way for you to show that support in a very visible way: My Hall of Fame. The idea is simple: A $20 donation gets you a 3-inch-square space on the wall in the Hall of Fame entrance foyer that hangs during the campaign year. Want a bigger space? A 6-inch square is an $80 donation, and a 9-inch square is a $180 donation. You also get an official certificate noting that your picture is on display in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Hang your picture, your kid’s picture, your company logo, almost anything. It’s up to you! Get in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame today!
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THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME, A DESERT RACING STANDOUT, AN INDUSTRY VETERAN, A MULTI-TALENTED AMA ROADRACER AND A VISIONARY COUPLE OF OF MOTORCYCLISTS WHO STARTED THE RIDE FOR KIDS PROGRAM THAT HAS RAISED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THEY ARE THIS YEAR’S BEST OF THE BEST. By Grant Parsons
CLASS 2013
See History In Person The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2013 will be inducted on Friday, Oct. 18, at Las Vegas’ Green Valley Resort & Casino. The star-studded gala kicks off the first of two must-see events during the AMA Legends Weekend. In addition to featuring the newest inductees, the Friday evening induction ceremony spotlights two Hall of Fame Legends—existing members of the Hall of Fame whose lifetime accomplishments are highlighted. The 2013 Legends are: Mark Blackwell, a pioneering racer in American motocross, a six-time AMA championship race team manager and a well-respected executive in the
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motorcycle industry; and Torsten Hallman, a four-time World Motocross champion who was instrumental in introducing the sport of motocross to Torsten Hallman America and founded the Thor brand. Also part of the AMA Legends Weekend activities is the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Dave Mungenast Memorial Legends Reception on Saturday, Mark Blackwell Oct. 19, where the class of 2013, the 2013 Legends and AMA Motorcycle Hall of
Famers from previous years will be honored and interviewed on-stage in a relaxed setting that allows fans and friends to get up close and personal with motorcycling’s heroes. Tickets are on sale now at www. motorcyclemuseum.org. The price is $140 for Friday night’s induction ceremony, and $20 for Saturday’s reception, which includes a continental breakfast. Rooms at the Green Valley Ranch can be reserved by calling (866) 782-9487 and using the code GCIAMHF. The AMA Legends Weekend is a fundraiser for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, located on the AMA campus in Pickerington, Ohio, and overseen by the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation.
CLASS OF
2013
RICKY CARMICHAEL The G.O.A.T.
FEW PEOPLE in any endeavor—in
sport, in business or in life—have ever earned that title: the Greatest Of All Time. Ricky Carmichael has. He is popularly acknowledged as the Greatest of All Time in AMA Motocross, and his nickname remains “The G.O.A.T.” In 11 years as a professional, Carmichael became the most dominant rider ever in AMA Motocross. He was named AMA Motocross Rookie of the year in 1996, and logged his first full season in 1997, when he won the 125 Motocross Championship. Since then he won at least one championship every season he raced, and never failed to defend a title when he was able to ride the entire season (a knee injury sidelined him for part of 2004). In total, he earned 15 National Championship titles in MX and SX, three team world championships (MXoN), and one individual world championship (SX1). Also impressive: Carmichael has won on three brands—Kawasaki, then Honda, then Suzuki—and his dominance spans eras. He has won titles on the two-stroke machinery he grew up on, along with the four-stroke racebikes that came later. Still, Carmichael says, induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame is a great
career high. “Its definitely special,” Carmichael says. “When you think about all the great racers who have raced motorcycles through history, and about all the great racers still racing currently, it’s pretty cool to be associated with them.” He was the first rider in AMA Motocross with an undefeated season at the top level, a feat he accomplished three times, in 2002 and 2004, when he won all 24 motos, and in 2005, when he won 22 of 24 motos, winning each overall. He was the AMA Pro Racing Athlete of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Though Carmichael was a fierce competitor, he was typically gracious and humble off-track. His attitude and work ethic won him fans. The key to all that success, Carmichael says, was focus on all aspects of racing, not just at the track. “I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve been able to surround myself with great people, at Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki,” he
says. “They all gave me a chance to do well. The Hall of Fame induction is really a celebration for them.” Carmichael has earned a combined 150 pro overall national wins. He notched 76 AMA Motocross overalls, 48 AMA Supercross main events, 26 AMA Motocross Lites overalls and 12 AMA Supercross Lites regional main event wins. Carmichael capped his impressive career with a winning performance at the X Games and a victory with the U.S. Team at the Motocross of Nations in Budds Creek, Maryland, his last race. He then retired and took up racing stock trucks and cars. By the time of his induction in 2013, Carmichael was running a successful AMA MX and SX race team, and teaching riders with his Ricky Carmichael Race School. Life, he says, is good. “I like the position I’m in now,” he says. “I may be retired from racing, but I’m still very active with team ownership, and as a spokesman for the sport in general. I’m just trying to help make the sport bigger and better for the guys coming up. “I’m in a great position in that I can do the things I want to do, and not do the things I don’t want to do, which is a pretty good place to be.”
Jeff Kardas
“I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve been able to surround myself with great people.”
