VMX VINTAGE MOTOCROSS & Dirt Bike Quarterly NZ $20.50 GST $18.50 incl incl GST AUSTRALIA No 91 2022 ENDURO MUSEUM MAICO GS 250 1981 Mazzilli 125 RCS KTM 50 GS Amaran 125 Yamaha TT500 Blokes & Sheds Curtis Honda 520 Mugen ME125RB Hercules Day 2022 MONTESA CAPPRA 360 KAWASAKI KX125 1994
•Plastics•Graphics •Exhausts•Casings •Parts&muchmore! THE WORLD’S NUMBER 1 PRIMARY KICK HUSKY PARTS SUPPLIER Great to be back! Greattobebackracinghavingenjoyedridingthe Welsh2DayEndurorecentlyplusracesinFrance andBelgium. Bythetimeyouread this,wewillhave hopefullyriddenthe ISDEinFranceonour ‘82Huskies(possiblyan overambitiousplan!). Plus,hostedTeamUSA attheVetsMotocross ofNations-Farleigh CastlethehomeofVintageMotocrosshereintheUK. Hopethisfindsyouhavingsomegreatvintage biketime, Andy Elliott
give Rex Staten a bit of a rev up before he heads out on his Honda at the
in 1974. See the whole story in this issue.
by
Perry Morison
Printed inAustralia by Printgraphics,MountWaverleyVIC. Distribution byAre DirectAustralia and New Zealand. Recommended retail price only.VMX Media Partnership Pty Ltd.ABN 63 749 872 566. Copyright: Many people allow us to print their stuff, so we usually do the same for clubs, websites, or other non-commercial uses. But please ask us first, because allVMX material is copyright. VMX on the Web www.vmxmag.com.au VMX is published four times per year by VMX Media Partnership Pty Ltd, PO Box 8342,Armadale VIC 3143 Australia. No 91, 2022 To contact VMX Magazine Editorial Phone: 0432 625 503 Intl Ph: (+61) 0432 625 503 email: ken@vmxmag.com.au Admin, Adverts or Sales Phone: (03) 9509 2993 Intl Ph: +61 3 9509 2993 email: sou@vmxmag.com.au All Mail PO Box Armadale8342,VIC3143 AUSTRALIA The Sweep Rider Of Edison,Tom,Joe & Mark 3 Green Screamer Kawasaki KX125 1994 4 Nickel Thumper Curtis Honda 520 - Nick Caldwell 8 Repurposed Deutsches Enduro Museum - Zschopau 14 Brad’s Racer Montesa Cappra 360 GP 1968 22 Mugen ME125RB 1981TheYear in Motocross 26 Perfectly Formed KTM 50 GS 1972 32 Maico GS 250 Better late than never 36 Hercules Day 2022 A unique gathering in beautiful Lonato del Garda,in Italy 40 From the shed YamahaTT500 – Memories of the‘70s 44 Drumlanrig Castle Scottish Classic Grand National Scramble 46 Our first Mazzilli My life with a 1973 Mazzilli 125 RCS 50 Amaran 125 A Boy and his Dream Bike 54 Classic Enduro Prelouc 2022 - Czech Republic 56 Blokes & Sheds Norm Francis –The man,the myth, the builder,the sponsor 58 USAVintage The Saga of Snake River - Flashback to 1974 62 British Soil Walking with legends - men and machines 66 Parts & Products What’s new… 68 Write Stuff A MaicoAlpha 1 and restored mini’s 72 Feet Up Fun Yes,it’s my childhood bike! 75 Roger’s Rides The Sockets! 76 Sources The who,the what & the where 77 Rider’s Briefing VMX Magazine Classic Dirt 16 update 78 Next Issue A preview of Issue 92 79 A Moment inTime Poking theTiger 80 ONTENTS VMX C ONTENTS Cover Photo - The stunningly restored 1994 Kawasaki KX125 sitting pretty at the Echo Valley circuit. Photo by Rick Welch Founder Ray Ryan Editor/Publisher Ken Smith Publisher Perry Morison Art Director Jeff Keen Advertising Manager Sou Fong Editorial LeoKeller•DavidKerry Contributors:Photographic DietrichClauss•JohnFulton Contributors: •CarlHensel-Carl’sGarage •FriedrichHieronymus Editorial/Photo JimBennett•RobertoBiza Contributors: •DaveCoupe•RobertHawes •ScottHeidbrink•DavidLahey •ChrisMontignani•PaoloSala •BrianSalt•RickWelch •RickYamane Illustrator Roger Harvey
Baines, Jim
Andy Weinert Steve Stackable Snake River event Photo Scott Heidbrink.
Dave Coupe
and
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I had a number of chats with the late Tom White, when visiting Tom and staying at his house, and Tom really was Edison’s No. 1 fan. Tom was beyond proud to acknowledge Edison in a number of ways for his efforts in the ‘60s of bringing the sport of motocross to the USA. Hearing some of the other stories about how the AMA treated Edison in the early ‘70s weren’t pleasant and Edison left the sport, for good, in ‘74. It was brilliant that Tom, and others, got to acknowledge the contribution that Edison made to the sport, before Edison’s passing in 2007.
Ol’ mate Jonesy salvaged a memento from Mark Firkin’s office after he passed. Jonesy thought that it would look just right in my office and I have to agree, it fits right in. Apparently, Firko bought the piece of memorabilia off eBay many years ago. As you can see from the photo, the piece comprises of two cheques, framed.
though as the bosses at Husqvarna weren’t of the belief that there was even a market for their small brand of off-road bikes in the USA. Edison then placed an order for fifty bikes, to be delivered in 1966. Before the first bike even landed he had thought that the very first example to hit US shores should be given to a certain Malcolm Smith to test. Malcolm,racing a Greeves at the time, went for a ride, liked the bike and you know the rest of that story!
Of Edison,Tom, Joe & Mark andTom,rememberchequeslookimportantly,moreI’llatthoseandandJoe,Mark,and
I recall, too, the hours spent with the late Joe Bolger,at his house,talking about the InterAM series, and how Joe couldn’t believe the speed of the European riders. He brought to life many of the battles he had at Pepperell and otherSotracks.nowI have two framed cheques,signed by Edison, made out to Andy Roberton and Christer Hammagren. They are definitely reminders of such an important era in the sport of motocross (and no, I don’t have a farking clue whyAndy and Christer didn’t cash their cheques!) and they make me wish I’d had an opportunity to have a quiet chat with Edison. But smile.andTom,rememberchequeslookimportantly,moreI’llatthoseandandJoe,Mark,and
T HE S WEEP R IDER
In the annals of motocross history, the cheques are indeed something of note. Some of you will be well aware of Edison Dye and his influence on motocross in the USA (and hence, across many other parts of the world) but it bears repeating. If you don’t know about Edison Dye,then listen up.
convincingthantakeStates.branddistributethatconvincedDenmarkinrepresentativesHusqvarnasomeCopenhagen,andthemheshouldtheintheItdidmoreabitof
Hallman was also keen to ‘spread the word’ so to speak in the US and helped Edison in setting up an event where he would race against the Americans. That event was held in late ‘66 at Pepperell, Massachusetts and Hallman lapped most of the top local riders. Hallman and Dye set up more events that year and set up the Inter-Am (International American) series in 1967 and
Words and photo by Ken Smith
Later in ‘65, Edison met with
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brought top line Euro riders such as Joel Robert, Roger DeCoster, Dave Bickers,Arne Kring and Ake Jonsson. In 1968, Edison paid for twenty Euro riders to race in the InterAm series. As well, Edison imported Jofa protective gear to the US, with that gear at the time being primarily used for hockey players. The series continued through to 1970. Edison imported the Huskys that many riders wanted to own and race, organised and ran the races and paid the European riders to come to the USA to compete.
Edison was a bit of an entrepreneur and ran a business that set up motorcycle tours in Europeintheearly‘60s. Duringthesetours,he was exposed to the sport of motocross.While in Europe he also heard some encouraging stories about the competitiveness of the Husqvarna brand and thought the Swedish brand would be a good thing for the US riders. Even though Husqvarna had enjoyed some racing success in Europe,they were still a very small concern and were selling only a few hundred motocross bikes at that time, all within Europe and the UK.
With Edison’s company,MED International, doing the distribution, the number of Husqvarnas sold in the US just kept growing. The first year they sold a hundred,the second year they sold five hundred and the third year they sold a thousand bikes. The factory had trouble keeping up with the demand. As part of the promotion of the Swedish brand in the US, Edison also introduced Lars Larsson and Torsten Hallman to theAmericans.
At least Kawasaki would’ve taken that as a win! Trail & Track (T&T) magazine tested the KX in their January/February issue in 1994 and had similar thoughts on the lack of low end but they really liked the midrange - “We reckon the bottom-end is a bit too soft for sandy tracks. The majority of riders will really like the ‘94 KX motor because the midrange has a broad spread of power and pulls strongly right into the top-end.” T&T were also taken with the looks, and the braking abilities, of the new KX“In the looks department, we reckon the ‘94 KX is trick. The styling gives the KX a sleek, stealth bomber look that any yuppie or junior burger would be proud to show off. Yeah, we like it.” As for the brakes, they mentioned that - “The front brake feels doughy,like most KX front stoppers,but the funny thing is,the brake works great on the track. The leverage ratio seems spoton because the ‘94 front brake has plenty of feel and allows you to be very aggressive with your braking.”Thecommon theme of not enough bottom end (but a great mid-range to top....without quite enough right at the very top) was also echoed by the Motocross Action team in their test in their November 1993 issue. No bottom end, a good mid to top end but not enough right at the top. All was not lost though, as they said - “It has a very small sweet spot, but in that working rpm range the ‘94 KX125 is a winner.” Their formula for success on the KX was straightforward“We switched from the stock 49-tooth rear sprocket to a 50, and then concentrated on shifting the KX125 into third as soon as possible.” MotocrossAction were definitely on board with the chassis changes - “The KX125 turns better and is more stable at speed.” The new suspension was just as good as the old - the best in class. Their only question after
What do you do when your 1993 model motocrosser was considered fantastic? Make a few detail changes and know that it will still be fantastic? No,not if you are Kawasaki. You change the whole bloody bike! But the ‘93 model KX125 did have one issue which required some rectification, as detailed
JSV muffler in hiding.
Yes, it had a weak top end, a ‘glass’ rod and a fragile clutch. There was though an easy fix, as Dirt Bike noted - “The truth was that it
Apparently,the transfer ports were blamed for the issues that beset the ‘93 model and so the ports were subsequently completely reshaped. The power was tuned for more lowend, with a smaller reed cage and a reshaped exhaust port. The ignition curve was also altered. As well, a better airbox was installed to help breathing and the conrod was modified. Lastly, in terms of engine changes, there was a larger clutch and beefier transmission.
and in fact thought the powerband was narrower. But they still liked the ‘94 KX125 engine better than the ‘94 125 offerings from Yamaha and Suzuki. The‘94 model’s engine did though shift way better.
by the test crew at Dirt Bike magazine in their review in their November ‘93 issue - “The ‘93 KX was a awesome machine. It had a superb, easy-to-ride motor, the best suspension of any stock motocross bike ever made,a rigid,stable frame and an unfortunate tendency to blow itself sky-high.”
Words by Ken Smith. Photos by Rick Welch.
didn’t take major engine work to make the KX reliable. For the most part, the average rider could run a season without trouble as long as he used race gas in the motor.” So what was new for‘94 and did Kawasaki fix the problems?
Changes to the chassis were just as extensive (for a chassis that was already top notch!) and were based around ‘small is good’. The frame was shrunk, as was the wheelbase, and the steering head wasn’t quite as steep as it was in ‘93. As well, the aluminium subframe was replaced by a steel item, there were new suspension components and there were new brakes. In total, almost a whole new bike!
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As for the new chassis, that was definitely a hit - “The smaller, shorter, narrower chassis makes the bike much more nimble. We can
now actually say that the Kawasaki turns very well.” The brakes were also a hit -“By far,the biggest improvement over the ‘93 KX is the new front brake.” The revised suspension was still great, but not necessarily better than ‘93 - What makes the KX suspension so remarkable is that everyone seems to like it as is. There was virtually no oil-level changing or clicker-spinning between test riders.” Overall, they weren’t convinced with the changes - “For now, though, the ‘94 KX’s toughest competitor will be the ‘93 KX.”
Kawasaki KX125 1994
Did the changes result in a better bike? The Dirt Bike test crew weren’t convinced. They thought the new engine didn’t provide any more low end power than the old one
Beautifully restored bike, trick pipe and Echo Valley circuit - what an eyeful.
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Main: Lime green and purple shouldn’t look this good but it does, especially against that sensational soil. Inset - opposite page:That JSV pipe really caps off the restoration.
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Dirt Rider magazine were also on board with the chassis changes, as they stated in their test in their November 1993 issue -This KX125 turns like no other green machine in recent history. It is at home in flat turns as it is in bermed corners. Throw in some bumps,and the KX retains its composure just the Queenslandersame.”
photographerbrilliantThereasonthephotoslooksogood(takenatToowoomba’sEchoValleytrack)isbecauseRickisafreelanceforStreetMachinemagazine,aswellasbeingagasworker.He’salsoabitofmotorsportjunkyashetoldus-“I’majunkyforallformsofmotorsportsbutmymainlovesaredirtbikesanddragracing.IstartedridingatagetenandstartedracingMXandflattrackatfifteenin1987onaborrowed1984KX80fromagoodmate,JoGorryinTownsville(andwearestillgoodmatestoday).ImadeitintoBGradebackinthosedays.Itwasgreatgrowingupinthe1980’sMXera-‘GotheRat’everyday!”RickownedandracedaselectionofCR,KXandYZmodelsinthe‘80sandvariousKXandYZmodelsintheearly2000s.Hislatestpurchaseisa1999modelKDX200thatisroadregistered.TheKX125wasvery‘wellused’whenboughtbutitwastherightprice.TheplanwastobuilditasaPre‘95racerandeitherreconditionorreplaceeverysinglepartonthebike.We’llletRickgothroughthebuild-“Therewasacompletetoptobottomenginerebuild,theshockswereallrebuilt,newbearingseverywhere,newrimsandspokes,newbrakes,newPolisportplastics,newgraphicsbyWillmax,newseatcoverbyEvansTrimshop-youallknowthedrum.”“Alloftheassemblyofthebikeandrebuildingofthebrakes,suspensionandwheelsIdidmyselfinmyshopathomebutalloftheengineworkwasdoneprofessionally.IhadShaneBakerfromShane’sBikes,BoatsandPerformanceinWarwickcompletelyrebuildthebottomend,whileEliteMotorcyclesToowoombarebuiltthetopendandtookcareofthedynotuningandthejettingfortheJSVconepipeIbroughtinfromJSVRacinginBelgium.ScottfromExcelPaintandPaneltookcareofthecolourmatchingandtwo-packresprayingoftheframeandswingarm.PBSSpecialtyCoatingsToowoombadidthesandblastingandpowdercoating.”RickwasfortunatethatmostoftheOEMsparepartsherequiredwereavailableandwerepurchasedfromQB4KawasakiinToowoomba,whiletherestwassourcedfromotheraftermarketpartssuppliers.It’snotsurprisingthatRickwasreallyhappywiththewaytheKXturnedoutandthere’snodoubtthatitwillindeedbeaverycapablebikeinthePre‘95class-ifnottopoftheclass! 7
praising almost everything on the bike was -“Can you live with a pro-level motor that demands full attention on every inch of the race track?”
