Lighter, sharper handling, with an all-new frame, more compact body and improved smartphone tuneability, the new generation YZ250F is ready to continue a legacy of dominance in the 250 class.
8 PERSPECTIVES
AUGUST 2024 VOLUME 78, NUMBER 8
Editorial Director Mitch Boehm on ’80s-era Hondas
10 FROM THE PRESIDENT
AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman on the AMA Hall of Fame Class of 2024
12 BACKFIRES
Membership feedback on recent issues
14 BACK IN THE DAY
Where the photos are blurry but the memories are clear!
18 THE NEW KING OF THE ISLE
Michael Dunlop topples Uncle Joey Dunlop’s race-win record at Isle of Man TT
20 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS!
The AMA has been busy celebrating its 100th anniversary
26 COVER STORY: AGONY AND ECSTASY
A father-son duo endures and enjoys a tumultuous Idaho BDR journey
40 THE 80s
The many developments of a now-nostalgic decade of motorcycling
50 ALL WHITE…WITH A BIG RED STRIPE
Fifty years of a legendary road racing machine — the Yamaha TZ750
70 AMA GARAGE
Tips, tweaks, fixes and facts: The motorcycle ownership experience, explained
74 LAST PAGE
This year’s Hall of Fame class and HOF celebration
ON THE COVER:
Jack Snider and his father Byron faced storms, mud, mechanical setbacks, a lost drone, freezing temperatures and more during their Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route journey. Despite it all, they persevered and bonded to write another chapter of their riding story together. Read about it starting on page 26. Cover shot by Jack Snider.
the
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Mitch Boehm Editorial Director
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Members who join or renew their AMA membership from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024 are automatically entered to win one of these awesome motorcycling prizes!
MONTHLY DRAWINGS
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We’re featuring the 1980s in this edition, and while editing all the cool ’80s grist for the section, I was repeatedly transported to that decade and my first two non-bike-shop industry jobs — my first as a rookie staffer at Motorcyclist magazine in ’85, and the second as an R&D/tester/product-planner at American Honda in ’89.
Like many motorcyclists, I had some personal connection with Honda motorcycles, having ridden and raced an SL70, XR75 and a 500 Interceptor by the time I finished school. So working for American Honda — and in its R&D/ product-planning group, no less — was quite a thrill.
It was educational, too, as I was involved in the development of some really cool motorcycles from the beginning to the end of their development journeys — from concept and sketch stages, through styling and clay modeling to early prototyping, to dynamic prototype testing, and to final setup/suspension work on pre-production machines so they worked just exactly right for both consumers and the media, who’d get them first for testing. I’m talking bikes such as the first-gen ST1100, the second-gen VFR750F, CBR600F2, XR650L, the original CBR900RR and others.
Those three years were seriously eye-opening, as I got an insider’s look at the sometimes-rocky dynamic that exists between Japanese and American management within a U.S.-based Japanese company. And at that time, the motorcycle division’s relationship with Honda Japan was not so good, despite a 30-year run where it could basically do no wrong.
The issue, really, was motorcycles, or more specifically, bikes that American Honda management had pushed for
PERSPECTIVES AHEAD-OF-THEIR-TIME HONDAS
BY MITCH BOEHM
Honda’s late-’80s streetbike offerings were interesting in many ways and very capable, but they didn’t push many buyers’ buttons until years later.
strongly in the latter ’80s, but which weren't selling. Which bikes specifically? The PC800, also known as the Pacific Coast. The XL600V, or Transalp. The NT650, aka the Hawk GT. The NX650 dual sport. The GB500 retro single. And the super cool CB-1.
There were plenty of reasons for this retail softness, and a lot of cooks in the R&D kitchen. But what it boiled down to primarily was a desire on the part of the division’s head honcho — Mr. Iwai — and others on the American side to move Honda motorcycles away from the traditional motorcycle buyer…the leather-jacketed and possibly tattooed cruiser buyer (the horror!), or the younger, more testosterone-fueled (and possibly more squidly?) sportbike customer.
In other words, the enthusiast who’d bought Hondas for years, but who suddenly didn’t fit the country-club/upscale/Euro-traveler contingent Honda was after with the aforementioned models and the marketing campaign designed to sell them.
A look at the 1989 lineup is revealing. Honda’s cruiser lineup, for instance, had been shaved to just two bikes, the Shadow 1100 and VLX.
And there was just a single sportbike in the lineup — the 600-class “CBR,” the popular Hurricane name having been dropped right along with the CBR1000 model altogether. Considering the sales and reputational importance of cruisers and sportbikes in the American market, these moves were mystifying.
Mr. Iwai and his cohorts were surely hearing from the all-important auto division to tone things down, some of that probably a result of the Danforth debacle in ’87. But neutering Honda’s lineup in that way, and pushing models that didn’t resonate with customers, was clearly not a recipe for success.
What’s ironic now is how those same models have become cult classics of sorts. Look them up on Cycle Trader today and examples in good or better shape often command decent (or serious) bucks — all of which says a lot about their inherent (albeit mistimed) goodness.
The PC800 and its Suzuki Burgman-esque, do-it-all functionality; the Transalp, an adventure bike before its time; the GB500, the first Japanese throwback model; the Hawk GT, for its still-fresh tech and styling; and the CB-1, the extremely fun follow-up to the CB400F.
Gotta love the 1980s. Hope you enjoy the issue!
Mitch Boehm is the Editorial Director of the AMA and a long-time member.
Try freecalimoto for 14 days
ne of the many benefits of AMA membership is free admission to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, which is where the careers and lives of 486 inducted Motorcycle Hall of Famers are celebrated and remembered.
In addition, AMA Life Members get to vote on who gets inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, a legitimate honor itself.
As a quick refresher, the Museum and the Hall of Fame are operated under the auspices of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit subsidiary of the AMA that can accept tax-deductible contributions to support the museum.
In addition to those donations, AMHF is primarily funded through the proceeds from AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, held each year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, and through several motorcycle raffles throughout the year. Current raffle bikes include a 1975 BMW R90S, a 1997 KTM 200 EXC Jackpiner, and a 2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR 40th Anniversary Edition. To purchase tickets, visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com
There’s always a great deal of confusion and misinformation regarding the Hall of Fame selection process, and with the election of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 recently completed, it’s a good time to explain the process that leads to induction.
The process starts with an application for nomination to the Hall of Fame, which can be submitted by anyone. That application is assigned to one of eight category committees that correspond to the categories under which an individual can be inducted. Those categories and corresponding committees include Ambassadors and Industry, Design and Engineering,
From the President and CEO AMA HALL OF FAME: HOW IT HAPPENS
BY ROB DINGMAN
Leadership and Motorcycle Rights, Dirt Track, Motocross/Supercross, Off-Road, Road Racing, and Specialty Competition.
Each of the category committees are made up of a group of discipline-specific experts, many of whom are Hall of Famers themselves. Those committees consider all the applications received and may submit additional nominees themselves for consideration. Each committee submits its recommendations to the Nominating Committee, which is made up of the chairs of each of the category committees, for further consideration.
The Nominating Committee then makes its recommendations to the Executive Review Committee (ERC), which is made up of the chair of the AMA Board of Directors, the chair of the AMHF Committee of the AMA Board, the AMA president, and the AMA counsel.
The ERC determines the size of the induction class each year and essentially certifies the ballot, which is then voted upon by living members of the Hall of Fame, members of the Hall of Fame category committees, AMA Board members, and AMA Life Members.
The election is conducted on a secure electronic voting platform. Each eligible voter receives an email inviting them to vote with a unique login and password. This is why it is so important
for all eligible voters to have a current email on file with the AMA.
This process has yielded a spectacular class for 2024. The 2024 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Class includes eight-time AMA National Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty, the Godmother of Women’s Motocross Debbie Matthews, seven-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin, original freedom fighter Rob Rasor, and U.S. MXGP winner, perennial AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross race winner, and winning U.S. Motocross of Nations team member Kevin Windham. Read more about our Class of 2024 in our Last Page section on page 74.
The induction ceremony is open to the public and will take place at the Violet Township Event Center near AMA headquarters and the AMA Hall of Fame Museum on Oct. 10 as part of AMA’s Hall of Fame Days weekend. Hall of Fame Days will run Oct. 10–13, and will also include an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Bike Night, an open house at the Museum, pit bike racing, an Adventure ride, skills seminars, elbow-rubbing with AMA Hall of Famers, and more.
Tickets for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Induction Ceremony are on sale now, and can be purchased at AmericanMotorcyclist.com.
Rob Dingman is the President and CEO of the AMA, and a Charter Life Member
It was gold jackets galore at last year’s AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame induction ceremony near AMA headquarters. Thanks to HOFer Broc Glover and Rob Buydos for making the jacket thing happen.
BACKFIRES
MORE ON THE NEXT 36
Kenny Roberts. Do multiple episodes across many issues, just as you’ve done with Malcolm Smith. Sit down with K.R. and get his input. Include the obvious, such as the TZ Indy Mile, go into the reasons it was stated he could not win the 500 GP title in his first year, and how he beat them all. His talent and attitude need to be spotlighted. Do an expanded and very much earned tribute to him before he is gone and get his input while doing it.
Ron Meeks Yukon, Okla.
Actually, Ron, we ran Kenny’s first-person take on the 1975 Indy Mile in our September 2021 issue (if you’re an AMA member you can look it up online), but an expanded take on Kenny’s career is of course a great idea. – Ed.
Living in the Northeast and finding off-road riding opportunities with my 15-year-old son is a challenge. Having regular reviews of off-road riding areas would be a big help. Maybe make it a member supported feature?
Chris Moser
Months back I felt you didn’t have enough touring content, but I can’t complain about recent months. It must be difficult balancing touring, racing, motorcycle design, maintenance and all the other interests. Just remember to give touring a good share.
Al Holtsberry
For the next 36 months I’d like to see more of the same, although I’d like to request an article on old guys’ motocross. The sport that many of us were involved in the early 1970s is still a major part of our lives 50-plus years later. The Racer X series in the
ILETTER OF THE MONTH
have been reading about lane splitting for years now, and it seems to be catching on, but I have concerns. I live in rural Maine, and for about half the year a large portion of vehicular traffic consists of tourists taking in the scenery — and on top of that you have residents trying to get to work or get on with their normal lives and frustrated by the tourist traffic. Under these circumstances, it seems like a bad bet to think these drivers will be courteous toward motorcyclists who split lanes. So my question is this: Having ridden extensively in lane splitting territory, what is your assessment of the willingness of other drivers to “put up” with lane splitting? What is the reality when everyone wants to get “there” first?
Tim Ferrell Surry, Maine
My nearly 40 years of lane-sharing experience tells me
that, regardless of how slowly, carefully and methodically a motorcyclist splits lanes while taking advantage of a motorcycle’s inherent design advantage (and enjoying the safety benefits of doing it correctly), a decent portion of the driving public is never going to like it. Some get surprised and are startled when they get passed, even at slower speeds, but many are just pissed off that a bike has an advantage. Motoring envy, most likely, and there’s not much anyone can do about that. Lane sharing certainly involves some risk, just as riding a motorcycle has risks over and above driving a car. And I guess it’s up to each of us to weigh those risks, just as we do when we throw our legs over in the first place. And each region/state/city is different, right? L.A. traffic is supremely ugly, especially vs. someplace rural, where the need to lane split in the first place is pretty rare. – Ed.
Letters to the editor are the opinions of the AMA members who write them. Inclusion here does not imply they reflect the positions of the AMA, its staff or board. Agree? Disagree? Let us know. Send letters to submissions@ama-cycle.org or mail to American Motorcyclist Association, 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147.
Letters may be edited for clarity and brevity.
Midwest is one of the most well-attended in the nation. Last year at Red Bud, the 60-plus class had 38 riders at the gate. We again have Millville back in the series, which has us on two national tracks along with three local tracks including a national quad track in Illinois, Sunset Ridge, which is Chase Sexton’s home track.
John Dubiel
A past column mentioned some industry magazines and the current circulation dominance of American
Motorcyclist. How about having a guest column from an industry magazine’s editor each issue? I’m 65 years old and still doing desert racing. When I read about other motorcyclists’ interest in different disciplines, it broadens my view. I’m sure I’m not alone. I’m sure you know all the editors…John Ulrich, Jody Weisel and many of the other editors are lifelong motorcyclists and businesspeople.
Louis Vanlandingham
In response to your column asking
readers what you are missing, the answer is RACING. Please do more racing coverage, especially if it leaned toward America’s oldest two-wheel sport — flat track! Also, how about some coverage about America’s newest and hottest form of racing, the King of the Baggers series, with two American brands battling it out on the track just like the old days. I love your new format, as I am 60 and at one time subscribed to six monthly magazines, plus Cycle News weekly. Keep up the great work!
Charles Goad
I’ve been with AMA long enough to earn lifer status. In all those years, these past 36 months have been the best for the magazine. It’s a damn fine read, and I know it doesn’t happen without a good crew. Maintain the course. Follow your gut. And kudos to all your help. No one does it alone.
Larry Zimmer
CHAMBER OF SECRETS
The June 2024 issue stated that Jawa and CZ made the first twostroke expansion chamber. The first expansion chamber was actually made by the brilliant Walter Kaaden, the father of the modern two stroke, working at MZ in East Germany.
Jay Cohen Boyce, Va.
We wanted to dig a little further into this, so we cut author John Burns loose….
Eric Wolf, an engineer at DKW in Zschopau, Germany, gets credit for the first crude “expansion chambers” on that factory’s road racers in 1951. DKW was one of the largest car and motorcycle makers in the world in the ’20s and ’30s, representing one of the four rings of the current Audi logo (Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer), previously Auto Union. After Wolf, East German racer/engineer Daniel Zimmermann made more refinements to the DKW two-stroke, right up until the authorities ordered him to cease
and desist, and to hand over all his work to Walter Kaaden, who’d been hired by the state-run Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau (IFA) to build racing motorcycles; IFA later became MZ. Kevin Cameron tells us what Kaaden really accomplished “was the successful integration of these several concepts that were not his own (third transfer port, rotary-disc intake valve, expansion-chamber exhaust) into a whole with world-beating potential. And he did it using the skimpy resources of a defeated nation under authoritarian rule.” As for JAWA/CZ having that tech first, don’t believe everything you read on Wikipedia: Trust, but verify! Then again, it’s tough to tell what was going on behind the Iron Curtain, from which competitive racing motorcycles somehow appeared. – J.B.
DANFORTH WAS RIGHT?