November 2013
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CLASS OF
2013
DANNY HAMEL Desert Ace
DANNY HAMEL accomplished much
as an off-road racer: five-time AMA Hare and Hound National Champion, SCORE Baja 1000 and 500 overall winner and more. Between 1977 and 1995, Hamel was the only rider ever named both as the AMA Amateur Athlete of the Year and AMA Amateur Sportsman of the Year in the same year. Before a crash took his life prematurely in June 1995 during the Baja 500 when a car strayed onto the road that was part of the course, Hamel had earned a reputation as an outgoing rider, a super-fast racer, and a master at getting the most out of what many considered to be one of desert racing’s most powerful and impressive-toride-to-its-fullest machines: the Kawasaki KX500. A motorcyclist from an early age, Hamel took to the desert while growing up in Boulder City, Nev., a perfect spot to take advantage of the wide-open terrain. By the time he started racing in earnest, he had learned a lot, said his dad, Roger Hamel. “I had raced, so I had a little bit of an
influence on him, but most of it came from between his own ears,” Roger says. “He had tried other sports, and was good at them, but he didn’t really like it when someone didn’t give 100 percent. With motorcycle racing, I think, he liked that it was just all him.” Going fast came easy, Danny said in a 1993 interview. “Reading the terrain just comes naturally for me,” he said. “A desert racer has to have the ability to recognize and adapt to different situations. Sometimes you’re going 80 or 90 miles an hour across the open desert, and sometimes your going two or three miles per hour through rocks. I live right here in the desert, so every time I go riding, I’m practicing those skills.” A strong rider, Hamel became synonymous with the KX500, remembers his mechanic, Mike Hodges. “It was amazing to watch him ride,” Hodges says. “Hamel was a big guy, and he handled that KX500 like other guys rode 125s. That was his kind of bike.” Speed just came naturally to him, Hamel’s father says.
“He just had that knack,” Roger Hamel says. “He rode well within his limits, but if someone challenged him, he could always go faster.” Off the bike, Hamel was as likeable as he was down-to-earth, and he made friends throughout the desert-racing community. Perhaps because of his easygoing outlook, Hamel didn’t let the wins go to his head, Hodges says. “A lot of times, racers get too wrapped up in the dollar amount, or focus too much on the short career in racing,” Hodges says. “They don’t quite gel with the people paying their salaries, or think they’re above the fans. Danny never was that way. He always just considered himself lucky.” You could see that, Hodges says, in Hamel’s trademark move on the podium. “After he’d won, he’d just hand his trophy to a kid, or a fan,” Hodges says. “I think to him the win was the thing—it was there in the books. Having the trophy was less important. It gave him a better feeling about the win to hand it to the kid who wandered up for an autograph.” He says Hamel would be floored by the honor of being in the Hall of Fame. “I’m sure he’d be speechless,” he says. “All of us will be so proud to see him inducted. The thing was, he was so young, and he was so good, you legitimately feel that he could have continued to destroy every off-road record out there if he had more time to hang around with us.”
“It was amazing to watch him ride.” — Mike Hodges, Hamel’s mechanic
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Shan Moore
CLASS OF
2013
NORM McDONALD K&N Co-Founder NORM MCDONALD is one of
motorcycling’s Renaissance men, doing just about everything that’s possible with two wheels—from racing to product development to tuning to running a successful chain of dealerships. McDonald has sponsored hundreds of racers from the late 1950s through today, but he’s perhaps best known for being the founding “N” in K&N engineering, a company he formed with AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Ken Johnson in 1957 and one that is now a well-known name in the motorsports world. Growing up, McDonald’s parents wouldn’t allow him to have a motorcycle, so he satisfied his need for speed with hot rods and drag racing. He always wanted a bike, though, so when he was 17, he saved up his lawn-mowing money and bought a motorcycle that he kept at a friend’s house. A stint in the Navy from 1952-55 slowed McDonald’s riding passion only slightly, and when he returned, he married Louise (Lucy) West, bought another bike and started racing motorcycles and growing a family. He worked days as a surveyor for the County of San Bernardino, but motorcycling was in his blood. When he met Ken Johnson in 1957, they opened K&N Motorcycles in Loma Linda, Calif., as a service shop, with Johnson working days and McDonald working nights. “We opened with $200 and three used
motorcycles,” McDonald remembers. “We took on Indian, which was Royal Enfield at the time, and in 1958, we took on Yamaha.” As shop owners, Johnson and McDonald also happened to give an early job to a 17-year-old kid who would come to make quite a name for himself in motorcycling: Malcolm Smith. “I knew him when I was about 12 years old,” McDonald says. “We watched him ride in the fields, and were impressed, and we when we opened up the shop, we got more acquainted with him, and I asked if he wanted to come work for me.” Through the years, McDonald owned other motorcycle franchises as well, expanding to six locations and selling BSA, CZ, Jawa, Husky, Hodaka, Tahatsu, Marusho, Greeves and Harley-Davidsons at one time or another. In 1965, Ken and Norm formed K&N engineering to expand even further, focusing on a line of handlebars, fenders and fork braces. The next year, the K&N air filter was introduced, and within five years the revolutionary filters could be found in virtually every form of racing.
“I just like motorcycles and motorcycle people.”
McDonald sponsored a number of racers. Besides his sons—Phil McDonald (1973 Daytona 100-mile Junior Champion); Sam McDonald (1982 250 National Champion and 1984 second-place Superbike Championship); son-in-law Ted Boody and grandson Tyler McDonald— Norm sponsored hundreds of others, with more than 30 competing nationally. By 1971, McDonald decided to relocate. “By that time, we had five shops, and a beer bar, and an insurance agency,” McDonald says. “We sold everything off, and we moved.” Johnson opted to keep K&N Engineering, and McDonald kept the dealership side of things and moved to Tulsa, Okla., opening up dealerships in Tulsa and Wichita, Kan. “That was the best decision I ever made,” McDonald says. “I’ve always loved motorcycles and motorcycle people. I know the air cleaner thing is multi-multimulti million today, but if you’re not happy with what you’re doing, why do it? McDonald still works every day at his dealerships, enjoying the company of sons and grandsons who work with him. He says he was floored to learn that he was to be inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. “It’s amazing,” he says. “I’ve never put myself in that category. It’s overwhelming. There are so many riders who rode for me who are in the Hall of Fame, to be in there with them, I’m speechless.”