Rick Welch set out to build a really good Pre‘95 racer and as you can see from the shots of his bike on these pages, he did a great job! Although, as he says, the bike sort of fell into his lap as a work mate of his wanted to move it on. The other reason that this KX appealed was because Rick really liked the loud graphics of the bikes from the ‘80s.
Curtis Honda 520 Rick Caldwell
All business at this end. 8
then he knew straight away that this particular chassis would be perfect for his next XR500 project. Although this wasn’t going to be another run of the mill Curtis bike, this was going to be a special kind of machine with many of Rick’s own personal touches.
Curtis Bikes was started by Brian Curtis back in 1972 when he was aged just thirty-
One such offroad fanatic is Scottish Twinshock Scramble Club Chairman Rick Caldwell, who it’s probably fair to say is not just a fan of Honda four-stroke motorcycles but he has an undeniable thirst for those big XR500 Honda motors and currently has quite a good collection of them in various stages of development scattered around his workshop floor.
it wasn’t long before he then started up his own motorcycle frame building company called Curtis Bikes. They currently make very high quality motorcycle and mountain bike chassis,and they also build complete machines for customers using those tried and tested Honda XR500 engines. Curtis can also supply you with a bespoke frame of your choice if
Rick has built many variations of these big four-bangers in the past but always had a hankering to build an XR special one day using a custom, hand-built chassis and using one of his big Honda XR engines as its power source. When Rick found out that he could purchase such an item hand-made from Curtis Bikes
two years old. Prior to that,Brian was a highly successful motocross racer in his own right back in the 1960s before he then went to work and honed his frame building skills with none other than the great Don and Derek Rickman of Rickman Motorcycles.
Naturally, once Brian had gained the skills and knowledge of motorcycle chassis building
The important thing about our beloved sport of vintage and classic offroad riding and racing is that we have a remarkably diverse array of like-minded people who will do almost anything to get their daily fix of old dirt bikes. As well, the many different machines they use makes our chosen pastime so interesting and you can have certain riders who wouldn’t entertain anything other than their beloved two-stroke Japanese bike that they’ve raced and owned for the last twenty years, or on the other hand you maybe have owners who are fans of the great British fourstroke machines like BSA or CCM who are so loyal to the brand that it would be a cardinal sin for them to even think of entertaining any other make or model of motorcycle.
Over the last twenty years or so Rick has put together many variations of these Honda XR500s to use as race bikes with his local Twinshock Scramble Club and he also has a good reputation as being the XR godfather when it comes to knowing his way around these big four-stroke machines.
Words and photos by Chris Montignani
colour that takes your fancy. Suffice to say that this frame with its included swingarm and other bolt-ons (like the footrests) are all top quality and look fantastic decked out in their shiny nickel plating.
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the customer’s own requirements as Curtis never hold any stocks of frames at their premises in Barton Street, Somerset, in the UK, because they only build their projects to customer orders.
The chassis featured on these pages was actually built by Dennis Mapp, who works for Curtis Bikes, and this superb piece of art is all hand-made from the very best materials, These superbly brazed chassis are all made to
So Rick had his frame and next up was the motor which wasn’t a big problem because Rick had plenty of XR motors lying around
you wanted to put together your very own machine which is exactly the option pursued byVMX reader Rick Caldwell.
Even if you’re not a four-stroke fan, this Curtis could easily encourage you to change sides.
As this was a special project, Rick decided to have his Curtis chassis nickel plated but of course you can have yours done in whichever
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Header pipes have a wonderful hue.
The rear suspension turned out to be one of the more expensive parts of the machine
One of the other mods that was carried out on the motor was that every second cooling fin was machined from the barrel. Apparently this is a very common procedure now on these XR Honda engines and some say it’s done to reduce weight, while others say it’s done to improve the cooling and to stop mud and debris from jamming between the fins if it’s raced at a particularly muddy race event which could then lead to overheating. Although there is another school of thought here and that is that this procedure is purely cosmetic just to make the engine look aesthetically better when it sits in the chassis but any one of these explanations
Anyhow other than those aforementioned upgrades the motor was basically then left alone as Rick didn’t want too much interference on the engine and his emphasis was on keeping it more reliable than actually have it tuned for out and out power and speed. Rick did though have the motor’s ignition and clutch casings powder coated in black to add
The bike’s front suspension features a nice pair of Italian-made 45mm Marzocchi Magnum units and these were completely stripped down. New internals were fitted and they were re-valved. These Marzocchis also
To keep the fork sliders clean and free from dust and moisture Rick also fitted a quality pair of rubber gaiters to the fork tubes. A clamp for the front brake anchor arm had to be fabricated as the left side Marzocchi fork leg didn’t have this fitted as a stock item.
have plenty of scope for adjustments to their rebound and compression damping.
in his workshop. Because this was going to be a special build and as he wanted to have some upgrades done to the motor,a complete powerplant was then sent to Rod Spry Engineering to have the motor completely refurbished and rebuilt. Rod dismantled the engine to its sum of parts and fitted a midrange camshaft to the top end. The cylinder was also bored out to 520cc and the balancer shaft was removed to make the engine respond quicker to the throttle. To help cope with the increase in horsepower, a set of heavier clutch springs were also fitted to enable the transmission to put that upgraded grunt to effective use.
has its own story to tell so make your own mind up on that particular issue.
that little bit something different to its looks. To finish off the completed engine Rick fitted a 36mm Mikuni carburetor with aTwinAir filter and then it was all ready to stick into that beautiful Curtis frame.
A 36mm Mikuni carb was fitted with a Twin Air filter.
were supplied by Ian and Alan Reid at MXM Graphics in the UK. The bike’s seat was made up from a brand new seat base and high density foam insert and the customised seat cover and the Curtis logo were also supplied by the guys at MXM.
To get the rolling chassis up and running a brand new set of gold anodized SM Pro alloy rims were purchased and these were laced up to a Husqvarna twin-leading shoe hub and brake on the front with a standard Honda XR magnesium hub used on the rear. Heavy-duty
With regards to the bike’s sidepanels, they may have the look of being made from plastic,but those custom-made side panels are nicely sculpted from alloy. The Honda special’s
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stainless steel spokes were used on both sets of wheels and the wheels were completed with a set of Michelin Cross Competition tyres.Naturally a new fuel tank was going to be required for this special build and a fuel cell from a 1979 Honda CR250 Red Rocket was more or less a straight bolt-on fit to the Curtis frame. The tank was repainted in white and all of the graphics for the tank and sidepanels
with the fitment of Swedish-made Ohlins piggyback shocks, which as you know are not cheap but are just about as good as you can get for aTwinshock race bike.
In some ways it is just a collection of ‘bits and pieces’ but don’t they all come together wonderfully well in this Curtis.
Thoseadded.lovely exhaust headers and tailpipes on the engine can’t be found in any shops or websites because those twin pipes were custom made for this machine by Rick’s friend Barry, who is a bit of a genius when it comes
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Having said that he’s already hinted that he may even sell the bike before its racing debut to fund another couple of similar bike building projects that he has on-going in his workshop, so if he does decide to sell it then somebody is going to get themselves a special bike indeed! But as you know I’ve said it before and at the risk of repeating myself will keep saying it - every time I come across projects such as this, you just know that if a bike looks right then it usually goes right. This fantastic looking Curtis Honda 520 certainly ticks all of those boxes in that respect and I can also tell you that I’ve heard the rip from that XR520 motor through those custommade exhausts and the sound is every bit as good as the looks!
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As for the controls,a sturdy set of modern Renthal handlebars were sourced and fitted along with a pair of Scott handlebar grips which we had to scrub clean during filming! Yes, the bike got blown over in the howling winds while we were snapping these pictures but thankfully no damage was done. A set of Apico clutch and front brake levers were bolted in place and an engine kill switch was also
So this entire Curtis bike build project took Rick quite some time to complete between all his work commitments but you have to admit it’s all been worth the wait. At the time of writing this feature, as far as I’m aware,Rick hasn’t had the chance as yet to give the bike its baptism on the track.
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Main:The Curtis is a timeless design that still looks ‘right’ today 1.That is one helluva good looking XR500 engine! 2. If you look closely you can still see the Husky heritage in the chassis geometry. 3. Detailing everywhere is first class.
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to manufacturing these kinds of bespoke items. The pipes are not straight through units as they do have baffles fitted inside,and no,they’ve not been borrowed from a Volkswagen Beetle as some people have (unkindly!) suggested.
black front number plate and front mudguard are parts that Rick sourced from a KTM motocross bike although the rear mudguard is your standard Honda part that you find on the back of any stock XR500 Honda.
Although there are one or two off-road machines in the above museums, there has not been a collection specifically for enduro motorcycles. However, this has changed since May, 2022. The
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Deutsches Enduro Museum - Zschopau
Words by Leo Keller
Photos by Dietrich Clauss & Friedrich Hieronymus the many a
motorcycle museum in Augustusburg Castle. The 175 exhibits in the Castle document the history of DKW and MZ, which were built in Zschopau, not far from the museum’s location. Of course,the“Museum Mobile” (Audi with DKW) and the BMW Museum in Munich must not be forgotten.
There are more than a hundred motorcycle museums in Germany, the most famous are the “PS Speicher” in the city of Einbeck, near Hannover, with more than 2,500 vehicles (including cars - the largest collection in Europe), the “German Motorcycle Museum” in Neckarsulm with an impressive collection of NSU motorcycles and the
“Deutsches Enduro Museum” opened its doors in the former MZ plant,inOnceZschopau.uponatime,half a century ago,West Germany and the GDR (East Germany) were among the most successful enduro nations. Since the 1st Isny vinduro in 1993,the former motorcycles from East and West could be admired in action at the numerous vinduros in Germany. But the riders were getting older and many of them stopped racing. The Covid-19 pandemic has also played havoc with events, with only a handful of vinduro events being held in the last two years.
Frank Manteuffel, a board member of the “Deutsches Enduro Museum”,explained the idea behind the museum. Basically it came to exist as a group of former off-road athletes, from amateur riders to trophy winners, thought about what would happen to the machines when the riders retire from the sport as they turn of 60,70 or 80. The idea was born to preserve the motorcycles for posterity,
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The museum holds a brilliant collection of rare bikes in a glorious setting.
1 2 3 4 5 16
They considered that the bikes should be exhibited in a museum so they started the search for a suitable building and found open ears in Zschopau. In the former DKW and MZ plant,a mega disco had to close years ago and the rooms were empty and these were offered to the initiators.
4.A
5.
2.
Main: Zündapp factory bikes. Insets - opposite page: Big mutha MZ 500. Maico 750 at the front and Maico four-stroke at the rear. NSU Geländemax. late model Simson. NSU Geländefox.
In 2020 the project was started. With a lot of effort, the former dance halls were prepared for the exhibition of motorcycles.
stillthemostbecauseofridersownedone
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or more of the historic machines.
Of course, a ‘barn find’ corner would also be a good addition to a museum such as this one. Among the curiosities on display in this section is a piece of the former Iron Curtain, with which West and East were separated for more than forty years. The MZ 500 with the starting number T260 in front of the fence with warning signs for mines was ridden in 1964 by FredWillamowski,who was a member of the victorious GDR Trophy team. The very popular rider Steve McQueen should also not be missing in such an exhibit, with a replica of his Triumph standing side by side to Willamowski’s MZ. But don’t worry, the
1.
3.
The exhibition now has about 110 motorcycles from 1926 through to 2013, from “Adler” to “Zündapp”. As well as enduro bikes you will find also some MX and Trial bikes and Eddy Hau’s Dakar Rallye BMW. The Hall of Fame on the 1st floor shows the successful MZ and Zündapp winning bikes.
Perry was left a C2 ventilated quadriplegic. Amidst the heart-break, terrible grief and pain somehow Perry carved out a new lease on life and within a few years, became one of the world’s most inspiring motivational speakers and spinal research advocates – with one mission, to find a cure for paralysis. He has since dedicated his life to helping others, raising awareness of spinal injuries and creating a movement that has seen tens of thousands of people applaud, recognise and support the need for urgent spinal cord injury research. Perry chose to look for the good in life and find a new direction and he has gone on to live an extraordinary life. Inspired by the story of Hollywood actor Christopher Reeve who sustained the same injury, Perry set up the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation with the primary aim of finding a cure for paralysis – a mission he’s taken on with grace and gusto.
You have the power to change a life today…
At the age of 19 he was severely injured in a rugby union tackle at Ballymore in Brisbane and told he would never walk again. Paralysed from the neck down, relying on a ventilator to breathe and requiring 24/7 medical care, Perry quickly had to adapt to the profoundly difficult situation.
Perry Cross broke his neck in a rugby accident that changed his life forever, 26 years ago.
You can help find a cure for paralysislearn more at www.pcsrf.org.au
The Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation has one main goal – to cure paralysis.
This ground-breaking, world first project was pioneered by 2017 Australian of the Year, Emeritus Professor Alan Mackay-Sim and involves the transplantation of the patient’s own olfactory ensheathing cells from the nose. These cells are biopsied, purified, enhanced and then a 3D nerve bridge, made of olfactory cells, will be implanted into patients with chronic spinal cord injury, without the need for invasive surgery.
The Foundation supports and funds The Spinal Injury Project (SIP) which is based at the Menzies Health Institute Queensland and the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery at Griffith University and are working towards a human clinical trial.
And this was not only a fair competition, the political functionaries worked with all the tricks to defeat the class enemy. Even now, many still remember the “bad oil scandal” at the Six Days in Dalton, Massachusetts. Allegedly, the GDR riders were supplied with fork oil to sabotage the machines and prevent the riders from winning in the USA. Ed Youngblood, the
Main:Watercooled MZ 251 in front of a 1987 MZ 250. Insets - below: 1. BMW R75GS from 1969. 2.Andreas Cyffka and his MZ. 3. DKW pre-WWII Geländesport. 4. MZ 125 from 1967. 5.The Suzuki corner. 6. Eddy Hau’s Dakar BMW. 1 4 6 2 5 3 19
press officer of the 48th ISDT remembered a manager of the GDR team that he thought was a Stasi agent. Back in the GDR this “bad oil” was examined as outboard oil and not as fork oil.
