Motorcycle News

8. Honda announces 2005 Supercross and Motocross Teams
Honda Expands Supercross/Motocross Teams for 2005 (Nov. 12, 2004)
Honda unleashed a new line of four-stroke and two-stroke competition machines in 2005, and this industry-leading position is reflected by a racing contingent that has expanded to new proportions. A host of support teams now joins the four-man Honda factory team and the Stalwart Factory Connection Honda satellite squad, additions that will showcase the best that Honda has to offer.

Returning to the Honda team is Ernesto Fonseca, who will campaign a CR250R in both the Supercross and outdoor National motocross seasons. He will be joined in select Supercross events by legendary competitor and multi-time champion Jeremy McGrath aboard a CR250R. Travis Preston, who earned a 125 West championship in 2002, moves up from the Factory Connection squad and will be riding Honda's potent CRF450R in all Supercross and national events. New to the team this year is young Andrew Short, who has already displayed blazing speed in his budding career as a professional racer. He will ride a CRF250R in both 125 Supercross and 125 outdoor events, and also campaign the CR250R in select 250 Supercross races.

Expect the Factory Connection team to also be in the hunt for a championship all year long as they field the talented duo of Mike LaRocco and Kevin Windham in the 250 class. Both men are proven winners, with The Rock aboard a CR250R for this year's Supercross season, while Windham will once again campaign the powerful CRF450R in 250 Supercross and 250 outdoor motocross events. Billy Lininovich rejoins the team in 2005, and newcomers Josh Grant, Tommy Hahn and Joaquim Rodrigues will surely bring a new measure of speed as well. All will ride Honda's CRF250R in 125 Supercross and 125 national events.

In addition, five other teams will be Riding Red during 2005. These teams include: Moto XXX Honda, MotoSport Outlet Honda, Subway/Coke/DGY Honda, Team ECC Honda and Team Samsung/Holigan Honda. Look for this awesome aggregation of highly experienced pros and up-and-coming young lions to paint the podium red all during the 2005 racing season.

2005 Honda Supercross / Motocross Teams
Honda Motocross Team	Factory Connection /Amsoil/Chaparral Honda	Moto XXX Honda
Ernesto Fonseca Jeremy McGrath Travis Preston Andrew Short	Mike LaRocco Kevin Windham Billy Lininovich Josh Grant Tommy Hahn Joaquim Rodrigues	Kyle Lewis Justin Buckelew Nick Evannou
MotoSport Outlet Honda	Subway/Coke /DGY Honda	Team ECC Honda
Steve Lamson Akira Narita Greg Schnell Juss Laansoo Ryan Abrigo Tucker Hibbert Randy Valada	Jason Thomas Joe Oehlhof Jeff Gibson	Johnny Marley Brian Gray Jessee Casillas Bobby Kiniry Damon Huffman Ryan Hughes
	Team Samsung /Holigan Honda
	Troy Adams Michael Blose Josh Summey Josh Woods

7. FMF funds off-road education program
POCATELLO, ID (Nov. 3) The world's leading aftermarket performance motorcycle exhaust manufacturer is, once again, teaming up with a national recreation group to help educate off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts about the need to ride with quiet mufflers on our forest and desert trails. FMF Racing's $5,000 dollar grant will allow the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) to help the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and clubs get riders into compliance with the 96dBA limit in California.

In 2001, FMF Racing produced the after market's only focused performance exhaust targeted to meet new sound restrictions. The revolutionary Q exhaust systems are the world's first 2-stroke off-road silencers and 4-stroke off-road mufflers to combine strong performance while minimizing noise output. The Q systems were developed in anticipation of the 96dBA sound limit that became law in California in January 2003.

According to Don Emler, FMF Racing's owner and president, "FMF is proud to support the BRC in this program. Excessively loud OHVs are often cited as the number one ?user conflict? on public and private lands. Our FMF/BRC Sound Testing Program for OHVs will be at various off-road racing events and at dealerships educating the riding public. I am convinced that properly muffled bikes will help keep areas open for motorized recreational use."

