Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Motorcycle Division Marketing Manager Mark Homchick has left Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A.

Homchick, a former racer and a former motojournalist, was a long-time Kawasaki employee.

A Kawasaki spokesperson said that Homchick had resigned two or three weeks ago but that she did not know why Homchick left the company.

Roadracing World was unable to contact Homchick for comment.

No further details were available at post time.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Back in June I had a guy contact me about buying my bike. He said he was sending me a $12,000 Bank of America cashier’s check. I asked him if he wanted to see pictures of the bike, he said he has seen the bike before or a replica. He told me that the check was to be cashed and for me to hold out my share which was $6300. He wanted me to send the rest via Western Union quick collect to a shipping company. The bank I cashed the cashier’s check with never checked to make sure the check was good even after I mentioned holding the check to clear. It did have a watermark and it looked totally good.

So I received the change of $5700 and sent the money off. Well, the next day the guy called me and said that there had been a problem with his company and they where going under. He said he would not be able to purchase the bike. He told me to keep $1500 for my inconvenience and send the rest of the money back to him. So I went to the bank and the bank said they where waiting for the check to clear. I was like “What the hell, you should have done that three days ago.” They didn’t give me the rest of the money.

Later that afternoon I received a call from the bank stating that the check was fraudulent. So now I’m paying the bank back $5700 plus interest, which amounts to about $6600 and it’s cost me a whole season of racing.

I was the third person this happened to in western North Carolina and none of the banks knew about the scam. I don’t know when the scam started but if anyone can help me figure out a way to stop this shit from happening to someone else I will be more than happy to help.

Please, if you read this don’t buy anything from overseas and don’t sell anything overseas, either.
Watch for ATVs, I found the same problem with some guy in Austria trying to sell Yamaha YFZ450s for $4000 new with free shipping. I e-mailed him and he said they had clean titles and all thepaper work but never explained why the ATVs were so cheap.

Keep an eye out, you never know

Thanks, Roadracing World for a great site and mag, I’m OUT.

Eric J. Douglass
WERA, CCS #537
Franklin, North Carolina



And now, some reader reaction:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Regarding the guy from NC who got burned: Seems he has an issue with his bank. Unless he has the amount of money in his own accounts, how did the bank allow the check to be drawn upon? If I were him, I’d do some checking with the state banking commission, FDIC and or some other banking authority.

Just doesn’t seem right this guy has to cover that amount of money for a flaw in bank procedure.

Lee Block
Morgan Hill, California

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Former CCS racer Dennis McKenna and wife Cheri had a son, Hayden Meade McKenna, October 15 in Aurora, Illinois.

From a press release:

PARTS UNLIMITED TO SPONSOR NEW TELEVISION SERIES

“INSIDE MOTORCYCLING PRESENTED BY PARTS UNLIMITED”
TO DEBUT ON SPIKE TV IN JANUARY

Parts Unlimited, the world’s largest distributor of motorcycle parts and accessories, presents the TV series “Inside Motorcycling presented by Parts Unlimited.” This fast paced and up to date TV show will take a look at motorcycling from the inside and will meet the innovators of the latest high-tech motorcycles and the components that make them unique. The program will go behind the scenes during national championship races and meet the heroes and the tireless professionals dedicated to their life long passion for motorcycling. This program is designed to satisfy the raging appetite new and veteran motorcyclists have for the hottest, most powerful and safest advances in the sport; Sport Bikes, Dual Sports, Street Bikes, Off-Road, Touring and Cruisers. “Inside Motorcycling presented by Parts Unlimited” will cover it all.

“Inside Motorcycling presented by Parts Unlimited” is based on the concept of Parts Magazine, the official publication of the Show sponsor, Parts Unlimited. Editor Don Emde, a veteran motorcyclist and former winner of the Daytona 200 and the rest of the magazine staff are directly involved in the planning and production of all program features. Emde commented, “This program is both stimulus and testimony to the strength of the motorcycle industry and the culture it supports. The program is designed to motivate and celebrate both the builders and the riders who consider the motorcycle an iconic art form”.