Sen. Danforth was right. He foresaw the future mayhem that high-performance sport bikes being introduced at the time would bring. I am witnessing
it today. This is what I see and hear: Stunt riding on city streets. Reckless operation by weaving in and out of traffic at speeds well above the limit. Motorcyclists fleeing from police while being pursued. And then there’s the noise, created by bikes using aftermarket exhaust systems, which are illegal for street use. The AMA needs to take a more active role in limiting this kind of abuse by encouraging law enforcement at all levels.
Andy Priest Parma, Ohio
Thanks, Andy, but how in the world would government/bureaucrat control over motorcycle power and design — which is what Sen. Danforth’s misguided bill would have imposed on our sport — help stop all that bad behavior? It wouldn’t. So, in your utopian world, and with all due respect, we’d have slow, heavy, safety-laden, no-fun motorcycles, and still have idiots doing stupid stuff! Not a scenario anyone would like, I’d gather. – Ed.
BACK IN THE DAY
Where the photos are blurry but the memories are clear!
When plans to travel cross-country to California with my buddies on our motorcycles fell apart, I made the decision to make the trip on my own with my 1969 BSA Thunderbolt, a pop-up canvas tent and a road map. So in August of ’73 at age 26 I set out for California. My plan was to ride from Ohio to Portland, Ore., across the northern tier of states, then head down into California. My trip included stops at the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Redwood Forest, Yellowstone and Hoover Dam. Finding gas often proved challenging, as I only got 120 miles per fill up. While traveling the coast toward San Francisco, I burned an exhaust valve (BSAs were prone to this). I made it to San Francis-
co on one cylinder and, since it was Labor Day weekend, all state parks and KOA campgrounds were full. I ended up staying at a motel for two days, where I was able to remove the head and catch a ride on a trolley to a motorcycle shop downtown. I pleaded my case to the mechanic, and within a few minutes, I was back on the trolley with a newly seated valve in the head. After reassembly, I was back on the road east toward Ohio. My travels took me through Las Vegas and past the International Hotel, where I stopped to see if I could get a ticket to see Elvis. Unfortunately, the show was sold out. My trip encompassed 7,241 miles in 22 days. After 50-plus years, I am still riding today making great memories and friendships.
3Back in the early 1980s I started racing in the Colorado Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) series. I started with a Yamaha RD350 and then switched to a Honda FT500 for a sponsorship. Both provided me a chance to learn how to compete and be competitive. I was working at a dealership at the time and by luck a gentleman came in with a 1980 Yamaha TZ250 that he wanted to trade for a street bike. I got the bike for about $600 and proceeded to get it rebuilt and ready for the 1983 season. The season was a great success, and I ended up third in Formula 2 in the 1983 MRA series. I have fond memories of that time, the great people I met and all the great tracks I got to compete on in Colorado. Sadly, most of the tracks are now gone. It was a wonderful time! Marc De Fur
John Bumgartner
5The photo is of me at 5 years old on my first bike, a 1981 Yamaha PW50 (the Y-Zinger!), at U.S. 13 Dragway in Delmar, Del., getting tips for my first quarter-mile race. The bike was a gift from my parents, and I got it brand new. Nick LaBrie
4
This is me as a 14-yearold hooligan in 1976, riding in the woods near our house. I’m outfitted in standard-at-thetime safety gear: Converse high tops, jeans, bare hands and a hoody. I’m on a used Kawasaki 125, which I’d just purchased with my summer lawn-mowing earnings. This was the mid ’70s — a golden age for moto-obsessed youngsters, which I was certainly one. I started riding at age 11 on a used SL70, progressed to an XR75, then a YZ80, then the pictured Kawasaki and finally to a YZ125. My friends and I, instead of doing our homework, would meet after school most days and ride in the
woods. Such good memories. I’m 61 now, and I still consider myself moto obsessed. With retirement imminent, I look forward to maximizing my time on my Honda VFR1200, the KTM890R and my new best friend — a Husqvarna FE501. Chris Mulliken
5This 1971 photo is me racing District 2 scrambles in the 250 Expert class in Fishkill, N.Y. The bike was a 1969 DT-1 with a GYT kit and torque pipe. In ’69, I actually rode this bike to school in New York City every day, and then I stripped it down for scrambles on Sunday. I also had a ’71 DT-1 as a spare/practice bike. I also raced flat track in ’72 and road race in ’72 and ’73 (#175A) before moving out West and racing desert and motocross in Arizona and Oregon on a Husky 250 and 390. The second picture is me on the 390 in the Arizona desert in ’82. I broke my back in ’85 on an RM465 and quit racing. I still ride my 1981 Suzuki GS850, 1998 H-D Heritage and 2003 Piaggio Liberty 150 scooter.
Steve Petersen
3I’ll never forget the fun I had in the fields wheelying this 1978 YZ250 through the cut soybean fields in Mississippi. My dad and his friends would camp out at the creek on the weekends around hunting season, and I would ride for hours. The ’70s-era bikes were the best!
Jim Neill
BACK IN THE DAY
5Here is a ’78/’79 photo of my then-girlfriend (now wife of 42 years) Margaret standing next to my fully accessorized and packed 1976 Honda CB550, complete with a Pacifico Royal Shadow fairing and skinny Bates saddlebags. My sister-in-law, Barbara, said my bike looked like an amusement park ride with the fairing’s extra lights. My brother, Charlie, talked me into buying the bike from a friend whose second wife threatened to divorce him because “only hoodlums and low-lifes ride motorcycles.” (That same wife later left her husband for a guy who owned and rode the same motorcycle.) I later sold the CB550 to an ex-Special Forces surgeon who loved the fact that it would do 100 mph, and I moved on to a CB750A, which was better for touring. I have ridden different brands ever since, and currently own and ride a 2018 BMW R1200RT — but Margaret will only ride on my 2020 Can-Am Spyder RT Limited.
5This picture is of my buddy Mingy Detore (on the 1976 Suzuki TS400) and me (aboard the 1972 Bultaco Alpina 250) after another great Sunday of riding the trails, coal mining and logging roads in the Allegheny Mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania. There was nothing better than loading the bikes into his 1968 Chevrolet El Camino and then riding to Linn Run State Park, where we’d unload the bikes and head up into the forest and to the roads — with shoes or boots on, of course. Life was good. We felt the same freedom as Mert, Steve and Malcolm during the ending of On Any Sunday. Marc Sassos
4This is a picture of me and a friend spending an afternoon at Boykin Springs in East Texas back in the day. That’s me on my first Penton, in 1969. I later bought a 1971 model, the first of the six speeds.
Jim Bourg
Jim Kent
3
In 1958, my dad purchased a Cushman Highlander for me. We lived in Durango, Colo., and the scooter was in Denver, so we went there to pick it up. We put it in the trunk of our 1950 Nash Ambassador and stopped for the night at my sister’s place in Wheatridge (a Denver suburb). I couldn’t wait to ride it, so we unloaded it for me to buzz around the neighborhood! To this day, I don’t know how my mother put up with it or even allowed the purchase. The second photo is of a ’58 Highlander, with custom seat and grips, at the Barber Museum. The Cushman was my first of more than 40 two-wheelers over the next 65 years, with a 2023 KLR650 and a 2020 Vespa GT300 HPE currently residing in my garage! Russ Locke
up to speed
News, notes, insight and more from the motorcycling universe
the new KING OF THE ISLE
Michael Dunlop breaks Uncle Joey’s 26-race-win record at the legendary Isle of Man TT
BY ALAN CATHCART
It’s one thing to win a single race at the legendary Isle of Man, arguably the most spectacular and dangerous real-roads race venue in the world.
It’s quite another to win 29 of them…and break a longstanding record held by your Manx-legendary uncle, Joey Dunlop — winner of 26 IOM races — in the process.
But that is exactly what Michael Dunlop did during the fortnight at the recent and now-117-year-old Isle of Man, notching four race wins in a week while bringing his total to 29 — and that doesn’t include his three wins at September’s Manx Grand Prix races, staged on the same 37.73-mile public roads Mountain Course with some 250 corners.
And if he hadn’t been forced to stop to reattach a replacement visor after four of the six laps in the Superbike TT, and with a 25-second lead after a pit stop that went wrong, he’d have matched Ian Hutchinson’s 2010 feat of winning five TT races in a single week, to bring his stash of TT trophies to 30.
Michael Dunlop is the sole survivor of real-road racing’s royal family that’s been decimated by their chosen sport, with father Robert — himself a five-time TT winner — killed in 2008 in the NW200, brother William passing away in a crash at County Dublin’s Skerries road race in 2018, and of course Uncle Joey taken from us in July
2000 in a road race in Estonia less than a month after clinching his 26th victory in that year’s Senior TT.
Along the way, Dunlop not only became the first rider to lap the Mountain Course in under 17 minutes while setting an outright lap record on his BMW Superbike in the 2016 Senior TT, but three days before his 27th win, he set a new Superbike lap record on his Honda at 135.970 mph, second overall for the time being only to his greatest current rival Peter Hickman and his 136.358-mph Superstock TT lap time. Yes — those are average speeds for a sub-17-minute lap that runs through the streets of two large towns, and up and down a 2,037-foot mountain.
The competition is ultra-keen, too; just six seconds, for instance, covered the first three finishers in the Supersport TT, the first of his 2024 race wins, with Michael defeating Dean Harrison by just 3.889 seconds after 113 miles of racing.
To win just one TT race is a superb achievement, which those
But even on screen, the sights and sounds from the TT are simply
fortunate enough to have done so regard as the pinnacle of their sporting endeavours on two wheels. But to do so 29 times is like repeatedly climbing Mount Everest — over and over again, and without once crashing in over 120 laps and 4,500 miles of high-speed hastening between hedges, curbs, houses, telegraph poles, rock faces and lampposts.
Again, arguably the most spectacular and dangerous real-roads race venue in the world.
Well done, Michael Dunlop!
To win just one TT race is a superb achievement, which those fortunate enough to have done so regard as the pinnacle of their sporting endeavours on two wheels.
Michael Dunlop, flat out and flying at 150 mph on the Paton twin at Ballacrye. If you’ve been to the Isle of Man TT you know what this is like to witness from the edge of the race course.
mindboggling.
up to speed
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS!
AMA celebrates 100th anniversary with recognitions at state and local levels
BY JACK EMERSON
Turning 100 years old is no small feat, and the city and state the AMA calls home — Pickerington, Ohio — seems to think so, too.
The state honored the AMA’s 100th anniversary when Ohio Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-20) recognized the AMA on the Ohio Senate floor during a legislative session on June 12. The award was presented to AMA staff — including AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman — and volunteers who attended the event.
“Since 1924, the AMA has worked to protect the future of motorcycling and promote the motorcycle lifestyle,” Schaffer said. “Today, AMA members come from all walks of life, and they navigate to many different routes on their journey all to the same destination: fun, freedom and adventure on two wheels. Congratulations to the American Motorcyclist Association on 100 years.”
During the visit to the Ohio Statehouse, Schaffer presented the AMA with a written proclamation regarding the organization’s 100th anniversary and met with AMA attendees in his office.
“This is a special year for the AMA as we celebrate our 100th anniversary,” Dingman said. “We’re grateful to Sen.
Schaffer for introducing this resolution to the Ohio Senate, and for his hospitality during our visit to the statehouse. This is a monumental occasion for the AMA, and one we will cherish as we look ahead to our next 100 years.”
The Ohio recognition came on the heels of a proclamation delivered by Pickerington Mayor Lee A. Gray, who attended the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Spring Bike Night in May. Gray, who recalled celebrating the AMA’s 75th anniversary, honored the organization which has called Pickerington home for over two decades.
“[I] proclaim May 18 as American Motorcyclist Association Day in the city of Pickerington and commend the AMA for promoting and protecting the rights of motorcyclists since 1924,” said Gray, who himself is a Charter Life Member of the AMA.
Mix in the celebrations at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days and the upcoming AMA Hall of Fame Days, and 2024 has been quite the 100-year “birthday” for the AMA.
Want to join in the celebration? Visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com/ama-101/100th-anniversary/ to see how you can be #AMACenturyStrong.
Helmets, made by the dedicated hands of those who work at Arai, have shown examples of supreme protection for decades.
The numerous improvements by their experienced hands, and personal desire to further the protection of riders’ heads, are among the many unique reasons Arai helmets perform the way they do.
From our very first helmet to those we make today, rider protection remains our first priority, and we at Arai shall never forget the value of what we have been seeking to protect is priceless.
up to speed
capitol Cruisin’
AMA’s GRD staff organizes and participates in Inaugural Ride to Work Day at the U.S. Capitol
BY JACK EMERSON
From coast to coast and all around the globe, motorcyclists — including some of the AMA staff at the Pickerington, Ohio, headquarters — participated in Ride to Work Day on June 11, and the celebration continued in the nation’s capital the following day.
On June 12, members of the American Motorcyclist Association’s Government Relations Department joined the Chairs of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus — Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Troy Balderson (ROH) and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) — and other motorcycle industry leaders for the inaugural Ride to Work Day at the U.S. Capitol.
“As Chairs of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus, it was an honor to host the first annual Ride to Work Day at the U.S. Capitol,” the chairs said in a joint statement. “Not only do we love to share this passion, but we appreciate the opportunity to bring safety and awareness issues up at a national level. There’s no better way to raise awareness than
The AMA was represented on the ride by Washington Representative Zach Farmer, Legislative Affairs Coordinator Jeremy Robinson and Eastern States Representative Max Colchin. In addition to the AMA, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle Industry Council and the Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association all had a presence at Capitol Hill.
“It’s always great to see motorcyclists come together to raise awareness about the safety of riders on the open road,” Farmer said. “The motorcycling community is strongest when it works together, and Ride to Work Day is an excellent
“The motorcycling community is strongest when it works together, and Ride to Work Day is an excellent way to celebrate motorcycling while advocating for the safety of riders.”
joining with nearly two dozen others to ride past the historic sites on the National Mall and into work at the Capitol Building. The estimated 30 million members of the motorcycling community across America are an important constituency, and we’ll continue our work to improve safety and awareness.”
ZACH FARMER
way to celebrate motorcycling while advocating for the safety of riders.”
To stay up to date on all the ways the AMA’s Government Relations Department has advocated for motorcyclists’ right to ride, sign up for rights updates at AmericanMotorcyclist.com/rights/rights-resources/ subscribe-for-rights-updates/.
up to speed Rights ROUNDUP
NORTH STAR STATE SUCCESS
Minnesota becomes easternmost state to legalize lane-filtering
BY JACK EMERSON
Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed HF 5247 into law May 24, making Minnesota the sixth state to legalize lane filtering.
As part of a supplemental budget bill — which impacted several departments, including the Minnesota Department of Transportation — motorcyclists in Minnesota will now be allowed to filter through traffic “at not more than 25 miles per hour and no more than 15 miles per hour over the speed of traffic in relevant traffic lanes.” This section of the bill will take effect on July 1, 2025.