If you want to visit the German Enduro Museum, you should note that it is only open on Fridays and weekends. Here is a link to their website: www.deutschesenduromuseum.de/
route of the 39th ISDT did not lead along the strictly guarded border, but 120 km further eastUntilinThuringia.the1980s, enduro racing was the cold war’s front line in motorcycling. While KTM, Maico or Zündapp held up the flag in the West, beyond the Iron Curtain there was Simson, MZ and Jawa from the CSSR as the successful bikes of the Eastern Bloc.
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Cycle World magazine tested the Cappra in their June 1968 issue and their first thoughts were centred around whether the new machine from Montesa could make up for lost time - “Montesa’s
Just five other challengers, not too difficult a task you’d think. CycleWorld didn’t state those five other bikes presumablybut
Montesa journey start for Brad - “The first bike I bought for myself with money I earned was the 1968 360 Cappra. I bought it from the motorcycle shop where I worked sweeping floors and cleaning bikes. I paid $1265.00 at the time and I started racing it right away.”
they were referring to the Bultaco 360, the CZ 360, the Greeves 360, the Husqvarna 360 and the Maico 360 - yes,all 360cc machines,it was the big bore capacity du jour. Indeed, it seems unlikely that any year after 1968 would have boasted just six contenders in the big-
1968 bore class,which were all European and which were all exactly the same capacity! The answer to the question of whether the challenge
belated entry in the 360 class is named the Cappra GP. It has to face the best efforts from five other factories in a highly competitive division of racing where there is no room for second rate machinery. Can it meet the challenge?”
was easily as good as
Montesa Cappra 360 GP
mighty
Kimble and
big
the Cappra could meet the challenge was “Undoubtedly, yes” according to CycleWorld. They got straight to the point with copy such as - “The Cappra is fast, has large gobs of mid-range power so necessary in scrambling, and good handling to transmit the power to the track.” That praise and a fast-growing reputation brought many new buyers to the brand and one of those was a very young Brad Lackey. As it happens,the bike on these pages belongs to Brad and he’s very proud to have a Cappra back in his garage. So where did this
In the USA at least, the Cappra was available with either a 19” front wheel and swept back handlebars for TT use, or with a 21” front wheel and handlebars more suited to motocross. Cycle World were certainly impressed with the Cappra in either guise, leaning slightly more towards the bike being best suited for TT work - “On a TT course and
Words by Ken Smith Photos by John Fulton
The Montesa its in the bore class of
Let’s see, 1968, and factor in the mature age Brad is now and yes,that was a bloody long time ago and Brad must have been just a lad. He was indeed - “I was only 15 at the time and only rode smaller bikes. I liked the big motor and all that power. I had probably raced it about six months when Montesa started giving me bikes. I was riding for Kim Kimble and Montesa after a few wins in the amateur class.” Brad’s love of big bores had begun and so had his career on sponsored machinery and life at the pointy end.
1968. 22
peers
racing driver, race car constructor and race team owner. Cycle Guide were actually testing Dan’s very own Cappra for the magazine and added that - “Dan is one of the guiding forces behind Montesa in this country and a hell of a good bike rider himself.”
Also,ordersBanklarge-scaletwoandbecamebecameofDanMontesaandJaredforMarcVMXMontesamaythoughhavebeenabitoverstated.MagazinecontactedMontesaexpertPape,whointurncontactedJaredBatessomeclarification(bywayofbackground,ownedSouthwestMontesaintheUSAuponhisretirementturnedSouthwestovertoMarc).JareddisagreedthatGurneyhadanyroleinthedevelopmenttheCappraandadvisedthat-“DanGurneyinterestedintheMontesabrand,astockholderinthecorporation,helaterbroughtinJohnKlug;andthesewereprimarilyinstrumentalinobtainingfinancingfromOrangeCounty(California)inordertomakelargefromPermanyer,Inc.inSpainpossible.RitchieGintherandPhilHillwerealsostockholdersandlater,MickeyThompson.”CycleGuidewereequallyasimpressedwiththeCappraand 23
But what of that blue colour, weren’t Cappras of this vintage an orange colour? They were indeed, everywhere except the USA. In a test of the 360 Cappra in Cycle Guide magazine in their February 1969 issue, they noted that the Cappras were blue and white as they were the team colours of Dan Gurney. Yes, Dan Gurney the very successful
a set of folding footpegs would be available as an option. There was though one other significant problem that arose - Most complaint with the Cappra engine was in regard to starting. It is without doubt, one of the most evil starting machines CYCLE WORLD has tested. The rigid peg will permit only half a stroke on the folding crank and then it stops very suddenly. Unless very thick soled boots are worn, the procedure becomes quite painful after a dozen kicks, and that usually is the number required to bring the engine to life.” Nevertheless,their parting comment was very complimentary - “In the right hands, the Cappra is capable of winning in the desert, in TT racing,or on a motocross circuit.”
Dan’s position as a guiding force behind
the Cappra is a superb machine. It has plenty of horsepower, but most important it is a slider. Bends can be taken in long, controlled slides. For motocross, handling is, in general, good. The fork angle is better suited to TT racing than to scrambles.”They weren’t thrilledwiththoughthesolid,caststeelfootpegsbutdidnotethat
point we did like about it, it can be operated with just two fingers.”
46M (USA model) = 502 units
away, no spitting back through the carb, no bucking or lunging, just a smooth transition from slow to fast, very fast. The Montesa is no slouch. No machine, no matter how powerful, will get around a race course unless it handles and here the Montesa is second to none.” The Cappra also led the field in braking performance, sporting a twin leading shoe front brake. Cycle Guide were a bit surprised but liked the idea - “A thing that’s rare on any true dirt racing bike is a double leading shoe front brake. Usually they work too well, that is to say it’s difficult to get on one hard without locking up the front wheel. Montesa uses one and much to our surprsie we had no difficulty in using it. It was possible to lock the wheel up but it took a clumsy hand to do it. One
36M (European model) = 506 units
46M (DS Desert Special model) = 210 units
So it’s not hard to see why Brad Lackey found success as a teenager on board the ‘68 360 Cappra. He was lucky that two examples landed in his lap but they did require complete restoration - “A friend who is also a big collector gave me two 1968 360s. So I guess you can say they were not hard to find! The one you see on these pages was a complete restoration - motor, wheels, paint from the ground up. Abraham Lopez Jr. was recommended to me for the job. He only works with Montesas and is here in Northern California. He did all the work in trade for the other 1968 360 that I had.”
We’ll turn over to Brad for the final word on just how much he values the Montesa in his collection -“Abraham did a great job and it is the most beautiful bike in my collection. It sparkles like jewelry. I am very happy with the restoration and having the bike here at home. Great memories of my early years of racing here in California!”
Marc Pape’s thoughts on the Cappra 360 were similarly enthusiastic and he also had a few words to say on the robustness of the 360 engine - “As far as the 360 goes, in the context of the times, it was very competitive. Heavy, slow revving, not so good handling, just like all of the other makes at the time. They were virtually unbreakable and of course the Amal carburetor could sometimes cause fits. The points ignition was also something that would need tending to. A Mikuni carburetor and electronic ignition solved those problems even at the sacrifice of purists who like things original. I can attest to the robust nature of the engines as I have restored close to a dozen of them and rarely is there more than a broken bushing or worn bearings and seals that need
replacing. Nearly all of the engines I have built were on standard bore pistons as well. I am currently working on one that has a very low serial number and was likely in the first weeks of production.”Marcalso provided some production numbers,for this model (1968-1970) as follows:
SPECIFICATIONS MONTESA CAPPRA 360 GP ProductionYear 1968 Dimensions Seat Height 800mm 31.5” Wheelbase 1372mm 54” Ground Clearance 211mm 8.3” Weight – dry 106kg 235lbs Engine Type Two stroke single Bore x Stroke 78mm x 73.5mm Capacity 351.2cc Power 38hp@6,500rpm Compression Ratio 10:1 Oil System Premix Carburettor 32mmAmal Monobloc Type B Induction Piston port Ignition Flywheel magneto Clutch Wet multiplate all-steel 15 plates Transmission Type Four speed Primary Reduction Gear 1.91:1 Secondary Reduction Chain 11T/46T Chassis Front Suspension Ceriani forks Rear Suspension Telesco twin rear shocks FrontTyre Pirelli 3.00 x 21 or 3.50x19 RearTyre Pirelli 4.00 x 18 Front Brake Twin-leading-shoe drum Rear Brake SLS drum Capacities FuelTank 8.5 litres 2.25 gallons Oil Capacity - gearbox One pint 600cc Main:The blue and white supposedly reflected the involvement of Dan Gurney in US market models but that is open for debate. Insets: 1.The 360 engine pumped out 38hp which was plenty for the period. 2.Amal 32mm Monobloc fed the beast. 1 2 24
placed it in the top three of its class - “If you want to win the 500cc class in motocross racing, this has to be one of the two or three bikes you’ll be picking from.” Both power and handling were strongly praised - “At any speed over idle the wick can be turned up and the bike will move smartly
Insets: 1. Not always the most loved kickstarter. 2.Tank and indeed whole machine has been very well restored. 3. Ceriani forks were winners up front. 4.Telesco rear shocks are used on this resto. 5. Distinctive Montesa engine case always looks the goods. 6. Montesa grips, of course. 1 2 3 4 5 6 25
The first race of the 1981 series was in Anaheim, CA., where Bob put on a good show charging from a 14th place start to a 6th placed finish overall. However,for the season, Bob would only be able to manage a single first place finish (at Pontiac, MI), ending the season with a 5th place overall in the 250SX class.
(and my Mugen ME125RB) Words & photos
1981
26
Suzuki dominated the majority of AMA 250SX races with Mark Barnett, Kent Howerton and Darrell Shultz, while Yamaha’s Mike Bell gave the Suzuki riders all they could handle. Suzuki’s Mark Barnett won the AMA 250SX Championship and Yamaha’s relentless Mike Bell finished 2nd, followed by Barnett’s team mate Kent Howerton in 3rd and Team Honda’s Jim Gibson came in 4th overall in points for the season.
The 1981 250MX outdoor series went much better for the Hurricane; with three first place finishes in the series; the final victory coming over Kent Howerton in the last race known as the infamous “Massacre at Saddleback”. Hannah finished second in the 250MX outdoor series behind Howerton, followed by Donnie Hansen and Kris Bigelow for the 3rd and 4th positions respectively.
As for the 1981 AMA 125MX outdoor series, it was owned by Team Suzuki’s Mark Barnett. He flat out dominated the series, winning every race except the final at Carlsbad. Barnett had to sit out Carlsbad after snapping his collarbone while practicing just a few days before the race, ending what could have been the perfect season. Even so, Barnett had already clinched the 1981 125MX crown before the race, finishing 66 points ahead of the young, up and coming Team The Year in Motocross by Robert Hawes
So this is a story about a year, 1981, in motocross history in the USA and a story about a bike from 1981, my Mugen ME125RB. Where to begin… well, right from the start, 1981 looked like it was going to be another exciting and interesting time in the world of untilandAMA1979.hisall“Hurricane”ofAmericatalkmotocrossersmotocross.Althoughthenewproductiongeneratedplentyofamongstthefans,thebignewsintostart1981wasthereturnthe1979250ccAMAChampion,BobHannah.Bobhadmissedofthe1980seasonafterbreakingleginawaterskiingaccidentinlateTheHurricanehaddominatedthe250SX(Supercross)classin1979waslookingunstoppablefor1980theaccident.
Every Honda rider (and many nonHonda riders!) desperately wanted a Mugen but few realised the dream. They remain a very desirable machine.
27
was a surprise was that the American team finished off in the top 4 places, with Johnny O’Mara finishing 2nd, Danny LaPorte 3rd and Donnie Hansen 4th. Chuck Sun finished 8th due to a blown shock. This was good enough to give the American team the first moto win at theTrophee des Nations. This shocked the European and U.S. media outlets, as they both had little confidence in America’s “B” motocross team. Even with the victory in the first moto, the Europeans believed the Americans would falter under pressure in the second moto.
the week before, and this race would be no different. O’Mara had never raced in the 500cc class and Hansen had been racing in the 250cc class,so winning in a class against Europe’s best open riders was a tall order. The first moto was far from easy for Roger DeCoster’s young American team. From the drop of the gate, the best position of Roger’s team was Chuck Sun in 6th place, who would end up being ousted from a top 10 position due to a thrown chain. Hansen’s start would also be just out of the top 10, however, he would fight his way up to a 2nd place finish while chasing down Sweden’s Hakan Carlqvist, finishing in 1st place. LaPorte managed a 6th place finish even after starting in the second row, as the first starting gate only accommodated 24 of the 32 riders. Jonny O’Mara, who was having his own troubles on the track, was able to manage an 11th place
Suzuki and Yamaha declined to send their riders as part of the American team, not wanting to absorb the cost, possible injury to their riders and/or an embarrassing loss. However, a few fans of the sport, namely Dick Miller of Motocross Action Magazine and Larry Maiers of Hi-Point, along with the sponsorship of Bel-Ray Lubricants, had already raised the money for the team by selling t-shirts prior to Suzuki andYamaha pulling out. Larry and Dick also talked the ‘big four’ Japanese manufactures to put in $5000 each for team USA. With the absence of a representative race team, Roger DeCoster convinced American Honda to assemble a team to representAmerica.The1981Motocross des NationsAmerica team consisted of Chuck Sun,Danny LaPorte,Donnie Hansen and Johnny O’Mara. The team was to be coached by Roger DeCoster, who had been part of previous Belgian race teams. The Europeans hardly took the America team seriously; in their eyes, they were worse than a second rate group of riders. DeCoster was criticised by the Europeans for bringing a team of half rate riders to such a prestigious event, labeling them as America’s ‘BTeam’ without any of them being 1981 champions. The American team was also denied the starter money given to all national teams. This team would have to work for everything they were going to get.
track. Despite all the negativity and criticism surrounding them,theAmerican team believed in themselves and one another. They had come to Europe to compete,and so they did.
28
An exciting season ofAMA motocross had come to a close,however the most fascinating story in American motocross didn’t reveal itself until the end of 1981. That was when a team of what were considered to be ‘second string’ riders were selected to represent America in Europe’s most prestigious motocross event, the 1981 Trophee des Nations in Lommel, Belgium. They were to compete against the best in Europe, then again a week later at the motocross des Nations in Bielstein, West Germany. The Europeans were considered by many to be the best motocross racers in the world, and rightly so, as they had dominated the sport and the des Nations since their creation.