“Inside Motorcycling presented by Parts Unlimited” will air the first quarter of 2004, Saturdays at 10-10:30 am on Spike TV as part of that network’s Saturday Motor Sports programming. Spike TV, previously known as TNN, is the largest cable network in North America including Canada. The program is produced by the prodigious television production company WATV in association with Don Emde Productions, publisher of Parts Magazine. Schiefer Media Inc. and Bryson-Dwyer Inc. will be coordinating associate sponsorship activities.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

Inviting hung-over bikers to a concrete bowl to listen to reverberating motorcycles on Sunday while they are packing to go home has never made sense. Most people have felt that the 800,000 people that were hanging out in Daytona just weren’t interested in the racing thing. Is it possible they have never really been invited for over 60 years?

Next step: Run the race at night, eliminating tire problems, and throw a headline band on a stage after the race.

Marcello del Giudice
Las Vegas, Nevada


And now, some reader reaction:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

The only way that you are going to get “the bikers” into the stands on Saturday is if you have the police channel the cruisers from main street and beach street into the racetrack facility and open up a few trackside bars.

Me thinks Marcello del Giudice has spent too much time in Antarctica.

Joe Hawkins
Oak Harbor, Washington

From a press release issued by Adrenalin-Moto:

Jonathan Harrison (23), riding the Adrenalin-Moto Buell XB12R Firebolt, has become the first rider outside of the USA to win a national championship for the marque after winning the Auto 66 Sound of Thunder series at the final round last weekend at Carnaby, U.K.. With a final points score of 215 Jonathan beat the Aprilia RSVR of Keith Pringle into second place on 200 points.

Adrenalin-Moto, the Buell aftermarket specialists, are the only team in the UK to be campaigning the diminutive Firebolt this year, and have been steadily improving and evolving the bike all season from what started out in March as a pretty standard XB9R.

The Buell’s strongest feature has always been in the handling department, and to take advantage of this the suspension was upgraded in favour of a Hyperpro fully adjustable rear shock produced specially by Hyperpro UK. This enabled them to raise the rear ride height and quicken steering response. Brembo Radial front brakes and master cylinder from Free Spirits of Italy have been fitted to replace the single rim mounted disc, together with rearsets from the same company. Exhaust is courtesy of Wileyco in Italy.

The biggest boost to performance came in the form of a 1200cc XB12 engine fitted from August onwards, which went a long way in redressing the power differential against the other competitors on Italian made twins.

Team owners Matt & Debbie Purdy said ‘To have achieved this would have been unthinkable at the start of the season, but we have worked hard all year and received some incredible backing. We have even received an e-mail of congratulation from Erik Buell himself!’

For next year Jonathan is hoping to move up to BSB Privateers, whilst Adrenalin-Moto will again be campaigning the Buell, this time in New Era Superclub with new rider Martin Jarvis from Surrey at the controls. There will be some major modifications over the winter and the team believe the bike will be pretty competitive even against the top class opposition in the Superclub series.

The team would like to thank the following sponsors for their help and support during the season:

Torco Oil, Hyperpro Suspension UK, Free Spirits (It), Racing-Motor(It), Wileyco exhausts, SBS Brake Pads, Talon Engineering (Sprockets), Britnett Internet Services, Pizza Perfekt, KBC Helmets, Diadora boots and of course Erik Buell and the team at East Troy.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

I, too, was the victim of an attempted Nigerian check scam. The whole thing smelled bad from the beginning. First, an e-mail from the U.K. Next the story about sending a check for more than I was asking so they want you to deposit the check then cut them a check back. Here’s the deal…all they want is for you to deposit the check. They don’t care about your bike.

They are hoping to get the check returned to them with your bank account # on the back of it. Apparently there are few if any laws in Nigeria protecting against bank fraud so they want to use your account # to do whatever they want. Drain it, spend with it, anything they can think of.