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CLASS OF
2013
RANDY RENFROW Versatile Road Racer RANDY RENFROW was known
for his ability to be competitive on any type of machinery, from diminutive 250 Grand Prix bikes all the way up to AMA Superbikes, and he excelled in nearly every class of professional motorcycle road racing. Renfrow raced professionally more than 20 years, seven of which were self-sponsored. He was one of the best-liked riders in the paddock. In all, Renfrow won a total of 17 AMA Nationals in four different classes, including a victory in an AMA Superbike race at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California in 1990, as a member of the factory Honda team. Renfrow grew up in his early years in San Diego, and on his ninth birthday, he got his first minibike. “Our dad was in the Marine Corps,” remembers Randy’s brother, Shawn. “He always had scooters as a young man. Motorcycling was a big thing when we lived in San Diego, and my dad bought Randy a Briggs & Stratton minibike.” A Sears 90cc followed. When he relocated to New Jersey with his family, he started riding motocross, and quickly stood out. “Randy was always the fastest kid in the neighborhood, no matter what he was riding,” Shawn says. By 1981, Renfrow was road racing, and he earned his first AMA national points with a fifth-place finish at Pocono in the 250 Grand Prix class, then finished third in the 250GP final at Daytona. He began riding with Sure-Fire in 1983. Shawn credits his brother’s success on
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a wide variety of machinery to his early riding on varied surfaces. “I think some of it was because we were military and moved a lot, so he rode a lot of different types of terrain,” he says. “And I’m going to give Randy special props that some of that was just heart. I don’t think it mattered to him what he was racing. He just wanted to do well.” A consistent winner and finisher, Renfrow finished third in AMA Formula 1 in 1984; second in Formula 1 in 1985; won the Formula 1 Championship in 1986; won the Memphis and Road Atlanta AMA 250 GP races in 1987; and finished fifth in AMA Superbike in 1988. After nearly retiring at the end of 1988, Renfrow came back to win the AMA Pro Twins Series in 1989. He won a Superbike national in 1990 and earned three 600 SuperSport podium finishes. He continued racing and finishing well in various classes through 2000.
In March of 2002, Renfrow was caught in a crash at Daytona International Speedway and broke nine ribs, his right knee, his right ankle and foot. Tragically, five months later, while still on crutches, Renfrow fell down a flight of stairs and suffered head injuries from which he would never recover. As much as Renfrow is remembered for winning, he was also widely considered one of the most popular racers in the paddock. “He’d always be happy to take time for a fan, or to share race setups with others,” Shawn says. “Some riders would wind themselves up, but not Randy. He’d say, ‘That’s not how we play that game. We play to win, but we don’t have to hate anyone to play the game.’” That attitude kept him down-to-earth, he says. “Randy was always kind of shocked that people would ask for his autograph, because he never really acted like a great racer—he was really humble about his position,” Shawn says. “That’s why I think he’d be really humbled about being inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He’d be really honored to think that existing Hall of Fame members thought enough of him to share a place with him by voting him in.”
“I don’t think it mattered to him what he was racing. He just wanted to do well.” — Shawn Renfrow, Randy’s brother
CLASS OF
MIKE and DIANNE TRAYNOR Ride For Kids Founders MIKE AND DIANNE TRAYNOR
are best known for their work organizing fund-raising rides that would become the Ride for Kids motorcycle charity program and later the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. They began the Ride for Kids in Atlanta in 1984 to raise funds for childhood brain tumor research. Today, the foundation is the the world’s largest non-governmental source of funding for childhood brain tumor research. Mike Traynor died in 2009 and Dianne Traynor died in 2012. Growing up, Mike loved motorcycles, riding as a teenager in Chicago. As a G.I. stationed in Japan, Mike raced with his daily rider—a slightly modified Honda Dream. He eventually became a locally recognized racer, winning a championship in 1961. After the war, he started a family, continued racing as an amateur, sometimes racing endurance road races with his sons. He climbed the corporate ladder and became a vice president in the
newspaper-publishing world in Atlanta. When a colleague’s daughter was stricken with a brain tumor, he found his true calling. Working with his wife, Dianne, herself a teacher and accountant, he started a local fundraising ride for the cause. “As far back as I can remember, he was obsessed with motorcycling,” says Mike’s son, Brian Traynor. “He decided to use that love of motorcycling to raise a little money to help out a hospital in Georgia.” The first event raised about $4,000 from local motorcyclists, Brian remembers. It became a yearly ride, and then expanded it into what would become the Ride for Kids events, and, ultimately, the creation of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, which has raised more than $70 million for the cause. The Traynor’s success came from an amazing attitude, says Larry Little, Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation board member and vice president and general manager of the Marketplace Events Motorcycle Group. “Once you were around Mike for even the smallest moments, you realized that he was a guy who couldn’t take no for an answer, and was so infectious in his positive attitude,” Little says. “That came from within, and it rubbed off on a lot of people. Once he had a vision, he didn’t let
2013
it pass. He went firmly after it.” One of the Ride For Kids’ secondary benefits was that it provided a rallying point for motorcyclists, Brian says. “If my dad were alive today, he would say the things he’s most proud of would be not only be the medical research and the healing that came as a result of all of the work that he and Dianne did, but also what it’s done for motorcycling,” he says. “When he’d tell people he rode a motorcycle, and they’d say, ‘Oh, you’re one of those,’ he would kind of cringe,” Brian says. “The Ride for Kids events were instrumental in helping out the image of motorcycling. Lots of riders were seen doing a lot of good.” How would the Traynors have reacted to being elevated to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame? Little says they’d be honored. “Knowing Mike and Dianne, I think they’d be very gracious, very honored,” Little says. “But it’s kind of neat that I know Mike would see it as one more way to get the publicity for the foundation to help find the cause, and cure the disease of childhood brain tumors. He would be appreciative, but he was definitely a salesman. It was hard not to be inspired by Mike and Dianne.”