In addition to the lane-filtering aspects, HF 5247 also added punishments for drivers that impede motorcyclists on the open road, stating that “an operator of a motor vehicle must not intentionally impede or attempt to prevent the operation of a motorcycle” when filtering.
Minnesota joins California, Utah, Montana, Arizona and Colorado as
states that permit lane filtering. Minnesota becomes the second lane-filtering success of 2024 as Colorado signed its lane-filtering bill into law on April 4.
The AMA’s position on lane filtering, as well as lane splitting, can be found at AmericanMotorcyclist.com/
To stay up-to-date on the latest legislative news, stay engaged with the AMA Government Action Center by visiting AmericanMotorcyclist.com/rights/ rights-resources/action-center/.
MAXIMIZING OUR ADVOCACY CAPACITY
AMA completes restructuring of Government Relations Department by adding Max Colchin as eastern states representative
BY JACK EMERSON
The American Motorcyclist Association added the final piece to its Government Relations Department, bringing in Eastern States Representative Max Colchin to spearhead the AMA’s efforts in the Eastern United States.
A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., and a graduate of Indiana University, Colchin brings a lifelong love of motorcycles and extensive legislative background to his new role at the AMA.
“In my role on the AMA Government Relations team, I plan to apply my experience and knowledge gained from working on Capitol Hill to continue the AMA’s advocacy work in the eastern region to protect the future of motorcycling,” Colchin said.
After completing his studies at IU, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and worked as an intern on Capitol Hill, Colchin worked as a full-time staffer in the United States House of Representatives and
handled a variety of constituent and legislative issues in the role.
Colchin aims to lean on this prior experience when it comes to operating as the eastern states representative at the AMA.
“It was part of my responsibility to inform and educate our constituents on their areas of interest,” Colchin said. “I look forward to doing similar work by actively working on state-level policy and funding determinations. Remaining actively involved in these conversations is one of the most effective ways to influence policymaking and ensure that motorcyclists’ rights and priorities are protected.”
Welcome, Max!
MAX COLCHIN
GRANTS GALORE
hile off-highway projects have an abundance of passionate volunteers, they often rely on critical grant funds to accomplish their goals.
Thanks to opportunities like the ones provided by the National Forest Trail Stewardship Partners (Trail Partners) Funding Program — which announced in June the recipients of its 2024 grants — there are ways to get the funding necessary to better public lands for motorcyclists. Three of the 16 trail improvement projects selected by Trail Partners have a focus on motorized trail maintenance.
Plenty of other grant programs exist at the federal and state levels. To see what is available, go to the AMA’s grant resource page at https://AmericanMotorcyclist.com/rights/rights-resources/grants/
“It’s important that AMA members, clubs and the general public are aware of the different grant sources — such as the Trail Partners program — to fund trail repair and improvements,” said AMA Director of Government Relations Nick Haris. “We encourage more people to submit grant applications for motorized trail projects in 2025.”
More information on the Trail Partners program — which is possible through the National Forest System Trail Stewardship Act of 2016 — can be found at https://www.wildernessalliance.org/trail_funding.
AGONY
STORY AND PHOTOS: JACK SNIDER
NOT WIND NOR RAIN NOR LIGHTNING NOR FREEZING COLD; NOT MUD NOR ROCKS NOR FOREST FIRES NOR EVEN A LOST DRONE; NOTHING STOPPED MY DAD AND ME DURING OUR 1,600-MILE BDR ADVENTURE AROUND OUR IDAHO HOME
AGONY ECSTASY!
Dirt. It’s the canvas upon which off-road motorcyclists paint, and there are a dozen different types of the stuff.
The best dirt is called chocolate cake, a perfectly aerated sand-clay mix that looks remarkably like rich, moist chocolate cake and delivers near-perfect traction without even sticking to the tire. At the opposite end of this spectrum is the dreaded peanut butter — mud so thick, sticky and gloopy that it clings to and clogs everything, and almost instantly halts
Andforward progress.
My father Byron and I were only a few hours into a two-week-long, 1,600-mile adventure along our adopted home state of Idaho’s Backcountry Discovery Route (BDR) when we found ourselves hopelessly stuck in the most miserable peanut butter mud I’d ever encountered in my decadelong off-road riding career.
The day began perfectly. A few hours earlier, a riding buddy dropped us off beside an abandoned, graffiti-covered house just outside
Grasmere, along Idaho’s Highway 51.
The sun was shining so brightly that I quickly began to overheat in my riding gear, and the dirt road beneath our wheels was firm and fast. Our plan was to ride an easy 60 to 80 highdesert miles across southern Idaho and across the border to Jarbidge, Nev., the remote mountain town where the Idaho BDR actually begins. (Yep, we weren’t even on the actual BDR yet!)
You might know the old saying: “You plan, the universe laughs…”
Weeks of careful planning went right
I GLANCED DOWN AND WAS HORRIFIED TO SEE THAT EVERYTHING — MY TIRES, FORK AND BRAKES, MY CHAIN AND SWINGARM — WAS CAKED IN AN IMPENETRABLE LAYER OF THICK, PEANUT BUTTER-ESQUE CLAY.
out the window on Day 1 after what we planned as a chill, icebreaker ride to get a feel for the bikes underneath us, and to make sure everything was working properly, instead turned into an absolute back-breaker.
An hour after we set off, the weather became overcast and humid. Then the rain started falling and the wind started blowing, gently at first, then more heavily. Shortly after, the lightning strikes started; they were far in the distance at first, then literally right on top of us. In a high sagebrush
desert with zero trees, buildings or landforms to provide shelter, Dad and I felt hopelessly exposed, like we were sitting on a pair of two-wheeled lightning rods. Then the clay soil started to absorb the moisture…and things went truly sideways.
My Husqvarna FE 501 S usually feels like an extension of my own body, and I could tell immediately that something was seriously wrong when I was fighting just to keep the bike from stalling on what seemed like a flat, straight road. I glanced down and
was horrified to see that everything — my tires, fork and brakes, my chain and swingarm — were caked in an impenetrable layer of thick, peanut butter-esque clay. The build-up was so bad that the bike was struggling to even move forward under full throttle. I looked in my rearview mirror and realized that my father — a former AMA Board member and very competent and experienced off-road rider — was struggling even worse, and his bike, a late-model Honda XR650L, was lying on its side in the
middle of the road. As this was the first BDR for both of us, we of course overpacked, and we found my dad’s XR so heavy and overloaded that it was impossible to pick up without two people. I parked my bike and went back to help but I could barely move, my boots acting like suction cups in the thick, gummy mud. I helped him right his bike and pointed him toward the grass on the side of the trail, but that wasn’t any better, full of stumps and rocks and other hidden obstacles that weren’t any easier to traverse.
You’ve heard of “hero dirt?” This was the opposite of that, something more like “failure fudge,” a thick, sticky, inexplicably tenacious goo that clogged every crack and crevice and immediately halted progress. Taking out parts every 25 yards was the only way forward.
We literally had to stop every 50 yards to offload more mud. What followed was hours of pure hell as the two of us pushed our bikes through the mud a half-mile, forced to stop every few yards to pick up a bike or to dig mud from brake calipers, sprockets and chain guides. At one point my father’s rear wheel became so clogged we had to loosen the rear axle and pull the chain off the sprocket to clear out rocks and debris. All this time the rain was falling harder and harder, and the lightning strikes were getting closer and closer — so close we could smell the acrid scent of ozone in the air. Finally — thankfully! — I spotted a small ranch at the base of the ridge. At the same time, my father’s XR became hopelessly stuck, with so much mud and rocks wedged around the countershaft sprocket and engine cases that the bike couldn’t even be moved. We decided to punt; I sent him ahead on my Husky to try to find the rancher, while I removed the luggage from his bike and started
hiking it toward the ranch. We left the XR where it was.
The rancher’s name was Casey, and he was the first of many lifelines we’d be handed on this trip. “Nobody goes near that ridge when it’s wet,” Casey informed us. To be fair, this road is marked on the official Idaho BDR map with the note “Road Impassable When Wet.” No kidding! Casey gave my father and his luggage a ride into Jarbidge on his side-by-side, while I followed along on my Husky.
Freezing cold, soaking wet, and aching in every muscle after deadlifting our bikes dozens of times, we made our way directly
to the Outdoor Inn, the only motel/ restaurant/casino in Jarbidge. Jace, the owner, is the unofficial mayor of Jarbidge, and he was extremely accommodating. In addition to excellent ribeye steaks and the best apple pie I have ever had — it’s almost worth a long ride down a very muddy road just for a piece of that pie — he also offered to help extricate the XR650L from its muddy prison the next morning. With hot coffee in-hand at 8 a.m. sharp, we piled into Jace’s pickup and retraced our route to Casey’s ranch, where we found the XR looking just as miserable as when we left it. Getting it out of the mud and into the pickup was like fighting a stubborn mule, but we
eventually got it done.
The bulk of the next day was spent painstakingly picking clay, rocks and the occasional Mormon cricket out of every crevice of both motorcycles, as well as cleaning and drying our gear and everything else. This normally would have been an unbearable chore, but the fine people of Jarbidge made it almost a pleasure. Whatever we needed — a hose and water, a wire brush to clean our chains, liquid gasket maker — someone stepped up to provide, and do whatever it took to get us back on the road again. It was a side of humanity I was happy to see.
Getting the bikes clean was one thing; making the XR rideable was another. Battling the mud the previous day, Dad overheated his clutch and warped and glazed the
I felt a wave of optimism wash over me. Until now, weather and mechanical failures had made this ride an immense struggle. Now, things seemed to be turning in our favor.
plates, causing them to slip badly. The clutch was smoked, and the bike was nearly unrideable. By loosening the clutch cable’s tension, we were able to make the bike rideable, but just barely. It would have to be repaired before we could continue our ride, which had barely just begun.
The day after Jarbidge was scheduled for a 200-mile off-road trek to the base of 10,000-foot Trinity
Summit. We decided to reroute through the city of Twin Falls, Idaho, instead, just in case the XR clutch truly failed. Miraculously it didn’t, so we continued north to the base of Trinity Summit. This felt like a
different world; leaving behind the dry heat and dust we encountered north of Jarbidge, we now found ourselves in cool mountain air, thick with the sweet smell of wildflowers in bloom. Finally, this was starting to feel like
the trip we had planned.
Then the universe started laughing at us — again. Temperatures that were pleasantly cool while we were riding became frigidly cold after sunset. Since it was August, neither of us anticipated cold weather. Like a dummy I didn’t even bring a jacket — just a hoodie — and my sleeping bag and camping cot offered little in the way of insulation against temps that dropped into the mid-30s. I awoke multiple times that night shaking with cold, and I wrapped myself in every piece of clothing and even stuffed hand warmers around my feet to keep warm. Sunrise — and a Wildland Coffee bag steeped in boiling-hot water — offered sweet relief, and I finally got excited about filming the climb to Trinity Summit.
It took a full day — and what seemed like 400 gallons of water! — to wash both bikes and all our gear after our disastrous Day 1 mud bog debacle. Fortunately, the fine folks in Jarbidge, Nev. — especially our new best friend Jace — made the delay a very pleasurable day. The author (left) revels in the luxury of clean, dry riding gear.
When I’m not busy scraping mud from the bottom of my Husqvarna 501, I own and operate a small media company that specializes in outdoor adventure films. The real reason Dad and I were on this trip together wasn’t just family bonding with a side of wilderness exploration; my primary mission was to make a film about the Idaho BDR.
I was a business student in
towering over us made me feel as small as the mosquitoes we battled during breakfast. The summit road, blanketed with baby-head rocks that sent my front wheel sideways every few seconds, seemed as challenging as any Himalayan goat path. The trail became more treacherous with each passing mile, and soon we were both white-knuckling our handlebars.
Then disaster struck — I lost connection with my drone, which was following us up the mountain. Dad looked confused as I dismounted my bike and ran past him and back down the mountain, shouting, “I lost my drone!” Ten minutes. Thirty minutes. Forty-five minutes running down the trail in full gear and boots, and still
college when I first learned about Backcountry Discovery Routes and their mission to encourage safe and responsible backcountry motorcycle travel. I especially loved what they were doing with their annual outdoor film festival, so I reached out to BDR Executive Director Inna Thorn and inquired about an internship. She told me to enter their film festival and show them what I could do behind the camera first, and then she would talk to me about possibly working together. That’s how I found myself out on the trail carrying five cameras and a drone. I recruited a bunch of friends to join me on this ride but they all dropped out; my dad — the first person I originally invited — was the only one to show up. That was just fine with me.
Trinity Summit was one of the segments I was most excited to film, and seeing it for the first time didn’t disappoint. Approaching the mountain felt like entering the Himalayas, and the jagged peak
no drone! I was beside myself — the drone camera was carrying an SD card with three full days of footage on it, and we had already been through so much. To lose that would be devastating. But still, nothing. After nearly an hour of searching, I gave
up. The drone was gone. Meanwhile, my father thought he heard a gunshot while I was gone, and assumed it was me signaling for help. I was trudging back to my motorcycle in utter defeat when he
This is sometimes the reality of a Backcountry Discovery Route — rough and rocky trails, horizontal motorcycles, and foil-wrapped, freeze-dried provisions. Fortunately, the difficult trail sections are typically clearly noted. The rewards — accessing incredible scenery far off the beaten path — are more than worth any challenges you face.
We made a short day’s ride to Hells Canyon, enjoying scenery that looked like something out of a movie, before entering the canyon where cliff walls towered over either side and the river flowed just feet from our tires.
Magruder marked the eighth day of our ride, and we spent that entire day in the backcountry with nothing but trees, mountains and the possibility of grizzly bears (we didn’t see any) to keep us company.
came speeding around the corner and met me on the trail, visibly relieved to see that I wasn’t in any physical danger. Looking up at the sky, we could see a storm brewing in the distance, and so we decided to abandon our quest for the summit. We had enough bad luck for one day already. As we made our way back down to the base, I couldn’t believe my eyes — there was my drone, crash-landed on the side of the trail, and still intact!
Once it was back in my hands, I stared back at the summit and knew I had to ride solo to the top. Dad tried to convince me otherwise, but I had to do it. The ride was just as treacherous the second time, but 30 minutes later I arrived at the summit. I
spent less than 10 minutes at the top before the wind started gusting and the rain set in, but I stood tall knowing that I got the shots!
While my drone was still in fine shape, Dad’s XR was getting worse by the mile, the clutch slipping badly anytime he applied even the slightest bit of throttle. Rather than spend another freezing night camping on the mountain, we decided to ride four hours north to my parents’ house in McCall, Idaho, where we could properly repair his clutch.