The Trophee des Nations was the first order of business and held in Belgium,as they were the nation whose team had won the previous year. The Europeans believed the Belgium team to be unbeatable,and they were the obvious favourites racing on their home track. The Belgians were not required to race the qualifying motos, however the Americans were, and so they did. The young Americans ended up taking first place in the 20 minute
One week later in Bielstein, West Germany, was the highly anticipated Motocross des Nations aTheMotocrossearnedtheydesAmericanforthe500ccmotorcycles.WiththeteamwinningtheTropheeNationsinthemannerinwhichdid(by17points),theyhadtherighttocompeteatthedesNationsinBielstein.Americanteamhadtoputingoodridetogettheirvictory
The second moto was much like the first, with Belgium’s Andre Vromans getting 1st place again. However,America’s B team showed that they were up to the task of competing with Europe’s fastest riders with Danny LaPorte finishing 2nd and Johnny O’Mara 3rd while Keens Van Der Ven took the 4th position and Hank Van Mierlo got 5th spot. Chuck Sun took 6th and Donnie Hansen finished 11th,giving the American team a total of 20 points,which was good enough for a 1st place overall win at theTrophee des Nations! The Belgians finished with 37 points for a 2nd place finish. The Trophee des Nations was a race that had been dominated by the team from Belgium for the previous 10 years and this event had now been won by an America team for the first time in history. Ironically,Roger DeCoster had been a member of the Belgium winning teams for six of those years.
Honda rider Johnny O’Mara in 2nd place. Following a very close 3rd was JeffWard with just a four point separation between him and O’Mara. Team Honda’s Jim Gibson ended up finishing 4th overall.
qualifiers and even so, the Europeans had a cynical view towards them, and gave them no chance of winning the main event. After all, the main was 40 minutes long plus an additional two laps. The European’s believed that the Americans wouldn’t be able to hold up for 40 minutes on the rigorous Belgian
Thefinish.second moto of the Motocross des Nations wasn’t to
Trim and terrific.
In the first moto, Andre Vromans of Belgium took 1st place, which wasn’t a big surprise being the favorite, however, what
That front numberplate certainly shouted out - “I’m a Mugen!”
Main:They do look fast, and were fast! Insets - below: 1.Terry fork kit up front. 2. OEM plastics were hard to locate. 3. Mugen top end provides the power.
Suzuki arguably had the best factory motocross machines for 1981 but very few
With all things in the universe being equal, Team USA would still have their chance. The team from Britain made up of Dave Thorpe, Dave Watson, Geoff Mayes and Graham Noyce were giving the Americans their biggest challenge. However,in the sport of motocross, anything can happen on any given day. This was the case when Graham Noyce’s rear tire went flat during the moto,dropping his position from first to the back of the pack. Soon after Noyce’s flat, the British team suffered another blow which they could not overcome when Geoff Mayes crashed, setting the British team further back. At the end of this raining day for the Americans, LaPorte would capture 2nd place, O’Mara 8th and Hansen 13th. The American “B“ team would finish with 44 points, just one point better than the British team’s 43 point total. Giving the American team a 1st place win overall at the Motocross des Nations.Most would not have dreamed of such an outcome, but teamAmerica believed in each other,and in the end,that was all that mattered.
be any easier for theAmericanTeam. A steady rain had started, adding another degree of difficulty to the track. The mechanics for team USA were barely able to keep the bikes running due to the lack of parts; but they too were committed to the team and determined to fight through the adversity. Dave Arnold, the team Honda lead mechanic, was busy wrenching on the bikes until just minutes before the start of the second moto. With all the rain, the track became muddy and rutted in no time at all, making things even more challenging. Although Chuck Sun was accustomed to riding in muddy conditions, he crashed, re-injuring an old ankle injury that forced him to drop out of the race.
4. Fox Twin Clicker shock.
Honda’s CR125 and CR250 were all new for 1981; new frames, wheels, plastics, engines, suspension and of course decals. They were now
As for the rest of 1981,it brought another new year of motocross, which included a host of new, radical machines, as well as some new and old faces to motocross. The big four manufactures had spent many waking hours in their respective R&D departments, designing their new and innovative machines. Machines that could give visions of victories to anyone who might dare swing a leg over their particular favorite racer. All of the big four manufacturers now utilised a single rear shock suspension (although Kawasaki had delivered their Uni-Track system to the market a year earlier and Yamaha introduced their Monoshock system in 1975). Suzuki and Honda now quenched their 125cc and 250cc engines with liquid cooling, while Yamaha implemented it only on theirYZ125.
had access to a factory Suzuki,Honda,Yamaha or Kawasaki (much less one of each) to compare them all. Not the case with the 1981 production motocross bikes as anyone with enough money, credit or combination of both could go out and buy a new KX, CR, YZ or RM to draw their own comparison. To have one or several new space-age MXers, all it took was the cash. However,if your mind was set on a new red bike, and you had some extra change in your piggy bank, the options went beyond the choice of a new CR125R, CR250R or CR450R.
1 3 2 4 29
Flaws in production motocrossers are often addressed through the aftermarket avenue, however, Honda motocross owners (or those wanting to ride a red machine) had another avenue to address their CR woesMugen Ltd. Mugen had worked hand in hand with Honda’s R&D department and knew the Honda machines inside and out. No surprise, knowing that the founder of Mugen Ltd., Hirotoshi Honda, was Honda’s son.
This particular Mugen presented many challenges but has probably been the easiest of all of my bikes to restore. This was mostly due to the many parts that were collected for it, and the time frame in which they were found (when the parts were still available through Honda). Another huge factor was the limited number of custom parts that had to be made for this project. Aside from the Mugen top-end and front number plate, seat cover and suspension, just about everything else is OEM Honda. The seat cover logo, decals and a few parts of the Fox Twin Clicker were custom
The 125cc bikes were the hottest sellers in the MX market; so being the good marketing people that they were at Mugen, they chose to focus their research and development on the 125cc market with their Mugen ME125. Mugen made lots of tricks pieces to transform a stock CR125 into a motocross missile. So, if you felt that your stock CR didn’t have quite the get up and go you wanted, rather than sending the stock CR cylinder and head out for a port, polish and mill, one could just purchase a new, completely re-designed factory Mugen race kit. If the suspension couldn’t hold up to the pounding you were giving it, there was the works Mugen/Showa race suspension that could be bolted on with little or no modifications to your stock CR. And if a rider felt that the stock CR was just too heavy and slow for their liking and they had some deep, deep pockets, they could buy a full-on Mugen ME125RB factory racer.
Even if you have the cash today,finding such a bike is difficult. People interested in building such a bike have tried to hunt down the rare Mugen parts,then built a kit bike out of a stock ’81 CR125RB and this is the case with the bike featured here. This is one flawlessly restored ’81 CR125RB with a ’81 Mugen engine kit and other performance parts. Locating many of the NOS Honda, Mugen, Moto-X-Fox parts and theTerry Fork kit for such a project took a lot of persistence, patience and a little bit of luck. This project took about seven years to complete,while multitasking on other projects.
To Hazel, Robert, Melissa, Risa and Michael Hawes,Ted Mink, Mr. Schoeing, Jason Cheetham, Gerald Tomas, Mark Buttler and Phil Schaefer… thank you guys!
Once most of the key items were located, the real fun began - restoring parts and assembling the project. That usually goes well until you get hung up on a missing part or have to wait for someone else to make something or put something through their process. There will probably be setbacks; for example, the rear rim got scratched when mounting the tire. This was so disconcerting that the rear wheel had to be torn down and the scratch removed. Then the rim was re-anodized, re-laced/trued and the tyre mounted again.
1. Hubs were powder coated. 2. Rear wheel was built twice to remove a scratch. 3.The project took seven years to complete and the patience shows in every part. 4. Lots of detail finishes.
1 2 3 4 31
Locating the NOS Honda plastic was a chore in itself, with some of it being quite expensive once located. But eventually if one is patient and persistent enough in this treasure hunt, those difficult and hard to find items will find their way to your front doorstep.
As for locating the Mugen kit, one may actually have to go on a hunt at several salvage yards or scavenge internet web sites to locate those rare Mugen parts. What probably works best is to have a small circle of friends that have an honest interest in the sport and who are generally interested in seeing you build such a machine, as word of mouth and networking can do wonders.
Themade.frame,engine cases,top-end,fork sliders, wheel hubs and items that would have normally been painted by the factory, were all prepped by myself and then powder coated by Sun Western Coating. The crankshaft was rebuilt by CrankWorks ofTempe,Arizona and the Mugen cylinder nikasiled by Millennium Plating. All of the other work on this kit bike, for example all the engine,suspension and machining work,was completed by me. However, I do have a short list of people in which I wish to personally say “ThankYou” to for their support and help with this project, you have all helped to make my dream bike come true.
But, there are many small victories, such as obtaining that hard to find part, getting all the parts back from the painter or powder coater, or when the parts are modular enough to start assembling the bike.
liquid-cooled and single-shocked Elsinores. In addition to the newly re-engineered CR125RB and CR250RB,was Honda’s first year production open-class motocrosser, the Honda CR450RB. Yes, the CRs were all new, innovative and yet… flawed. True,they were much improved over the previous CRs,but not without their own faults.
TheMugenME125RBfactorybikeconsisted of a special handmade frame, Mugen works alloy swingarm and suspension, fibreglass tank, radiators and engine. The only pieces left over from the CR were the wheels, cables, seat, plastics and some of the hardware. The engine was a combination of the Honda CR bottom end with Mugen clutch and top-end. The chassis consisted of works Mugen suspension mounted to a works handmade Mugen chromemoly frame. Yes, a vast improvement over the stock ’81 CR125RB, but only for those who could afford one or were fast enough to be given a Mugen factory ride.
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Main: Small but perfectly formed - the 50 GS looks like any serious Six Day bike. Inset - opposite page: Sachs engine has a seven-speed gearbox.
KTM 50 GS 1972 for
33
Words and photos by Paolo Sala
In 1970, KTM completely abandoned the Comet 50 class project to devote itself to the development of the new KTM offroad machines of higher displacement, which had worldwide success thanks also to the agreement signed in 1968 with John Penton. The retirement of the glorious Comet 50 GS heralded the start of the construction of a new model, the first model of which was deployed straight away in the Valli Bergamasche event, as if to symbolically represent the passing of the Itbaton.wasan all-Italian experiment carried out by Mainini - a frame from the‘71 model,hastily adapted to accommodate the smallest 50cc engine (a classic short-stroke Sachs with a sixspeed gearbox) by means of small connecting brackets.Ledby Mauro Miele, he concluded the entire test and finished ninth in his class. The same bike appeared in other national races but did not shine in the rankings - third at the Arona Trophy on 22 October, and only sixth at the Fulvio Norelli Trophy on 12 November. After this first debut,which was a bit simplistic and all very limited by resources, a new much more refined prototype followed, developed directly in Mattighofen.
The 50cc models marketed by KTM were always billed as utility motorcycles for children,despite having participated in off-road Regularity races from 1964 to 1970, with the Sachs powered Comet. These bikes were built in very low numbers and were entrusted to
the riders only for the race event. The engines were developed by Sachs under the request of KTM and were practically identical in all respects to the engines that were used in the Hercules. In those years there were countless battles between Puch, KTM, Hercules, Simson and Zundapp.
This prototype, of which we have been told is one of a dozen specimens, is the bike that we present to you in this photo shoot.
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it’s like at the flea markets - you see some parts, you haggle a bit, you pay and then you leave without leaving your details. TheAustrian seller had used this KTM 50 for off-road races at their local championship and also had the original documents, from which it can be proven that the bike was put on the road in 1972.
The bike in this article was spotted by an Italian enthusiast during a visit to a vintage motorcycle market in Austria. Unfortunately the head, piston, cylinder, carburetor and muffler had already been sold separately and the bike was ready to be dismembered and sold in pieces. In reality, the buyer (and now current owner) immediately understood what it was and quickly concluded the negotiation to take all that remained. He also asked the seller if they knew the contact details of those who had purchased the top end,but you know what
Insets: 1. Slim and trim. 2. Classic through the frame exhaust. 3.Airbox had just enough space.
The bike follows the look of the bigger sisters,simply softened by the small tank. On the first examples, different types of Ceriani forks were tested, but preference was given to those used on the larger 125cc models with 32mm tubes and four-bolt plates. The high muffler that crossed the frame under the seat was the classic Sachs of dimensions suitable for the small displacement. Even the tires (front 2.50x21 and rear 3.00x18) were adequately reduced.
The discovery of a motorcycle used for a long time at various events over the
The engine is the classic Sachs short stroke but in the seven-speed version. The forks are the 32mm Ceriani versions of the older sisters (100 and 125) and the bike now sports Koni shock absorbers (perhaps Girlings were installed originally). The brakes are original items from KTM but with a smaller diameter and the front was built specifically for this model. The original steel rims have been replaced with Akront aluminum rims as they are lighter and more beautiful. The frame is very similar to the 125cc model but all the cradle tubes are smaller in diameter and the proportions are also smaller, so much so that the tank looks like it came from a mini bike but in reality it is just a little shorter than the one used on the bigger models.
4. Ceriani 32mm forks. 5. Frame tubes are very slim. 6. Rear tyre was 3.00x18, front was 2.50x21.
Compared to the bike built in 1971 by Mainini, on this new 50cc you can see greater attention to detail and that the frame is more wrapped around the engine, thanks to the use of smaller diameter tubes.
years and moreover accompanied by its original documents are further proof that this KTM 50 is part of that lot of ten or twelve pieces that were prepared so many years ago. One was also sent to the USA to the Penton company and it is believed
4 6 5 35
so
Main:This bike is one of only ten or examples built for factory riders.
to still be in the ownership of the Penton family. A miraculous discovery like this one only happens once in a lifetime but it also proves that sometimes it is possible to simply stumble upon a rare gem. We should all be so lucky once in our life!
though of course is that Yamaha popularised the reed valve on some of their 1972 models and most other manufacturers joined the party throughout the ‘70s.
In the test of this bike in Australasian Dirt Bike magazine in their January ‘82 issue, they were impressed -“For the first time,the 250 has a full reed-valve induction. It badly needed it in the past, and the difference is staggering. The engine pulls strong and clean from nothing.” As was well known by that point,you couldn’t just whack on a reed valve without making other changes,asADB pointed out -“Motor internals have undergone changes which have resulted in better gas flow. The reeds open into a larger intake and scavenging is improved through larger
If you want a brand new, OEM Maico then you get Dave Coupe to build you one - his work is superb. 36
The big news with the engine in the 1981 250 Maico was the addition of a reed valve. Better late than never, you may say. As a bit of an aside,to add some background to the reed valve history ‘vault’, Harry Taylor, the R&D guy with Pabatco (Hodaka) started adapting reed valve technology to Hodaka engines in 1966. Adapting the technology from where you might ask - McCulloch chainsaws as it happens, who had been equipping their two-stroke chainsaw engines with reed valves for years. Harry and other Pabatco staff pleaded towithmanagementforHodakaintroducereedvalveson
Words by Ken Smith Photos by Dave Coupe
1981 MAICO GS 250
What we all do know
their engines right through to 1970/’71 and almost gave up but they were adopted by Hodakaeventually.
