Dinin' Dressers

Dinin' dressers

LETTERS

I think Steve Thompson may be on to something with his proposal for Two-Up Touring-Bike Roadracing ("The Sport of the `90s," CW, June, 1990). A friend and I came up with the same idea one afternoon at Sears Point, trying to figure out how to boost spectator attendance. Only full-dressers would qualify for the Wing Wars class, and all would have to have their stereos tuned to the same radio station and cranked up full-blast.

Imagin the thrill of seeing the pack lumber off the line and wallow up the hill, grinding three or four abreast into Turn 2 in a cacophony of heavy metal and a cloud of flying sparks as chunks of luggage and engine cases spew through the air. Of course, the Battle of the Behe moths would have to be scheduled as the last event on race day. since clearing away the litter of crushed plastic and tangled metal would be a major undertaking. The track would probably have to be resurfaced as well, but the income from selling TV rights should cover the expense.

RogerJ. Purdy San Francisco, California

Ijust finished Thompson's "The Sport of the `90s" column, and let me say how enthused I am that somebody is finally on the right track. However, I think Thompson has barely scraped the tip of the iceberg.

Why confine those swell touring boats to the tarmac of established racetracks, when they should be free to roam the open spaces of off-road? Think of the excitement of watching a bunch of 700-pound-plus bikes

being put through their paces on a motocross course. The awe-inspiring sight of a two-up GL 1500, 10 feet in the air after a run down the man made ramp at your city's sports arena, would be worth the price of admission alone. Then there are the off-road endurance races, like Baja. or even Paris-Dakar, on touring bikes. Races would be measured in weeks, or months, rather than days. Special awards would be given for finishers with the greatest number of square inches of unshattered plastic.

Y. Ploda Santa Maria, California

Thanks for the kind words, Y. By I/ic wa y, your brother, X., is doing a bang-up job.

I must admit I laughed when I first read about Thompson's idea of putting touring bikes on racetracks. Then I realized it would be fascinat ing to watch for a number of rea sons. First, since nobody has done it before, all racers would be on an equal footing in terms of experi

ence. A whole new set of racing skills and styles would have to be worked out. Second. virtually no technology exists for two-up racing, allowing for creative ingenuity in the development of racing hard ware. If this caught on, it would give the major manufacturers' design departments something to go crazy over for years. And any advances in technology developed for racebikes with 300-plus pounds of operators would obviously be applicable to the entire sport of motorcycling. Third, maybe this would be the sport to catch the media's-and hence spon sors'-eyes, and get motorcycling. the finest sport in the world, the attention it deserves. I can't say I'm going to bet that two-up racing will materialize anytime soon, but my hat goes off to Thompson nonethe less. This is a brilliant idea.

Christopher Roti Falls Church, Virginia

Please don `I encourage Thompson. He's alreadi' tri'ing to talk to Kenny Roberts out of retirement. Roberts is listening. but says he won `t do it unless there is a mandatory oil slick in a hairpin corne~~

In regards to Mr. Thompson's views on touring-bike roadracing: Damned good idea, I say. Fun stuff. I can just picture a full compliment of dicin' dressers. Just think, the brake markers would have to be hundreds and hundreds of yards from the corners. Get it going, Steve, and I'll be the first rider to try to cop a sponsorship, providing I can disguise my FZ750 to look like a Venture Royale.

Kevin Vaughn Monterey. California