Hotshots

HOTSHOTS

Rah-rah Rossi

I just had to thank you for Kevin Cameron’s piece on Valentino Rossi (“The Best,” February, 2005). This is one of the finest pieces of motorsport journalism I’ve ever read. Valentino is so unique, so multi-faceted, yet Kevin captured the essence of this man’s true talents. Tremendous job. Michael Sullivan Brewster, New York

Valentino Rossi is the best roadracer the world has ever seen. Thank you Cycle World for giving credit where credit is due! Patrick McCrea Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Valentino the best ever? I must agree. Growing up a total Mike Hailwood fan, I don’t like my favorite sports hero being dethroned, but one must face reality. Valentino is the best. He’s faster on his victory lap waving to the crowd than I ever was on a full-rip race lap. Of course, Hailwood was, too.

Hans Bertelsen Renton, Washington

I bought a yellow Nastro Azzurro baseball cap at Estoril several years ago and nobody here got it. Now that one was on your cover atop the real champion, my cap may be recognizable in the U.S.

Blaine Stone Chesterfield, Missouri

Valentino Rossi may be “The Doctor,” but he rides like a lion, stalking his prey, waiting for that fatal mistake, then BAM! ! ! Ciaol What a gifted rider, and blessed with the company of another talented chap, crew chief Jeremy Burgess. Whoever was instrumental at Yamaha in getting upper management on board and coordinated deserves recognition, too. What a fantastic team. To Rossi, Burgess and Yamaha, cheers!

Gordon Greninger Jr. Joplin, Missouri

The Greatest?

Greatest roadracer of all time? Hey, I know that Valentino Rossi can ride the wheels off anything, and has proven he is a champion in several GP classes, but let’s get real and call him what he might be: the greatest of his era. There is no way to realistically compare racers from different eras if they never raced against each other or raced similar equipment. To call Mr. Rossi the “best ever” is a stretch in my opinion, and does an injustice to the other riders around the globe who were the best of their time: Andres, Leonard,

Hailwood, Agostini,

Mann, Roberts,

Spencer, Schwantz and so on. A roadracer’s career is finite, so let’s just enjoy Rossi’s show while it lasts. And, please, how about an East Coast USGP in ’06? David Eliis Hammond, New York

Regarding “Ten Great Riders” in the January issue, detailing Kevin Cameron’s picks for the greatest roadracers of all time, let me just ask why Joey Dunlop was not listed? Duane Scott

Columbus, Ohio In 1982, Dunlop won the first of his five Formula One world championships. He had more than 160 victories racing in England and Ireland, including 24 in the Ulster Grand Prix and in the 13 Northwest 200. His record on the Isle of Man-talk about a real raa<irace-will probably never be equaled. Altogether, Joey had 26 TT wins, including seven Formula One, four Senior, three Junior, five Lightweight and five UltraLightweight races, plus the 1977 Jubilee race and the 1980 Classic 1000.

I think Egan should loan his beloved V-Four Victory video to Kevin so he can be enlightened. Keith Lindsey

Bluffton, Indiana

Somehow, some way, Joey Dunlop should have been included.

Brian Wondro

Live Oak, Texas

Having watched Valentino Rossi’s career from the beginning, I can agree that he is the best of the current group of riders. However, as for Cameron’s list, he has (as do most writers) left off the second-most-winning GP rider of all time, Angel Nieto. Nieto won 13 championships in the 50, 80 and 125cc divisions. Perhaps because he rode in the small-cc classes he is overlooked, but during that period these bikes were highly technical and very difficult to ride. Even the current 125cc bikes have higher cornering speeds than the MotoGP class. Size is not everything. James Becker

Sayward,British Columbia, Canada

The arguments have begun. But in the case of Mike Hailwood, there can be none. Mike the Bike amassed 76 Grand Prix wins, nine world titles, 14 TT wins, not to mention seven British championships by the age of 19. He rode everything from a 50cc Single to a 900cc VTwin, and every type of GP bike available, including KC’s beloved TZs, plus Singles, Twins, Triples, Fours and Sixes. He was the youngest GP winner, youngest 500cc champ, won three GP races in a day, and was the first man to win three TT races in a week. He even led your Daytona 200 race in ’70 and ’71 before the BSA broke.

Then came cars: European F-2 champ, made the podium in F-l but retired after a horrific crash in ’74, smashing his leg. And let’s not forget his George Medal for bravery, awarded for pulling Clay Regazzoni out of a fiery F-l car.

Anything else? “Don’t expect miracles,” he said before his TT comeback in 1978 at the age of 38, then went on to a perfectly scripted win and lap record aboard the Ducati, followed by the same again in ’79 on a 500 GP Suzuki.

Now, just imagine how good he could have been if they’d had computers and telemetry back then! Stephen Hague

Glossop, England

I am a big fan of Kevin Cameron and I am in 90 percent agreement with his list of “Ten Great Riders.” I am especially pleased that he reached back to recognize the likes of Wal Handley, Harold Daniell and Freddy Frith. But I suggest that omitting the great Stanley Woods is akin to omitting Joe DiMaggio from the list of the 10 best baseball players of all time. Riding for Velocette, Moto Guzzi and Norton, Woods’ 10 TT wins stood as a record unbroken until the exploits of the great Mike Hailwood. He was instrumental in the development by Veloce Motors of the “pivoting fork” (swingarm) rear suspension on the works Velocette racers, an innovation that prevails to this day. With this addition, I commend Mr. Cameron and will hoist a pint to all!