“It was hard not to be inspired by Mike and Dianne.” — Larry Little, PBTF board member
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GO RIDE
A few of the hundreds of AMA-sanctioned events this month, detailed on the following pages.
1
Catch the final round of the thrilling Virginia Championship Hare Scrambles Series, an AMA Featured Series, on Nov. 10 in Spring Grove, Va. Info: http:// vchss.org/vchss_flag_intro.htm.
2013 AMA Championship Banquet, Jan. 18, 2014, at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus, Ohio. Info: www. americanmotorcyclist.com.
3
Go for a great ride and help out a great cause at the same time. The March of Dimes Bikers for Babies charity ride is set for Nov. 17 in Fort Myers, Fla. Info: www. bikersforbabies.org.
4
4
The USA Four Corners Grand Tour organized by the Southern California Motorcycle Association is still going strong through Dec. 31. For more info on these and other AMA Grand Tours, see page 47.
2
If you love dual-sport or adventure riding and live in New Jersey or California you won’t want to miss the last events of the year in the AMA Husqvarna National Dual-Sport Series and the AMA Yamaha Super Ténéré National Adventure Riding Series. The Hammer Run hosted by the Tri-County Sportsmen will be held Nov. 2-3 in Port Elizabeth, N.J. The L.A.-Barstow-to-Vegas ride is set for Nov. 29-30 in Palmdale, Calif. They are both part of each series, meaning routes will be available for both dual-sport bikes and larger adventure models. For more information, see page 47.
5 2,4
5
The competitors who battle in the GEICO AMA EnduroCross National Championship Series wrap up their season on Nov. 23 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Info: www.endurocross.com.
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2 1
3,4,6
COMING UP
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Tampa Bay Area Ride for Kids charity ride takes place in Lithia, Fla., Nov. 3. Info: www.curethekids.org/rideforkids/
4
The action is fast and furious in January in the 2014 battle for AMA Supercross supremacy. The season gets under way Jan. 4 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., and continues Jan. 11 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Jan. 18 back at Anaheim’s Angel Stadium and Jan. 25 at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif.
OCTOBER EVENTS ALABAMA COMPETITION
NORTH M.C. INC, (916) 952-8336, HANGTOWNMX.COM
FLORIDA RECREATIONAL
MOTOCROSS
DESERT SCRAMBLES
ROAD RUN
NOV 16: PELL CITY: 2 DAY EVENT, RPM SPORTS, (205) 699-8857, RPMSPORTSONLINE.COM
NOV 17: (Includes ATVs) LUCERNE VALLEY: DESERT DAISIES MOTORCYCLE CLUB, INC., (626) 483-5164, HILLTOPPERSMC.COM
NOV 3: LITHIA: PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR FOUNDATION OF THE UNITED STATES, (800) 253-6530, RIDEFORKIDS.ORG
ARIZONA
GEORGIA
COMPETITION
ENDURO
MOTOCROSS
NOV 10: STONYFORD: VALLEY CLIMBERS MC, (707) 678-1292
NOV 2: BUCKEYE: ARIZONA CYCLE PARK/CMC ARIZONA RACING, LLC, (623) 853-0750, ARIZONACYCLEPARK.COM NOV 3: BUCKEYE: ARIZONA CYCLE PARK/CMC ARIZONA RACING, LLC, (623) 853-0750, ARIZONACYCLEPARK.COM NOV 7: (Includes ATVs) PEORIA: CANYON MX LLC, (480) 294-4467, CANYONMX.COM CALIFORNIA RECREATIONAL ADVENTURE RIDE NOV 29: PALMDALE: 2 DAY EVENT, AMA DISTRICT 37 DUAL SPORT, (626) 446-7386, DISTRICT37AMA.ORG DUAL SPORT RIDE NOV 29: PALMDALE: 2 DAY EVENT, AMA DISTRICT 37 DUAL SPORT, (626) 446-7386, DISTRICT37AMA.ORG TURKEY RUN NOV 23: SACRAMENTO: DISTRICT 36, ROAD RIDING DIVISION, (916) 204-5922, CAPITALCITYMC.COM COMPETITION CROSS COUNTRY NOV 2: RANCHO CORDOVA: 2 DAY EVENT, DIRT DIGGERS
COMPETITION MOTOCROSS
NOV 24: STONYFORD: RICHMOND RAMBLERS MC, (510) 812-0111, RRMC.COM
NOV 1: REYNOLDS: 2 DAY EVENT, RPM SPORTS, (205) 699-8857, RPMSPORTSONLINE.COM
EUROPEAN SCRAMBLES
NOV 9: LIZELLA: 2 DAY EVENT, RPM SPORTS, (205) 699-8857, RPMSPORTSONLINE.COM
NOV 23: (Includes ATVs) CANYON LAKE: 2 DAY EVENT, SPORTS COMMITTEE DISTRICT 37 AMA INC., (760) 220-6575, DISTRICT37AMA.ORG GRAND PRIX NOV 2: (Includes ATVs) GORMON: 2 DAY EVENT, PROSPECTORS MC, (562) 243-4833, PROSPECTORSMC.ORG
