Bubba Shobert vs Scott Parker - 1988 AMA Flat Track - Part 1 of 2

This is a 1988 season review. It was a close battle for the championship and there is some great racing action. It briefly describes the changing AMA regulations such as carburetor restrictor plates and weight penalties, which hamstrung the Honda and enabled Harley to compete.

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• morehead
• chris
• carr
• ronnie
• jones
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• honda
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• xr750
• grand
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[songsamsung]

@RandysRanch That's just a pack of lies!!! Harley didn't want to spend the money to make their antique engine competitive so they conspired with the AMA to nobble the Hondas. Any unbiased observer would surely see it that way. Honda showed their contempt in a typically Japanese way by packing up and leaving. Harley couldn't win so they cheated. That stinks! Boo to you and boo to Harley!

[RandysRanch]

The 15 lbs was because the AMA instituted a minimum weight (just like there is in superbike racing). The restrictor plates were to make racing less expensive and to give non factory backed riders a fighting chance. Yes the changes closed the gap between the Honda and the other brands, but not intentionally. The intention was to close the gap between factory backed teams and privateers. Quit with the conspiracy theories.

[mahagga]

@akitaj2000 and you are right,99 percent of Harley owners wouldn't know Scotty Parker if he stood in front of them.Sad but true,because flattrack is a far superior product to stock car racing or any of that motocross bs.

[mahagga]

@akitaj2000 Back in the 60'sand 70's when my father raced the sport was very popular,camping out at the Springfield Mile,successful races in places not in the Midwest or California,Television,newpaper coverage.The AMA killed flattrack with mismanagement,fortunately I see a resurgence now,more people are going back to the races.My Father(God bless him) was a Triumph rider and it was hilarious when he got on the subject of Harley and the AMA.

[akitaj2000]

@mahagga No argument here. I was just saying that HD goes to great lengths to work within the AMA and run off any competition, but they cut back their factory effort due to lack of funding. What sponsor would fund something that isn't visible to 99% of the known world?

Honda would have gone MX with or without that rule, nearly every British marque was in financial ruins and xenophobia had killed any shot the other Japanese, German, & Italian brands to get a head start in the 50's-70's.

[mahagga]

@akitaj2000 dominat machine,you mean ONLY MACHINE.They ran everyone else off,after Hoda spent 4 years kickinh HD's arse they had to change the rules so the hardly ablesons could win all the races again.

[akitaj2000]

H-D is the only brand in flat track that's represented within the AMA so H-D's best interest is top priority for the AMA. Despite the almost total lack of promotion in recent years for the most dominant machine in motorsports history. If you mentioned Scott Parker in a Harley dealership 90% of employees would respond with "Who the hell is that?".

I know the Camel Pro money isn't coming back, but a few nice photos with results and cardboard cutouts would be nice to see in EVERY store.

[mahagga]

Ricky Graham RIP,forever a legend

[mahagga]

@Brian500R they forgot to mention the anchors the Honda's were carrying.Then JB Norris screwed Bubba out of the title cause he was a pound underweight or something.Bargeman,all of them are Harley loving schills.

[Brian500R]

@mahagga

yep, and thats why the bullshit AMA never gets a single fucking penny from me. worthless bastards.