RADICAL CHANGE : Ron Lechien Says He Has Turned Off a Road to Nowhere

On a motorcycle, Ron Lechien fulfills one of his favorite words: radical. Or, as he would say it, rad ical. So much so that the El Cajon motocross racer nets about $250,000 a year.

Off a motorcycle, Lechien has been the same. But instead of bringing him fame and fortune, a radical approach to life put Lechien in a drug treatment center, nearly took him out of motocross and left his parents in tears.

Though separate, Lechien’s two radical personas have had much to do with each other. Lechien’s wondrous talent brought him riches early, but it set him in an enticing world he couldn’t handle.

Lechien now seems to be on the way to mastering life on and off the bike. Along the way to this point, his father, Dick, learned a new approach to parenting that he says would have kept Ron in control.

Dick Lechien remembers the Little League coach and the tennis coach at Granite Hills High School calling him to get his son back out to practice.

“But he always was out riding motorcycles,” Dick recalled. “He has a lot of natural talent. Thousands of kids work harder than Ron. But he simply had the talent.”

Broc Glover, another El Cajon motocross star, said: “Some days Ronny’s phenomenal. He doesn’t look like he’s going real fast, but he’s pulling away. He’s real smooth. He looks like he’s on a different track from everybody. It’s somewhat natural, but he does it with such precision, it looks simple. Like an artist who draws a straight line; when you try to do it, you draw a wobble.”

During the past 3 1/2 years, Lechien, now 21, found himself wobbling through life.

In June 1986, Lechien was convicted in El Cajon of driving under the influence of alcohol. Two months later, he was arrested in Japan for possession of marijuana; he says he was addicted to the drug. Officials from Honda, his sponsor, got him released from jail, but they also fired him. A month later, Lechien again was convicted in El Cajon of DUI. His driving privileges today apply only to dirtbikes.

Lechien also occasionally used cocaine, he said.

The things many teen-age males seek--money and girls and good times--were readily available. And there was a friendly, if fleeting, entourage that appeared at every race. The problem was handling it all.

Even if many of the races are sponsored by beer companies--as is the case in tonight’s Coors Super Crown of Motocross at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium--the motorcycle concerns prefer their riders clean and marketable.

A case in point was the effect of Lechien’s arrest at the Tokyo airport. According to a Honda official in Los Angeles, who asked that his name not be used, a “VIP” in the company got Lechien released without prosecution or much publicity.

“In Japan, with their rules on drugs, that was remarkable,” the official said.

Though Kawasaki later signed him, Lechien had nearly lost for good a factory 250cc ride that is sought by thousands but gained by fewer than a dozen.

He also had nearly lost touch with his family. The Tokyo incident shook not only Honda and Lechien.

“The night I got that phone call, my world almost came to an end,” Dick said. “If you would have told me when Ron was 14 or 15 that he’d ever do drugs, I’d have said you’re crazier than hell. I felt this kid doesn’t need any high. He gets his high every weekend on a motorcycle.”

But the incident jarred Dick into introspection. Reared by a grandmother, Dick had no guiding force when he was a professional drag racer. “I was in it for fun,” he said. “I had a lot of talent, but I didn’t market myself.”

Things were different with his son.

Since Ron was 8, “I pushed him into the sport,” said Dick, who handled all of his son’s negotiations with the factories after Ron turned pro five years ago. In fact, he handled most everything, he said. Dick prodded his son into working out and sometimes spied on him to see if he went jogging upon leaving the house.

“I never allowed him responsibility; I never opened my eyes,” Dick said.

Ron grew far apart from his family.

Said Glover, who at 27 is six years Lechien’s senior: “Ronny dropped to some lows.”

Glover said Lechien angered other riders. “But he had a lot of people hanging on to him who took advantage of him. They were not there for the same reasons he thought they were. It’s kind of (bad) to think all your friends were there for the same reason--the money. They were leeches. And he didn’t know how to shake them.”

It seems, though, that Lechien for now has shaken them, and himself.

Last October, Dick and Pat Lechien asked their son to check into the McDonald Center for Alcoholism & Drug Addiction & Treatment in La Jolla. He hedged but two weeks later checked in. Thirty-three days later, he was out.

“I’ve taken things upon myself,” he said. “I’m happy now.

“Money and fame was a big part of it. I’ve sure grown up real fast. I don’t know if going through all this has made me stronger or weaker. There was just some bad times I had--I’ve tried to put that behind me.”

Said Pat: “I thought eventually he’d come to his senses. This was a last-ditch effort. He’s back to being our friend. Before, he didn’t want to be around us.”

As for Dick, he said he is “there if Ron needs me. I give him space now.”

Lechien’s attitude toward racing seems to have changed, too.

Not that he is running or lifting weights, as do others on the supercross tour, but he is attending more track practice sessions. And he’s obliging the press more and working with, not against, Kawasaki teammate Jeff Ward, who is tied with El Cajon’s Rick Johnson atop the supercross point standings.

“I used to blow that stuff off,” Lechien said.

As for drinking and driving and drugs, “that’s all behind me for sure,” he said.

Said Dick: “He stills drinks a beer now and then, and I’m not too sure that’s healthy, but he’s handling it. It’ll have to be his decision. He’s got more tools to deal with this stuff than before.”

Not that Ron woke up and decided he’d change in a day, or that he’d ever be another Micky Diamond, a fellow competitor who plays the piano and writes poetry, or a George Holland, who puts his racing winnings into buying land for his almond tree farm.

“It came kind of gradually,” Lechien said. “I was worried about my ride and things like that. My dad talked to me. He’s hard on me, but he’s not overly hard. I’m getting to be a little more mature. I’d have to say racing is definitely the No. 1 thing in my life.”

Despite his precise and smooth style, Lechien is still seeking his first supercross title. He was named supercross rookie of the year in 1983 and has finished in the top five of the supercross 250cc standings the past four years. Three years back, he won the 125cc National Outdoor Motocross title.

By correcting his main weakness--a slow start caused in part by the fact that he’s 6-feet 1-inch, tall for a motocross racer--Lechien found success at Seattle last week, finishing second Saturday and first Sunday. In other 1988 races, he finished sixth at Anaheim and fourth at Houston. He enters tonight’s race ranked sixth in the Super Crown series. He’s hoping his more diligent approach will yield a supercross title, which can result in more than $1 million after endorsements.

“I feel good after last week,” Lechien said. “I definitely have more confidence. I think I’m a little more cautious these days. Getting older, I’m worried about getting hurt a little more. I’m trying to stay real smart and not take any chances. I’m a lot happier now. I’m starting to get on top again, keep working at it and stay up there.”

It would be too much, though, to say that Lechien is consumed with becoming No. 1. He still rides his jet skis more than his motorcycle.

“The more he works, the more pressure he feels, the worse he does,” Glover said. “I don’t condemn anyone for being himself. Everyone can’t be a Steve Garvey, and everyone can’t be a Dexter Manley. I like the sport because we have no clones. If I were Ronny, I’d be the same as he is but cut down on the negative stuff, the counterproductive stuff. . . . I’m anti-drug.”

Johnson, whose friendship with Lechien has been tested by run-ins, likened Lechien’s talent to that of Santee’s Marty Snipes, who at 16 became the youngest supercross titlist.

“He’s got a lot of years ahead of him if he keeps his nose clean,” said Johnson, who speaks avidly against drugs. “Everyone has their own balance. Some feel comfortable if they work out. Others have more fun and stay far away from all that working out. That’s his way. Who’s to say who’s right, who’s wrong?”