Don Amador, the western representative for the BRC, said, "I know riders have appreciated this program and are glad to see FMF taking the lead on 'engineered to be quiet' performance exhaust systems. These products will help riders get quiet as land managers and local governments address user conflicts created by excessively loud OHVs."

"Off-road heroes Rodney Smith, Jimmy Lewis, and Scott Summers use the Malcolm Smith endorsed Q series of quiet mufflers and silencers that enable all riders to become members of 'TEAM STEALTH' while still enjoying a high level of performance. I continue to be proud of FMF's commitment to help BRC promote responsible off road use on public lands," Amador states.

6. Harley-Davidson Gains Museum Green Light
MILWAUKEE (Nov. 3, 2004) Harley-Davidson today reached a major milestone in plans to bring a world-class museum to its home town, as the Milwaukee Common Council approved the sale of 20 acres at 6th and Canal streets to the Company. In related actions, the Council approved property rezoning, site redevelopment guidelines and the creation of a Tax Incremental District.

We are absolutely thrilled with this outcome and express our gratitude to the Milwaukee Common Council for its vote today,? said Lara Lee, Harley-Davidson Vice President responsible for museum development. ?We also appreciate the tremendous support we've had during this process from Mayor Barrett and from the greater Milwaukee community. Harley-Davidson is excited to be moving forward with its museum development in the Menomonee Valley.

Company plans call for a three-phase development. Phase 1 will consist of 110,000 sq. ft. for the museum and related facilities including a retail store, meeting rooms, banquet space and a restaurant, at an estimated cost of $60 million. Harley-Davidson plans to begin Phase 1 construction once the Milwaukee Department of Public Works facility currently located on the site is moved. The City of Milwaukee has committed to move the facility by February 28, 2006 and the museum is expected to be completed two years later. The Company's target is to open the museum to the public in 2008.

Subsequent phases envision the addition of the Harley-Davidson corporate archives, a restoration shop, additional exhibit space and other future development, for a total of 230,000 sq. ft. over all the phases and an estimated total investment of $95 million.

The quality of the Harley-Davidson Museum experience will be first-class in every respect, creating life-long memories for visitors from around the world and generating significant economic benefits for Milwaukee,? said Lee.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce has estimated that the Museum will generate $78 million in annual spending to help grow the local economy and $12.3 million in annual state and local tax revenue. The Museum is estimated to draw 350,000 annual visitors.

5. Ben Bostrom to Compete in AMA Supermoto final in Vegas
Team Honda's Ben Bostrom, the 2004 AMA Supermoto Champion, will be heading to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete in the season final of the 2005 AMA Supermoto Championship. Dubbed the Red Bull Supermoto-A-Go-Go, the event is being held at the Bally's/Paris Casinos on November 12 and13.

Bostrom, a former AMA Superbike Champion, had a superb racing season, finishing fourth overall in the AMA Superbike Series. Bostrom also proudly holds a Gold Medal from the inaugural Supermoto race at the 2004 Summer X Games held in Los Angeles, where he beat SuperMoto World Champion, Eddie Seel, for the gold.

Bostrom will be riding a modified Honda CRF450R, as he did in last year's Vegas event, and also this summer's X-Games Supermoto race. ?I'm looking forward to the great competition,? says Bostrom. ?Last year was a lot of fun, and this year should be even better.? Other Honda competitors include AMA Supermoto series current point leader, Troy Lee Honda's Jeff Ward, and his teammates Doug Henry and Chris Fillmore, as well as Freestyle star, Mike Metzger, and American Supercamp's Steve Drew.

The Honda Supermoto Junior Championship, presented by the Honda Rider Club of America, will also be held at the Vegas season final. This event will showcase the top-three finishers from each race of the five races in the 2004 season, all bidding for the championship. The 15 talented riders range in age from 12 to 15 years old, and must maintain a B average in school to compete in the series. The grand prize is a U.S. Saving Bond.

