CRA newsletter
Todd Blachowiak
The Insider:
Volume 15, Issue 3, March 1992
Editor: Todd Blachowiak (Black-Oh-We-Yak)
CRA board of directors:
President: Steve Dunsworth (612)934-8365
V. President: John Lanin (612)927-4480
Secretary: Dan West (612)930-0610
Treasurer: R.J Mcleod (612)682-6142
Membership: Wade Clarke (612)724-5349
At-large: Mark Foster (612)536-1308
At-large: Scott Jaffe (612)545-4075
Next membership meeting: Tuesday(3/3) at 7:30pm. The meeting will be held
at the Everett McClay VFW, 2731 East 78th St., Bloomington, MN.
Next board meeting: Tuesday(3/17) at 7:30pm. The meeting will be held at
the Everett McClay VFW. 2731 East 78th St., Bloomington, MN.
BIR motorcycle dates for 1992: CRA: May 16-17, May 30-31, June 27-28,
August 8-9, September 19-20. AMA: June 12-14. California Superbike
School: July 15-16. CLASS: July 31.
To reach the Insider: Send all articles, letters, disks, photos, etc. by
March 29th to:
Todd Blachowiak
920 Feltl Ct. Apt#162
Hopkins, MN. 55343
Or call me at H:(612)939-9962 or W:(612)683-5830.
If you have long articles I would appreciate getting them in ASCII format
on either a 5.25 or 3.5 inch IBM formatted disk. I will copy your file(s)
and return your disk. Or for those in the know you can email me at
t...@cray.com.
CRA club mailing address:
Central Roadracing Association
P.O. Box 5385
Hopkins, MN 55343
CRA Hotline: For the latest up to date CRA information call (612)332-4070.
This is a voice mail system so you can leave messages and ask questions.
Burn It!
The Insider is international? Yes, it is true the CRA Insider has
been an international newsletter going back to the January issue. The
written text of the Insider is sent out on a computer network known as
USENET to other computer users around the world. It doesn't go to every-
body, only to those who are signed up on an electronic mailing list which
deals with motorcycle roadracing topics. Most of the information in the In
the News as well as the Guest Column section comes from this source. I
hope to have other interesting articles in the future. As a bonus, all
your ads in the Marketplace section get sent out to a larger audience. So
if you get a call from Adolf in Germany inquiring about your ad you will
know where he got the info.
Time for a club idea. I think it would be nice if we provided our
cornerworkers with a chair to help with the long days spent standing out
near the track. Much of the time is spent waiting for the races to begin,
time the cornerworkers could spend resting if the track surface and every-
thing else is in order. If a cornerworker is rested and can focus more
attention on what is happening out on the track as opposed to their tired
legs and sore back from standing all day: I think it would make things
safer for the racers and more enjoyable for the cornerworkers.
I know that during the WERA six-hour endurance race I was mighty tired
and loosing some of my attentiveness from standing most of the day. A
chair would have helped me tremendously. The type of chair I was thinking
about is one of those canvas tripod types that we could put the CRA logo on
the canvas and either give these away to cornerworkers as prizes or incen-
tives or we could just purchase 20 or so for the club and put them out with
the flags and other gear. Or have someone sponsor the chairs and they can
put all the advertising they want on them. Anyways, just an idea to make
the day a little more comfortable for our GREAT! cornerworkers.
This edition of the Insider is full of goodies. We have our rulebook,
bylaws, application, training sign-up, and two flyers(one for new riders
and one for general promotions) for you to distribute. Also, we have ads
from this years promo package sponsors. Thank them if you get the chance,
they are being very generous. Next month should contain the phonelist.
[The opinions expressed in Burn It! are strictly those of the Insider edi-
tor and should not be taken to be the opinion or position of the CRA.]
President's Report
Welcome to March. I read somewhere that God invented the month just so
that people who didn't drink would know just what a hangover felt like. No
wonder we all either go to Daytona or want to.
As you have probably heard by now the FIM World Superbike round at BIR
has gone the way of the USGP at Laguna Seca, and for much the same reason.
The organizers seem to feel that no price is to high for the promoters to
pay in order to bring their show into town. In short, they decided to ask
for another BIG chunk of cash, and BIR decided that they would rather have
a profitable and great AMA National instead of an unprofitable but great
FIM Superbike event. The good news is that we will still be providing the
best staffing on the continent and more of our racers will have a chance to
show their stuff at BIR. The present plans call for Superbike, 600 & 750
Supersport, H-D Twinsports, 250 GP, Supertwins and a 3 hour endurance race.
I know that we will miss having the World Superbikes but we will still have
a great time at BIR come June, and with any luck the TV coverage will be
there this year too.
On another down note the change from the FIM superbikes to the AMA
National has caused WERA to cancel the F/USA round in July, and the weekend
will be devoted to NHRA bracket drags.