Maico waited until this model, in 1981, but they really took great advantage of the now ‘fullydeveloped’ technology. It made a good engine great,no question.
power right
They were even keen on the Bing - “It’s such a good enduro motor, there’s nothing it doesn’t do well. Don’t let anyone tell you that Bing carbs don’t work well because the 38mm Bing on this motor works spot-on. The bike started first kick every time. Hot or cold. In gear or out.” Indeed, ADB couldn’t stop raving about the new engine - “One thing’s for sure, the reed-equipped motor is simple to set up, it will idle up boulder-strewn, dust-laden cliffs, it will effortlessly growl through mid-range tree-to-tree stuff all day long with a minimum of gear changing, or it will hit a rush of up the top that
simply climb away! Other engine changes included a new expansion chamber (and massive muffler) and two single row primary chains instead of the duplex primary chain on the earlier model. I can tell you’re asking yourself why two single row chains are stronger than a duplex chain, so, here’s the explanation. Here’s what Cycle World magazine wrote in the Maico 250 Mega 2 MC test in theirAugust‘81 issue -“The chain has the same size rollers and pins but the pins are less than half the length the double row chain used. Shorter pins the same diameter mean substantial strength is gained. It’s much harder to bend a short pin. If the pins don’t bend, the side plates don’t break, and the chain life is extended.”
it was by-passed during a recent event. We eventually resorted to stopping in the nastiest spot and then trying to get moving again. Let the clutch out and
Waiting for some clothes.
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A brilliant engine.
Reed valve cylinder and Bing carby.
transfers and an altered booster port system. The piston is the same as last year but with 20mm shaved off the rear of the skirt.”
Stone stock and simply smashing.
will send you through an acceleration theintestwithatimeasgoodasanythingtheclass.Werepeatedlyputbikeupaclimbsobadthat
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miles on it, which was incredible. I even have the correct key for the steering lock and I don’t know how that happened on a 41 year old motorcycle! Overall, this restore was pretty easy and pretty straight forward. I have to say that it does help that I have a ton of NOS and used Maico parts.”
spokes, a new lacing pattern and wider hubs (cast from aluminium not magnesium). Other notable updates they detailed were far superior control cables and the change in the fixture of the rear brake plate (now locating in a lug on the swingarm instead of the torque arm used previously).
Yes, that would have been a huge help Dave and you did an incredible job on the GS. Perhaps you should have raced this model back in the day,or now,as it seems like it really was a star. Wrapping up their review, ADB broke it down into two main points“There are two main details on this model: the all-new frame, and the reed valve. These two features absolutely transform the Maico, and it becomes a bike which is easy to get right, easy to ride in the most impossible sections, and easy to reach the ground from.”
When discussing the bike’s handling,ADB mentioned that some people (those familiar with Japanese enduro models) thought that the Maico handled a bit peculiar but argued that the GS 250 needed some time in the saddle to get the full effect - “At first, we had been too used to Japanese machines. They’re good, for sure, and they handle lightly and well. But after a while on a Maico you are BETTER. First up, Maico handles heavily, it isn’t heavy, but it handles heavily. It seems to be glued to the ground:it doesn’t float over bumps,it stays on the ground and goes through them. As a rider, you don’t feel them. We’d rate the Maico suspension thus: Front - the best in the world.
There were significant changes to the chassis as well. For example, the frame is completely different. Some thought the frame on the 1980 model was too high so the 1981 model had a steering head that was 42mm lower with the forks shortened to match (without any loss of wheel travel). As well, the fork sliders were highly modified, being shorter at the top and beefier around the seals and axleclamps. Otherchangesinclude the lengthening of the rear frame loop (to provide better support for the rear mudguard), the fitting of a plastic tank (previously steel) and the strengthening of the centrestand (previously easy to bend). As ADB summised - “Yes sir. These Maicos are a lot better than the last model.”
Main: Dave’s showroom. Insets: 1. Coming along nicely. 2.A muffler that actually muffled. 3. Zero miles.
The GS 250 example you see in this feature was restored by Dave Coupe for a collector’s museum. That figures, because if you want a museum-quality bike then Dave is just the person! He didn’t have anything to share on racing a GS 250 as his racing career has been on other models of Maico but he did have some feedback on the restoration“First off, I don’t think they made many of the GS250s - I believe everyone wanted the GS490s. I did make this bike as OEM as possible and I think the shocks were the toughest part of the build. I did though find a brand new speed odometer with no
But, like ADB, it was the new engine that really impressed, with T&T test rider saying - “I was so impressed with the low down grunt that unconsciously I began to compare it to some 400s I had recently ridden.” They also agreed that it took a while to ‘settle in’ to the way the Maico delivered its charms - “Like most European bikes the Maico has a personality that takes a while to get used to before all the magic things begin to fall into place.”
strongermodels,thedetailedthatdrivinglikefrompleasure,250IgroundthewhenSeptemberTrackthroughoutreliableinbeenisreliabilityMaicostheytheride.justbetweenmatterthewerebrakingthroughashakingworst(orwithonRear-equalsecondbestofanythingthemarket,behindaHusqvarnaitsOhlins.Overall?Tops.”Sure,ithadalotofheadshakeasADBsaid-“ItisoneofthebikesintheUNIVERSEforitshead.”)anditbuckedbitwhentryingtoslowdownacornerfilledwithbumpsbutthosenegativesneitherherenorthereinschemeofthings.Norforthatwasthegapinthegearboxthirdandfourthgears-forgetaboutitandenjoytheYoucouldkeeponenjoyingridetoo,givenitsreliability,asalsomentioned-“Foryears,havehadthereputationofandstrength,thismodelnodifferent.Theymayhavequestionablein1974,but1981aMaicoisasstrongandastheycome.”ThepraisecontinuedatestinTrailand(T&T)magazineintheir‘81issue-“JustIwasbeginningtothinkJapanesebikesweregainingontheEuropeanones,againrodeaMaico:thelatestEnduro;andIfoundtomysomuchthatwasmissingtheJapanesemachines.It’sgettingintoaMercedesafteraMiniMinor.Thereismuchdifference.”Theyalsothechangesandlikedupdatesfromthepreviousnotinginparticularthewheelsduetostronger
Surprisingly, given Maico’s reputation for making bikes that were mainly only appreciated by hard-core racers, it was ADB’s parting words that really threw a whole new light on the brand, and this GS 250 in particular“More to the point for most of you readers, we found the Maico would be the perfect bike for either a novice/beginner/play rider, or a serious racer like Chris Cater (Aussie enduro champ). Fool around and it makes you smile a lot, race it hard, and at the end your smile is just as wide.” Happy days,if you own one!
The event, organised by the President of the Hercules DKW Sachs Historical Register, Roberto Biza, has been slowly building over
embellished with such a rich display of off-road Hercules motorcycles, thanks to these and many other participants. The most beautiful motorcycles built in the‘50s,‘60s and‘70s were displayed alongside the ‘official’ motorcycles (works machines). There were several works bikes on display that had previously competed in the European Championship and the Six Days of the ‘70s. These are extremely rare models,unique in the world,and they are fully preserved and still fully functional.
HERCULES DAY 2022
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Participants were able to use their bikes on a route of about seven kilometers, laid out by the excellent Registry Secretary,
many years and was a great success at this 2022 edition. The participants, the bikes and the climate all couldn’t have been better and nothing could disturb the event’s unfolding over the weekend, which witnessed many emotionalForeignscenes.guests were the first to arrive. Mark Reul and his whole beautiful family arrived from Belgium,Marc Barette and Michel Capaldi came from France, while Peter Kling travelled from Germany. The meeting was
The 30th Hercules day took place at ‘Arriga Alta’, Lonato del Garda, in Italy, on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2022. Arriga Alta is a beautiful country estate that provided a perfect setting for the event. Arriga Alta is also a hill, the highest hill in the lower Lake Garda,and, Arriga is also a museum where you can find the most beautiful enduro bikes of the 60s [www.arrigaalta.it] so for every reason,Arriga Alta was the place to be!
Words & photos by Roberto Biza
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As well, the gruff, but sagacious Arnaldo withFariolihonoureduswithhispresence,togetherthegreatPieroPolini(ItalianChampion
1970, 1971 and 1972 and now manager of PoliniMotori). Botharestillinexcellentshape. From one joke to the next, they delighted us with their most interesting and precious memories.Thisyear was our 30th rally and it was felt that something should be made of the significant anniversary, to celebrate reaching such a goal. Among the many other commitments undertaken by Alberto Braghetta (and carried out with complete success), he also dedicated himself to the creation of a special commemorative plaque for this 30th event. The plaque was awarded
Alberto Braghetta, in the week preceding the meeting. On the ride were Duccio D’Amico, accompanied by a rare Stornello Regularity, and also Alfonso Crisci, Alberto Caraffini,Roberto Zocchi,Dario Salvi,Stefano Bignetti,Angelo Lodola,GiovanniAlmici,Marco Borelli, Paolo Sala and many other fans of the prestigiousGermanfactory. Indeed,therewas no shortage of great riders, the riders who fuelled our enthusiasm for the sport back in those glory years.
Hercules owners arrived from all over Europe to attend the 30th ‘Hercules Day’.
Early Sachs engine was used in many models.
to all those who have shared in this long journey and kept their enthusiasm and passion over those decades. There was a small and informal ceremony where we awarded all the friends of all time,one by one.
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had sand-cast aluminium engine parts and futuristic five-speed gearboxes. This was at a time when, in Italy, it was considered a dream to have three gears operated by hand. Being able to admire them all together, side by side, was a real spectacle.
The Hercules 50 was no less appealing! On “forklift”intermediateTheylast,GSdisplay,therewereinfact,boththefirstHerculesever,averyraremodelfrom1964,andthethefamousSachs50-Peregoreplica.wereinthecompanyofthevariousmodels,includinganequallyrarefrom1966.Alsointhiscase,thesearepiecesexhibitedforthefirsttimetothepublicandtheexceptionalqualityofthesesplendidspecimenshastransformedparticipationinthegatheringintoarealmuseumvisit.Thefullandundisputedsuccessoftheevent,togetherwiththegreatsatisfactionoftheparticipants,bodeswellforthefutureandwearealreadythinkingaboutthe31stHerculesDay,whichwillbeheldinLonatodelGarda,ArrigaAltainJune2023.Pleasejoinus!
First of all, we must dedicate at least a mention of three 1962-1965 DKW 50cc models, exhibited for the first time ever to the public. They were masterfully restored by Mark Reul, who, with great competence, took care of even the smallest and most hidden details. These are very important and rare pieces with original DKW engines, produced before the company was sold to Sachs, which
As well as the wonderful people,of course mention must be made of some of the fabulous bikes in attendance. The crowd certainly did get to see some of the most beautiful and precious factory bikes, almost all those in fact that still exist in the world. As well,there were production bikes that most represented the models of the ‘70s. Among the many, there were, in my humble opinion, some very rare machines,which were certainly worthy of being admired,photographed and remembered.
Insets: 1. Later model Sachs with ‘adjustable’ ports. 2.A stunning later model Sachs Perego 50. 3. Utilitarian but still very attractive in its own way. 4. Radial head adds style and substance. 5. Going way back into the Hercules lineup. 6. Crying out for a rider - it looks ready to go the full six days. 7.You won’t see this selection very often. 8.World’s smallest front hub? 9. Red and chrome is always a great combo. 10. Built tough, not pretty. Main:Take your pick, they all have a great pedigree. 8 10 9 43
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David Kerry stands proud with his TT500 build, in the perfect vintage workshop.
After a good sleep I took it for a ride up and down the street showing,off my wheelstand skills to the neighbours. Not bad for a Grandfather of seven I have to say. Goodness knows what the neighbours thought.
45
I am now sixty-three years old and it’s been forty-six years since that day when my mate turned up out in the bush on his TT. They have been a big part of my life and now I have this beautiful example in the lounge room, a constant reminder of my youth and of the great memories and the good times - which as many of you already know, were the ‘70s! TT500 Memories of the ‘70s
We were impressed with Carl Hensel’s photography in capturing Joel Drinkwater’s YZ490 in Issue 89. Another reader got in touch with his photos from Carl of his TT500 and we just had to share the images and info on thisTT500.
Since then, it has been part of the furniture in the lounge room of our house, I refer to it as my “work of art”, a very graphic 3D picture!
Words by David Kerry Photos by Carl Hensel - Carl’s Garage
I first saw this TT advertised four years ago but it was in SouthAustralia,a long way from home in Newcastle.I kept an eye on it and a couple of months later I decided to buy it even though I had to drive 1,370 kilometres down there to get it! I took a sickie from work,hooked up the trailer and jumped in the car with my wife,best mate and his wife and headed off from Newcastle to Mount Gambier. We left at 8pm and we drove all night, alternating drivers for twenty hours straight. We stayed for two nights and did a bit of sightseeing before we picked up the bike.
I have no intention of riding it again (much to the disgust of many) as I have three other bikes to ride. I gradually managed to get hold of the parts needed to get it as close to original as possible. Some parts have come from (and some are still coming from) America, France and the UK. Some parts have been handmade and I am still finding bits here and there that need attention. Its certainly not 100% justAyet.lso, I’d like to say a massive thanks to all the people who commented on the photos that I post on Facebook groups. There is always someone who spots a part,a nut or a bolt that’s wrong and lets me know about it! Some of the comments are indeed useful.
Yamaha
I was eighteen when I bought my first XT 500, back in 1976. It was a week after my mate arrived out in the bush on his TT - I had a ride and fell in love with the XT and TT500 Yamaha singles. I traded in my XL250 Motosport and have always had an XT or a TT ever since.
It looked good, with fresh paint and it was clean and tidy but had a lot of non-original or just plain wrong year model parts and overall it needed a fair bit of work. I was happy enough with my purchase. We drove home all day and night arriving home at 7am and I have to say it was a great road trip.
The 17th century Drumlanrig Castle, which is often known locally as the “Pink Palace” due to its red sandstone construction, has been in the Douglas family for the past six hundred years and is now the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch who kindly allowed the Galloway Motorcycle Racing Club to desecrate their beautiful castle surroundings with their noisy vintage dirt bikes.
Although you could never imagine in your wildest dreams why anybody in their right mind would allow you to hold a classic motorcycle scramble race meeting in and around the grounds of such a historic monument as Drumlanrig,and in that way it’s akin
This was my second visit to this fantastic event after I attended their inaugural race meeting back in 2017 and since then the
Drumlanrig scramble weekend has gone from strength to strength and is currently without doubt not only one of the best vintage offroad race events in Scotland but is fast becoming one of the UK’s top classic and vintage scrambles gatherings. Now it is one of the first dates that riders are entering into their racing calendars for the forthcoming year.