The check I received looked cheesy, no watermark, anyone with a decent computer and a half-assed printer could have produced it. The message here is, DO NOT DEPOSIT THE CHECK!!

Steve Norton
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail from Heather Cassell:

Live your Dreams

I would like to start by thanking everyone for the enormous amount of support we have received. It is very comforting to read all of your e-mails. I must say that these past few days have been the hardest of my life. I wake up every morning in tears. The days all seem to be a blur. And the nights are just plain scary. I am left with wonderful memories of a man that had so much drive and passion for the things in his life. He touched the lives of more people in just 28 years than most people do in a lifetime.

Bryan was amazing! He knew everyone! What can I say, the man talked 24/7. It used to drive me crazy! We used to joke and say that if Bryan ever had to be quiet for more than a few minutes, he would explode. He had the gift of gab. He was a wonderful salesman. I often times had to tell him to stop trying to sell me his ideas. He was a “networker.” It was funny that no matter where we went, we always bumped into someone he knew. We could be right down the street from our house or hours away from home. That was just Bryan. He wanted to know everyone!

I first met Bryan when we were in high school, about 11 years ago. I instantly knew that he was a great person. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I met up with him again. We began dating the next day. He was 19 and I was 18. Six months later we were engaged. We had a very long engagement but we were considered already married. We finally got married a couple of years ago. We were together for over nine years. He was my world. We did everything together. It was funny how we were complete opposites. You could not of had two other people be as different as we were and have as great of a relationship and share as much love as we did for each other.

He taught me many things in life. I was blown away with his ability to learn new things in a matter of seconds. He always found a place for himself. He has certainly taught me about passion. Since he started racing this year, I became more and more amazed with him. I used to joke with him about how excited and passionate I thought he was (especially about racing). I told him that some day I would also find a passion like he had, and that I would also learn to take more risks. I have been learning how to paint and I enjoy art. He asked me about that being my passion. I laughed and said that comparing art to road racing seemed a bit funny. I told him that road racing was full of risks. Painting was not quite comparable. The only risk was maybe poking myself with a paint brush. I am sure that one day I will find my passion. I have had the best role model!

I love that he was able to bring meaning and enuthsiasm to the sport of road racing. I have had huge amounts of support from everyone, many of whom I have never met. I have always known that Bryan was special, but I never realized that he had touched so many lives. He was an inspiration to us all.

I will continue to maintain his website www.mightyducracing.com and I will keep his screen name. Please feel free to contact me if you need someone to talk to, or if you just want to share something about Bryan. I would love it if you introduced yourselves! I have enjoyed reading all of your posts. Thank You for taking the time to post your thoughts. They have been more helpful than you will ever know.

A public viewing will be held Thursday, October 23rd, from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. There will be a Celebration of Life ceremony on Friday, October 24th, at 2:00 pm. Both will take place at:

Harvey-Engelhardt Metz Funeral Home
1600 Colonial Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33907
(239)936-2177

In lieu of flowers, a fund has been set up under Bryan’s name at any SunTrust Bank.

I have so much more to say about Bryan. But mostly I will miss him! I am very happy that he got to live his lifelong dream of racing at Daytona. There are not a lot of people that can say they have lived their dream! He was a happy man. This is what he wanted to do. Remember to live your dreams!

I LOVE YOU BRYAN!

Forever your wife,

Heather



More, from a reader:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

This is Bryan’s personal website that he kept a history of his racing.

http://www.mightyducracing.com/home.html

If you run a follow-up to the announcement of his passing, I thought you may want to include it so others can see what kind of person he was and how he loved road racing.

Bryan was also a big contributor to the CCS board, www.racemotorcycles.com.

His input and passion for the sport will be truly missed. I was at the track when this tragic accident claimed his life. My prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Heather, his family, friends and all those who new him. May he rest in peace as he was passed doing something he truly loved.

Steve Sidman
CCS Expert #75
Lake Mary, Florida

From a press release issued by Yamaha Racing Australia:

2003 SKYY Vodka Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria

Australian Superbike and Supersport support races.