On an upbeat note the we had a good exhibit at the World of Wheels
show at the St. Paul Civic Center on Feb 14-16, and hopefully we generated
some fresh interest for our events. Lets give a big thanks to Mark Foster
for organizing the event, Roger Hendricks for the use of his race bike, and
to those who gave up part of their weekends to staff the show. This is the
kind of effort that helps out your club.
Club Notes
Here is the preliminary racing schedule for 1992: All weekends will
have the usual 15 sprint races.
o+ May 16-17 will also have New Riders School.
o+ May 30-31 will have the Brainerd 200 or Trophy dashes. Having the
Brainerd(possibly the Framstad) 200 is contingent upon getting atleast 40
pre-entries at $100 per. If enough pre-entries are not received then the
Trophy dashes will be run.
o+ June 27-28 will have a 3 hour Endurance.
o+ August 8-9 will have Trophy dashes.
o+ September 19-20 will have a 5 hour Endurance!
The WERA event at BIR for July 17-19 has been cancelled. Rumor has it
that "It was to close to an AMA national." Give me a break. Instead Drag
racing will be filling the open weekend in BIR's schedule.
This season if you write a bad check to the CRA you will be charged
$20 to cover the bank expense. "We will have no more creative financing
with the CRA this year"
Starting in April we will have a new meeting place. The St. Loius
Park Knight's of Columbus Hall at 6900 Oxford street(Louisiana and Oxford
just south of Highway 7). Food and beverages will be available(1/3lb ham-
burger basket is $2.65). For those who like to come earlier happy hour is
4-7pm.
New Riders School will be held 12:00 noon on April 12th at the Everett
McClay VFW, 2731 East 78th St., Bloomington, MN. Same place as the clubs
meetings(up until April that is).
Mark Foster would like to thank all those who helped with the booth at
the World of Wheels Show! Sandy O'Brian, Chad Rienhart, Chuck Marcy,
George Dombeck, Ted Calkins, Ed Calkins, and John Lanin.
*** AMA National Update ***
For the first time since 1987 BIR will be the site of an AMA National
Roadrace, featuring Superbikes, 250 GP, 600 & 750 Supersport, SuperTwins,
H-D Twin Sport and an EBC 3 hour endurance race. This event will be held on
June 12-14 and once again CRA has the opportunity to demonstrate to the U.
S. roadracing fraternity that the best staffed events are held at BIR.
Openings are limited so now is the time to plan for that vacation day and
to contact the Chief of the specialty that you want to work for this
special event. If you don't know who to talk to call Steve Dunsworth at
(612) 934-8365 or leave a message on the CRA voice mail at (612) 332-4070.
We'll see you up there for a great time in June.
ATTENTION WORKERS AND RACERS!!
This spring you have an opportunity to get some training that may make
the difference between life and death to someone that you know. For the
first time the LOL worker school will provide be open to non members, giv-
ing you access to training in first aid, fire procedures, race track pro-
cedures and CPR at a price that cannot be beat. The first aid provides
training with some of the most realistic situations you will ever experi-
ence, with our EMT's portraying the victims. The fire training is live
using a 3 pan burn to better simulate a bike burning while laying on it's
side with gas in the tank, very much like a certain GSX-R at turn 3. In
addition to these sessions Sunday will be devoted to CPR training allowing
you to become certified at the lowest price around. Adult CPR usually costs
$29 for members of the Red Cross and more for non members. The adult, child
and infant course is priced at $88 at some of the local community colleges.
If you are already certified you can get your biannual recertification as
well. You can get ALL of this for only $15 with lunch included, and get it
done in only 1 day, or $25 for both days. I strongly advise that you take
advantage of this opportunity by sending in your check with the registra-
tion form included with this copy of the Insider. This is the kind of
training that will help keep our CRA workers world class, not to mention
providing skills that could make a world of difference in our every day
lives.
If the CRA does not know your current address then write it down and send
it to the CRA pronto(the address is found on the front page).
Letters to the Editor
I am trying to get a group together for the CLASS session at Brainerd
International Raceway(BIR) on Friday, July 31st. If you are interested, let
me know and I will send you the sign-up information. Since, all the money
and applications need to go in together to attain group status, I will act
as the focal point. For every 10 people in our group we get one free CLASS
session. My plan is to evenly split this discount amongst all those in our
group at the track on class day. If we do not get 10+ people I will just
send in what I have and register everyone for the class, we will just miss
out on the discount. So do not count on their being a discount, just con-
sider it a bonus if it happens.