IDAHO COMPETITION ENDUROCROSS NOV 9: WAMPA: SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA, (208) 468-1000, IDAHOCENTER.COM ILLINOIS RECREATIONAL
HARE SCRAMBLES
DUAL SPORT-OFF ROAD
NOV 16: WILSEYVILLE: 2 DAY EVENT, 2 + 2 RACING TEAM INC., (209) 765-7009, 2PLUS2RACING.COM
NOV 3: MORRISON: BRUSHPOPPERS M.C., (815) 6224099, BUSHPOPPERSMC.COM
DELAWARE COMPETITION HARE SCRAMBLES NOV 16: BEAR: 2 DAY EVENT, DELAWARE ENDURO RIDERS, INC., (302) 834-4568, DELAWAREENDURORIDERS.COM MOTOCROSS NOV 10: NEW CASTLE: BLUE DIAMOND MX, (302) 834-5867, BDMXPARK.COM
COMPETITION HARE SCRAMBLES NOV 3: BELLEVILLE: BELLEVILLE ENDURO TEAM INC, (618) 233-1318, BETDIRT.COM NOV 3: OAKLEY: DIRT RIDERS, INC., (217) 685-1969, DIRT-RIDER.ORG NOV 24: WHITE CITY: CAHOKIA CREEK DIRT RIDERS, (618) 946-4316, CCDIRT.COM
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OCTOBER EVENTS INDIANA NOV 3: COLUMBUS: STONEY LONESOME M/C, (812) 342-4411, STONEYLONESOMEMC.COM KANSAS COMPETITION MOTOCROSS NOV 17: MAIZE: BAR 2 BAR MX PARK, LLC, (316) 293-8132, BAR2BARMXPARK.COM KENTUCKY COMPETITION OBSERVED TRIALS NOV 2: TAYLORSVILLE: 2 DAY EVENT, TRIALS INC, TRIALSINC.ORG
GRAND PRIX
DUAL SPORT RIDE
NOV 16: (Includes ATVs) ATHENS: ACTION SPORTS PROMOTIONS INC., (740) 591-7223, ACTIONSPORTSRACING.COM
NOV 2: PORT ELIZABETH: 2 DAY EVENT, TRI-COUNTY SPORTSMEN MC INC., (888) 274-4469, TEAMHAMMER.ORG COMPETITION MOTOCROSS
OBSERVED TRIALS NOV 10: TORONTO: TRIALS INC., TRIALSINC.ORG PENNSYLVANIA
NOV 3: ENGLISHTOWN: RACEWAY PARK, (732) 446-7800, RACEWAYPARK.COM
RECREATIONAL
NOV 10: (ATV only) ENGLISHTOWN: RACEWAY PARK, (732) 446-7800, RACEWAYPARK.COM
NOV 3: LEESPORT: CLASSIC HARLEY-DAVIDSON, (610) 9167777, CLASSICHARLEY.COM
NEW MEXICO
TOY RUN
COMPETITION
COMPETITION
MOTOCROSS
COMPETITION
OBSERVED TRIALS
MOTOCROSS
NOV 3: SAN YSIDRO: NEW MEXICO TRIALS ASSOCIATION, (505) 780-2551, NEWMEXICOTRIALS.COM
NOV 10: SHIPPENSBURG: DOUBLIN GAP MX PARK INC, (717) 249-6036, DOUBLINGAP.COM
MARYLAND
NOV 17: (Includes ATVs) LEONARDTOWN: BUDDS CREEK MOTOCROSS PARK, (301) 4752000, BUDDSCREEK.COM NEVADA
NEW YORK RECREATIONAL
COMPETITION
ROAD RUN
ENDUROCROSS
NOV 3: MASSAPEQUA: LEATHERNECKS MC-NEW YORK CHAPTER, (516) 509-9512
NOV 22: LAS VEGAS: 2 DAY EVENT, SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA, (702) 284-7777, ORLEANSARENA.COM NEW JERSEY RECREATIONAL ADVENTURE RIDE NOV 2: PORT ELIZABETH: 2 DAY EVENT, TRI-COUNTY SPORTSMEN MC INC., (888) 274-4469, TEAMHAMMER.ORG NOV 16: HAMMONTON: 2 DAY EVENT, CROSS COUNTRY CYCLE, INC, (732) 714-8874,
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TENNESSEE COMPETITION HARE SCRAMBLES NOV 24: MURFREESBORO: NORTH ALABAMA TRAIL RIDERS ASSN, (972) 977-4112, NATRA-WESTPOINT.ORG TEXAS RECREATIONAL
TOY RUN NOV 24: : SECOND GENERATION MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION INC., SECONDGENERATIONMC. ORG OHIO COMPETITION ENDURO NOV 10: GREENVILLE: TREATY CITY MOTORCYCLE CLUB INC, (937) 548-7197, TREATYCITYMC.COM
ROAD RALLY NOV 8: LIVINGSTON: AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS POST 402, (936) 239-1964 COMPETITION MOTOCROSS NOV 2: WORTHAM: FREESTONE COUNTY RACEWAY LLC, (713) 962-3386, FREESTONEMX.COM NOV 29: FLORESVILLE: RMX
OCTOBER EVENTS EVENTS, LLC DBA: CYCLE RANCH, (855) 571-MOTO, CYCLERANCH.COM VIRGINIA
(757) 570-2839, VCHSS.ORG
WASHINGTON
MOTOCROSS
GRAND PRIX
NOV 9: (Includes ATVs) SUTHERLIN: BIRCH CREEK PROMOTIONS, LLC, (434) 8367629, BIRCHCREEKMXPARK.COM
NOV 10: SPRING GROVE: VIRGINIA COMPETITION HARE SCRAMBLE SERVICES,
NOV 10: (Includes ATVs) SUTHERLIN: BIRCH CREEK PROMOTIONS, LLC, (434) 836-
COMPETITION
7629, BRICHCREEKMXPARK.COM MOTOCROSS NOV 9: (Includes ATVs) WEST RICHLAND: HRMC, INC., (509) 953-5242, HORNRAPIDSMX.COM NOV 10: (Includes ATVs) WEST RICHLAND: HRMC, INC., (509) 953-5242, HORNRAPIDSMX.COM
2013/2014 EVENTS HALL OF FAME EXHIBITS AND EVENTS
AMA MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME MOTORCYCLEMUSEUM.ORG The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame is 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.
