InTERRAgation 9 with Rupert X: A.J. Waggoner of Service Honda

Q: A.J., what attracted all your focus at 9:59 this morning

A: At 9:59 a.m.? I was thanking all my sponsors, particularly Dunlop for how well the tires were hooking up on the marginal surface here at Toronto. Then my wonderful wife woke me up. It's my day off and I slept a bit late for a change.

Q: When was the first Service Honda AF500 assembled? And why?

A: It was late summer/fall of 1997. Mostly because myself, fellow Service Honda rider/employee Scott Miller, Mickey Kessler, and Bruce Zimmerman had all been racing and riding CR500s and were in the middle of putting the great engine in a newer chassis, something that would handle better than the Honda model that had remained unchanged for many years. It worked so well on the first couple of used hybrid bikes that we wedged together that I decided to make a brand new one for myself and to start offering them as new production models. Dirt Rider and a few other publications had been covering the bikes, and it really took off. From that point on, it has been a constant improvement and refinements, keeping the CR500 engine in the latest chassis Honda had out. Now it has branched off in to other models as well. We are a multi-line dealership at heart, and a large OEM parts supplier, so assembling our own models seemed a natural progression to me, but looking back on it, maybe we were just crazy enough to not know any better.

Q: What’s the farthest place you’ve exported a Service Honda 500 to, and any odd or exotic locales?

A: Farthest? Hmm, I'm not sure! I would have to really hit up Google Earth to be accurate because they have gone all over the globe for sure!

The list of countries is quite long, but there are some you'd expect -- Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Finland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. Those are just a few I can remember.

As far as a bit "exotic"? Tahiti, Honduras, Tasmania, Morocco, UAE

Q: What's the most bizarre request you’ve received as a bike builder?

A: This is rated PG right? Let's just say that even you, Rupert X, cant imagine the level of creative thought a few riders have on what they might want made!

Q: Will we see a Service HONDA AF500 competing at the Lucas Oils AMA Nationals this year? Explain…

A: We really hope to! (And KX500AF's as well.) We have a team and everything in place to do so. I was definitely looking forward to it. We have a background in fielding SX and MX teams when we were with the Subway MX team.

The hold up has been in getting the rules in place that would allow any 500cc two-stroke motorcycle allowed into what literally is a 250cc two-stroke class. The irony, I suppose, is that it's a class dominated by 450cc four-stroke machines.

Since it really has become an open class, and is being run that way in AMA amateur, I feel allowing the same in AMA Pro would just add a bit of extra flavor to the class, and a less expensive alternative for a few privateers. We were also ready to run a few 250AFs if the same rules that AMA Amateur runs under had been adopted for 2009 in AMA Pro, but it's not looking good for any rule change right now, The large displacement lady is singing, although she hasn’t reached the final note for 2009 yet.

Q: Are two-strokes dead? We keep hearing that. What’s your belief?

A: Yamaha, TM and KTM still offer the models, and last year it seemed hard for the KTM dealers to keep enough in stock.

In 2009, Service Powersports is offering nine two-stroke models, and we are very, very busy.

It's hard for me or my crew to work enough hours to catch up, so obviously I don’t believe they are dead, at least on a small production scale. We also get tons of support from riders all around the world, thanking us for keeping the bikes alive. It's pretty amazing really! We plan to build them as long as there is interest, and there certainly seems to be no lack of interest.

In the big picture, several of the OEMs have dropped them, and of course with current economics, you can only expect them to drop models that are not at the very top of the sales ladder. So I'd expect to see some of even the current four-stroke models dropped, as well. It’s just supply and demand. In the real world, those size companies need to see thousands of units sold for any given model to be worth it for them to produce.

Q: How decent of a motocross rider are you? And, has a Service Honda 500AF ever chucked you off?

A: Currently, I ride Vet A Expert, but should be B minus. I held an AMA Pro card for a few years back in '98 through 2001, I think, but really was never at that level to qualify, so it was representative only in my ability to crash hard!

Has the 500AF ever chucked me off? Certainly, but no more than any other bike. Heck, I can wad up a Yamaha TTR125L with the best of 'em. I think I've had around seven surgeries and 28 broken bones, so it kind of illustrates that I was never a very good rider -- in fact, a pretty lousy one!

Q: What new products are you assembling lately and what are the future plans for your “works” bikes?

A: I just released a KX250AF; a CR250AF; a CR250AFX, which is an off-road version built in the CRF250X chassis; and I am working on some other colors and displacements. I have a KDX200AF on my bench at this moment getting a prototype going. Our Junior bikes -- the CRF150R chassis with the CRF250R or X engine -- are doing well, so I'm spending a lot of time on those. They are really fun to make, and a true blast to ride.

And, I have a couple other projects that are a bit out there -- think, diesel -- so there's plenty to do!

Q: What did you drive to work today and what was cranking in the CD player?

A: A Dodge QUAD CAB, with a Hemi. I guess I'm not very "green," eh? In the CD, an odd compilation disc my wife made for me -- Avenged Sevenfold, Staind, Aerosmith, Disturbed, Creed, BuckCherry and Skid Row. It's in there most mornings.