4. Chris Carr has nominated to receive the 2004 AMA Pro Racing SPEED Channel Athlete of the Year Award.
In September Carr became only the third rider in AMA Grand National Championship racing history to win four consecutive titles. Additionally, the 37-year-old racing veteran from Fleetwood, Pa., is the defending winner of the AMA SPEED Athlete of the Year Award. He won the prestigious title for the first time last year after being nominated six times.

In two decades of professional racing Carr has amassed one of the most impressive records in the history of all AMA racing. His series leading six wins in 2004 pushed his career AMA Grand National win total to 68 second on the all-time list to Scott Parker's 94 wins. Carr's three half-mile wins this year moved him past Jay Springsteen for third on the all-time half-mile national wins list. Carr leads the short track and TT categories and is fourth in all-time wins on the big mile tracks.

This championship was special for me because with four straight it put me in a category with legends like Carroll Resweber and Scotty Parker, Carr said. We've assembled a great team and it's enabled me to come to a track and get up to speed very quickly and from there it's just a simple matter of making small refinements. Winning the Athlete of the Year last year was one of the most memorable moments of my career in racing and it's an honor to be nominated again and be considered among AMA Pro Racing's best.

Carr has proven to be one of the versatile racers in the history of the sport. He was a leading flat tracker in the amateur ranks and went on to earn the AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year Award in 1985. In the mid-1990s he took on the challenge of road racing and proved a top contender in the AMA Superbike Championship. He was named AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year in 1995 and gave Harley-Davidson its first and only pole position in an AMA Superbike Championship race at Pomona, Calif., in 1996.

AMA Pro Racing will honor the champions of American professional motorcycle racing at its 30th annual AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet on Sunday evening, Nov. 14, at Paris Las Vegas. The banquet will culminate with the naming of the AMA Pro Racing SPEED Channel Athlete of the Year.

3. Trail Volunteer Land-Use Resumes Needed for 2005 Dirt Rider Magazine Test

The crew at Dirt Rider Magazine (DR) has once again teamed up with the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) to offer various "land use activists" a chance to hang out with off-road legends such as Dick Burleson, Malcolm Smith, Jimmy Lewis, Chuck Sun, Danny Laporte, and Scott Harden at the 2005 24-Hour Test . The DR staffers are still working on a site, but it looks like it will be in So Cal during February 2005. BRC will alert applicants as soon as the site and times are selected.

Those land-use volunteers who have submitted a resume to the BRC's event review committee will be invited, providing their submission gets approved by DR to attend this premier off-road event. The December 2004 issue of Dirt Rider Magazine has just hit the stands and on page 24 it highlights the 2005 DR 24 Hour Shootout/BRC Trail Volunteer Appreciation Program.

Just as in previous years, DR has asked that you put in 25 hours of volunteer work doing things such as trail maintenance, cleaning up riding areas, writing letters to politicians or some other activity to promote and protect OHV recreation on public lands. As before DR has asked those trail volunteers to submit a "Trail Resume" that documents what you have done (phone logs, letters from FS, other land agents, and club officers where you have donated time to fix trails, walk precincts, attend land agency meetings, etc.) Remember, the better your resume, the better your chance of making the final cut.

The deadline for submitting your resume to the BRC is December 15, 2004. Send those resumes to: BlueRibbon Coalition, Attn: Dirt Rider 24-Hour Test, 4555 Burley Dr., Ste. A., Pocatello, ID 83202

2. Cory West: 2004 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 29, 2004) -- Cory West, of Eureka Springs, Ark., is the 2004 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year. West rode a privateer Suzuki GSX-R1000 backed by Bridgestone in the series this year and scored a solid 15 top-20 finishes in the 18-race series. His best result came in the Daytona 200 in March where he scored an impressive 13th.