AMA PRO RACING 2014 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS AMASUPERCROSS.COM Jan. 4: Anaheim, Calif.: Angel Stadium Jan. 11: Phoenix: Chase Field Jan. 18: Anaheim, Calif.: Angel Satium
Stadium Feb. 22: Atlanta: Georgia Dome Mar. 1: Indianapolis: Lucas Oil Stadium Mar. 8: Daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona International Speedway Mar. 15: Detroit: Ford Field Mar. 22: Toronto: Rogers Centre
Main Hall: AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame: Recognizing those who have made significant contributions to all aspects of motorcycling.
Jan. 25: Oakland, Calif.: O.Co Coliseum
Mar. 29: St. Louis: Edward Jones Dome
Feb. 1: Anaheim, Calif.: Angel Stadium
Apr. 5: Houston: Reliant Stadium
Dirt-Track! All-American Motorcycle Racing: Celebrating the storied history of the men and machines who battle on the dirt oval.
Feb. 8: San Diego: Qualcomm Stadium
2 Wheels + Motor, A Fine Art Exhibition: More than two dozen artists celebrate the spirit, excitement and adventure of motorcycling through fine art. Founder’s Hall: Honoring the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame’s generous contributors. Oct. 18-19, Las Vegas, Nev.: AMA Legends Weekend. Information: www.motorcyclemuseum.org.
Feb. 15: Arlington, Texas: Cowboys
Apr. 12: Seattle: Century Link Field Apr. 26: East Rtherford, N.J.: MetLife Stadium
Check Out the All-New AMA CLASSIFIEDS! YOUR ONLINE MARKETPLACE FOR MOTORCYCLES, POWERSPORTS & MORE.
• FREE basic ad posting • AMA Member badge on ads • $50 ad upgrade credit • 1000’s of listings
BUY. SELL. TRADE. BROWSE.
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2013/2014 EVENTS May 3: Las Vegas: Sam Boyd Stadium
Jan. 10-12: Baltimore: 1st Mariner Arena
AMA PRO FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP AMAPRORACING.COM
Jan. 18-19: Louisville, Ky.: Freedom Hall
AMA DISTRICT 37 BIG 6 GRAND PRIX SERIES BIG6RACING.COM
Jan. 25-26: Greensboro, N.C.: Greensboro Coliseum
Nov. 2-3: Gorman, Calif.: Quail Valley, Prospectors MC
Jan. 31-Feb. 2: Milwaukee, Wis.: U.S. Cellular Arena
Dec. 7-8: Pala, Calif.: Pala Raceway, Vikings MC
Feb. 7-9: Sacramento, Calif.: Sleep Train Arena
EAST COAST ENDURO ASSOCIATION ENDURO SERIES ECEA.ORG
Oct. 12: Pomona, Calif. Half-mile, LA County Fairplex AMA PRO HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP AMAPRORACING.COM Oct. 13: Oregonia, Ohio AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AMA ENDUROCROSS ENDUROCROSS.COM Oct. 12: Denver: National Western Complex Oct. 26: Everett, Wash.: Comcast Arena Nov. 9: Boise, Idaho: Idaho Center Nov. 23: Las Vegas, Nev.: Orleans Arena AMA NATIONAL ENDURO NATIONALENDURO.COM Oct. 20: Oklahoma City: Chuck Howard, Oklahoma Dirt Riders; (405) 249-6702, www.okiedirtriders.com AMA HARE AND HOUND AMARACING.COM Oct. 12, Youth; Oct. 13, Amateur: Lucerne Valley, Calif.: Ryan Sanders, 100’s Motorcycle Club; (949) 584-9395; www.100sMC.org AMA NATIONAL MID-AMERICA CROSS COUNTRY SERIES WWW.THEMAXC.COM Oct. 19: Gosport, Ind: Rally in the Valley Nov. 2: Freedom, Ind: Coyote Run 2014 AMSOIL AMA ARENACROSS, FEATURING RICKY CARMICHAEL’S ROAD TO SUPERCROSS ARENACROSS.COM Jan. 3-5: Worcester, Mass.: DCU Center
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Feb. 14-16: Nampa, Idaho: Idaho Center Feb. 21-23: Reno, Nev.: Livestock Events Center Mar. 1-2: Tulsa, Okla.: BOK Center Mar. 7-9: Albuquerque, N.M.: Tingley Coliseum Mar. 14-16: Hidalgo, Texas: State Farm Arena
Promotions, (740) 591-7223
Oct. 20: New Lisbon, N.J.: Ocean County Competition Riders, (609) 758-2747; www.occr.net Nov. 10: Warren Grove, N.J.: Motorcycle Competition Inc., (609) 575-7820; www.ride-mci.com Nov. 24: New Lisbon, N.J.: Central Jersey Competition Riders, (732) 558-6475; www.cjcrmc.org
Mar. 29-30: Salt Lake City: EnergySolutions Arena AMA FEATURED SERIES
EAST COAST ENDURO ASSOCIATION HARE SCRAMBLES SERIES ECEA.ORG
AMA WESTERN CHECKPOINT ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP RIDECHEC.COM
Oct. 26-27: Millville, N.J.: 2-Day, Competition Dirt Riders, (609) 319-7496
Oct. 27: Gorman, Calif. 100-mile Qualifier
Nov. 16-17: New Castle, Del.: 2-Day, Delaware Enduro Riders, (302) 834-4411
Oct. 26-27: Elkins Flat, Calif. Nov. 9-10: Stoneyford, Calif. VIRGINIA CHAMPIONSHIP HARE SCRAMBLES SERIES VCHSS.ORG Oct. 13: Rural Retreat, Va. Oct. 27: Dillwyn, Va. Nov. 10: Spring Grove, Va. AMA ACTION SPORTS GRAND PRIX SERIES ACTIONSPORTSRACING.COM Oct. 20: Athens, Ohio: Action Sports Moto Park, Action Sports Promotions, (740) 591-7223 Nov. 16: Athens, Ohio: Action Sports Moto Park, Action Sports