Some CLASS specifics
CLASS is a street oriented motorcycle safety school. Where you can go
as fast or as slow as you wish. THIS IS NOT A RACE SCHOOL! Ride at your own
pace and increase your motorcycle handling skills. They run the session
rain or shine. During a typical CLASS session you can expect to get about
150 track miles. For comparison the California Superbike School will give
you about 50 miles of track time.
cost is $275 for the regular school, with deposits of $175.
requirements:
valid MC license
18+ years old
250CC+ streetworthy with 95% treadleft on tires
full face DOT helmet
leather gauntlet gloves
leather MC boots
leather pants/jacket (BMW goretex and aerostich ok).
2000 miles, two months experience w/freeway riding.
NOTE: The CLASS people are VERY SERIOUS about safety. If you fail the tech
inspection because of your tires, or any of the other above listed require-
ments, you will forfeit your deposit and not be allowed on the track!
If this interests you contact me
Todd Blachowiak
920 Feltl Ct. #162
Hopkins, MN 55343
H: (612)939-9962
W: (612)683-5830
t...@cray.com
And I will send you the CLASS brochure along with other instructions
from me. Or you can call CLASS at (800)235-7228 and get the brochures and
your questions answered by them. If you call CLASS to get the sign-up
information and you want to be included in our group for the possible
discount contact me for further information.
I will be sending in all the applications and money to CLASS on March
31st to be assured of getting the spots we need, so act fast if you are
interested.
CLASS asks that the money comes in one check for groups, so your
checks need to be made out to me and I will cash them just before I send
everything to CLASS. The check amount will be $175 to me and you must
bring $100 in cash to the track.
Take care,
Todd Blachowiak
Metropolitan is having an open house March 26-28 be there.
103 N. Concord St.
So. St. Paul, MN
451-2521
Mark Foster
[Letters to the editor will not be edited except for profanity and spel-
ling. Also, the letters must be signed by the author to be considered for
publication in the Insider.]
In The News.
"According to reports, Jim Doyle an American manager, is close to reaching
a deal with Kenny Roberts with the understanding that Randy Mamola would
have a full factory backed machine with Marlboro support."
It was reported in the English press that Randy Mamola is preparing for a
Grand Prix comeback on a leased YZR500 Yamaha from Kenny Roberts stable of
last years bikes. Manager Jim Doyle told Motor Cycle News that Mamola was
close to reaching a deal with Kenny. "Kenny has a bike earmarked for Randy
and already has one sponsor lined up" said Doyle.
Still more on Mamola. Randy Mamola was testing a Team Roberts '91 YZR500
at Eastern Creek in Australia last week. He was there with Rainey and
Kocinski. There was still no confirmation of his return to GP racing
although there is another rumor about that Budweiser will be sponsoring him
if he does return.
I heard that Kenny Roberts jr. will continue to ride for Wayne Rainey this
year in a team managed by Bubba Shobert and they will run in the AMA
series.
American Roadracing states that the AMA is wrapping up a television deal
with the possibility that every round of the AMA Superbike Championship
will be televised.
Look for a two bike Kawasaki 250cc effort managed by former Kawasaki racer
Kork Ballington. The team will compete at Daytona before taking on the
World Championship.
It has recently become the law in Australia that a motorcycle must have its
lights on when being operated.
1991 Season Results
The Insider congratulates the top ten riders in both Expert and Novice
classes for the 1991 race season.
Finish Expert Novice
1 Michael Ruehle Todd Rypka
2 Scott Torkelson Murray Van Wieringen
3 Ted Streitz Max Rutsch
4 John Stanley Chris Morse
5 John Mensch Bryan Okubo
6 Michael Golden Mark Vanderwerf
7 Randy Voorhees Charles Bach
8 Jeff Johnson Jeff Zylla
9 Roger Hendricks Raymond Tieden
10 Luther Smith Keith Dierkes
With the top ten novices above these racers also earned expert status
for 1992 by placing in the top 25% of the overall novice point totals for
the 1991 season: Greg Wanless, David Busching, Eddie James, Mark Dargis,
Steve Ortiz, Todd Larson, Theodore Calkins, Jeffrey Diehl, Marty Golem-
beski, and John Adrihan. Excellent job, congratulations!
CRA Shopper's Guide
o+ Hopkins Hitching Post o+ Roys Repair o+ Top-line o+ St. Paul Hitching Post o+
Metropolitan o+ Sport Wheels o+ Burnsville Yamaha o+ Metro Yamaha o+ Ward's
Performance o+ Suburban Cycle o+ Noelski Enterprizes => All give discounts to
CRA members.
I would like to get a list of the places that give discounts to CRA
members. So if you know of any, have them contact me(by phone or mail) and
I can add them to the CRA Shopper's Guide portion of the Insider.
Support the shops that support the CRA.