I had an invitation to go the (AMA Pro Racing Awards) banquet in Las Vegas, but I wasn't going to go because I didn't have anything to receive, West said upon learning of winning the Rookie of the Year Award. I guess I'll have to get my tickets now.

West, who comes from a family with a rich tradition in motorcycle racing, started his career as an amateur flat track racer. He scored regional and national amateur titles as a flat tracker before moving on to road racing where he earned regional championships in WERA road racing. West first got his AMA Pro Racing license in 2001 at the age of 16. He raced in the AMA 250 Grand Prix Series that year and was ranked 10th at the end of the season. In 2002 West concentrated on the Formula USA Series where he finished fifth and in 2003, with the help of Kenny Roberts, he raced in the Spanish national road racing series. He returned to the AMA this year and is considered one of the up-and-coming riders in AMA Superbike racing.

When I took 13th at Daytona that was way above everyone's expectations and got our season of to a really good start, West explained. My goal was to finish inside the top 15 this year. I ran top-10 much of the year until I crashed and had a DNF at Laguna. Still everything went really well this year and with a season of Superbike under my belt I'm ready to take another step next year in the series.

The Rookie of the Year honor is just the latest accomplishment of West's family. His great grandfather was a motorcycle dealer. His great uncle Leroy Winters was an AMA National Enduro Champion and ISDT Gold medal winner and is now enshrined in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Another great uncle Robert Winters won the Lightweight race at Daytona in 1966 and his father Marvin West was a pro AMA flat tracker and Superbike racer.

He is planning to return to AMA Superbike in 2005 and hopes to earn a ride with a factory or factory-backed team. West now places his name alongside other AMA Superbike Rookies of the Year such as Steve Wise, Doug Chandler, Thomas Stevens, Scott Russell, Tommy Hayden and Jamie Hacking.

1. Smith captures fifth GNCC title, Abbott wins third Hare & Hound championship
(Buffalo, NY) FMF Suzuki's Rodney Smith captured an unprecedented fifth-career Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) title at the 14th and final round of the series in Crawfordsville, Indiana on Sunday, October 24. The Ironman venue was an apt description for Smith's 2004 championship, earned with consistent finishes throughout the season.

"I really didn't think I would win this title this year," said Smith. "This year I turned 40, and I don't know what it is about that age, but sometimes you have some doubts. Winning the title at 40, that's such a big mile marker, I'd say this is the sweetest out of all the titles I have."

Smith collected six wins for the year and appeared on the podium in 10 of the 14 rounds. For the series, Dunlop riders took five of the top 10 spots, as Suzuki's Doug Blackwell finished fifth and teammates Fred Andrews and Mike Kiedrowski took seventh and eighth, respectively. Kawasaki's Cole Calkins took ninth and Yamaha's Robbie Jenks was 10th. All five of Smith's titles have been won on Dunlop tires.

Not to be outdone, Kawasaki Team Green's Destry Abbott won his third American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) National Hare & Hound (H&H) Championship and his sixth consecutive desert championship (three Pro Best in the Desert in 1999, 2002, and 2003 and three H&H titles in 2000, 2001, and 2004) after finishing second at the H&H series final in Lucerne Valley, California on Sunday.

Despite two DNF's during the season, Abbott won four of the eight rounds in the series. In the final round, he fell twice in the tight and rocky second loop but maintained his position to capture the title. I just kept it on two wheels and never took any chances the rest of the way, said Abbott. I was super happy to see the Kawasaki guys cheering and holding up a #1 plate with my name on it. This is my third overall H&H championship, but I think this one felt the best!

Teammates David Pearson and Brian Brown finished third and fourth, respectively in the standings, giving Dunlop three of the top five positions in the final standings. For Abbott, all six of his titles have come on Dunlop tires.

Dunlop congratulates Rodney Smith, Destry Abbott and all of the Dunlop riders for their sensational seasons in 2004.