First thing in the morning we called Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, where the salesperson expedited a new clutch pack, which, once in my hands the next day, made me feel like Indiana Jones when he found the
Holy Grail! When I removed the XR sidecover, all I could smell was burnt oil; the steel plates were discolored and polished mirror-smooth. But reassembly with new parts went fine, and once the job was finished, the XR shifted better than ever before. Our journey would continue!
We waved farewell to McCall the next morning and continued north, excited to be back on the road and hoping all of our troubles were finally behind us. We made a short day’s ride to Hells Canyon, enjoying scenery that looked like something out of a movie, before entering the canyon where cliff walls towered over either side and the river flowed just feet from our tires. I showed Dad to my favorite camp spot where
I had spent many weekends with friends over the years, and we took advantage of our relatively early arrival to whip up a feast of hot dogs, MREs, and a dessert of fresh wild blackberries, which grew by the thousands all around the camp. That night, we slept like kings.
The next morning began with warm sunshine and even more fresh-picked blackberries, this time with oatmeal. I felt a wave of optimism wash over me. Until now, weather and mechanical failures had made this ride an immense struggle. Now, things seemed to be turning in our favor. Despite the struggles, I was excited to be taking this trip together with Dad, my original riding buddy. If anything, the
hard times only made the journey more meaningful. All the challenges really brought out our emotions, and overcoming them let us feel like we were really accomplishing something special. I was more confident than ever that we would make it to the Canadian border.
The next day was uncommonly easy. We burned through the miles and made it that evening to the notorious Magruder Road Corridor — a 100-mile, single-lane, unimproved roadway that winds between the 1.2-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the north and the 2.3-million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the south.
Sunrise at Magruder marked the eighth day of our ride and we spent
Sticky mud was murder on the XR650L’s clutch, which required replacement halfway through our ride. A few hours and a fresh clutch pack soon had the bike working better than new. Above: A steaming-hot bag of chicken and rice!
that entire day in the backcountry with nothing but trees, mountains and the possibility of grizzly bears (we didn’t see any) to keep us company. Before the end of the road, we planned to summit another major peak, the 8,000-foot Burnt Knob Lookout. Cut with ruts and jagged rocks, this climb was even more challenging than Trinity Summit, and with a fully functioning clutch this time, Dad was able to make it to the top right alongside me. Being able to share the view from the decommissioned fire tower at the peak, gazing out
over what seemed like millions of pine trees, was priceless for both of us. Day 1’s muddy slog was the furthest thing from our minds as we enjoyed pristine weather and milliondollar views.
Though we couldn’t see any from the fire tower at Burnt Knob, forest fires were about to become a very real part of our adventure after we departed the Corridor. After leaving Magruder, we had hoped to ride the famous Lolo Motorway, but we were forced to recalculate our route when the road was closed due to fire. This
would be a theme for the remainder of our ride, as for the next few days we were constantly forced to reroute to avoid active fire zones in some of northern Idaho’s most scenic regions. One of these reroutes took us to Dworshak Reservoir, home of the tallest gravity dam in North America (717 feet), tucked into one of the densest forests I had ever seen, with trees packed so tightly that I could hardly imagine squeezing a toothpick between them. We camped that night in a beautiful lakeside location on the edge of a parking lot where visitors
parked vehicles before heading out onto the reservoir in boats. It was an incredible location, but all the parked cars and tents with no other people around gave me the creeps. I vividly recall waking up at 3 a.m. to find a group of people setting camp near us, but by dawn, they were gone. I wasn’t disappointed to leave the next morning, continuing northward past various BDR checkpoints including Grandad Bridge, the famous Blue Heaven Cabin, and the long tunnels surrounding Wallace, Idaho. As we continued northward
Trinity Summit road, blanketed with baby-head rocks that sent my front wheel sideways every few seconds, seemed as challenging as any Himalayan goat path. Soon we were both white-knuckling our handlebars.
toward the border, I couldn’t help but notice that the smoke in the air was increasing. My throat was becoming irritated, my chest began to ache and every time I flew my drone I could see the smoke pooling in surrounding valleys. I was becoming mildly concerned, but honestly, I was more focused on arriving at Wallace where Dad and I would have our first shower and real bed in quite a few days.
We both felt like brand-new people after a shower and fresh shave — it’s remarkable how just a few days in the dirt will catch up with you. At this
Backcountry Discovery Route checkpoints always make great photo ops. The Idaho BDR offers many memorable attractions, including the fire tower at Burnt Knob, the famous “blue heaven” cabin, the sticker bus, and more.
The further north we traveled the closer we came to active fire zones, until the air became thick with smoke and everything was cast in bizarre, dark-orange fire light.
Top: Is there anything better than Dads and dirt bikes? The author (right) and his father, Byron (left), just enjoying another day on the trail. Jack says sharing this adventure with his “original riding buddy” was so far the crowning achievement in his still-expanding riding career. Above: Launching the uncredited third star of this story, the wayward camera drone that captured all these amazing aerial photos!
point, we had just two days of riding left, but our challenges were far from over. Riding out of Wallace, it was hot and smoky, and Dad and I had both had close calls dodging fast-moving logging trucks, which had us rattled. The further north we traveled the closer we came to active fire zones, until the air became thick with smoke and everything was cast in bizarre, dark-orange fire light. I was getting nervous, but Dad remained calm. We picked up the pace, trying to get back to a main road and out of the forest, when we discovered that firefighters had closed the trail. Thankfully, the suggested detour kept us out of
than 200 off-road miles.
That remaining summit was Lunch Peak, the smallest climb on our route at just over 6,000 feet. As we ascended, I was in awe of the sight below us — wildfire smoke so thick and fluid that it filled the valleys and hollows like lakes. Descending the other side of the mountain, I couldn’t help but daydream about the comforts of home — my warm bed, my close friends, my local Panda Express. Then I thought about my father. This hadn’t been an easy journey, and I would have understood completely if he had wanted to turn back when things were tough. But he
active fire zones, and we were able to exit the forest near Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s deepest lake at 1,158 feet.
I woke up the next morning with my chest feeling heavy and sore from breathing so much smoke. By this point, Dad and I were both becoming more pensive and introspective. This trip had meant a lot to the two of us, and we had struggled through a lot of challenges to make it this far. Knowing the end was near was bittersweet, but we were proud of each other. At this point, all that stood between us and the U.S.-Canada border was one final summit and less
gobs of mud? Even just minutes from the border, I still felt strangely uneasy. So much had gone so wrong already. Could I really be sure that some other trouble wouldn’t pop up in the next two minutes?
And there it was, just like that. The border station was little more than a small shack. The flag was disappointingly small. But the fact that my father and I shared this experience together made us both very proud. He taught me all he could about riding and adventures. Now, it’s my turn to move forward and begin my journey through the world. After one final hug, Dad closed the
saw it through to the end and never gave up. He’s my original riding buddy, and still the best partner for any two-wheeled adventure.
Arriving at the border was a bit anti-climactic. And, how could it not be? Approaching the border, my brain was firing like a shutter reel, flipping through countless images from the past 14 days and reminding me of all that we endured and overcame just to get to this point: terrible storms, deadly lightning, mechanical breakdowns, bug bites, freezing nights, and who could forget the gobs and
moment with one of his signature understatements: “Let’s go get lunch.”
A simple cheeseburger never tasted so good!
(Postscript: The author, Jack Snider, did win the 2023 BDR Film Festival with his entry titled Embracing Unknown, created from footage gathered on this memorable trip. You can view his winning entry at https://filmfestival.ridebdr.com/2023film-festival/. To see the complete, seven-episode series titled Riding the Idaho BDR, visit the Madjack Media YouTube channel at https://www. youtube.com/@madjack_757) AMA
100 YEARS OF THE AMA
BY JOHN BURNS, JACK EMERSON AND KEATON MAISANO
PHOTOS: AMA ARCHIVE
et’s not get too weepy about it, but let’s recall that the 1980s, for many thousands of us AMA members and motorcyclists, is when the motorcycle thing really came of age.
If you happened to be 20-something around the time President Ronald Reagan was elected, you were right on the cusp of when modern engineering (mostly Japanese) met rising prosperity for many Americans. If not exactly prosperity, then the wherewithal to scrape together the price of a shiny new Honda or Harley-Davidson and still pay the rent, whether you were a yuppie or a yokel.
Or maybe it’s because everything from your 20s looks rosy 40 years later?
But the 1980s actually were rosy: AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Kenny Roberts paved the way for American domination of 500cc road racing, and fellow Hall of Famers like Cooley, Lawson, Spencer, Merkel and others followed his lead in AMA Superbike and Grand Prix competition.
theDonnie Hansen, Chuck Sun, and Hall of Famers Danny LaPorte and Johnny O’Mara got the American motocross domination train moving with their win at the 1981 MX and Trophee des Nations, and HOFer Brad Lackey and LaPorte followed that up in 1982 with 500cc and 250cc world motocross championships.
And then there were the amazing (and amazingly high-tech) bikes: On the street side, the best-of-the-air-cooled-inline-fours
Suzuki GS1000S and 16-valve GS1100 from 1980 and ’81. The 1983 V45 Interceptor. The 1984 Ninja 900 (the first Ninja, mind you). The Suzuki GSX-R750 of ’85 (in Europe and Canada, anyway). Honda’s CBRs of ’87, and the RC30 of 1988. The Yamaha FZRs of the late ’80s. Ducati’s Desmoquattro 851.
L 80 s
And on the dirt side? Long-travel suspension, power-valve technology, disc brakes and liquid-cooling all came into play during the decade, with Japan Inc. mostly dominating the proceedings.
The AMA was plenty busy, too, fighting things like proposed bans on “Superbikes” from a certain Sen. Danforth; bans on motorcycles in HOV lanes, and in city parks; calls for motorcyclists to purchase special catastrophic healthcare insurance because of “their voluntary participation in risky activity”; and efforts to repeal the 55-mph national speed limit.
The AMA also created the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that aimed to preserve the heritage and history of motorcycling in America, and which laid the foundation for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
A coming-of-age decade? You betcha. Enjoy!
KENNY ROBERTS
“King Kenny” won the last of his three 500cc world road racing championships, on his way to retiring as a rider a few years later. But the man who first kicked down the door to Europe wasn’t quite done being involved in racing, not even close. Roberts was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
1980
Electronic Fuel Injection
Kawasaki’s KZ1000G Classic cruiser was the first; traditionalists were aghast at the lack of moving parts and tiny springs, jets, and orifices to plug up.
1980 YAMAHA PW50
Also known as the Y-Zinger, the “P-Dub” launched a million riderships...and is still in the Yamaha lineup,
1980 BMW R80G/S BMW had no dirt bike in its lineup prior to the first G/S, and it didn’t afterward, either. But it did have a street-biased dual-sport-adjacent machine, which turned out to be what lots of riders would soon be looking for. The G/S was BMW’s — and maybe the world’s — first “adventure bike.”
AMA SUPERBIKE
Honda entered AMA Superbike in 1980 with a kid from Shreveport, La., who gave Big Red its first AMA Superbike victory that year at Road America. AMA Hall of Famer Freddie Spencer finished third in the points that year, battling the whole way with fellow Hall of Famers Eddie Lawson’s and David Aldana’s Kawasakis, and 1980 champ and HOFer Wes Cooley’s Suzuki. Superbikes were what everybody wanted to see, and the production-based class was on
AMA SUPERBIKE
SUSPENSION REVOLUTION
Rising-rate linkage-type rear suspensions in the form of Honda’s Pro-Link, Kawasaki’s Uni-Trak and Suzuki’s Full-Floater debuted on production MXers so we could all fly higher and land softer. Suzuki RM125 and Yamaha YZ125 even got liquid cooling.
REAGAN ON MOTORCYCLING
Prior to the 1980 presidential election, American Motorcyclist questioned the candidates on motorcycle-related issues. Eventual-President Ronald Reagan was one of the individuals that responded, and he talked about resource and recreation management, highway safety, energy, and the executive branch. Specifically on helmet use, Reagan said, “I won’t support compulsory helmet-wearing for motorcycle riders even though I think they’re crazy for not wearing one. But that’s their own business. That’s for their protection.”
THE BUYOUT
After being a subsidiary of AMF since 1969, a group of Harley-Davidson execs led by AMA Hall of Famers Vaughn L. Beals Jr. and Willie G. Davidson signed a deal to buy itself back for $80 million. Called “The Eagle Soars Alone,” HarleyDavidson’s emancipation included the HarleyDavidson name, parts and accessory business, and golf cart line. Just in time, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill in 1983 that imposed a 45-percent tariff on heavyweight motorcycles imported to the United States, which hamstrung the Japanese OEs right about the time the Motor Company introduced its gamechanging Evolution Big Twin engine.
1981
1981 YAMAHA XV920R and 750 VIRAGO
The first Japanese V-twins imported to the U.S. broke a gentleman’s agreement among the Japanese OEs to not offer them, and it made many Americans see red, too. Small dirtbikes and inline-fours were fine, but now they were messing with American V-twin domination!
MOTOCROSS/TROPHEE DES NATIONS
The underdog team of Donnie Hansen, Chuck Sun, and AMA Hall of Famers Danny LaPorte and Johnny O’Mara — led by fivetime world champion and HOFer Roger DeCoster — became the first American winners, sweeping the 250cc Trophee des Nations and the 500cc Motocross des Nations, beginning a 13-year period of domination by U.S. teams.
THE HURT REPORT
Professor and motorcyclist Harry Hurt issued a groundbreaking research report regarding motorcycle safety and the typical causes of motorcycle crashes, dubbed “The Hurt Report.” This study was revolutionary in the world of motorcycle safety and helped establish more reliable training methods for new riders. The Hurt Report found that leftturning cars were the single largest catalyst for motorcycle accidents, and that unlicensed riders aboard new-to-them motorcycles were over-represented in crash reports. For his pioneering work in the field of motorcycle safety, Hurt was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007.
HOV HYPOCRISY EXPOSED
In 1969, High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes were introduced to American highways to ease traffic and reduce fuel consumption. Despite the federal government permitting motorcyclists to use the HOV lane in 1982, several states pushed back against the practice, causing the AMA’s Government Relations Department to spend most of the 1980s fighting to give riders the right to use the lanes. While the AMA broadened opportunities for motorcyclists to utilize these lanes throughout the ’80s, the fight continued into the 1990s as states continually found different loopholes to penalize riders for using the HOV lane.
WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPS
AMA Hall of Famer Brad Lackey won the 500cc World Motocross Championship after a decade of trying on a works Suzuki with an inverted Simons fork. That same year, Danny LaPorte won the 250cc world title on a factory Yamaha — our first two American MX world champions.