The Galloway Motorcycle Club was initially formed way back in the 1930s and in the following years had spawned many a Scottish champion from all forms of two-wheeled motorsport up until 2011 when the club then closed down. It was resurrected in 2018 by a few loyal club members to put on motorcycle trials, grasstrack and scrambles events.
to somebody giving you permission to dig up the main fairway of your local golf club because in reality dirt bike races at these kind of venues just never happen. I’ll bet that each year the Galloway Motorcycle Club pinch themselves that they continue to secure such a prime location to race these old motorbikes.
SCOTTISH CLASSIC GRAND NATIONAL SCRAMBLE
Words and photos by Chris Montignani
This 2022 classic weekend had just about everything and was very much family oriented this year with plenty of watch.mowertoThereplaceclassicracingwithforty-sixracestakingoverthecourseofthetwodays.wereotherzanyentertainmentskeepyouoccupiedincludinglawnracing,whichwasgreattoAswell,therewerecopious
The jewel in the Scottish crown of classic off-road race events made a very welcome return to the hallowed grounds of Drumlanrig Castle near Thornhill for their annual offroad motorcycle extravaganza. The event is held around the lush and immaculately manicured Drumlanrig Castle grasslands.
Brad Lackey, Roger DeCoster, and Heikki Mikkolalegends all, outside the historic Drumlanrig Castle.
Words and Pictures by Chris Montignani
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Adays.lsoas
you would expect there was a good sprinkle of motocross legends scattered around the grounds with not only one guest of honour this year but three celebrities from the offroad world in attendance. The Galloway committee certainly came up trumps and secured the services of none other than Roger DeCoster, Brad Lackey and Heikki Mikkola, who were all kept very busy throughout the weekend signing autographs and having selfies taken by adoring motocross race fans. Others just brought along fuel tanks or clothing for the legends to autograph.
the opportunity to relax and speak to the crowds. So Drumlanrig certainly had more than its fair share of legends in attendance!
amounts of other stuff going on in the shape of trials rides and other motorcycle related distractions to keep punters happy over the four
The four-day event kicked off on the Thursday with charity classic road bike runs around the Thornhill area of Dumfries, and within the boundaries of the paddock area there were other amusements to keep you occupied like fast food vendors and classic dirt bike related spare parts vendors and even
bikes for sale. Of course and maybe more importantly, there was the traditional and superbly stocked bar to help you quench your thirst when a bit of refreshment was required. Although it was quite apparent early on that this weekend was going to be hugely popular as the paddock was already three quarters full as riders and spectators began arriving in their droves and this was still only theThursday!
On the Friday evening the official opening of the 2022 Drumlanrig Classic Grand National Scramble kicked off with the traditional pipe band leading the proceedings from the castle to the racetrack with our three guests of honour Brad Lackey, Heikki Mikkola and Roger DeCoster leading the pipe playing ensemble right into the paddock arena. Soon afterwards it was also great to hear some of their old stories from back in the day when they were later seen on stage in front of adoring fans and Brad Lackey in particular had the crowds rolling with laughter with some of his racing exploits from his days on the track.
VMX Magazine caught up with Brad
DRUMLANRIG CASTLE 16TH - 19TH JUNE 2022
Drumlanrig Castle and the paddock from the air - what a sight!
There were other notable legends gracing the hallowed grounds of Drumlanrig Castle over the four days, with British racing motocross star Graham Noyce also circulating around the paddock. Yorkshire trials six days event champion Bill Wilkinson and ex-British motocross champion Vic Allan were also in the grounds taking
Andy Dykes from Australia took part on his CCM.
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Captions: 1. Scotland’s Lewis Bell and Andy Copeland do battle. 2.Andy Copland rips up the grass on his CCM. 3. My ‘castle’ for the event.
Willie Burgess from Northern Ireland was quick all weekend.
upon his return to the USA to gather his thoughts on his trip and suffice to say,he loved it - “The Drumlanrig Castle event presented by the Galloway Motorcycle Club was great! The rider turnout was full for all events and the weather could not have been more perfect for racing. And of course the Club went over the top to have four World Champions in attendance at the same time - Roger DeCoster, Heikki Mikkola, Graham Noyce and myself. A total of 11 world titles, 10 being in the 500 class. There was a question and answer session from the crowd on Saturday evening where we all answered questions directed to us and Heikki stole the show cracking everyone up with his short answers. Still as witty as ever. Many thanks toWullie Brown,Fraser and Mary Dykes, and the entire Galloway Motorcycle Club for a job well done. And as our buddy Wullie said - Nothing can ever top this event.”
The traditional Friday night grass track was once again a huge success where many of the scrambles riders took this opportunity to fine tune their machines prior to racing on the Saturday and with the Scottish weather being absolutely perfect for once it drew a very large crowd (who conveniently had the beer tent right next to the oval track so there
Pete Mathia for me was especially worth a mention as he told me of the horrendous racing injury he received a while back to his shoulder to which the doctor later told him, “yeah I can fix that for you Pete but unfortunately you’ll never ride a motorcycle again after it I’m afraid”. So as all motocross racers tend to do, Pete then said,“ok, thanks for your diagnosis.... now when’s my next classic race event because I need to get my bike ready?” But even with a dodgy shoulder Pete was fantastic on the old Bill Brown Maico and still took the overall win in the Pre 1984 Over 60s class.
On the track you had the cream of Britain’s elite classic racers in attendance and when you have names like Mark Fulton, Terry House,Brad O’Leary,Pete Mathia,Willie Burgess from Northern Ireland and multiple Twinshock Scottish champion Paul Chiappa all lining up at the start-line then you know you’re in the company of some of the finest dirt racers of our time.
wasn’t far to go if you needed another top up or replenishment).Saturdaywasof course day one of the racing programme and there were classes for Pre ‘68, Pre ‘75, Pre ‘78 and Pre 1984 bikes. What a fantastic sight it was to see full gates with forty bikes on the line in each of the allotted classes and it was such an encouraging sight for classic and vintage racing in general to see so many of these older machines lined up to race at this superb venue.
of the unfortunate candidates had to be placed on a waiting list such was the interest and the prestige connected to this fantastic weekend.
Irishman Cecil Pearson also brought along his collection of unique Rickman JAP scramblers to Drumlanrig and its quite hard
Cecil Pearson still takes part in these vintage race events on one of his many JAP scramblers.
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It’s said that the entry tally for the three days of the scrambles racing amounted to over three hundred machines which didn’t even include the many trials bikes that were taking part in their own event on the Sunday.Although those assembled scrambles racers were certainly the lucky ones for this year’s meeting because as soon as the on-line entries for the event opened for business in early February it was almost immediately oversubscribed. Some
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6. Peter Hollinshead’s 1961 Lito looked superb at the concourse event.
I have to say that this year’s Drumlanrig classic race weekend had absolutely everything with plenty of old vintage bikes, fantastic racing on the track and of course a good scattering of local and international scrambling legends and an atmosphere that you could only produce when like-minded dirt bike enthusiasts all come together in one place.The months of planning and organisation that went into this year’s event was without doubt a tremendous success story thanks to the commitment and the attention to detail by the Galloway Motorcycle Club committee and its army of sponsors who all played their part in supporting the event.
As the last of the transporters and vehicles were leaving the hallowed grounds of the castle,you can rest assured that thoughts were already looking towards how this 2022 race weekend could be surpassed next year and I’ve certainly no doubt whatsoever that the Galloway guys will pull it off once again. It was a braw weekend indeed…as they say in Scotland.
Brad O’Leary (#2) and Ryan Ireland (#43) take part in the grass track event. Note how both bikes have all the trick bits!
Of course if you didn’t want to take in the racing trackside, you could wander around the huge marquee where there were over fifty classic motorcycles on display from every conceivable discipline of two-wheeled motorsport and there were some real rarities lined up including Peter Maxwell’s 1989 GM 500 Maico and Peter Hollinshead’s immaculate Lito 500.
The Scottish Lawnmower Racing Club kept the spectators entertained on the Thursday evening (don’t forget it is still daylight this time of year in Scotland until after 10pm). A healthy line-up of bikes in the Clubman class.
infrastructure,with street names between rows of parked vehicles so you didn’t get lost trying to find your way back from the beer tent. Another nice touch were the copious amounts of free shower blocks that were scattered all over the site,and if like me you’d just spent four days in a tent roughing it in the wind and rain then you’ll know how great a nice hot shower feels at the end of the day. But the Galloway Motorcycle Club and the many sponsors who contributed to the weekend made sure that each and every rider who took part would remember this event,so they all received a free commemorative baseball cap and T-shirt as a memento of the 2022 race weekend.
4. British motocross legend Vic Allan checking out the action.
to comprehend that although these bikes have 1960s Rickman chassis,they’re all still powered by a methanol-fueled four-stroke ‘John Alfred Prestwich’ engine from the 1930s. Cecil also has his very own team of JAP riders for these unique machines including James Thomson, Adrian Lappin, Harry Stitt and John Griffiths who were all running at the sharp end of the racing action in the Pre 1968 unlimited class. James Thomson in particular secured four out five wins over the weekend to win himself the Stuart Miller Memorial Trophy. But it is uncanny how these 1930s JAP bikes are still highly competitive in this modern era although it is as I said thanks to the dedication of Cecil Pearson and his love of these iconic race bikes.
I’m not entirely sure how long it took the Galloway Club to erect all of the fencing, marquees and all of the other associated paraphernalia that goes into making this type of meeting take place but I had heard they began construction more than a week before
5. Fraser Dykes and his AMD Company put in a huge effort for this 2022 event.
it opened, but what’s even more remarkable is that after the final race Sunday evening they only had two or three days to completely clear the site and put the track back to its original condition and make the grounds look like the event had never even taken place.
But as soon as you passed through security at the main entrance to the paddock, the one thing that struck you straight away was the professional layout of all of the event’s
asking if he recognized the bike. He replied that it was a Mazzilli and a very fine motorcycle. Being the Italian bike fan that I am, I decided right there and then that my future now included ownership of one of these bikes!
Words and photos by Rick Yamane
MY LIFE WITH A 1973 MAZZILLI 125 RCS
So began my quest that would see me buy a few other rare bikes just in case I never found a Mazzilli.So that logic saw me buying a ’74 Jawa 350,a ’76 SWM 250 and a ’73 SWM 125. Of those three, the Jawa was eventually sold but the two SWMs remain as part of my Italian Finally,collection.Ithinkit was in 2005, after a few dead ends and missed opportunities later, I got a lead through a Canadian friend,Helmut Clasen, who had an Italian friend, GiambattistaTarditi,who had one for sale.I immediately contacted him as the opportunity to buy one probably wasn’t going to arise again.This bike was freshly restored and even had the hands of the ‘Master’, Giorgio Mazzilli, involved.
My life with a Mazzilli 125 RCS began sometime in 1998,with the exact date being lost in the electronic dust of time.A friend on the vinduro email list posted a photo of a Jawa-powered Mazzilli as a mystery bike. I could tell it was Italian, so I sent the photo to a fellow Ducati enthusiast in Italy
Within a few hours and with the shorter, late summer days, it was nearly dark when I finished with the help of my porch light. I wheeled the Mazzilli into the garage, putting aside the actual ride and running preparations until the next day. I don’t remember much about the following weeks as I was also chasing an AHRMA National MX Title and had parental health obligations. But I had a goal to ride the Mazzilli at the 2006 ISDT Reunion Ride.I ended up missing that goal as I didn’t get the Mazzilli ready for the Reunion that year and instead, rode my SWM. I did take the Mazzilli with me though to the Reunion Ride as all my vinduro friends were very keen to see my new pride and joy.
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A deal was struck and after the exchange of money and shipping time I was notified by Virgin Air my shipment had arrived,cleared through customs and I could go and pick it up. A short drive up the peninsula to SFO (San Francisco Airport) and I had the boxes in my truck and I was heading home. Excitement would be an understatement! As soon as I got home I went to work assembling this amazing machine right off the tailgate. Of course this was as much a necessity as it was excitement,since I didn’t have a forklift to get the boxes off my truck!
Italy produced a rash of great dirt bikes with Sachs engines in the '70s and Mazzilli was one of the better brands of the era.
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Topwithpivottubingframeisacombinationofroundandrectangularwithsteelplateprovidingtheswingarmpoints.Thewonderfulframeisequipped32mmCerianiforksandGirlingshocks.qualityMaguracontrolswerestandard Main: Like other Italian low volume producers, Mazzilli used some of the best suppliers of the period, such as Sachs, Ceriani,Akront, Magura, Metzeler and Grimeca.
Insets:
So that gave me a year to ride the bike a bit, before the next Reunion Ride. I put on a pair of NJB shocks and replaced the OEM Metzelers with some Cheng Shins. I also like Renthal aluminum bars for their shock absorbing qualities so I installed a set and capped those with some Pro Grips. As well, I had to replace the clear plastic fuel tap water traps but could not find new ones,so I spun a pair up from aluminum tubing.They’re not see-through but they don’t leak. The stock parts were tucked away in case I ever do a ‘back to original’ restoration. Lastly, I fitted a Powerdynamo ignition, having lost all
MzB to import these units.
faith in fifty year-old Motoplats several years earlier and having begun a relationship with
The bike’s first outing was the 2007 Reunion Ride in New Blaine, AK wearing number 232. It earned a Gold Medal with a first in Theclass.Mazzilli is an amazing, well-built and well thought out motorcycle. There’s hand grips on both sides of the rear frame loop,and cable guides welded near the steering head.The
1. Six-speed Sachs. 2.Tank and bodywork are fibreglass. 3. Rick uses the Mazzilli as intended. 4. Mazzilli also produced a Jawa-engined bike. 1 52
There is talk of a 50thAnniversary Reunion in MA, the site of the 1973 US ISDT. If it happens,it would be a good time to get my ’73 Mazzilli out as it would be a 50th Anniversary for us
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fitment and were the benchmark for the day, ditto the fitment of Metzeler tyres.The wellshaped tank and fenders are fibreglass with a very Italian flip-up gas cap. Somehow, I recalled years earlier,seeing an example of the brand in an issue of CycleWorld.It was mentioned in it a regular monthly column called “Report from Europe” and it talked about the Mazzilli and how it was so finely built.I was already a fan of the Sachs powerplants, an iron-barreled Sachs Enduro having been my first real motorcycle. How could I have known that thirty-five years later I would own one.
events though would be disappointing.In 2012 at Zink Ranch, I would DNF. In 2014, again at Zink,we would miss a course marker and end up in disqualification for missing a checkpoint. Then in 2015, in McArthur, OH I would have carb issues at the start which put me in penalty and after getting off, I stopped to clean the pilot jet only too break a vent tube which ended my day before it even got started.
The only question remaining is who wouldn’t want a Mazzilli in their garage - aren’t they just one of the coolest bikes on the planet?
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would be 2010 in Combs,AR scoring a second in class and a Silver Medal. The next three
Bikes built under the Mazzilli brand though really only happened during the period 19701975. Mazzilli’s off-road machines were produced in capacities from 49cc to 248cc and the majority used Sachs engines, although there was a model in ‘72 powered by a Jawa 125 engine. In any given year of production, numbers were very low, with a hundred or so bikes typically leaving the factory in a twelvemonth period.