SUPERBIKE AND SUPERSPORT PODIUMS FOR STAUFFER AND CLARKE AT AUSTRALIAN GP

The final national road race meeting of the 2003 season took place at Phillip Island last weekend with competitors in the Superbike and Supersport categories taking part in the support action to the Australian Grand Prix.

It proved to be another strong weekend for Yamaha riders in both categories with Nikon Yamaha riders Daniel Stauffer and Brendan Clarke scoring podium finishes in each class. Stauffer placed second overall in Superbike aboard his R1, while Clarke brought his R6 home in third place in the hotly contested Supersport event.

The GP weekend always proves difficult for those competing in the support categories as they have limited track time for practice and qualifying before taking to the circuit for their three scheduled races late on Friday and Saturday afternoon. A stark contrast to their regular race formats.

In the absence of Kevin Curtain (who is still recovering from an injured hip), Stauffer upheld the Yamaha challenge and battled for the lead in each of the three 8 lap races. He was the first to cross the line in the opening 8-lapper, but was adjudged to have jumped the start and was given a twenty-second penalty which dropped him down the result sheet to sixth. He responded in the remaining two races, finishing second and third, with a final overall placing of second behind Shawn Giles.

“I was really happy with how the Nikon Yamaha performed this weekend,” said Stauffer. “The first two races were very good, just a shame that I got pinged for a jump start otherwise we may have had a win there as well. The last race was hard as the hot track conditions made the tyres work very hard, but the Dunlop’s came through with the goods in the end though. I’m happy with how I’ve ridden in recent weeks and all I can say now is bring on the new R1 in 2004.”

Victorian veteran Stephen Tozer (Stafford Yamaha) also had a strong end to his season, completing the weekend with a pair of eighths and a sixth in the final race of the weekend to place him eighth overall on points.

As always, the Supersport competitors were in the thick of the action both on and off the track. The competition between teams and riders has definitely stepped up a gear in recent meetings and Phillip Island was no different.

Yamaha riders featured strongly in the Supersport action with five YZF R6’s placing in the top ten, with Clarke leading the way on his Nikon Yamaha machine with a consistent weekend of results that netted him third overall.

“I would have liked to have tried some different gearing on the bike, but with the limited sessions we didn’t have time, so we stuck with what we knew,” said Clarke. “The last race was quite difficult as we were kept on the start line for a long time before the race was restarted and everyone’s bikes were getting hot and I think that may have cost us a bit of power from the engine when we did get going. I did what I could under the circumstances and brought it home. I’m happy to have finished second overall, but it wasn’t quite the way I had planned for the weekend to run.”

Highlighting the depth of Yamaha’s privateer rider support were Glenn Allerton who finished fifth overall, Shaun Geronimi (Procycles Yamaha) seventh, Deon Coote (Gary O’Brien Yamaha) eighth and David Anthony (Deniliquin Yamaha) ninth.


Denso Australian Superbikes (Points after three legs):
1 Shawn Giles (Suzuki) 75; 2. Daniel Stauffer (Yamaha) 46; 3. Brent George (Honda) 36; 4. Josh Brookes (Honda) 36; 5. Craig Coxhell (Suzuki) 33; 6. Scott Charlton (Honda) 29; 7. Kirk McCarthy (Honda) 27; 8. Stephen Tozer (Yamaha) 26; 9. Nick Henderson (Honda) 20; 10. Ewan McClure (Suzuki) 18.

Denso Australian Supersports (Points after three legs):
1. Josh Brookes (Honda) 66; 2. Kirk McCarthy (Honda) 45; 3. Brendan Clarke (Yamaha) 42; 4. Russell Holland (Kawasaki) 40; 5. Glenn Allerton (Yamaha) 38; 6. Mark Aitchison (Honda) 33; 7. Shaun Geronimi (Yamaha) 30; 8. Deon Coote (Yamaha) 24; 9. David Anthony (Yamaha) 24;10. Chris Seaton (Kawasaki) 20.