Ups & Downs, 1998

Ups & Downs, 1998

UP FRONT

David Edwards

UP: To NEW-BIKE BUYERS, FOR MAKING 1998 a banner year. Overall, sales were up 16 percent compared to 1997, which translates into an extra 56,000 new bikes in owners’ hands. Better news is that the increase is across the board-dirt, sportbike, touring and cruiser.

UP: To the Guggenheim Museum, for having the curatorial cajones to organize “The Art of the Motorcycle” show, which turned out to be the most popular exhibit in the museum’s 40year history, despite initial poopoohing from a few unctuous art types. Asked in a video interview if I was at all surprised that motorcycles were now considered artwork, I replied no, we’ve always known it-the surprise is that the rest of the world has finally caught on!

UP: To Evel Knievel, for stayin’ alive. After a decade or more in obscurity, ol’ Evel came back big, making appearances in everything from pizza commercials to Vanity Fair magazine. Word is that a weakening Knievel desperately needs a liver transplant, but my money’s on EK. Hell, if that Caesar’s Palace ragdoll routine didn’t kill the silly bastard, what chance does a stopped-up liver have?

DOWN: To rabid-riding Loris Capirossi, 1998 250cc World Roadracing Champion, for punting Aprilia teammate Tetsuya Harada into the gravel pit on the last lap of the season-ending 250 GP in Argentina, a classless act. “He could have killed me,” Harada said, quite rightly. With teammates like Loris...

UP: To our very own Off-Road Editor Jimmy Lewis, for smokin’ Baja. Jimmy and Team Honda’s Johnny Campbell WFO’ed an XR600 from Ensenada to La Paz in 18 hours, 58 minutes, taking the overall Baja 1000 victory. Things are getting a little crowded on the Lewis trophy shelf these days, what with four ISDE gold medals, a Junior World ISDE cup, a class win in the ParisDakar Rally, top spot in the Peru Rally, four National Hare and Hound class championships, nine AMA District 37 Number-One plates and an undisputed “Langtown” backyard mini-MX world title. Get the lowdown on Jimmy’s Baja win in next month’s issue.

UP: To Francisco X. Bulto, debonair father of Bultaco motorcycles, for a life well-lived. The man whose corporate symbol was a big thumbs-up logo died in August at age 86. “He was a genuine enthusiast, not some distant industrialist,” says Lynn Mobley, head of the aptly acronymed Spanish Motorcycle Owners Group (SMOG). “He made those motorcycles because he enjoyed them.” Writing in Cycle News, correspondent Dennis Noyes related Bulto’s deathbed request when he realized his time was near: “Bring me my moustache wax and my best Bultaco shirt,” the old man said. “For a trip like this, you must be at your best.”

UP: To the Moto Guzzi workforce, for standing up for what they believe in. When management bought a new factory and announced a plan to move the company away from its venerable home at Mandello del Lario on the shores of beautiful Lake Como, the employees staged a coup and demanded to stay put. Seems now only the former boss will be vacating the premises...

DOWN: To all parties involved, for dragging the once-great Indian name through the mud. As you can read in this issue’s Roundup, the latest consortium trying to make a quick buck off the history of Indian is Canadian-based, and apparently wants to open a line of boutiques where clone Harleys with skirted fenders (shudder!) will be hawked alongside T-shirts, leather jackets and other logo’ed trinkets. Meanwhile, the U.S. Indian receivership (which the Canadians are now trying to buy) has commissioned its own upscale line of sportswear. T-shirts, we’re told, will sell for $26.50, and a deal for footwear and accessories is in the works. Coming soon to a Bloomingdales near you.

UP: To Max Biaggi, because no matter what else you might think about the feisty Italian roadracer, he did win his debut 500cc Grand Prix and managed to inject some excitement into the usual Doohan-dominated proceedings. He eventually finished second overall behind the Aussie fivetime world champ. Rumors have it that Mad Max will take his Marlboro millions over to Yamaha in 1999.

DOWN: To alcoholism, for cutting short the life of perhaps the best dirttracker ever to strap on a steel shoe. Ricky Graham won 39 main events and three Grand National Championships, the last in a storybook 1993 season-12 wins, six in a row! No telling what the record book would say if Graham could have kept his life on track as well as he did a Honda RS750.

UP: To the California Air Rescouces Board, for coming to its senses. After announcing the toughest emissions standards ever set for streetbikes-which would have all but mandated catalytic converters and pulse-air injection plumbing, and added 20 percent to a bike’s purchase price-CARB released a compromise proposal, still tough, that would be phased in over 10 years. “This CARB proposal still represents a very strict emissions standard for road motorcycles in California,” said Rob Rasor, AMA vice president of government relations. “But the fact that CARB listened to the concerns of manufacturers and motorcyclists is an encouraging sign.”

UP: To the past decade, for being some serious fun. This issue marks my tenth year in the Editor’s chair here at the good ship Cycle World, a time span that seems impossibly long but has gone by in a wink. Now, maybe my college pals will quit ragging me about getting a “real” job...