Ups & Downs
UPs & DOWNs
ROUNDUP
UP: To Malcolm Smith, for taking a stand. These days, the off-road legend and co-star of the classic 1970 bike flick On Any Sunday is a multi-line motorcycle dealer in Riverside, California. Fed up with the Consumer Product Safety Commission's ban on youth-sized dirtbikes and ATVs due to an absurd interpretation of a lead-content law, Smith engaged in an act of civil disobedience: He sold two minibikes and an ATV For this, he faces fines of up to $300,000 and a 15-year stay in federal lock-up. So far, the Lead Police have not swooped down, but "Free Malcolm Smith" T-shirts have been Drinted UD. iust in case.
DOWN: To organizers of the FIM World Motocross Championship, for cancelling of the 2009 U.S. Grand Prix. We won't get to see the likes of Josh Coppins (pic tured, upper right) going head-to-head with American wildcards on home soil, as the final round of the.series, planned for early fall, was sacked due to a lack of commit ment by prospective promoters concerned about the current economic crisis. The 2009 MX calendar has since been reduced from a planned 17 to 15 rounds, with no replace ment for the U.S. round. A 2010 event also looks unlikely, as MX promoter Youthstream plans to run the same number of races next season and is focus ing on bringing the Motocross of Nations back stateside for the second time in four years in 2010, possibly to Colorado.
UP: To Melissa Paris, for 4 becoming the highest-placing female finisher in Daytona 200 history. Paris rode her Markbilt Racing GYTR/HelpMeRide.com Yamaha R6 to a 21st-place fin ish after 57 laps of racing under the lights at Daytona's first-ever nighttime 200. "It was a great race and experience, and to come away knowing I am now the fastest woman to have circled this historic track is awesome," said Paris. Additionally, Paris raised $5000 for the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, a breast cancer charity.
UP: To the motorcycling community, for their gener ous donation of items collected to benefit Sport Rider Senior Editor Andrew Trevitt, who was critically injured in a motorcycle accident last November. More than 300 items were donated, including 75 that were sold at a special silent auction at Daytona Bike Week. Another big UP has to go to those who actually purchased these items, like Darryl Deitz of Kingston, New York, who bought the Project "Bike in the Box" (below) that Cycle World donated to the cause, for $9521 via a special eBay auction. Another big ticket item that sold was the custom Barry Sheene-rep lica 2008 GSX-R750 that was donated by Motorcycle-USA.com, bringing in $9850. In total, more than $30,000 was raised in the first week alone, ` 100 percentof which will go directly to Trevitt. Other contributions were made by motorcycle manufacturers, including Buell, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. After multiple surgeries, Trevitt faces a long rehabilitation process. To follow his prog ress, visit www.getwelltrev.blogspot.com.
UP: To Nick Anglada of Custom Sportbike Concepts, for stepping outside his usual sport-motorcycle design parameters. He went all supermoto on this Suzuki Gladius built for urban clothing company Lifted Research Group (LRG). Anglada mated an RM-Z450 front end with RG3 triple-clamps and a complete Beringer Supermoto front-brake setup that employs a six-piston caliper chomping on a 310mm cast-iron rotor. A C&S Customs swingarm retains the OE shock but relocates the stock
caliper under the arm. The wheels are Excel Supermoto 1 7-inchers wearing sticky Dunlop Qualifier rubber. Anglada left the engine stock except for a LeoVince High Mount exhaust originally designed for an SV650.