1982 YAMAHA YZ250
While the sum of the parts left a little to be desired functionally, the ’82 YZ was the first to put all the components — linkage suspension, liquid cooling and a power-valve system (called YPVS, for Yamaha Power Valve System) together. It set the course for the future of the two-stroke MX era.
After early successes, including being the youngest rider ever to win an AMA Grand National in 1979, at 17 years old, HOFer Scott Parker got the call to join the Harley factory flat track team halfway through the ’81 season, alongside fellow HOFer Jay Springsteen. It was the beginning of what would become a hugely successful relationship.
DU QUOIN, ILL.
SCOTT PARKER to HARLEY-DAVIDSON
1982 SUZUKI KATANA
By the time the Katana sliced into town, Japan Inc. was selling thousands of inline fours that were mostly all great motorcycles but with nearly nothing to distinguish one from another. Then Suzuki hired ex-chief of BMW styling Hans Muth to update its image. The GS1000SZ was a show-stopper at the Cologne Motor Show, complete with highly
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE HERITAGE FOUNDATION
In an effort to preserve the heritage and history of motorcycling in America, the AMA established the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation in 1982. This 501(c)(3) organization sought to maintain an archive of all important documents and photographs regarding the growth of motorcycling in America. Just eight years after its creation, the AMHF opened the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, which serves as a vessel to recognize and celebrate motorcycling’s most
ST. LOUIS LOBBYING
After generating momentum in the 1970s, the AMA continued impacting legislation on behalf of motorcyclists in the ’80s. One way was in a three-year fight against a St. Louis law prohibiting motorcycles in city parks. The AMA’s lobbying culminated in 1982 when the St. Louis City Council struck down the law and replaced it with a strict noise ordinance.
1982 HONDA CX500 TURBO
Honda’s CX500 turbo was soon joined by Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki’s
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
1983 HONDA V45 INTERCEPTOR
Some had Farrah Fawcett hanging on their bedroom wall; others had the poster of Honda’s revolutionary new liquid-cooled V-Four, which appeared folded up inside an early ’83 issue of Cycle magazine, with our own Thad Wolff aboard, and knee-down.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON EVO
Now that it was emancipated from AMF, H-D needed something superior to the old Shovelhead. It was a low bar, and the new all-aluminum 1,340cc Evolution engine cleared it easily. Sales were up 31 percent in ’84, when the new Softail FXST ushered in the
1984 YAMAHA RZ350
After decades of building great two-stroke twins for road and track, the liquid-cooled RZ was the last of the red-hot Yamasmokers (in the U.S., anyway). You should’ve been there.
THE SUPERBIKERS ON TV
When Hall of Famer Gavin Trippe and crew put together the “Superbikers” series on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, motorcyclists were in TV heaven. Stars of all forms of racing, including Hall of Famers Jeff Ward, Steve Wise, Eddie Lawson and Jay Springsteen, came together to compete on what we’d later call a Supermoto course, projected onto our very small screens.
TRIUMPH: THE END OF AN ERA
After nearly 100 years, Triumph went belly up in ’83. Not to worry, though; the legendary name and rights were bought by John Bloor, a non-motorcyclist developer who’d originally only wanted the land the old factory sat upon… but who learned the bike trade quickly.
STEADY EDDIE’S RUN
After winning AMA 250cc titles in 1980 and 1981, and AMA Superbike championships in 1981 and 1982 for Team Kawasaki, Eddie Lawson bagged his first 500cc world championship in ’84 on a Yamaha YZR, and three-peated with wins in ’86 and ’88. In 1989, riding for Honda, Eddie won again, becoming the first rider in GP history to win back-toback 500cc titles on different motorcycle brands.
DANNY CHANDLER
AMA SUPERBIKE RULES
In 1983, max displacement for AMA Superbikes went from 1,025 to 750cc, setting off a fierce Honda vs. Kawasaki battle; Yamaha and Suzuki were taken by surprise and sat the season out.
Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey’s old air-cooled GPz750 shouldn’t have been competitive against the new Honda VF750F, but he won the championship that year anyway, albeit with some help from HOFer Rob Muzzy.
V-FOUR VICTORY!
Decades before the GoPro, Joey Dunlop’s narrated lap around the Isle of Man with a giant camera atop his Honda’s gas tank was an eye-opening cinematic experience. Your man Joey won the Senior TT six consecutive times from ’83 to ’88, and his nephew Michael just notched his 28th IOM victory, one more than Uncle Joey. Congrats!
1984 HONDA RS750
1984 KAWASAKI GPz900R
Forty years ago the original Ninja ushered in Kawasaki’s first 16-valve DOHC watercooled inline four, an architecture that would serve it and all of Japan well for decades to come — not to mention Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Kawasaki U.S. exec Mike Vaughan got credit for the name; “them Ninja bikes” were just GPzs nearly everywhere else in the world.
FLYIN’ FRED THREE-PEAT
Fred Merkel won his first of three AMA Superbike championships: in ’84 and ’85 on Honda VF750F, then
FREDDIE SPENCER’S DREAM SEASON
Already the youngest to win the 500cc world championship in 1983 at 21, Freddie Spencer started 1985 by winning the Daytona 200, as well as the Formula 1 and 250GP classes — the only time a rider won the three big races at Daytona. He then went on to win both the 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix world championships, becoming the only rider in history to accomplish that feat.
While Honda was playing 800-pound gorilla, why not poke H-D’s perennial champ XR750 in AMA Grand National flat track racing, as well? Honda’s version of a 45-degree V-twin race motor thrust Hall of Famer Ricky Graham to the championship in ’84; fellow HOFer Bubba Shobert won on an RS in ’85, ’86, and ’87. When the AMA felt it was time to “level the playing field” by saddling the RS with intake restrictors, Honda said sayonara to the series, having made its point.
GOLDEN AGE OF SUPERCROSS
From 1979 to 1986, eight different riders battled to the AMA Supercross Championship,
GOLD WINGS GALORE
Now with fully integrated bags and fairing, radio, cassette player, intercom, and LCD gauges, the redesigned ’84 ’Wing (and upper-crust ’85 LE version) went the “full touring” route. Luxury touring was now a thing. Four years later, the GL
MOTORCYCLING TURNS 100!
Nov. 10, 1985, marked 100 years since the first test ride of Gottlieb Daimler’s Reitwagen — the first motorcycle powered by an internal combustion engine. As part of the centennial celebration, a recreated Reitwagen made an 11mile trip that saw several motorcycling legends spend time aboard the machine. In addition, the AMA hosted a celebration gala; money raised at the event went to the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which aimed to fund a national motorcycle museum that would preserve the history of motorcycling. A replica of Daimler’s Reitwagen is currently on display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio.
FACTORY BIKES NO MORE
The Factory Motocross era came to an end in ’86, meaning all four Japanese factories would soon be selling to the public what they raced. Yamaha got the jump in ’85 with new YZ ads proclaiming, “Motocrossers that not only perform at least as well as anybody else’s factory bikes. But do it for $98,000 less.”
HAMMER-RELIABLE HONDA
Honda’s XR600R won all sorts of Bajas — but also five GNCC titles, four National Hare Scrambles championships, and three ISDE gold medals for Hall of Famer Scott Summers. Still sort of in production, as the XR650L — and only $6,999.
1986 SUZUKI GSX-R750 & GSX-R1100
A year after the 750’s worldwide debut, Suzuki USA deigned to import its all-new high-powered lightweight sportbikes, which really were the first street motorcycles that looked like they belonged on a racetrack. The fuse was lit, as guys like HOFer Doug Polen scored tons of GSX-R National Cup contingency bucks, and went on to even bigger and better things.
1986
A RED, WHITE AND BLUE PLANET
Before 1970, only one American — AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Jack Milne, who won the 1937 Speedway World Championship — had won a world championship for the United States. To show how much things had changed in a decade and a half, the January 1987 issue of American Motorcyclist 29 Americans that had earned individual or team world championships.
KEL CARRUTHERS, KINGMAKER
In addition to tuning Kenny Roberts to his three 500cc world championships, Hall of Famer Kel Carruthers also teamed with K.R. to win a pair of Grand National championships in 1973-’74 and a Formula 750 championship in 1977. He was crew chief for Eddie Lawson’s 500cc world championships in 1984, ’86, and ’88, and another Yamaha rider whose three championships we’ll get to next month. Being 1969 250cc world champ himself is but a footnote…
1987
HURRICANE WARNING!
Honda’s 1987 CBR600F Hurricane took the ultrahot 600cc sportbike class to a new level on the street and on the racetrack, winning a slew of AMA and World Supersport titles over the years as the F, F2, F3, F4i, etc., all while still being some of the best all-around street motorcycles around.
SPEED LIMIT LANDSLIDE
A decade after the federal government instituted a max speed limit of 55 mph nationwide in 1974, the AMA joined the speed-limit debate in the pages of American Motorcyclist, and ultimately landed on the position that “a single maximum speed limit is not appropriate for a transportation environment as diverse as that of the United States.” In 1987, the national limit was increased to 65 mph.
DANGEROUS DANFORTH
Sen. John Danforth’s (R-MO)
“Motorcycle Safety Act of 1987” blamed the proliferation of superbikes for an increase in fatalities and called the marketing of the killer machines “the moral equivalent of selling drugs to adolescents.” Cooler heads and the AMA shot the bill right down.
1987 Kawasaki Vulcan 700
The first Vulcan may have been the most conflicted of the Japanese Factory Customs: The black art of assimilating American chopper tastes into motorcycles that worked reasonably well was in its infancy, like dubbing Easy Rider into Japanese. The Vulcan made no attempt to pretend its first V-twin (DOHC) wasn’t liquidcooled or to hide its shaft drive, and there was no hiding its distinctive styling. But that first basic VN continued in production for 22 years, seldom missing a beat and butting heads with Honda Shadows, Suzuki Intruders and various Yamaha Viragos the
THE SCHWANTZ FACTOR
Texan HOFer Kevin Schwantz began 1988 by winning the Daytona 200 on a new GSX-R, then fled the country to ride Team Pepsi Suzuki’s RGV500. He promptly won the opening GP at Suzuka, Japan, in only his seventh ride on a 500cc GP machine (including a pair of wildcard rides in 1986 and 1987). Little did the world know the dingdong battles it would be in for over the next five years, mostly fought by Americans. (Cue The StarSpangled Banner.)
1988 DUCATI 851
Ducati entered the modern era with its first liquid-cooled, fuel-injected eightvalve Desmo L-twin, giving the Japanese manufacturers their first hint of a growing threat to come from Europe and taking the Ducatisti movement from fringe to mainstream.
1988 KAWASAKI ZX-10
Kawasaki took what it’d been doing with the Ninja 900, 600 and 750 since ’84 and went big, producing an even more potent four-cylinder in a monolithic twinbeam aluminum perimeter frame rolling on modern radials. Now we were looking at mid 10-second quarter miles and top speeds of
ABS ARRIVES
The first motorcycle anti-lock braking system appeared on BMW’s 1988 K100RS “Flying Brick.” It was heavy, a little jerky, and complicated, and the purists all poo-pooed; now ABS is mandatory in many markets (but not the U.S.) and has saved God-knows how many lives.
BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES
When Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) put forth a proposal that would have required motorcyclists to purchase special catastrophic healthcare insurance because of “their voluntary participation in risky activity,” the AMA recognized immediately that the legislation could not only decimate motorcycling as a sport and hobby, but would also have placed major financial implications on riders nationwide. The AMA quickly rallied its members to action, with members sending thousands of letters to Hatch’s office, causing Hatch to ultimately eliminate any extra provisions for motorcyclists in his final proposal.
1989
HURRICANE
HANNAH’S LAST HURRAH
At Unadilla, Bob Hannah finished ninth (after coming from 31st on the first lap) and called it a career after 14 years, 70 AMA wins and seven championships. Meanwhile, Eddie Lawson bagged his last 500 GP championship on an evil-handling V4 Honda.
BY PATRICK BODDEN AND MITCH BOEHM PHOTOS: STEVE LEUKANECH AND TOM RILES
If you were even remotely interested in motorcycle road racing in 1973, you, your fellow enthusiasts, members of the press and, most especially, motorcycle engineers everywhere were awestruck when Yamaha announced it would field a four-cylinder two-stroke 750cc road racing motorcycle in international competition.
If you were a manufacturer already competing against Yamaha, you’d have been shaken to your very core, mostly because Yamaha had been blitzing the competition all over the world the last few years with its small but fierce 350cc twins. These “giant killers,” as they had come to be known, had won regional, national and international races against Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph/BSA and HarleyDavidson machines with twice — or more — the
engine displacement.
Yamaha 350s had won the past two Daytona 200s, and 1973 saw the new water-cooled TZ350 take the top three spots at Daytona with Flying Finn Jarno Saarinen winning, followed by Hall of Famer Kel Carruthers and Jim Evans.
A few months later, Carruthers — a former 250 world champion and Yamaha’s U.S. road racing team manager — would travel to Japan to test the first Yamaha TZ750 prototype. He suggested some changes to improve handling, and these were carried out on the spot. Carruthers then returned to the States and further heightened excitement — or fear, depending on where you stood — by announcing that Yamaha’s new racer was capable of 182 mph!
To be fair (and historically accurate), Yamaha wasn’t the first maker to construct a two-stroke 750cc road racer. Suzuki and Kawasaki had already done so in the
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF (AND LIVING WITH) YAMAHA’S FEARSOME TZ750, ARGUABLY THE MOST LEGENDARY ROAD RACING MOTORCYCLE IN HISTORY
Red Stripe
YAMAHA TZ750 ANNIVERSARY
TO SAY THE TZ DOMINATED IS TO STATE THE OBVIOUS. FROM ITS INTRODUCTION AT DAYTONA IN 1974 AND A WIN BY GP HERO GIACOMO AGOSTINI TO ITS LAST 200-MILE WIN IN 1982 BY KIWI GRAEME CROSBY, THE TZ750 WON EVERY DAYTONA 200.
form of their street-oriented, three-cylinder GT750- and H2-based machines, as mandated by AMA rules in America as well as those of the British ACU, which had gotten Formula 750 international racing off to such a promising start in Europe.
There’s no question these triples were exceptionally fast, the water-cooled Suzuki TR750 having been the first motorcycle to exceed 175 mph at Daytona in 1972. Kawasaki’s H2R was certainly in the same league. But these bikes shredded tires, weren’t especially cooperative handlers, and reliability was uneven at best. Never mind the four-strokes; they had their own brands of misery. Two-strokes were the coming thing, and one only had to look across the Atlantic to 500cc Grand Prix racing to see that.
It’s clear Yamaha upped the ante considerably with the TZ750. It literally took the wealth of experience and engineering know-
how accumulated from years in the Grand Prix wars, as well as from the business of producing over-the-counter racing machinery, and multiplied it. Much is made of the idea that the TZ750 was created from doubling up the engine of the very potent TZ350 production racer; just widen the crankcases and plug in an extra crank assembly, cylinder block and cylinder head, so to speak.