Marketplace
FZR600, D&D exhaust system $150, Doug, (612)426-3952. (2/92)
79 Suzuki GS450, Ultralight class production racer, new rear shocks, steer-
ing damper, superb beginners bike in very good condition, $700, Trailer
available for $125 with bike, Jim, #380, (612)888-2174 days or eves. (2/92)
Available for FZR400's: Progressive springs - $25, Yoshimura pipe w/jets -
$175, Suzuki swing arm stand - $55, New metzeler racing tires; ME1 front
120/70-17 - $100, Comp-k rear 140/70-18 - $115, Over-stock of used tires,
great for street use call!, Roadracing gear: Red/white Fieldsheer 1pc.
leathers size 44/54 - $275, Robb Anderson, #102, (612)544-0715 (2/92)
1991 Harley-Davidson FXRP Custom, Must see - $12,000/BO, Red/black 1pc.
Dainese pro model leathers, built-in plastic armor Euro-size 52, fits
5'9"-6'0" - $300, Barnett clutch plates and springs for FZR600/400 - $40,
SBS racing compound brake pads for CBR600F2 - $30/set, David Anderson, #9,
(612)544-0715. (2/92)
Tires wanted, rear 130/?-18, front 110/?-16 or similar. OEM's or quality
sport tires, Doug, leave message (612)431-1816 (2/92)
1982 Honda Hawk 400, excellent beginner bike, safety wired, ready to go,
trophy winner, ultralight production, $225 or trade, George, days
(612)869-8088 (2/92)
VFR 1986-1987 parts, stock pipes and mufflers, windshield, rearwheel, make
offer or trade, George, days (612)869-8088 (2/92)
For Sale:, SHOWA aftermarket damper w/spring for 87-90 CBR600 - adj. ride
height, rebound and compression damping, good shape - $150; fuel tank for
black/red 87 600 hurricane - one minor ding - $50; 87-90 front brake rotors
- straight - $30/each; misc. crashed white plastic(both sides, upper
inserts, good right side-paint sucks, minor cracks) bent nose bracket,
stock pipe, molded # plate, stock filter, stock fork springs, stock clutch,
used Hi-sport front, new fork bushings in plastic, serviceable used sprock-
ets, Yoshimura Pro-Series street baffle (NOT Cyclone); 89 black FZR nose
and left side with minor damage, bent nose bracket, make offer; size 44 TT
leathers(freddie replica) fit 6' 170lbs.; 86 CR250 with spare handlebars,
tires, ect. - $1000; Wanted: Quick-fill can, prefer one that works with
stock tank, Daytona steering damper bracket for 91 CBR-F2; case guards,
bodywork or whatever else you got, Dave Busching, #48, OR Dave Henry, #42,
at (701)239-4403 after 5pm or (701)235-4274 8-5 wkdays. (2/92)
For Sale: Dainese leathers, style-6one, V6C, black/red, fits 160-175lbs,
5'8"-5'11", $275/bo; Bates leather hi-cut boots, SZ 9-91/2, $50, Jim,
(612)461-3478, (3/92)
89 FZR1000 for sale - 17.5K, Muzzy pipe, Dyno tuned, $5200, Todd (612)884-
4679 after 3pm, (3/92)
1991 CBR600F2 - race ready, production and supersport legal, Two Brothers
steering dampener, braided front lines, D&D pipe, Dynojet carbs, Northstar
bodywork and stock, many extra sprockets plus spare parts, only 3 weekends
on new motor, $4400, John Stanley, days (612)869-3733 or eves (507)645-
9790, (3/92)
For sale: Snooper-D4000 radar detector for auto, $50, Dainese two-piece
leathers, sz 54, fits 5'9"-6'1" 170-200lbs, crash tested, $250/bo Todd,
(612)939-9962, (3/92)
For Sale: 78 GS400, Top-end redone, race ready, extra's, $400, Keith, #38,
(612)224-5563, (3/92)
RZ350 For Sale - sportsman or superbike Lassak motor, pipes, 38mtx carbs,
progressive springs, ohlins shock, Falicon crank, braided lines, TZ "S"
red/white fairing, spare wheels, some spare parts, No reasonable offer
refused, Steve, (715)634-4240, (3/92)
85 Yamaha RZ350 - Toomey pipes, Tarozzi rear sets, solo seat, steering
damper, fork brace, fresh rings, safety wired and ready to race, not street
legal, $1200. 88 Yamaha FZR1000 - mint condition, never crashed, super
clean, $5299, Ben Doll, (612)784-83-8, (3/92)
Marketplace ads are free to CRA club members. CRA member Marketplace ads
will run for three issues and then be dropped. If your ad does not show up
or you want to renew it, call the editor and we will get it back in for
another three issues. Commercial business card size ads are $5 monthly
with a three month minimum. Quarter-page ads are $12 per issue, half-page
ads are $25 per issue, and full-page ads are also available for $50. Con-
tact the editor for details concerning artwork, billing, etc.
--
Todd Blachowiak t...@cray.com
I have an '89 FZR1000(scooter) yanking my chain.
Dictator of the DoD. YES! a perfect 10 on the squid scale. Want a ride?