Born To Ride News

Spies, Schwantz and Maddison Encourage Fans to Add their Voices

IRVINE, March 2, 2010 – Motorcycling superstars Ben Spies, Kevin Schwantz and Robbie Maddison each recorded videos at the recent Dealer Expo 2010 in Indianapolis encouraging Congress to stop the ban on youth-model ATVs and motorcycles. They also called on all race fans and riders to get involved.

All of the videos can be viewed at the Motorcycle Industry Council’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/motoindustrycouncil.

Concerned riders sent more than 190,000 electronic messages to Congress since the latest phase of the Stop the Ban campaign began three weeks ago.

World Superbike Champion Spies encouraged fans and riders to visit www.stopthebannow.com and learn about ways to have their voices heard by legislators. Schwantz, his mentor and fellow Texan, had even more to say.

“I really would like to see everybody in Washington get a grip on this,” said Schwantz, the 1993 500cc World Road Racing Champion. “I really would like to see the ban on motorcycle sales to young kids taken away, because it’s an outlet that keeps them out of lots of other trouble.. I knew if I wasn’t a good kid at school, and if I didn’t make good grades, I wasn’t going to get to ride my motorcycle at the end of the day. Take that ban away, and let those kids ride those bikes.”

Freestyle rider Robbie Maddison, who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest motorcycle jump, asked Congress to stop the ban and raised a key safety issue on his video. Youth ATV and two-wheel enthusiasts “need to be able to ride the right-sized bikes,” he said.

“We’re thrilled to have some of the top stars of motorcycling add their powerful voices to the cause of stopping the ban on youth ATVs and motorcycles,” said Tim Buche, President of the MIC. “We want to keep building momentum and engaging all enthusiasts, and these celebrity endorsements for our efforts help a great deal.”

The MIC states three key reasons why youth ATVs and motorcycles should be excluded from the CPSIA’s lead content provisions:

1. The lead content poses no risk to kids. Experts estimate that the lead intake from kids’ interaction with metal parts is less than the lead intake from drinking a glass of water.
2. The key to keeping youth safe is having them ride the right size vehicle. Kids are now at risk because the availability of youth ATVs and motorcycles is limited due to the lead ban.
3. The lead ban harms businesses and jeopardizes jobs for no good reason while America is striving to grow its economy. The MIC estimates that a complete ban on youth model vehicles would result in about $1 billion in lost economic value in the retail marketplace every year.

The MIC Web site www.stopthebannow.com includes background information, FAQs, and public outreach tools for the Stop The Ban campaign.

The Motorcycle Industry Council exists to preserve, protect and promote motorcycling through government relations, communications and media relations, statistics and research, aftermarket programs, development of data communications standards, and activities surrounding technical and regulatory issues. It is a not-for-profit, national industry association representing manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, scooters, motorcycle/ATV/ROV parts and accessories, and members of allied trades such as insurance, finance and investment companies, media companies and consultants.

The MIC is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with a government relations office adjacent to Washington, D.C. First called the MIC in 1970, the organization has been in operation since 1914. Visit the MIC at www.mic.org.

Team Offers One-Two Punch with Hines and Krawiec on Harley-Davidson Bikes in 2010

MILWAUKEE (March 1, 2010) – The Screamin’ Eagle® / Vance & Hines team brings Harley-Davidson® high-performance to the top level of professional drag racing. Champions four of the past six seasons in the Pro Stock Motorcycle division of the National Hot Rod Association® Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines team wins with American V-Twin powered Harley-Davidson V-Rod® motorcycles. Plus, it teams up two of the best riders in the world, former champions Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec.

“We had one of our most successful seasons ever in 2009,” said Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines team owner Byron Hines, “except that we did not retain the championship that Eddie earned with the team in 2008. In 2010, we’ll be racing to put the number 1 back on one of the Screamin’ Eagle V-Rods.”