As logical, simple and expedient as this solution appears, it falls short in defining the genesis of the TZ750.
The bike owes as much, if not more, to its only and somewhat smaller sibling, the Yamaha OW19/YZR 500cc grand prix racer, a machine on which Saarinen had won the first two GPs of the 1973 season. Like the 500, the TZ750 utilized reed valves to balance tractability against sheer horsepower. And in the handling department, the TZ750 would eventually acquire the 500’s monoshock rear suspension. The TZ750 was much more a big grand prix machine than it was an extrapolation of the smaller Yamaha production racers, which by 1973 were
YAMAHA TZ750 ANNIVERSARY
much more closely tied to their street-going counterparts — R5s and RD350s.
What’s not so clear is how Yamaha got away with this bit of GP subterfuge. Essentially, they invaded racing — both AMA and Formula 750 — that was presumed to be based, at least in the area of engines and frames, on street-going, mass-produced models and readily available aftermarket accessories. It was further presumed that this format gave a greater number of factories a chance at racing success with the big machines that had captured the public’s imagination by the early ’70s. It also gave racing fans a greater number of machines with which they could connect on a personal level. Yamaha had toyed with the idea of a street version of the TZ750 called the GL750, which was shown at the 1971 Tokyo show and put away afterward, never to be seen again.
Perhaps it’s simple: A brilliant idea is hard, if not
impossible, to suppress, rules or no rules. The Yamaha TZ750 proved as unstoppable politically and emotionally with race organizers and the public as it was unstoppable by any racer on the track aboard something other than another TZ750. The bike was not to be denied on any basis whatsoever. And Yamaha, one way or another, took full advantage of the fact that infinitely more people wanted to see its latest creation on the track than would have preferred to see it go away.
Yamaha’s GP-bred machine transformed AMA and Formula 750 racing into big, spectacular racing that far exceeded the promising earlier versions of largecapacity road racing. In short order, the Ducatis, Nortons, Triumphs, Moto Guzzis and even the Hondas faded from the scene, forever relegated to that bit of motorcycle racing history that predates the Yamaha TZ750.
To say the big TZ dominated is to state the obvious.
From its introduction to America at Daytona in 1974 and a win by GP hero and AMA Hall of Famer Giacomo Agostini to its last 200-mile win in 1982 by Kiwi Graeme Crosby, the TZ750 won every Daytona 200. From its first year in Formula 750 in 1974, propelling John Dodds to the championship, to its last in 1979 doing the same for Patrick Pons, the TZ750 won every Formula 750 championship and practically every Formula 750 race. Epic battles were fought, reputations were forged and champions were made. In particular, AMA Hall of Famer Steve Baker became America’s first world road racing champion by riding a nearly flawless season in 1977 and taking the Formula 750 crown.
The TZ750 Yamaha accomplished all this with surprisingly few major changes. In the six years of production, from the 1974 TZ750A to the 1979 TZ750F, there were only two: Partway through the B-model’s run, engines grew in size from 700 to 750cc by enlarging the bore from 64 to 66.4 millimeters. And with the advent of the D-model of 1977, the TZ finally acquired Yamaha’s trademark monoshock rear suspension. To be sure, engine output increased gradually from 90 to 120 horsepower and beyond, often through the efforts of
enterprising tuners and privateers.
All the while, this racing Yamaha retained a reputation for reliability as well as blinding speed, so much so that a few examples found their way into 24-hour endurance racing, their success brought up short primarily by their unquenchable thirst. Yamaha produced some 500 of these fabulous road racers, and there were a substantial number of specials built around TZ750 engines.
For those of us who remember the TZ750 well, the bike still seems very contemporary. Its looks haven’t faded with age. Park a nice example — or even one with a little race patina — anywhere you care and the bike will still stop onlookers in their tracks. People remember the TZ.
Fortunately, racers, enthusiasts and collectors the world over have kept the TZ legacy alive. These folks believe that the big Yamaha should be preserved in its proper environment, which is to say restored (or freshened up) and ridden at full speed in front of those who remember it and those who will be every bit as amazed now as we all were in 1974. The bike is more popular than ever, and more desirable…and infinitely more expensive. But to hear one shriek at full song? Oh, boy
– Patrick Bodden
Above: Multi-time world champion Giacomo Agostini rode a red-striped TZ to victory in its first outing at the 1974 Daytona 200. Below: The author, with AMA HOFer Gavin Trippe, chatting about the author’s twin-shocker that was being auctioned during a MotoGP weekend in Monterey, Calif.
YAMAHA TZ750 ANNIVERSARY
Here’s the E-model TZ I acquired after selling the C-model twin-shocker at VMD a while back. It was fast, capable and fun, with all the right period mods, but it was finicky, unreliable and expensive to keep.
Yamaha’s legendary TZ750 and I go back a long way…1976, to be exact. And it’s all thanks to Dale Dahlke, an ex-military guy and AMA/WERA mechanic who ran a little shop in my hometown east of Cleveland and sponsored my motocross effort. Dale had built me a mini road racer from my prior-year XR75 racebike (complete with a Yamaha TA125 fairing) and entered me in the pitbike class at a club race at Michigan’s Grattan Raceway so I could see what the whole road racing thing was all about. Well, sorta.
Once we’d parked in the pits and unloaded, I strolled over to the hot-pit Armco barrier to watch the bikes fly down Grattan’s quarter-mile-plus-long front straight. Wow. One bike in particular stood out, a white and red bullet featuring what had to be the world’s most ferocious exhaust note. It vaulted onto the straight and seemed to literally gulp down the length of asphalt in a second or two, blowing by other bikes like they were standing still. I will never forget the sight, or the sound.
Here’s what I wrote about that experience for a Motorcyclist feature story on the TZ750 titled “Meeting the Monster” back in 2005: “After the session I walked the pits to see what sort of animalistic machine was capable of such mind-bending velocity and racket, and found it cooling menacingly in the pit of midwest racer Robert Wakefield. I approached the bike from behind and saw smoke curling slowly from the skinny stinger exhausts, but it was the shredded, half-melted rear slick that lasered itself into my gray matter. Having never seen a warm and recently used roadrace tire up close, the sight filled me with genuine awe. I remember thinking, ‘This thing’s a monster.’”
ultimate piece of two-wheeled office furniture, one that conjured up all the historical- and championship-based images and memories you’d expect from one of the most notorious racing motorcycles the world has ever known.
Problem was, I couldn’t ride it. It was too perfect and too exceptionally well-restored to modify, which, given the first-generation TZ’s problems (pipes that cracked, wonky suspension, weak brakes, etc.) you almost had to do. I wanted to ride it soooo badly, but I had too much respect for legendary author and restorer Stephen Wright and the restoration job he’d done to muck it up.
About this time I met Russ Bigley, a noted TZ aficionado from New Jersey. “Tell ya what,” Bigley said after he heard me wax on and on about wanting to ride one of the beasts, “I’ve got Kurt Lentz’s TZ750D in my shop, which has a fresh engine and is in need of some laps so it doesn’t mummify. We’d let you race it if you did a story?”
“Deal,” I told Bigley, and within a few months I found myself at Daytona International Speedway with a handful of vintage-racing buddies and a D-model TZ750 monoshocker, though definitely not one ready for prime time. The engine may have been fresh, but its other systems — brake reservoirs, ignition, fork seals, etc. — were in need of serious overhaul, which caused significant heartburn since we had to do the work in the pits in only about a day’s worth of time. Ugly.
Fast forward to 2004 and a local SoCal bike show. On display was a perfectly restored and 100-percent stock ’76 TZ750C twin-shocker, all white with a big red stripe. Then I discovered it was for sale. Trouble. I’d been fascinated with the big TZs since that day in 1976, and somehow figured out a legal way to gather up the substantial funds to actually buy the thing…which I did. It ended up sitting in my Motorcyclist office for a couple of years and was the
But we somehow got it done, Patrick Bodden, R.L. Brooks and Phil DiGiandomenico hammering the thing into shape just in time for AMA/Championship Cup Series (CCS) practice. Because the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association — the primary vintage racing club in the U.S. — didn’t have a class for TZ750s at the time (the higher-ups said it would be too dangerous), I had to run the TZ in a CCS Open Superbike class against GSX-Rs and the like. But it really didn’t matter. For me, the whole idea was about practicing, gridding and competing (OK, trying to compete) in an actual race on a real-deal TZ750. And to be able to do it at Daytona, where, 30 years earlier, 50
YAMAHA TZ750 ANNIVERSARY
or 60 shrieking TZs launched off the grid for the 200-miler, would be special indeed.
On-track, the TZ was surprisingly less monstrous than I’d imagined, probably because I’d spent a lot of years riding and racing big-horsepower streetbikes. It was fast, for sure, launching to 167 mph approaching the tri-oval with big ol’ me aboard, and with 120-plus horsepower pushing about 350 pounds, it leapt from corner to corner pretty briskly. But the light-switch power delivery I’d imagined didn’t materialize. My big problem was that I simply didn’t fit on the tiny thing, and that made it hard and tiring to ride.
More from my TZ feature: “My goal is simple: Run the thing hard and hopefully catch a few backmarkers so the race feels like more than just practice. The TZ feels reasonably good entering the chicane on lap one so I hammer the throttle at the exit. I can hear the TZ’s raspy
exhaust note bouncing off the banking, and it sounds great. Time to see how fast this thing is. Ripping off the east banking headed for start/finish, the bike bottoms on the roller bump and goes into a speed wobble at what must be a buck-fifty. Kenny Roberts wasn’t kidding.
“The shimmy’s not bad enough to cause me to back off, and I carry Big Speed past start/finish. Through the Horseshoe and the rest of the infield I’m having a hell of a time getting any sort of rhythm going; the brakes are weak and the bike has little engine braking. The bike wants to wheelie exiting the infield, but I’m more worried about the oily mist rising from my crotch area. It’s just the gas/oil mixture backwash through the carbs, but I don’t know that – and images of an oil-coated rear tire begin playing on the insides of my eyelids. Pitching the bike into the chicane five seconds later takes mammoth faith, but there’s no loss of
TIME TO SEE HOW FAST THIS THING IS. RIPPING OFF THE EAST BANKING HEADED FOR START/FINISH, THE BIKE BOTTOMS ON THE ROLLER BUMP AND GOES INTO A SPEED WOBBLE AT WHAT MUST BE A BUCKFIFTY. ROBERTS WASN’T KIDDING.
Below: Heritage Racing’s Patrick Bodden hard at work on the not-readyfor-primetime TZ at Daytona. Somehow, he and R.L. Brooks got the thing ready to race after pulling an all-nighter. Left: Patrick and the author with the TZ, post-race. The bike was owned by ex-AMA Pro Kurt Lentz; Ariel was his daughter’s name.
grip. Guess it’s OK.”
It wasn’t the power that made the TZ hard to ride quickly; it was that the engine was so much better than the chassis. The soft suspension (or my size), weak brakes and rack-like ergos made things really tricky.
Still, once you’ve ridden a TZ750, it’s difficult to ignore the desire for more, so I ended up making the biggest I-shouldn’t-have-sold-that-bike mistake of my life; I sold my office-bound twin-shocker at the Monterey MotoGP auction and ended up buying an E-model monoshocker from noted TZ750 land speed racer and collector Scott Guthrie with all the period tweaks, including Toomey exhausts, Lectron carbs, Morris mags and a Vesco fairing.
I rode the thing at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days and took it to Barber Motorsports Park, where it hydro-locked thanks to stuck Lectron floats and twisted the crank out
of balance…and the fix was costly. I was coming to grips with the dark side of Grand Prix racebike ownership, which is definitely not the same as production-based racebike ownership…so I sold it. That was difficult. But given the time, energy and financial commitment it takes to keep one on the racetrack — even for one or two sessions per year, as I’d planned to do — keeping it just wasn’t in the cards. And I couldn’t justify using what was then a $30,000 motorcycle as legendary office furniture, either. Of course, now it’s worth twice that.
I will miss my TZ750s. And it’ll be a long, long time before the visceral, gut-twisting thrill of hammering those TZs around Daytona or Mid-Ohio fades away. But experiencing the bike in its natural environment was an experience like no other. There’s simply no other motorcycle like it in the world. – Mitch Boehm AMA
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Members save 50% Use code AMA. Visit cdsr.us to learn more.
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AMA members save 20% on all products at helixracingproducts.com. Use code AMA20 at checkout.
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AMA members save 10% on rentals in all locations globally at hertzride.com/us/ promo/American-motorcyclistassociation-1065 or use code AMA10
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AMA members save 10% on all products featured on the National Cycle website, to in stock items only. Does not apply to special price promotional items.
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AMA CALIFORNIA
SANCTIONED COMING EVENTS
Be sure to check the event website or call the organizer for the latest information, including postponements or cancellations.