AMA AMERICAN SPORTBIKE RACING ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AMARACING.COM Oct. 17-20: Daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona International Speedway AMA AMERICAN SPORTBIKE RACING ASSOCIATION TEAM CHALLENGE SERIES AMARACING.COM Oct. 19: Daytona Beach, Fla.: Daytona International Speedway, 30th Annual Race of Champions AMA PRO-AM MOTOCROSS AMARACING.COM Oct. 11-13: Dequoin, Ill.: Motocross League of America: Duquoin Fall
2013/2014 EVENTS Classic, Indian Hills MX, (205) 6998857, www.rpmsportsonline.com
(312) 689-3461, www.unlimitedsportsmx.com
(856) 785-2754; www.teamhammer.org
Oct. 13: Birdsboro, Pa.: (610) 5823717, Pagoda Motorcycle Club, www.pagodamc.org
Nov. 30-Dec. 1: Floresville, Texas: USA Motocross, Cycle Ranch, 855571-MOTO, www.cycleranch.com AMA DUAL-SPORT/ADVENTURE SERIES
Nov. 16-17: Hammonton, N.J.: Pine Barrens 300, Cross Country Cycles, Jack O’Connor; (732) 714-8874; www.pinebarrens500.org
Oct. 19: Blountville, Tenn.: Thor United States Mega Series, Muddy Creek, (423) 323-5497, www.victory-sports.com Oct. 20: Blountville, Tenn.: Thor United States Mega Series, Muddy Creek, (423) 323-5497, www.victory-sports.com Oct. 26: Ponca City, Okla.: Motocross League of America Ponca Fall Classic, Ponca City MX, (205) 699-8857, www.rpmsportsonline.com Nov. 1: Reynolds, Ga.: Motocross League of America, Silver Dollar MX, (205) 699-8857, www.rpmsportsonline.com Nov. 2: Reynolds, Ga.: Motocross League of America, Silver Dollar MX, (205) 699-8857, www.rpmsportsonline.com Nov. 2-3: Buckeye, Ariz.: Western Pro-Am, Arizona Cycle Park, (623) 853-0750, www.arizonacyclepark.com Nov. 9-10: Lizella, Ga.: Georgia State Championship, Echeconnee MX Park, (205) 699-8857, www.rpmsportsonline.com Nov. 16: Pell City, Ala.: MLA, Kawasaki Good Time Mill Creek MX, Mill Creek, (205) 699-8857, www.rpmsportsonline.com Nov. 17: Pell City, Ala.: MLA, Kawasaki Good Time Mill Creek MX, Mill Creek, (205) 699-8857, www.rpmsportsonline.com Nov. 25-27: Gainsville, Fla.: Winter Olympics, Gatorback Cycle Park, (312) 689-3461, www.unlimitedsportsmx.com Nov. 28-30: Gainsville, Fla.: Winter Olympics, Gatorback Cycle Park,
Nov. 29-30: Palmdale, Calif.: LABarstow to Vegas, AMA Dist-37 Dual-Sport, Paul Flanders; (626) 446-7386; www.dist37ama.org AMA PREMIER TOURING SERIES AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM
AMA HUSQVARNA NATIONAL DUAL-SPORT SERIES AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM Oct. 12-13: McArthur, Ohio: Baby Burr National Dual Sport, Enduro Riders Assn., Steve Barber; (614) 582-7821; www.enduroriders.com Oct. 26-27: Prescott Valley, Ariz.: Howlin’ at the Moon, Arizona Trail Riders, Don Hood; (623) 826-1092; www.arizonatrailriders.org Nov. 2-3: Port Elizabeth, N.J.: Hammer Run, Tri-County Sportsmen, Eldin Polhaumas; (888) 274-4469 or (856) 785-2754; www.teamhammer.org Nov. 29-30: Palmdale, Calif.: LABarstow to Vegas, AMA Dist-37 Dual-Sport, Paul Flanders; (626) 446-7386; www.dist37ama.org
AMA YAMAHA SUPER TÉNÉRÉ NATIONAL ADVENTURE RIDING SERIES AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM Oct. 26-27: Prescott Valley, Ariz.: Howlin’ at the Moon, Arizona Trail Riders, Don Hood; (623) 826-1092; www.arizonatrailriders.org Nov. 2-3: Port Elizabeth, N.J.: Hammer Run, Tri-County Sportsmen, Eldin Polhaumas; (888) 274-4469 or
AMA NATIONAL GYPSY TOURS AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM Oct. 11-13: Redding, Calif.: Big Bike Weekend: www.bigbikeweekend.com AMA SIGNATURE EVENTS AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM March of Dimes Bikers For Babies Rides: Nationwide: www.bikersforbabies.org Rides For Kids Events: Nationwide: www.rideforkids.org AMA NATIONAL GRAND TOURS, PRESENTED BY SHINKO TIRES AND FLY STREET GEAR AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM Jan. 1-Dec. 31: Polar Bear Grand Tour: AMA District 2 of New Jersey; (609) 894-2941; www.polarbeargrandtour.com March 25-Oct. 1: Eddie’s Road and Team Strange Airheads Smoke Chasing Grand Tour: Eddie’s Road and Team Strange Airheads; www.smokechasing.com April 1-Oct. 31: Tour of Honor Grand Tour: Tour of Honor; www.tourofhonor.com AMA NATIONAL EXTREME GRAND TOURS AMERICANMOTORCYCLIST.COM Jan. 1-Dec. 31: SCMA Four Corners Grand Tour: Southern California Motorcycling Association; www.usa4corners.org.
