Ups & Downs
UPS & DOWNS
UP: To Doug Henry, for adding another X Games Bronze medal to the Gold and Bronze he earned in Supermoto at the Summer X Games in 2005 and `06. Henry was the only paraplegic athlete (he was paralyzed in a 2007 Supermoto crash) competing in the Adaptive SnoCross event held this past January at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. Riding a modffied Yamaha FX Nytro snowmo bile, Henry flirted w~h second Dlace -
throughout the six-lap main event but had to settle for third. A longtime recreational snowmobile enthusiast, Henry jumped at the chance to participate in the inaugural event when the opportunfty was oresented to him. "The hardest thing today was the rough track, which made it difficult for me," Henry said. "I was the only paraplegic in the event, and the only one strapped in, sitting down and hammering through the bumps the whole way. But the most rewarding thing was getting a medal!"
Henry enjoyed a very successful moto cross and supercross career in which he won four national championships, including the `98
AMA Pro Motocross title aboard Yamaha's then-revot u tionary YZ400F four-stroke. After retiring from motocross, he found a second career in AMA Pro Supermoto, finishing runner-up to Jeff Ward in that series' championship in 2006.
UP: To the Massachusetts Attor ney General's Office, for providing motorcyclists in that state financial justice. Between 2003 and 2008, Safety Insur ance Company, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Company overcharged tens of thousands of Massachusetts riders for motorcycle policies by applying incorrect bike values to calculate premiums. Rather than basing premiums on current book values, those companies continued to use the same new bike values year after year, even though the actual values decreased each year. In every year between 2003 and 2008, for example,
the companies calculated premiums for a 1999 Harley-Davidson Road King Classic based on a $20,000 value when in tact that model's book value in 2003 was significantly less than $20,000. By 2008, the Harley's value had depreciated to less than $12,000, yet consumers were still charged as though their motorcycle had a $20,000 book value. Affected riders are eligible to share in an $11 1 million settlement, with the averaqe reimbursement expected to ) be around $300.
DOWN: To retire ment, fortaking away one of the most familiar faces in the AMA roadracing paddock. After 31 years of dedicated service at Dunlop Motor cycle Tires, Jim Allen retired this past April. """"~~•~ tire test coordinator and over his career held various positions, including construction engineer, motorcycle race coordinator and roadrace manager. In 1998, he was named Senior Manager Motorcycle Road Racing. regarded member of the motorcycle indus try who competed as a roadracer, collecting two Canadian national number-one plates.
"As a former racer myself," Allen said, "I know full well that the `getting out' part is inevitable. You don't get to decide whether it's going to happen or not, you only get to decide whether you go out on top or whether you choose a less-glamorous time."
