Etc.
etc.
DESMO 101
Ever tried to adjust the valves on your desmoquattro? Bet you wish you’d had professional training. Well now, thanks to the American Motorcycle Institute’s new Ducati Certification Schools, you too can learn to maintain your Italian V-Twin. Students at AMI’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus have access to a Ducati laboratory containing complete 900SS-CR, 748 and 916 motorcycles, plus various engines and engine parts. For enrollment information, contact AMI at 800/255-0295.
WORLD WIDE SUPERBIKES
Want to keep tabs on former World and U.S. Superbike Champion Scott Russell? Then visit his new site on the world wide web at www.scottrussell.com, or his team’s site at www.yamaha-motor-europe. com. Then, to see what his rivals are up to, check out the official World Superbike site at www.superbike.it.
LIMEYBIKES RECALLED
Living up to the reputation of their predecessors, Triumph’s new T595 Daytona and T509 Speed Triple models are being recalled to address a fluid leak-only in this case, we’re talking about gas, not oil. It seems the rubber seal between the fuel pump and the tank has been known to leak gas onto the engine, which could cause a fire. Dealers will replace the faulty seals free of charge.
TRIUMPH DESIGNER DIES
Jack Wickes, who played a major role in creating Triumph’s classic designs from the 1940s through the 70s, died in England on July 3, aged 82.
Triumph’s mercurial boss Edward Turner, who once said, “Wickes-he’s my pencil!” relied on the drawingoffice maestro to translate sketches into makeable machinery. Wickes’ legacy includes the clean and lean lines of sporting Twins such as the Tiger 100, Trophy and Bonneville. The chrome-plated fuel-tank badge he perfected for introduction in 1957 ranks among motorcycling’s bestknown emblems.
ROOST THE SPHYNX
Looking for the ultimate off-road racing experience? Then try the Pharaohs Desert Cannonball Rally on for size. More challenging than your average desert race, the October 4-11 event in Cairo, Egypt, boasts hot laps around ancient pyramids, hillclimbs up impossible sand dunes and a twoday, get-to-the-finish-any-way-youcan blast across some of the most remote desert in the world. There is a discounted entry fee for American racers, and rental bikes are available. For more information, phone U.S. agent John Alkema at 714/498-2419.
TEUTONIC MILESTONE
The 100,000th BMW motorcycle powered by the new-generation opposed-Twin Boxer engine recently rolled off the production line in Berlin, Germany. Introduced in 1993, the socalled “SuperBoxers” have been warmly received. To date, the bestselling model in the line is the dualpurpose R1100GS, of which some 30,000 examples have been sold.
DAN HUNT, 1938-1997
Cycle World lost one of its pioneers recently when Dan Hunt died of cancer at his home in Corona, California.
A professional journalist who had been published by the New York Times, Hunt was hired as assistant editor in 1966, and worked his way up to publisher a decade later. A product of the 1960s counterculture, Hunt sported long hair, bell-bottoms and a guitar, plus a boundless creative drive that resulted in some of the funniest stories CW ever published.
“Dan was gifted and possessed extraordinary talent in many disciplines, from photography and writing to composing and playing music,” remembers CW founder Joe Parkhurst. “He brought style and flair to the magazine, along with intelligence and a keen sense of good journalism.”
Hunt is survived by his wife Caroline and daughter Bentley.
