Ups And Downs
UPS AND DOWNS
ROUNDUP
UP: To Joe Minton, for finding gainful employment. This month, Minton joins Cycle World as a contributing editor, and will be in charge of our monthly Service section, answering your questions about bike problems. He'll also contribute feature articles, specializing in stories about modifying and updating a wide range of motorcycles.
Minton. 48, is closing in on his 500,000th mile of riding. He worked as a full-time mechanic for 10 years before going on to teach motorcycle repair for six years. For the past decade, he’s been a journalist, both in freelance mode and as a staffer for Rider and Motorcyclist.
UP: To Keith Code, for putting something worthwhile on television. Code, best known as the headmaster of the California Superbike School, and his partner. Paul Winter, have finalized arrangements for broadcasting the 10-race WERA Formula USA series on cable TV's nationwide Prime Sports Network. Each show will feature almost flagto-fiag coverage of the run-what-yabrung Formula USA race, with segments from that weekend's support classes also shown. The first race is scheduled for April 28-29. and the program, called “Formula USA Motorcycle Roadracing." will debut two to four weeks later. Check your Prime Sports affiliate's program guide or call Code at 2 1 3/4849323 for additional programming information.
DOWN: To the Sahara Club USA, Inc., for its first newsletter. The intent of the club, formed in late 1989, is to counter the anti-motorcyclist efforts of environmentalists, especially with respect to the California desert, certainly a noble cause. But shoveling hatred in the direction of the American Motorcyclist Association and the Motorcycle Industry Council, referring to Senator Alan Cranston as a “scumbag,” and lumping Earth First! supporters with “queers, dopers, and political scum." may be a step or two beyond responsible comment. It wounds the hard-won credibility of the rest of the motorcycling community, and is not the most-appropriate way to attain the influence necessary to maintain a balanced approach to land use.
DOWN: To the Chicago Tribune, the editors of that paper's Sunday realestate section and illustrator John Schmelzer, for an extremely negative portrayal, via a huge, color cartoon on the front page of the section's January 14th edition depicting the woes of a landlord who ren^ or leases a property to motorcyclists. The cartoon portrays riders as a scruffy, obese, tattooed, beer-swilling lot who work on their bikes in living rooms. We suspect that there are more-serious problems for landlords to worry about. And besides. Team CW has found that working on bikes in the bathroom, so that liquids can drain into the tub. instead of onto the living-room carpet, is a much more efficient way of going about the requirements of bike maintenance.
UP: To Tacoma. Washington's Metropolitan Park District for an innovative training program called “Ready to Ride.” The program is intended to teach new riders safe and responsible riding techniques and attitudes, proper use and maintenance of their equipment, and environmental respect and protection. It includes beginner schools, racing and tuning classes, and guided riding events. The program is funded by off-road vehicle user fees and a one-percent gas tax.
For the Record: In an UP item in its March. 1990. issue. Cycle World reported that Buzz Kanter, publisher of The Old Bike Journal, a magazine designed to aid the buying and selling of classic bikes, was affiliated with “Hemmings Motor News." That was an error. Kanter has no association with “Hemmings.”
If you come across a motorcycle-related item that you think should be singled out for an UP or DOWN, send the information to CW Roundup, 853 W. 17th St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.