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ThenexttimeIwouldrideitincompetition
So,both.after my personal story, let’s have a quick look at the Mazzilli’s brand history and some of the specifications. The brand is named after its founder, Giorgio Mazzilli, who himself was an experienced enduro rider. Mazzilli only ever produced enduro bikes, never motocross models. He started dabbling in putting together his own bikes in 1965 and he attained some decent results.
As mentioned earlier, Mazzilli incorporated the best available components of the era such as Magura, Metzeler, Ceriani, Akront and of course,the Italian staple for hubs,Grimeca. The last batch of bikes in 1975/’76 also used Preston Petty mudguards and had alloy tanks. The final 125 models also had the new seven-speed Sachs engine (22cv@9,200rpm), a slightly longer wheelbase at 1,430mm (56”) and weighed a couple of kilos more than the earlier models but were still quite light at 95kg (209lbs).
Words and photos by Jim Bennett
made, and it ran better than any dirt bike ever,and I called it theAmaran.Butthatwas seventh grade, and I thought like a seventh grader. I thought that every manufacturer made every bike from the ground up. That every
Amaran - A Boy and his Dream Bike
I began to notice that some of the same parts were on different bikes. Therefore, I wouldn’t have to build my dream from the ground up. I could gather the parts that
It began as a picture on the inside cover of my maths book and grew into all kinds of drawings from all kinds of perspectives.I took the coolest features of my favorite dirt bikes and pulled them all together into the greatest dirt bike ever, and it was American made. That’s where the name came from. It was American
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And then I grew up.
Have you ever heard of an Amaran 125X? Don’t feel bad,nobody has heard of one. Why? Because back in 1975 when I was in seventh grade I was dreaming about a dirt bike that would be better than
part was created and custom made for that bike and only that bike. That meant that a seventh grader or even an adult with a fancy shop could never get the job done. So my dream really was an impossible dream.
anything - I was dreaming of anAmaran,even though it didn’t have a name at the time.
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I fabricated the gas tank out of .08” aluminum sheet metal formed over a piece of plumbing pipe and miscellaneous ball peen
The exhaust system is a mix of different pipes and a fabricated cone. The header is from a 125 shifter kart. The rear cone and stinger are from a 1995 KX125. I had to
The swingarm, rear hub and the shocks are all from a 1976 Elsinore 125. I had to fabricate the piggyback reservoirs with floating pistons so I
The engine and chassis are from a 1973 SuzukiTM125 that I already owned. I cut off the sub-frame and fabricated a new one to accommodate laid-down shocks. The front forks, triple clamps and the front hub are from a 1976 Suzuki RM 250 which bolted right on. I modified the forks to be air forks with an oil/air separator piston. The front and rear rims are both from theTM125.
Once the foam was cut and sanded to shape, I was able to sew up the seat cover. After having done upholstery for years, sewing the seat cover was much easier. I attached the cover to the base with high strength contact cement.
So it wouldn’t look so obviously like a TM engine, I changed the shape of the head fins. I also reshaped the kickstarter to clear the new exhaust pipe. Using a zinc plating kit I got from eBay, I plated the kickstarter, brake pedal, shifter and other miscellaneous hardware. I spent extra time on the kickstarter to give it a chrome-like finish.The carburetor is a 34mm Keihin PWK.
the error code? I thought I was through with all that. The camera from the paint shop couldn’t reproduce the neon green color and neither could my dad’s fancy digital camera. I was back to square one with the color. The problem persisted with a number of different cameras over spring, summer and finally winter. The solution ended up with one of the cheaper cameras and a bleak winter day. I haven’t ridden theAmaran yet but will when the snow melts.
The two biggest challenges were the gas tank and the seat. I wanted to make the gas tank look like what I had dreamed of as a kid.
Little did I know what I was in for, trying to make that dream a reality.
hammers. I did a lot of shaping, cutting and welding to create the shape I was looking to achieve. I machined a mount for the petcock and bought an aluminum gas cap assembly from eBay to complete the task. Since I’m not a sheet metal guy,I had to rely a little on ‘Mr. Bondo’ to get the tank ready for paint.
I liked and have to fabricate only a few. Then the Amaran dream became possible so I decided to do it. As it turns out, the only parts I had to make from scratch were the gas tank, the seat and a few cosmetic features. I built the rest of the bike from parts I modified from other bikes.
on a
combination of intake velocity and expansion chamber negative pressure. That adds more air/fuel mixture during the transfer phase. I modified the head with a different combustion chamber shape to achieve a more efficient burn and higher compression. I also made the necessary mods to eliminate the oil injection.
As I look back on the project, I had to get better at sheet metal, learn how to do fiberglass, resurrect my upholstery skills, learn how to match colors, design logos for Amaran and learn a lot about photography, but that’s kind of been true for all of my projects. They always take more time and effort than I thought, but always became much more fun because I enjoy the challenge.
toInduction.”portingbothchangeSuzukiboretimefactor.crankshaft,theaddedandcontrolassemblyaccordionandfromplatedsideplateSuzukiandbothrearThewheelsIcouldchargetheshockswithnitrogen.assembledboththefrontandrearwithnewBuchananspokes.frontsprocketisSunstarandtheisfromSprocketSpecialists.ThefrontandrearfendersarePrestonPettyitemsthatIcutreshaped.Thefrontfenderhasmudflaps.Thefrontnumberisfroma1974Elsinore.Thepanelsarefroma1975RM125.Thehandlebarsarechrome-vintageMXandthegripsarea1974Elsinore.TheleversperchesareEmgowithElsinorecovers.ThethrottleisfromtheTMandthecablesarefromMotionPro.TheengineisfrommyTM125Icompletelyrebuiltitandlotsofmods.AfterreplacingconnectingrodassemblyontheIchangedthebalanceTheenginedidn’thavelotsofonit,soIjustrehonedthestockandusedanewpistonfromaTS125.Imodifiedtheskirttotheintaketiming.Iportedthecasesandthecylinder.OnefeatureofthecylinderiswhatIcall“RamIaddedadditionalportsthecylinderthatfeedtheengine
As with most of my custom projects, I will choose my initial colours from what’s available from Powder Coating Specialties of Golden, Colorado. I always use them to powder coat the fames, the hubs and other miscellaneous pieces. I will then take the samples to my favorite automotive paint store and have them mix paint to match for the parts that can’t be powder coated, like the gas tank, fenders and side panels.
All that was left were theAmaran stickers and stencils. I got them from Fast Signs. I used the stencils for the back of the seat and the crossbar pad. Then it was ready for final assembly and that went well and there it was, my 1975 Amaran 125X, ready for prime time, some photos and Rememberposterity.
The challenge with the seat was that it had to accommodate the gas tank, the sub fame and the rear fender. So, like the gas tank, I couldn’t take it off the shelf. I had to fabricate one. I built the seat base out of fiberglass because it would be easier to work with than steel or aluminum. I’m also not a fiberglass guy, but the process went fairly well. It was certainly easier than the tank. After the fiberglass was right, I trimmed the edges and made mounts to connect it to the sub-frame. The seat foam I used was from a 1978 Elsinore 125. That made the foam too big for the job, and that made it just right for me because I could cut my way to what I needed.
The powder coat colours I chose were the brightest neon green I could find from their selections and light and dark gunmetal grey. The greys were no problem to match but the neon green was a different story.
fabricate a long middle cone to connect the head pipe to the rear cone. The silencer is a shortened universal DG unit.
You can see all the steps of this project and more on “Jim Bennett’s All night Garage” on YouTube.
The paint store matches the paint with a special camera that prints out the formula for the mix but for my green, the camera printout was just an error code. It could not define a mix. So, I left the green sample with their custom-mix guy in the hopes he could match it by eye. After a few weeks he called and said he couldn’t get a Aftermatch.having committed to that green with the powder coating, I had to learn how to mix my own green paint to match. To do that, I bought from eBay the closest neon green I could find.Then over the next couple of weeks with left-over paint from other projects,in this case yellow,blue and white, I was finally able to get a colour that was very close.
of bikes and riders were split into three ‘up to year of manufacture’ groups - 1973, 1983, 1993 - but also divided into riders under 55 years of age and over 55 years of age. There is also a category of riders over 70 years old and an Expert category where there are riders over 60 years old with motorcycles up to 175cc. If you don’t have the strength for speed, there is also a regular race where the rider with the smallest time difference in the given special stage wins.
Words and photos by Michal
We had 170 starting numbers and all those places were filled quite quickly. There were thirty brands of motorcycles on the starting list plus many more bikes on display. There were some unique pieces produced by the factory for Six Day events plus many interesting motorcycles from Czechoslovakia and East Germany such as Jawa, Tatran, UWMV, MZ and several other
In Prelouc,Polish legend RyzsardAugustyn repeated the podiums he attained in the 1989 European Championship, when Lubomír Vojkuvka was in first place and Emil Cunderlík
The constructors of Jawa and Tatran motorcycles were also present. We also had the legendary Manfred Liese from West Germany, who has been here several times since 1969 as a Jawa rider. In Prelouc he again pulled off an incredible performance when, at the age of 76, on a very rare 1965 Jawa ‘banana’ 175, he won the category for riders over 70 years of age,and won the category for riders on a bike up to the year of production of 1973. As well,he finished second for riders over 55 years!
The biggest star on hand was the five-
was second. Many riders who represented Italy in their time also appeared on the podium in other categories. Not only that but we had a rider from Australia, the ever-smiling Mike Harding, on a Cagiva RX 250. He finished in an excellent 10th place out of 45 riders in his category.Thecategories
Classic Enduro Prelouc 2022 - Czech Republic
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Webrands.also
invite dealers with spare parts as finding spare parts for our bikes is always a challenge (I managed to buy several parts myself - good buying!).
Our event is mainly about meeting friends who share a passion for old off-road motorcycles. The event was initially organised by a few friends from the local enduro club, mostly riders from the ‘80s. We started eight years ago in a small area near a local factory repairing military equipment. In densely populated Europe, it is already very difficult to organise off-road races,so we never thought that in a few years our event would grow to such dimensions, and that riders from all over Europe would come to join us at our event.
Among the friends participating in the races were many amateurs as well as Six Day winners and European enduro champions (the official individual world championship has only been held since 1990). From Czechoslovakia we had two world champions, being Otakar Kotrba (Husqvarna 350 - 1990) who entered our classic enduro on a Jawa 350 Rotax motorcycle (on which he was European champion in 1989!) and Roman Michalík (TM125 - 1998). As well we had European Champions Lubomír Vojkuvka and Dušan Kotrla, and , Six Day winners from 1982 - Emil Cunderlík and Jirí Císar.
In the oldest category of younger riders, the German rider Thomas Sandig dominated again on the NSU 250 MAX with a swinging front fork. Among the older riders, the Italian rider Luciano Venturi dominated on a Moto Morini 165 - a very interesting four-stroke motorcycle reminiscent of a sewing machine in its operation and appearance. In the categories ‘up to year of manufacture’ 1983 - former Czechoslovak representative Dušan Kotrla won on a 1978 Jawa 350, and among the older riders, two-time European champion Lubomír Vojkuvka on a 1982 Jawa 250. In the youngest categories, Czech riders participating in world competitions dominated.
Full results can be found
https://www.cmxhk.cz/vysledky-prelouchere:
Griger
At this event, however, everyone appreciates that it is not about the results and the most important thing is the atmosphere of the meeting, which really got into full swing at the party at the completion of the event!
time Six Day winner from 1970,‘71,‘72,‘73 and ‘74 - Josef Fojtík.
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I did not have a family that was into motorcycles. It took everything I could do to get a bike, then be able to race it. Norm Francis is truly my opposite – his whole family raced, including his mom.
SX, he turned his attention to Flat Track racing, earning an AMA National
In 1961, he moved the family to Hemet, about 90 miles east of Los Angles, California. The timing was perfect, as motorcycling in So Cal was about to explode.The whole family was into motorcycles – Norm’s Mom and Dad, plus his brother,who was five years older than
When we sat down for this interview, Norm’s question to me was,“Why didn’t we meet sooner?” (FYI, we first met a few years back at the Anaheim Supercross Legends & Heroes display, but we did not know each other back in the day). So, the best we could figure – in the ‘70s, we were just racing at different tracks at different times (there were a lot of tracks in So Cal back then).
Norm got fast enough to turn Pro and raced in three Supercross events and two Outdoor National MX events. Plus, he was a test rider for Yamaha. Hence the nickname, Stormin’
B LOKES & S HEDS NORM FRANCIS THE MAN,THE MYTH,THE BUILDER,THE SPONSOR. I’LL START RIGHT OFF – I’M JEALOUS.
Norm’s racing career started unexpectedly when he was ten years old.The family was at the Elsinore TT track, it was Easter weekend, and Norm’s Dad says, “Come on, let’s go!” Not 100% sure what his Dad meant, Norm grabbed his riding gear and found himself on the starting line sitting on a ’64 Yamaha YG1! (he was so short at the time, his Dad had to hold the bike up on the starting line before the start of the race).
Norm, and they all raced.
Hodaka 90 (I always wanted one of those,too). A few years later, his family was at Deadman’s Point in Victorville. Norm eyes his brother’s ’71 Yamaha RT1 360 and his Dad says,“If you can start it, you can race it!” Well, Norm started it, and raced it.
That’s all it took, Norm was hooked on racing! His first “real” race bike was a 1966
A brief history lesson. Norm was born in 1957. His Dad was a decorated World War II veteran and like many vets,when he came back to the States, he started by racing jalopies in the Midwest part of the U.S.. He was rather good, too, but things changed when he flipped one night while racing. He told his wife jalopy racing was over, so he took up a “safer” sport – racing motorcycles!
AfterNorman.MXand
1. Norm on the left. 2. Norm's Mint 400 bikes. 3. During Norm's flat track days. 4. Stormin' Norman. 5.Taco mini bike rebuild. 6. Ready for assembly. 7. Hi Norm!
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Number and he continued to race his Harley until he was forty-four.What ended his racing career was a crash at the 2011 Soboba GP –before the crash, Norm was 5’ 10” and after the crash he was 5’ 8½”! He fractured six discs and four vertebrae and was told he’d never walk again. The doctors were wrong, very wrong. More on that later…
This was also when Norm started spray painting, earning him the nickname Kaptain Krylon.Norm’s Dad taught him“Try everything and do your best!” A perfect motto to live by. Fast forward to 2011, after Norm’s crash. Due to his injuries, he was put on permanent disability,which was the motivation he needed to start restoring bikes and building Bajaracing buggies.
While Norm was still ten years old, he thought he knew everything about two-
1. One of Norm's Baja racers takes to the air. 2.A beautifully remade bracket.
In fact, Norm has sponsored motocross
3.Another rebuild from the frame up.