November 2013
47
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49
GUEST COLUMN
BECOMING A MOTORCYCLIST It was July 1949, a very good year. I had owned my 1946 Matchless 500 thumper for one year. Our little Matchless group of about five riders had ridden on many short rides in our home state of Indiana. Although my Matchless was a hard tail with a bicyclestyle seat, it still was comfortable for me. However, it was time to get on the road for a longer ride. My buddy, Vic, had just bought a new Matchless single, and it had a big improvement, a springer frame (full suspension front and back). We decided to go south toward Tennessee. Vic and I loaded up our cardboard suitcases, put them on our luggage racks and left Ft. Wayne, Ind., on a nice sunny day and headed south. When we stopped at Muncie for lunch, we found that part of the kickstarter was missing on Vic’s brand new Matchless. (He had not done the Matchless drill, which was to get out the Wentworth wrenches and tighten everything after each ride.) Every morning from then on I had to push him to start it, or sometimes he could get his foot just right to make it fire. This was not an auspicious beginning. We continued on to Mammoth Caves, Ky., the first day—300 miles on a hard tail. This ride convinced me that a non-suspended bike was not the way to go. Standing on the footpegs for every bump soon got tiring. However, after a good night’s sleep, I was ready again for the road. The second day we started out OK, but the weather turned nasty. We stopped at the side of the road and put on our “rain suits” They were World War II war surplus, large one-piece suits that looked like camo duct tape (and just as sticky) and smelled like cosmoline. Riding into the wind, I looked like a poor man’s version of the Michelin Man. Going through Summer Shade, Ky., it was pouring down. It was the same for Eighty Eight (what a wonderful name for a town). Passing on through, we rode down a steep curvy hill into Burkesville. A red clay mixed with water was running lengthwise down the road. Now both of us, looking like a wet mass of thrown-together duct tape, had to wait for the small ferry to get us across the river. After crossing, we headed for the nearest restaurant to get coffee. After about three cups each we were ready to go! We decided to keep on going and not stop at Sergeant York’s birthplace in Pall Mall. By then, the rain had quit. The scenery was great, and the Matchlesses took on the hills and curves willingly. We spent the second night in Oak Ridge. The next morning, it was up and on to Gatlinburg, Tenn. A narrow, rough, two-lane road wandered and weaved its way into town. It was clogged with what passed for the RVs of the day. Our thumpers made short work of them! Once in town, we found plenty of vacancies in nice motels, but none of the tourist traffic you see today. The next day, we rode through Smoky Mountain National Park about three times, each time enjoying the outstanding scenery and the rhythm of the road. The weather was outstanding, and it was a relief from wearing our sauna rain suits. We enjoyed our smiley miles. Then things got interesting.
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AmericanMotorcyclist.com
Kelly Benton
It Starts With Your First Adventure By Wayne A. Doenges
I was following Vic and gazing up at Mt. Laconti and ran off the road. I low-sided the bike in the wet grass. There was no damage to me or the Matchless. Of course, Vic went on his way. He finally came back as I was struggling to get the bike back up the hill. The wet grass would not allow traction. Vic parked his bike and stood there enjoying my attempt to ride the Matchless back up to the road. Under a dire threat from me, he finally helped. On to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was beautiful. What a unique line of thinking that enabled the Parkway to come to full fruition. In 1949, it was barely out of the thinking stage and not completed. Riding through the unimproved portions was worth it, though, except for maybe the time we came around a curve and there was a long pile of gravel three-feet high in the middle of the road that stretched for a mile. The whole Parkway ride was beautiful, curvy and vacant. Eventually, we turned back and headed for home by way of Bristol, Tenn. Arriving back home in Ft. Wayne, I totaled up my expenses. It was $9.60 for gas and oil for the whole 1,600-mile trip. Those Mathchless thumpers were easy on fuel at 20 cents a gallon. Both Matchlesses ran flawlessly, what with the aftermarket non-Lucas magneto ignitions and our willingness to use the Wentworth wrenches at the end of each day. I still ride, but at 86 years old, I don’t ride very far. My Suzuki V-Strom is a far cry from my Matchless of old: fuel injection vs. an Amal carb, liquid-cooled instead of air-cooled, two cylinders of 500cc each instead of one, reliable electronics and electrics. As I think back, though, there are times I miss the thumper kickstart drill—retard the spark, strangle and tickle, and the solid thump of the big piston of the old thumper as it got me on the road. Those were the days, good and bad, that made me the motorcyclist that I became. Wayne A. Doenges is an AMA member from New Haven, Ind.
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