The Screamin’ Eagle/ Vance & Hines team will be racing the same Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycles the team campaigned in 2009. Those bikes featured a new fuel-injected V-Twin engine with four-valve cylinder heads and dual overhead camshafts, resting in a new racing frame designed by Vance & Hines. Before the fifth race of the 17-event 2009 season, the NHRA increased by 20 pounds the minimum weight of the  team’s V-Rod bikes, from 620 to 640 pounds, part of NHRA’s ongoing efforts at maintaining competition and parity within the category. The minimum weight of Buell (625 pounds) and Suzuki (595 pounds) motorcycles was unchanged. For 2010 the team will further develop the transmission to accommodate this added weight, according to Byron Hines.

“We always seem to have to work a little harder,” said Byron Hines, “but this team is so talented that we always find a way to adapt to rules changes and new competition. I expect us to be back at the front of the pack again in 2010.”

Creating a V-Twin Challenger

Harley-Davidson and Vance & Hines Motorsports created the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines team in 2002 to compete in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle division, and to develop a drag-racing motorcycle powered by a V-Twin engine to challenge the dominance of four-cylinder engines in NHRA competition. In 2004, the team won the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship as Andrew Hines won three races and, at age 21, became the youngest professional champion in NHRA history. It was also the first NHRA title won by a V-Twin-powered motorcycle. Andrew Hines went on to ride a Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines V-Rod to the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship again in 2005 and 2006. Krawiec joined the team in 2007, and in 2008 became only the second racer in NHRA history to earn a national title without winning a national event during that racing season. Krawiec qualified seventh for the five-race Pro Stock Motorcycle Countdown to One playoff, and then won 14 of 20 possible Countdown rounds to clinch the championship during the semi-final round of the season’s final event in Pomona, Calif.

In 2009, Krawiec made it to the finals 10 times, winning five of those races. He also placed second in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs during the final five races of the season, just two points shy of repeating as champion.  His Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines teammate, Andrew Hines, won three events in four final-round appearances, and for the fourth time won the Ringer Gloves Pro Bike Battle bonus event in Indianapolis. Over a three-race stretch (Norwalk, Denver and Sonoma), Hines and Krawiec both advanced to the final round of eliminations. All totaled, the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rods won eight of 17 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle events in 2009, the best results ever for the team.

A Team of Champions

Based in Indianapolis, Ind., the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines team is lead by Vance & Hines Motorsports owners Byron Hines and Terry Vance. The duo began racing together in 1972. With Hines as crew chief and Vance riding, they became a dominant team in national Pro Stock and Top Fuel motorcycle drag racing, earning 24 NHRA national victories before Vance retired from competition in 1988. Matt Hines, the older son of Byron, returned the team to drag-racing prominence, earning 30 NHRA event wins and 44 number-one qualifying awards in eight seasons. Matt Hines was the first NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer to win the championship in three consecutive seasons (1997-‘99). Matt Hines retired from racing in 2003 to become assistant crew chief for the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines team. Today, Matt Hines brings his competition experience to his role as crew chief of the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines team, making race-day tuning decisions and advising the team riders. Byron Hines leads engineering, development and tuning efforts for the team. The Vance & Hines organization has won 11 professional motorcycle drag racing titles.

In 2010, the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines team will pursue the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle title with two former champion riders, Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec.

Andrew Hines will turn 27 on May 25, 2010. He is a son of Vance & Hines Motorsports co-founder Byron Hines. Since making his professional debut in 2002, Hines has 18 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event wins and has won the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship three times (2004-‘06). He is also a four-time winner (2004, 2006-‘07, 2009) of the Ringers Glove Pro Bike Battle bonus event. In 2009, Hines won three NHRA events and made one other final-round appearances. He was also the No. 2 qualifier for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs and finished the season point race in third place.

Eddie Krawiec is 34 years old. He started motorcycle drag racing in 1999 and had nine wins in the AMA Pro Star series. He made his NHRA debut in 2004. In 2008, he won the Ringers Glove Pro Bike Battle bonus event at Indianapolis, qualified seventh for the Countdown to One playoffs, and won the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship. Krawiec was the number-one qualifier for the 2009 Countdown to the Championship playoffs, and won five times in 10 final-round appearances. He finished second in the season points.

The 2010 Pro Stock Motorcycle season schedule includes 17 events on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, beginning at the NHRA AC Delco Gatornationals March 11-14 in Gainesville, Fla., and ending November 11-14 with the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin’ Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin’ Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.

The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Matco Tools, Dunlop and S100.