John Ray Napa, California

That man Catman

Just got my February issue, including all the haranguing about Catterson’s “Sturgis salute.” Never before has one man with two fingers stirred more emotion, bible thumping and subscription cancellation! And what is his punishment? What does the Editor do to bring Brian back in line? Assign him to be “Doctor for a Day” and ride Rossi’s bike! Too cool. Dennis Roy

via the Internet

Power play

The Ducati advertisement on page 61 of the January, 2005, issue is most extraordinary. In it, Ducati makes the bold statement that their new 999 has “... 140 hp more than ever before.” Wow! Either Ducati needs a refresher course on the proper use of commas, or they are secretly employing the new AirBoz device reviewed in the February issue!

Jimmy McClung Natchitoches, Louisiana

Thank you for the honest journalism. I’m sure your Product Evaluation of the AirBoz saved several riders a C-note. One of the drawbacks of motorcycling becoming more mainstream is that we must tolerate the same crap product onslaught that plagues the car industry. Hopefully, by spreading the word about inferior products, we can send them packing.

Peter Rajek Merrill, Wisconsin

Chopper Nation?

Please buck the trend before it’s too late, and make your advertising people show a little restraint. A full-page ad about an “American Choppers” freakin’ videogame? What does it realistically simulate, draining your bank account and falling over in corners? I love CW for the implied assumption that your readership wants to do something other than stare at choppers and scratch themselves. Nathan Guyon Cary, North Carolina

The image the Tuetuls at OCC portray with their juvenile, annoying behavior is detrimental to the motorcycling community and counter-productive to the positive image that I feel CW tries to portray. Their conduct only serves as ammunition for the anti-motorcycling special-interest groups. Richard Warner Woodbury, New Jersey

How about we make a deal? You never mention the Teutuls again, unless they do something really great-like discover a cure for cancer-and I’ll continue to subscribe to your magazine.

Dave Ainley

Newtown, Hawaii

When are we going to see a Sportbike Biker Build-Off? Enough is enough of the custom cruisers...geeeshhh!

Sir Thomas Welch

Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky

Don’t know if you’ve ever considered having an orthopedic surgeon or chiropractor (or both) write an article on the ergonomics of choppers. It would be interesting to hear their take on the current chopper-building craze and the reasons why a lot of choppers are for sale lately. Some bikes may be for the young at heart, but not necessarily for the young at lumbar! Dave Hudkins

Washougal, Washington

The February issue complains about overexposure of the Orange County Choppers crew when right across the page is an ad featuring...the Orange County Choppers crew! Wouldn’t even “Apprentice’s” Omarosa recognize that to be the pot calling the kettle, uh, the “b” word? Sky Allen Richmond, Indiana

I’d bet your core readers are people who ride real bikes to work everyday and on twisty roads on the weekends. Keep us in mind and resist the lure of pushing customized oddities that only pro athletes and movie stars buy to store in their garages. John Vasi Santa Barbara, California

Fightin’ CBs

Just when I thought your entire editorial staff had taken that mad “dash for crass” like so many other motorcycle mags, your Mr. Hoyer writes “Flying Circus” (Race Watch, February). This is the essence of why I subscribe to your mag. Technical, respectful, passionate and right on the mark about why motorcycling is so intoxicating. Motivates me to complete the restoration on the ’74 CB750 and start the hunt for a CB 160. Matthew Smith

Owasso, Oklahoma

Enjoyed the article on Honda CB160 Clubman Racing. Speaking of same, here’s a flash from the past, when CBs weren’t so vintage.

Out of Fort Worth, Texas, there we are in Rooster Poot, Arkansas. Under our tutelage, Young Teenage Pete was running (highly illegal) straight 100 percent alcohol in his 160. In practice, a plug check revealed that, even though he was running very cold plugs, things were too warm in the combustion chamber. A quick check of ignition timing and other such narrowed it down to a dangerously lean mixture.

What-ho, our teenage racer had neglected to bring larger main jets.

The CB160 came stock with #92 mains. It now had #140s in it, but as the color of the plug was showing at the very least he needed #160s. Without my knowledge, he went wandering down the pits, asking all the other racers if he could buy or borrow some #160 main jets. I sputtered a bit when I learned of this, “Great shades of Mortimer Snerd! Why don’t you just put a big sign on your chest, T’m running alcohol?”’

I rummaged through my toolbox and found a couple of #150s. Still too small. I told Pete, “We have a heat problem here. To keep from burning a hole in the piston, try not to use over 3/4-throttle. For heaven’s sake, don’t show anyone any horsepower, like pulling them by four bikelengths out of a corner. They’ll protest your ass in a hot minute. To keep your scooter from frying, tuck in close behind the leader, draft him until the last lap, then coming out of that final turn, making the 50-yard run to the flag, dial it in to station WFO.”

Young Pete did just as I told him and went by that lead 160 hauling ass like a Rhode Island Red waking up in the middle of the Chicken Hawk’s Easter egg hunt. Took the flag. Robert H. Baucom Borrego Springs, California

Hey, you don’t happen to tune for Rossi these days, do you?