Speedway Aug. 2. Auburn. Speedway Points Series, Fast Fridays Speedway 530-878-7223, fastfriday@aol.com, www.fastfridays.com
Speedway Aug. 3. Industry. AMA Speedway National Championship Series, Industry Hills Expo Center DBA: Industry Racing 949-274-0836, kelly@ industryhillsspeedway.com, industryhillsspeedway.com
Road Ride/Run Aug. 3. Campbell. Annual Dam Run, San Jose Dons MC 408-205-8434, jetwayman@gmail.com, www.sanjosedonsmc.com
Speedway Aug. 9. Auburn. Speedway Points Series, Fast Fridays Speedway 530-878-7223, fastfriday@aol.com, www.fastfridays.com
Extreme Off-Road Aug. 10 - 11. Norden. Donner Challenge, Garrahan Off Road Training 408-857-5884, brian@garrahanoffroad.com, ushardenduro.com
Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 10 - 11. Norden. Donner Challenge, Garrahan Off Road Training 408-8575884, brian@garrahanoffroad.com, amad6.org
Road Ride/Run Aug. 10. Richmond. Richmond Ramblers Poker Run, Richmond Ramblers MC 510-759-0276, motormech@msn.com, richmondramblersmc.org
Speedway Aug. 14. Industry, Industry Hills Speedway, Industry Hills Expo Center DBA: Industry Racing 949-274-0836, kelly@industryhillsspeedway.com, industryhillsspeedway.com
Road Ride/Run Aug. 17. National City. LtCol Grant Fray USMC Memorial Poker Run2024, Blue Knights CA VI 858792-2895, blueknightscavi@gmail.com, bk-cavi.org
Speedway Aug. 17. Auburn. Speedway Points Series, Fast Fridays Speedway 530-878-7223, fastfriday@aol. com, www.fastfridays.com
Off-Road/Trail Riding School Aug. 17. San Jose. FirstRides Kids Beginner Class, First Rides 408-226-5223, parkinfo@prk.sccgov.org, https://parks.sccgov.org/santaclara-county-parks/metcalf-motorcycle-county-park Adventure (600cc and above) School Aug. 17. Wilseyville. Adventure Bike Training - Level 1, Kantu Outdoor Adventures 209-256-5556, denise@ kantuoutdooradventures.com, kantuoutdooradventures. com
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 17. Lodi. 2024 D36 Dirttrack Championship, Lodi Motorcycle Club 209-368-7182, lodimcemail@gmail.com, www.lodicyclebowl.com
Adventure Ride Aug. 18. Adventure Bike Tour #4, Kantu Outdoor Adventures 209-256-5556, denise@ kantuoutdooradventures.com, kantuoutdooradventures. com
Adventure Ride Aug. 31 - Sept. 1. Gold Country Back Roads Tour, Kantu Outdoor Adventures 209256-5556, denise@kantuoutdooradventures.com, kantuoutdooradventures.com
Speedway Aug. 24. Industry. 47th California State Speedway Championship, Industry Hills Expo Center DBA: Industry Racing 949-274-0836, kelly@ industryhillsspeedway.com, industryhillsspeedway.com
Adventure Ride Aug. 30 - Sept. 2. British Columbia, SCMA 47th Annual Three Flags Classic Southern California Motorcycling Assn 713-443-8349, 3flagschair@ sc-ma.com, sc-ma.com
Speedway Aug. 31. Auburn. AMA 2024 Extreme Sidecar National Championship 250 + 150 National, Fast Fridays Speedway 530-878-7223, fastfriday@aol.com, www. fastfridays.com
AMA COLORADO
Road Race Aug. 10 - 11. Deer Trail. Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA), trackmanager@ highplainsraceway.com, highplainsraceway.com Motocross Aug. 11. Lakewood. Rocky Mountain Rider Association, Colorado Motorsports Promotions LLC 303909-7003, denjump@gmail.com Road Rally Aug. 16 - 18. Silverton. The Dusty Lizard
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 17. Dacono. Colorado Speedway & Flat Track Racing, IMI Motorsports Complex 303-833-4949, imimotorsports@hotmail.com, imimotorsports.com
Observed Trials Aug. 17 - 18. Del Norte. RMTA Ute Cup, Rocky Mountain Trials Association, rockymountaintrials.org
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 24. Dacono. Colorado Speedway & Flat Track Racing, IMI Motorsports Complex, 303-833-4949, imimotorsports@hotmail.com, imimotorsports.com
Dual Sport Aug. 25 - 29. Crested Butte. Colorado 500, Colorado 500, 970-927-4010, janet@colorado-500.org, www.colorado-500.org
Road Rally Aug. 29 - Sept. 1. Durango. Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, Inc., 210823-2359, trevor@fourcornersmotorcyclerally.com, www. facebook.com/FourCornersMotorcycleRally
Road Race Aug. 31 - Sept. 1. Deer Trail. Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA), Motorcycle Roadracing Association, 970-215-6040, trackmanager@ highplainsraceway.com, highplainsraceway.com
AMA IDAHO
Observed Trials Aug. 3 - 4. McCall. The Shank Trial/Conquer the West Owyhee Motorcycle Club, mwebbidaho.com, treasurevalleytrials.com
AMA ILLINOIS
Motocross Aug. 10. Wedron. Megacross Shootout Series, Moto Pro Inc., 815-539-9021, wardy@mtco.com, foxvalleyoffroad.com
Motocross Aug. 11. Wedron. Megacross Shootout Series, Moto Pro Inc., 815-539-9021, wardy@mtco.com, foxvalleyoffroad.com
Flat Track - TT Aug. 11. Bartonville. D-17 State Championship TT, Peoria Motorcycle Club Inc., 309697-4981, peoriamotorcycleclub1931@gmail.com, www. peoriamotorcycleclub.com
Motocross Aug. 17 - 18. Casey. Thor Showdown Series / Vurb Summer Slam, Lincoln Trail Motosports, 217-9322041, info@ridelincolntrail.com, ridelincolntrail.com
Motocross Aug. 17. Mendota. Megacross Shootout Series, Moto Pro Inc., 815-539-9021, wardy@mtco.com, megacross.com
Observed Trials Aug. 17. Lena. Lena Trials Event Day 1, NITRO-Northern Illinois Trials Riders Organization, 815703-6555, warrenlange@yahoo.com, www.nitrotrials.com
Observed Trials Aug. 18. Lena. Lena Trials Event Day 2, NITRO-Northern Illinois Trials Riders Organization, 815703-6555, warrenlange@yahoo.com, www.nitrotrials.com
Flat Track - TT Aug. 24. Belleville. BET TT Series, Belleville Enduro Team Inc., 618-277-3475, bellevilleenduroteam@gmail.com, bellevilleenduroteam. com
Motocross Aug. 25. Byron. Nuclear Sunset Power Series Round 5, Motosports Enterprises LTD, 815-234-2271, motobyron@mac.com, motobyron.com
Hillclimb Aug. 31. Neoga. Neoga Hillclimb, Central Illinois M/C, 217-246-7154, hopper54p@yahoo.com
Motocross Aug. 31. Mendota. Megacross Shootout Series, Moto Pro Inc., 815-539-9021, wardy@mtco.com, megacross.com
AMA INDIANA
Enduro Aug. 10. Roeslawn. Enduro/ Little Bummer, Hill & Gully Enduro Riders, 847-826-8537, dryan@inttb.com, www.midwestenduros.com
Motocross Aug. 17. Fort Dodge. FDMX @ Sportspark Raceway, FDMX Inc., 515-570-6998, FDMX515@gmail. com, sportsparkraceway.com
AMA MARYLAND
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 3. Timonium. Timonium Outdoor Short Track, Baltimore County Trail Riders Assoc., 443-619-0104, www.bctra.com
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 10. Timonium. Timonium Outdoor Short Track, Baltimore County Trail Riders Assoc., 443-619-0104, www.bctra.com
Motocross Aug. 18. Mechanicsville. Budds Creek Pro National Amateur Day, Pro Ready Racing LLC, 443-2239171, ezra@buddscreek.com, buddscreek.com
AMA MICHIGAN
Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 4. Bay City. D14 Hare Scramble, Polka Dots M/C, 989-832-8284, correycolthord@yahoo.com, polkadotmc.net
Flat Track - TT Aug. 9. Deford. TT Scrambles, Lucky Thumb Motorcycle Club, Inc., 810-7107778, luckythumbsignup@gmail.com, www. luckythumbmotorcycleclub.com
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 10. Deford. short track, Lucky Thumb Motorcycle Club, Inc., 810710-7778, luckythumbsignup@gmail.com, www. luckythumbmotorcycleclub.com
Motocross Aug. 11. Cambridge. MX Race / Round 6 70’s Series, BCMX Adventure Park, 612-280-8939, bcmxllc@ hotmail.com, www.bcmxadventurepark.com
Motocross Aug. 11. Millville. FXR Super Series Rd 9 sponsored by Clark Concrete, Hi-Winders, 507753-2779, springcreekmxoffice@gmail.com, www. springcreekmotocross.com
Motocross Aug. 18. Brookston. Motocross / North Star Series, Echo Valley Motopark, LLC, 218-391-8422, echovalleymotopark@gmail.com, echovalleymotocross. com
Hillclimb Aug. 24. Mankato. KCC Hill Climb, Kato Cycle Club, 507-381-1951, katocycleclub@gmail.com, katocycleclub.com
Observed Trials Aug. 24. Detroit Lakes. UMTA 2024 Events, Upper Midwest Trials Association, 651-261-5977, bobbywarner@gmail.com, umta.org
Motocross Aug. 25. Brook Park. Berm Benders Raceway Gold Cup Series, Berm Benders Incorporated, 320279-2238, bermbendersraceway@outlook.com, www. bermbendersraceway.com
Hillclimb Aug. 25. New Ulm. HillClimb, Flying Dutchmen
Observed Trials Aug. 25. Detroit Lakes. UMTA 2024 Events, Upper Midwest Trials Association, 651-261-5977, bobbywarner@gmail.com, umta.org
Road Race Aug. 30 - Sept. 1. Brainerd. Central Roadracing Association 2024 Season, Central Roadracing Association, 612-332-4070, info@cra-mn.com, cra-mn.com
AMA MISSOURI
Road Ride/Run Aug. 10. Springfield. Gypsy Poker RunCharity Bike Show, Ozarks On Two Wheels, 417-889-1400, laurad@auoinjury.com, Route66Festivalsgf.com
AMA MONTANA
Motocross Aug. 11. Helena. Montana State Championship, Last Chance Riders Association, 406-465-4725, admin@ lastchancemx.com, https://lastchancemx.com/
AMA NEW HAMPSHIRE
Road Race Aug. 10. Canaan. United States Classic Racing Association Roadrace, United States Classic Racing Association, 603-321-7271, raceuscra@yahoo.com
Road Rally Aug. 13 - 18. N. Haverhill. DirtDAZE, Americade, 518-683-1469, kim@americade.com, www. dirtdazerally.com
AMA NEW JERSEY
Motocross Aug. 17. Englishtown. Raceway Park Saturday Night Lites, Raceway Park, 732-446-7800, racewaypark1965@gmail.com, www.Etownracewaypark. com
Motocross Aug. 18. Englishtown. Raceway Park / D2 MX Points Series NJ State Championship, Raceway Park, 732-446-7800, racewaypark1965@gmail.com, www. Etownracewaypark.com
Road Race Aug. 31 - Sept. 1. Millville. ASRA Rnd. 15, American Superbike Racing Association LLC, 725-7557550, support@asraracing.com, njmp.com
AMA NEW MEXICO
Observed Trials Aug. 10. Jemez Springs. NMTA # 10, New Mexico Trials Association, newmexicotrials@gmail. com, https://nmta.weebly.com/
Observed Trials Aug. 11. Jemez Springs. NMTA # 11, New Mexico Trials Association, newmexicotrials@gmail. com, https://nmta.weebly.com/
Road Race Aug. 24 - 25. Albuquerque. Law Tigers SMRI Roadracing Championship, Sandia Motorcycle Roadracing, Inc., 505-917-1514, smri@smri-racing.org, www.smri-racing.org
AMA NORTH DAKOTA
Motocross Aug. 10 - 11. Jamestown. North Dakota State Championship, Dream Chasers Racing, 701-320-3857, dakota.motocross.2017@gmail.com, dakotamotocross. com
AMA NEW YORK
Dual Sport Aug. 3 - 4. Hancock. Quarry Run, Bear Creek Sportsmen, 908-334-1637, bearcreeksportsmen@yahoo. com, www.bearcreeksportsmen.com
Motocross Aug. 4. Palmyra. Empire State MX / CNYMRA, Palmyra Racing Association, 585-236-0060, prapresident1@gmail.com, www.palmyramx.com
Motocross Aug. 17 - 18. Greig. High Voltage Hills NY State Championship, High Voltage Hills MX, 315-7250368, nzielinski74@gmail.com, highvoltagehillsmx.com
Motocross Aug. 18. Middletown. MSC / AMA District
N20037
N20038
N20039
SANCTIONED COMING EVENTS
Be sure to check the event website or call the organizer for the latest information, including postponements or cancellations.
Trail Ride Aug. 18. Medina. Fun Trials Ride, Niagara Trials Riders, 716-930-0766, NTRclub@yahoo.com, ntrmototrials.weebly.com
Trail Ride Aug. 25. Oxford. Fun Trials Ride, Niagara Trials Riders, 716-930-0766, NTRclub@yahoo.com, ntrmototrials.weebly.com
Motocross Aug. 25. Wallkill. Walden MX Summer Slam - Rd 14 MSC Championship Series, Walden MX, 845-851-6030, waldenplayboysmx@gmail.com, www. mxwalden.com
Motocross Aug. 31 - Sept. 1. Batavia. Empire State MX / CNYMRA / Dual District, AREA 51 MOTOCROSS, www.area51motocross.com AMA OHIO
Dual Sport Aug. 3 - 4. Logan. Copperhead Dual Sport, Hocking Valley Motorcycle Club, 614-679-5743, sgrimshaw84@gmail.com, www.hockingvalleymc.com
Dual Sport Aug. 3. Toronto. Ohio Valley BSA Owners Club Spring Rally, Ohio Valley BSA Owners Club, 724-945-6018, kubenab@atlanticbb.net, www. ohiovalleybsaownersclub.com
Road Race Aug. 15 - 18. Lexington. Super Hooligans National Championship, Roland Sands Design, 562-493-5297, summer@rolandsands.com, www. superhooligan.com
Flat Track - Half-Mile Aug. 23. Greenville. Tim Best Memorial Race, Western Ohio Motor Sports
Enduro Aug. 4. Three Springs. Three Springs Enduro, Green Marble Enduro Riders, 717-554-4480, gmerenduro@gmail.com, GMER.US
Road Ride/Run Aug. 4. Oakdale. Western PA Ride for Kids, Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, 470-989-2098, akaras@curethekids.org, rideforkids.org/westpenn Adventure Ride Aug. 7 - 11. North Bend. Explore the PA Wilds Four Tour, Appalachian ADV-Adventure & Dual Sport Motorbiking LLC, 330-272-4186, kane@appalachianADV. com, https://www.appalachianadv.com/events.html#/ Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 10 - 11. Fern Glen. ECEA, Valley Forge Trail Riders, ecea.org Road Race Aug. 17 - 18. Wampum. ASRA Rnd. 14, American Superbike Racing Association LLC, 725-7557550, support@asraracing.com, pittrace.com
Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 24 - 25. Back Mountain Enduro Riders, Back Mountain Enduro Riders, 570-675-2623, mikeboos456@gmail.com, https:// www.facebook.com/p/Back-Mountain-Enduro-RidersBMER-100072415082186/ Motocross Aug. 25. Shippensburg. Doublin Gap - District 6 Series and PA State Championship, Doublin Gap Motocross, Inc., 717-571-5824, doublingap@gmail.com, doublingap.com
Motocross Aug. 25. Fredericksburg. D6 Ultimate Quad Series, Sleepy Hollow Motocross Park, Inc., 717-2788998, swarr4@aol.com, www.sleepyhollowmx.com
AMA RHODE ISLAND
Observed Trials Aug. 18. Exeter. NETA Championship Rnd. 5, Rhode Island Trials Club, 401-480-9604, leeb627@cox.net, newenglandtrials.com
AMA TENNESSEE
Motocross Aug. 10 -11. Hurricane Mills. ATV MX National Championship, Racer Productions, Inc., 304-284-0084, info@atvmotocross.com, www.atvmotocross.com
Motocross Aug. 24. Blountville. Thor Mega Series, Victory Sports Inc., 423-323-5497, jane@victory-sports.com, victory-sports.com
Motocross Aug. 25. Blountville. Thor Mega Series, Victory Sports Inc., 423-323-5497, jane@victory-sports.com, victory-sports.com
Motocross Aug. 17 - 18. New Ulm. Best of Texas Rd 1, Irondog MX, 979-992-3161, irondogmotorcycles@gmail. com, irondogmx.com
AMA UTAH
Grand Prix Aug. 23 - 24. Cedar City. UMORA, Southern Nevada Jackrabbits MC, 435-590-7089, jackrabbitsclub@ gmail.com, jackrabbitsmcracing.com
Land Speed Aug. 25 - 29. Wendover. Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, Deliciate Promotions LLC, 530263-7276, info@bonnevillemst.com, bonnevillemst.com
Dual Sport Aug. 26 - 28. Heber City. The Bucketlist Ride, Speed and Sport Adventures, 909-3769090, ken@speedandsportadventures.com, speedandsportadventures.com
AMA VIRGINIA
Road Race Aug. 3 - 4. Alton. FIM Mini Moto, American Superbike Racing Association LLC, 434-822-7700, info@ virnow.com, https://virnow.com
Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 17 - 18. Sandy Level. The Moto Sport Roanoke Express, Virginia Competition Hare Scramble Services, 540-420-2906, lewis@riversedgeoutdoorsllc.com, vchss.org
Motocross Aug. 31. Sutherlin. Virginia State Championship D13 SX, Birch Creek Promotions LLC, 434-253-0505, birchcreekmx@gmail.com, birchcreekmotorsportspark.com
Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 31 - Sept. 1. Rural Retreat. Coyote Run, Virginia Competition Hare Scramble Services, 276-613-1239, ruralretreat@hotmail.com, vchss. org
AMA WEST VIRGINIA
Road Rally Aug. 12 - 15. Flatwoods. National Rally, Concours Owners Group, 979-320-7516, gsjay@kaplitz. com
Motocross Aug. 24. Hedgesville. Masters, Tomahawk MX, LLC, info@tomahawkmx.com, www.tomahawkmx.com
Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 31 - Sept. 1. Newburg. Buckwheat 100 - GNCC Series Rnd 10, Racer Productions, Inc., 304-284-0084, info@gnccracing.com, www.gnccracing.com
AMA WISCONSIN
Motocross Aug. 4. Hillpoint. Sugar Maple MX, Sugar Maple MX Park LLC, 608-425-8643, sugarmaplemxpark@gmail. com, www.sugarmaplemx.com
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 10. Burnett. District 16 ST, Beaver Cycle Club, Inc., 920-319-6889, Facebook/Beaver Cycle Club
Motocross Aug. 11. Lake Mills. Aztalan MX Race, Aztalan Cycle Club, Inc., 608-728-4305, aztalancycle@gmail.com, www.aztalanmx.com
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 17. Lake Mills. Aztalan Short Track, Aztalan Cycle Club, Inc., 608-728-4305, aztalancycle@gmail.com, www.aztalanmx.com
Flat Track - Short Track Aug. 17. Sturgeon Bay. Door County Fair, Door County Fair Association, 414-303-1331, kikid48@gmail.com, www.dairylandclassic.com
Motocross Aug. 17 - 18. Tigerton. Battle of Wisconsin, Fantasy Moto LLC, 920-419-2863, scottyb@fantasymoto. com, tigertonmx.com
Hare Scrambles/Cross Country Aug. 25. Plymouth. Elkhart Lake, Four Wheeler Dirtbike Cross Country (FDXC), 920-360-4405, info@rendlux.com, FDXCr.com
AMA WYOMING
Observed Trials Aug. 3 - 4. Lander. 307 Moto Trials Series - Limestone Trials, Wyoming Motorcycle Trials Association, 307trials@gmail.com, wmta.online
Sept. 28-29. Big Woods 200. Wabeno, Wis. Wisconsin Dual Sport Riders. (920) 350-2030. widualsportriders.org
Oct. 5-6. Shenandoah 500. Mount Solon, Va. Washington Area Trail Riders. (619) 244-9630. watr.us
Oct. 26-27. Scenic Dual Sport Ride. Morgan Hill, Calif. P&D Promotions. (408)249-4336.
Nov. 2-3. Howlin at the Moon. Payson, Ariz. Arizona Trail Riders. (602) 692-9382. arizonatrailriders.com
Nov. 2-3. Hammer Run. Port Elizabeth, N.J. Tri-County Sportsmen MC Inc. 856-785-2754. hammerhead@teamhammer.org. www.teamhammer.org
Nov. 29-30. LA- Barstow to Vegas. Palmdale, Calif. AMA District 37 Dual Sport. (626) 684-2336. paulflanders37@ gmail.com. labarstowvegas.com
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• AMA Dragbike® • AMA Endurocross® • AMA Motorhead® • AMA Pro Grand National Championship®
• AMA Pro Racing® • AMA Race Center™ • AMA Racer® • AMA Racing® • AMA Racing Land Speed Grand Championships® • AMA Supermoto® • AMA Supercross® AMA SX Lites® • AMA U.S. ISDE Team™ • AMA U.S. Jr. Motocross Team™ • AMA U.S. Motocross Team™ • Amateur National Motocross Championships® • American Motorcyclist Association® Arenacross® • ATV Hare Scrambles National Championship Series® • ATV Motocross National Championship Series® • Flat Track Grand Championships™ • Grand National Enduro Championship® • Gypsy Tour® • Hare & Hound National Championship Series® • Hare Scrambles Championship Series® • Hare Scrambles National Championship Series® • Kids Just Want To Ride® • Motorcycle Hall of Fame® • Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum®
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Garage
Tips,Tweaks, Fixes and Facts: The two-wheeled ownership experience, explained
GOOD GEAR, TESTED
A trio of quality products for your summertime rides
The latest in helmet communicators even sounds the alarm in case of an accident TESTED
I CARDO PACKTALK PRO
resisted the helmet communicator for years, like most good modern things, preferring to ride with only the voices in my head and the wind whistling between my ears. After the Cardo folks finally talked me into an original Packtalk Bold a few years ago, I was hooked. For me, it’s less about being able to talk to other riders than it is about entertaining myself with music and podcasts; I mean, how often do you ride along in silence in your car? Turn-byturn directions are another great thing to have.
For 2024 here’s the latest: Packtalk Pro. The big news is an all-new Crash Detection System, made possible by adding the same kind of IMU (inertial measurement unit) all modern bikes use to regulate traction control and other rider aids. The new Cardo feels what your head feels: If what it feels is a crash, it relays that to the Cardo Connect App on your phone, which informs the Cardo cloud, which informs your emergency contact and geolocates the crash site.
You have a predetermined amount of time to tell the system — via the phone app, or a button or voice command on the Packtalk Pro — of a false alarm. Cardo has done extensive research to minimize false alarms, things like your helmet get-
ting knocked off your bike when you’re not around, etc., and the whole system is based on a perpetual learning algorithm: Thousands of Cardo riders worldwide will be contributing to continuous data analysis and constant evolution of the Crash Detection System.
Another advantage of the IMU is you now get Auto On/Off, which should keep you from setting out with a dead battery because you forgot to turn your Cardo off last time. Claimed battery life is 13 hours, which seems about right. Price has crept up to $459, but the premium 45mm JBL speakers that are part of the Pro package (and advanced sound processor) sell for $100, and they do sound way better, and louder when you want them to, than the 40mm ones they replaced.
Dynamic Mesh Communication remains, linking 15 riders easily; you also get over-the-air software updates, fast charging, built-in FM radio, a three-year warranty — and maybe even your life saved.
What’ll they think of next? Well, the only problem left is that the crash detection system is for on-road use only, since offroad generally involves way more bouncing around. But they’re working on that now. cardosystems.com – John Burns
Installation of the Cardo Packtalk Pro unit is easy enough, especially if your helmet has speaker pockets. (If I can do it, anyone can.) And the Air Mount makes removing the unit for charging pretty painless, too.
BRIDGESTONE BATTLAX HYPERSPORT S23
Rounder, blacker, stickier
id you know one in five tires on the planet is made by Bridgestone? It’s true. Bridgestone owns Firestone, and between the two of them they make 20 percent of the rubber on the road; off it, too, including the $75,000 tires you see on giant earthmovers.
DBut what’s important right now is that the new Bridgestone S23 sportbike tire has just launched, to replace the S22. Many riders loved the S22, which won Motorrad magazine’s rigorous sport tire tests in 2019 and ’21.
TESTED
They’ll be happy to learn that Bridgestone felt the same way, and chose to retain the 22’s construction while improving its compound(s) and tread pattern — which means it retains the same feel while being grippier than ever. Bridgestone claims to be the first to do tires with multiple compounds, i.e., softer rubber on the edges and harder in the middle. The S23 gets revised polymers with more carbon in the front tire’s shoulders and on the edges of the rear for more mechanical grip at full lean.
Land/sea ratios are revised, with a new, less groovy
GARAGE
tread pattern on the shoulders of the front tire for improved dry handling and stability. Fewer grooves equals less squirm and less energy wasted, and Bridgestone says wet handling and grip have been improved, too. Out back, Pulse Groove technology is the cool new tech: Slightly bowtie-shaped grooves with tiny deflectors inside are said to actually speed up water as it flows through the rear tire by up to 7 percent, for obviously better grip in the rain (an area where S22 already excelled). Bridgestone says it perfected Pulse Groove with the help of a giant, sensor-equipped in-house roller that allowed them to see the tire’s footprint in real time as it spun on the thing at 190 mph.
At the end of the day, Bridgestone tells us its test riders lapped Autopolis 2.95 seconds faster on S23 compared to S22 in the dry on a Yamaha YZF-R1, and three seconds faster in the wet on a BMW S1000RR. It also says wet braking distance is 3-percent shorter and mileage is increased 8 percent.
I was 100-percent happy to ride a ZX-6R, a Buell
S100 CYCLE CARE KIT
1190SX, and an Indian FTR1200 for a long day on some ridiculously twisty roads around Julian, Calif., that I never knew were there. (Engineer Road, anyone?) Lucky for us, one of the Yamaha Champions Riding School instructors who led the ride grew up in that corner of motorcycling heaven.
The new tire retains the S22’s light but-not-too-light neutral feel and, like it, is a completely solid choice for any sportbike that sees the occasional track day. Or lots of track days: The S23 is the choice of the Yamaha Champ School, who claim to be super happy with its newfound grip and longevity. Pricing ranges from $249 to $380. Bridgestonemotorcycletires.com – John Burns
One-stop shopping for that clean and shiny look you’re searching for
For some, washing one’s motorcycle is fun — the process itself and the satisfaction of a shiny and protected finished product. “Hun, just look how nice my bike looks!”
For others, it’s a chore, as they’d rather be riding. But whichever you happen to be, S100’s Cycle Care Kit has you covered.
The kit comes complete with a large spray bottle of the company’s Total Cycle Cleaner, Detail & Spray Wax, Corrosion Protection, Total Cycle Finish Restorer, a drying towel, a sponge and a handy carrying case.
TESTED
I started with the Total Cycle Cleaner spray liquid, dousing my bike with the stuff as per S100’s directions (a cool bike, and in the shade), and trying to reach all those nooks and crannies where dirt and eventual corrosion live. I used a sponge on the grimier areas, then sprayed everything off with a firm
stream from the hose — and bang! My bike was amazingly clean without a lot of handwork, the cleaning concoction’s formula doing a lot of the work for me.
The drying towel, which comes sealed in a plastic bag and needs to be rinsed with warm water and squeezed semi-dry before use, did its job as advertised, leaving the bike dry and streak-free, just like a quality synthetic chamois. Good stuff.
I then used the Finish Restorer paste to clean up, smooth out and restore sheen to various metal parts
that had gotten dull over the years: parts such as fork tubes, triple clamps, engine covers, handlebar, etc. I then sprayed the Corrosion Protectant lightly over all the bike’s metal parts, being sure to not get any of it on brakes, tires and grips, as the stuff is a bit slick. After wiping and buffing it all off with a soft rag, things were looking really good.
But my bike looked even better after using the kit’s Detail and Wax spray, which gives the bike’s metal and painted parts a true detailer’s shine, but without the time and money involved. The stuff contains carnauba and beeswax, it smells nice, and once wiped off, makes your bike look like a winner. It’s great for between-wash touch-ups, too.
S100’s kit retails for just under $60 and really does contain everything you need to get your bike clean and looking good. So whether you enjoy the process or despise it, you’ll still look like a hero. Even to your better half. S100.com – Michael Kula
E2024 Class of Lafferty rasor Matthews mladin windham
ach year the AMA and its members recognize the best and brightest among motorcycling’s many standouts for induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. And as AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman wrote in his column (page 10), the AMA HOF Class of 2024 consists of Mike Lafferty, Debbie Matthews, Mat Mladin, Rob Rasor and Kevin Windham.
This distinguished group will be inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame the evening of October 10 during the AMA’s annual Hall of Fame Days celebration, which will take place during the weekend of Oct. 10–13 at the AMA headquarters.
This year, three of our HOF inductees come from the racing world: Mike Lafferty from the Enduro/Cross-Country and ISDE universe; Mat Mladin from AMA Superbike and MotoGP; and Kevin Windham from Motocross and Supercross.
Two others come from the Ambassadors/Industry and Rights areas: Debbie Matthews as a rider, racer, spokesperson and promoter of women’s off-road riding and racing; and ex-AMA President Rob Rasor, who devoted his career to protecting motorcyclists’ rights.
The induction ceremony during AMA Hall of Fame days is one of the very special nights in motorcycling each year, with inductees, fellow Hall of Famers, industry luminaries and fellow enthusiasts taking part in a compelling banquet and induction, all followed by a cocktail party afterward in the Hall of Fame Museum. And all of that followed by two full days of bike-night/pit-bike-racing/skills-seminar/ADVride fun.
It’s a can’t miss weekend, so get your tickets at AmericanMotorcyclist.com.
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Ride on and on and on.
The Battlecruise H50 is designed to give your V-Twin greater comfort and control, with 50% longer wear 1 and more grip in wet conditions 2 The H50 is where comfort meets performance. Because enjoying the ride is what really matters.
1 Comparison of Bridgestone Battlecruise H50 vs. Dunlop D402F/D401. Results may vary depending on proper tire and vehicle maintenance, road conditions, and driving habits.
Comparison of Bridgestone Battlecruise H50 vs. Michelin Commander II. Results may vary depending on proper tire and vehicle maintenance, road conditions, and driving habits.