4. Old dirt bikes can be crusty. 5. Puch rebuild for Billy Urban. 6. Marty Tripes' Baja racer. 7. Norm's 250 Maico resto. 8. Mint 400 machines.
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Restoration experience at an early age
it up before Norm noticed). He told his son, “Lesson learned, next time you work on an engine, always stuff a rag in the crank.”
Fast forward a few hours – cases split, no circlip, engine put back together, and his Dad walks in and opens his hand – there’s the circlip (his Dad saw it go flying and picked
strokes, so he mixed up some premix with Pennzoil. Only problem was, the YT1 he was mixing it for had been running Castrol R bean oil.Well, you know what happened, the engine seized! So, his Dad made him rebuild the top end. Only problem was, one of the circlips went flying and Norm couldn’t find it.His Dad said, “Well, it must have landed in the crank, you will have to split the cases.”
Four years ago, at Scott Burnworth’s annual Carlsbad Reunion, Norm met former factory Maico racer, Gary Chaplin. The two became fast friends and started riding together, racing together and now, they are restoring bikes“Wetogether.getalong great, and we both have a desire to bring old bikes back to life.We want to restore the bikes we always wanted when we were kids, those we remember fondly, but couldn’t afford them back then,” Norm said.
1.A very well
first
was also the one to start Retro Off-Road Racing, which got promoters to include a “Retro” class for both buggies and two-wheelers in SCORE desert races. In fact, Norm entered two bikes in the last Mint 400, with a team of racers like Gary Chaplin, Billy Urban, Billy’s son Broc, Jim Beauchamp and, of course, Norm. As he says, “I love going fast!” And, of course, they won their class.
3. Creating a ‘71 Puch 125 MX Billy Urban replica bike (Billy was CMC #1 in 1972)
Where does all this take place? Not a fancy shop but a three-car garage in the suburbs that is stuffed with welding torches, grinders, bead blasters, wheel truing stand and countless other tools.TheYamaha DT1 shown with this story – the entire restoration took place in this garage, even the painting.
royalty on four wheels, like Tommy Croft, with Tommy taking numerous class wins in his Norm-built buggies. He also restored a buggy for Tracy Valenta, that Marty Tripes used to race.Norm
DT1. 2. Brand new! 3.All very tidy
2. Restoring a ‘71 Maico Square Barrel 250
Paying it forward
the seat. 4. Norm's restorations are certainly first
5. Right
1. Creating a ‘72-‘73 Maico narrow frame Square Barrel 250 replica of Chaplin’s factory MaicoTrans-Am bike
Current restoration projects:
Norm also likes to credit those who support him with his builds, like Paul Stannard of Preston Petty Products, Concept Powder Coating (who does his frames), and San Metal Refinishing.
One of the bikes Norm is restoring is a ’76 Honda Elsinore 250 and he’s doing it for/ with current SX/MX racer, Coty “CJ” Schock. Norm’s goal is to pass along the passion to the young racers of today so they understand and respect all that’s come before them. As Norm says, “I want to leave a footprint for future generations and these motorcycles are my legacy.” I think you’ll agree, that ‘s a pretty cool legacy. restored model under class. hand side of
the DT1. 6. DT1 tank being stripped before being restored. 7.The finished tank following resto. 1 2 5 7 3 4 6 60
What’s in the garage today?
4. Restoring a ’64YamahaYG1 80 (a replica of the first bike Norm raced)
1. Mint 400 here we come! 2. Puch resto for Billy Urban. 3.Taco resto underway. 4.Tommy Croft behind the wheel. 5. Hodaka Ace 90 resto. 6.Yamaha YT1. 7. Norm's old flat track leathers and his brother's bike. 8. Big Daddy Ed Roth workshop stool. 9. Maico 250 getting the treatment. 1 3 6 8 9 2 4 7 5 61
Fast forward to 1974 and here’s where I got involved, up close and personal.
their names to protect the innocent – a Bultaco and a Kawasaki racer were headed east.They’re driving along and one says to the other,“Wow, that looks like marijuana growing wild alongside the road!” They slammed on the brakes, put it in reverse, and they were right. So, they harvested a bunch of these six-foot-high plants,tied them in bales, and used tie-downs to secure them under their van. When they got to Twin Falls, they shared their story and good fortune with their friends and proceed to “light up.”After quite a few minutes, they look at each other and ask, “You high?”. “Nope, how about you?” “No!” It was at that time a friend informed them that they had harvested industrial-grade hemp which was great for making rope but which had zero moodenhancing properties!
On the way to the races…
Fast forward to 1971 and Evel starts planning his Snake River Canyon jump and sponsors a $10,000 purse MX race to get press coverage. The crowd turnout was “light” with Bobby Grossi taking the Open Class win and Gary Jones winning the 250 Class. Evel also entertained the fans by jumping thirteen cars.
Kenny Zahrt won the jump contest. Above: Gary Jones on the 125 Can-Am.
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Evel wanted ABC TV’s WideWorld of Sports to foot the bills for this event. They balked.So he hired BobArum and Top Rank Productions, the boxing promoters, to do a closed-circuit broadcast into movie theaters across the country (like pay-per-view today). They had promoted fights with MuhammadAli,Joe Frazier, George Foreman –they were the 800-lb. gorilla in the fight business.
To entice the best of the best racers, they put up a $125,000 purse which included $100,000 in cash for the Pros and $25,000 in Harley-Davidsons for the top amateur racers.To put that into perspective,it would be like a $750,000 purse today – megabucks by MX standards! He had classes for minibikes, juniors, amateurs, and pros. The racing started on Saturday, August 31 and wrapped up on Friday, September 6 (I didn’t get there until Wednesday because I had to get the newspaper off to the printer before I could leave).
I knew all my friends and the usual suspects were going but it was too late to drive to the event. Then Ted, my boss, said, “You’re not driving, you’re flying. But there’s one catch – because Evel’s jump is such a big deal,the town is sold out! The closest I can get you a room is Pocatello – 115 miles away.”
trips to cover this event (one night on the way back to my motel, I figured if I drove 120 mph, I could make it in an hour. I was speeding along when I noticed headlights gaining on me.I knew what that meant,and it was not good! So, I did what any racer would do, I turned off my lights and coasted to a stop alongside the road. The cop was so far back he couldn’t tell what happened.About two minutes later,I heard him zoom by - whew,dodged a big ticket.
I was just thirteen and the motorcycles were displayed on the concours level around the venue, while the cars were on the floor of the arena. But there were two things that caught my attention, firstly, there was a trials exhibition, and secondly, Evel Knievel was performing a jump – not a big one, mind you, just a short one.Well, that started my admiration of Evel (and I loved that he was jumping aTriumph Bonneville)!
Let’s get to the racing
This story ends with Evel Knievel’s jump of the Snake River canyon on September 8, 1974 but it didn’t start there. For me, it goes back to 1967 when my Dad took me to the LosAngeles Sports Arena for the Cycle World and Tridents Motorcycle and Custom Car Show.
The next year, the purse grew to $25,000, attracting more riders and spectators.They also added a 125 class, with Greg Robertson winning on his Mid-Valley CZ. The Jammer (Jimmy Wienert) took the 250 class with Gary Jones second, making it a Yamaha sweep.Then Jones came back to win the Open Class.
This race brought out the best of the best by Scott
mostAndRunyardandJim661,(founderJohnHolcomb,JimBillyPomeroy,Ellis,PierreTripes,Staten,-GaryJones,BradLackey,RexMartySmith,MartyBruceMcDougal,Karsmakers,JimmyJimmyWeinert,JimGaylonMosier,Grossi,KennyZahrt,West,ChuckSun,BryarRichEierstedt,DeSoto,EddieColeofAnswerProducts,andMatrixConcepts),Hale(founderofAXOMechanixWear),Mikeandsomanymore.withthebigbuckspurse,rodeallthreeclasses!Thecostofadmission The Saga of Snake River - Flashback to 1974 Words & photos
Preface:I started writing this story back in 2013 but never got around to finishing it.To prepare, I interviewed people like Rex Staten, MartyTripes and Gary Jones at the Hopetown Reunion. Their stories are timeless and most have never been shared – enjoy!
Most of the AMA Pros who were entered in this event were coming from Florida.Here’s one of the funnier stories and I won’t share
Heidbrink
I had not been at the previous two races, and I almost didn’t get to this one.The Southern California Motocross Newspaper was a very lean and mean operation, with zero budget for traveling. So, imagine my surprise when my boss said,“You’re going to Idaho!”
I was just twenty years old and not sure how I was able to rent a car,but I did,a Dodge Dart with a Hemi under the hood. The races were mid-week, with a wheelie and jump contest on Saturday and the canyon jump on Sunday. So, I made four round
Startline sequence [images 1 - 4]: 1.Tim Hart gets the holeshot. 2. Maico-mounted Jim West (#2). 3. Bryar Holcomb (#4) stalled in the first turn. 4.Traffic jam! 5. I wish they all could be California girls - this one was! 6. Rich Eierstedt. 7. Bad Brad pushing his bike back to the pits. 8. Jim Hale on one of the first Pendas (Penton/Honda). 9. Plenty of sun on race day. 2 1 5 8 3 6 4 7 9 63
back to the hotel to beg for another press pass and luckily they relented (stop and think, I’m twenty years old and while I had a letter from my boss,I was probably the youngest one there covering the event).
Day 2: The day of the Pro races. If you look at the site from the air,it was flat,flat,flat!
was $25 which was pretty steep for back then. In today’s dollars, that would be like $130 but it was good for all week long.
hired the Uhl Brothers to design the track and since Evel was too cheap to spring for a water truck,he had them dig ditches alongside the track and fill them with water.Then when the track needed water, they’d ‘open’ these dykes and dam it up when it was watered. Only problem was, once they were opened, ALL the water flowed out, flooding the track,
Day 1: I drive two hours, heading to Press Headquarters, which is at a local hotel. “Press Credentials” for this event was a green ribbon that said,“PRESS.” It looked funky but it worked.That is, until mine fell off! So, it was
Here’s what Gary Jones told me: “Evel
OPEN EXPERT
Marty Smith - Honda ______________$6,700
Rex Staten - Honda _______________$4,430
MartyTripes - Can-Am_____________$8,800
JimWest - Husqvarna______________$2,780
2. Bruce McDougal. 3. Mike Runyard during the wheelie contest. 4. Billy Payne gets some encouragement. 5. Jim Pomeroy chasing McDougal.
6. Marty Smith leading Gary Jones.
Here are the results and payouts:
125 EXPERT
The jump itself was anticlimactic, like a sixteen-year-old’s first sexual encounter, it was over in seconds.The force of the steampowered motor blew off the parachute cover so there was no way Evel could make it to the other side.He was just lucky he landed on dry ground at the bottom of the canyon.
2 4 6 3 1 5 64
Jimmy Ellis - Can-Am ______________$4,490
Pierre Karsmakers -Yamaha_________$8,800
Day 4: This was Evel’s jump day.By Sunday, we were all beat and I was ready to head back to So Cal.The only real excitement was that the Press Compound was fenced off from the general public (mainly biker types). They got frustrated they couldn’t get closer so the fences got torn down and we were afraid of getting pushed into the canyon.
I went out to practice, it was slippery and muddy, and I knew four-strokes had better traction. I got a good start and was dueling with Karsmakers and was able to finish second overall. Rich Eierstedt came up to me after the race and said,‘Man,it sounds like you’re all over my ass…that thing sounds wild!’ I got to race it in other races but it had a tendency to over-rev and things would fly out the top.Steve Whitlock, one of the Honda mechanics told me,‘You’re the only guy I know who can break a lead ball.’ But it was fun to race!”
The races themselves were a blur – I was too busy taking pictures.
Pierre Karsmakers -Yamaha_________$2,910
Rex Staten actually loved the mud:“I was only nineteen at the time and Honda asked if I would ride a specially-prepped Honda four-stroke prototype. It had an XL350 engine built by Mike Bell’s Dad, Bill Bell, who bored it out to 401cc and put it in a C&J frame.When
Day 3: Evel had a wheelie and jumping contest. Kenny Zahrt was in the pits when he hears about it so he grabbed his bike, broken expansion chamber and all, and proceeded to out-jump everyone, wearing corduroy jeans and moccasin shoes.As I recall, Rex won the wheelie contest.
Me, I headed home, developed twelve rolls of film and wrote up the PG-version of the Irace.hope you enjoyed the story, that event certainly brings a smile to my face every time I think of it!
Main: Marty Smith on his factory Honda. 1. Brad Lackey had a mixed weekend.
Bruce McDougal - Honda___________$2,390 250 EXPERT
and creating a mud race!” My life at least was easier because the infield was dry.
Brad Lackey - Husqvarna ___________$3,479
Main: Pierre Karsmakers. 1. Getting some start practice. 2. McDougal grabs some air. 3. Pomeroy on his Bully. 4.We will follow the sign. 5. Karsmakers leads Zahrt. 6.Tim Hart in the 125 race. 7. Eddie Cole. 8. Kenny Zahrt. 1 4 7 2 5 3 6 8 65
1 3 2 5 4 66
Main:The concourse line up. piece of history. Don Rickman’s British GP Winner 1966. Dan Field gives the Norton some wrist action. Concourse comment do better”. Sammy Miller interviews Don Rickman.
After a late morning bimble around the tarmac paddock, my enjoyment betrayed by the broad grin on Jeff Smith’s face, renewing his acquaintance. He was facing the interviews prompted and led by inquisitor Sammy Miller, with the banter and races re-run being a privilege to behold. As well, I had not been there half an hour before I met with John Mathews, a Rickman enthusiast all the way from Australia, and in the absence of anyone from New Zealand he must have been the furthest
1&2.A
Words and photos by Brian Salt.
with Can-Am and the development of that machinery. It goes on to detail his retirement and involvement with the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. I lined up with him on the start line at the Daytona Bike Week scramble in 2001 and I must have been a bit overawed as I promptly fell off on the first bend. All in all a superb book (available from motorsportx.com). Completing the lap I looked in Sammy’s workshop where the historic machinery is bought to life once again and I’ll also save that for my next visit.
Walking with legends - men and machines
and diversity of the machinery and so decided that it would be worthy of a prolonged visit and an article in these pages on its own in a future
Now an annual event at Sammy RickmanwithracerspoliceburstingSammyagain.DayMillersMotorcycleMuseum,theRickmanwasaneventthatIwillnotmissSetintheidyllicsurroundingsofMiller’scourtyard,theplacewaswithallthingsRickmanfromabikethroughtoroadracers,cafetoRickmanMettissescramblers,boyhoodheroesJeffSmithandDontakingprideofplace.
Continuingissue.
–
3.
4.
“Could
Motorcycles had a display, put on by Albert, welder extraordinaire,and now settled in new premises following the demise of the founder Robin Rhind Tutt. They currently have orders for a number of the twin shock sidecar chassis for Norton andYamaha engines.
For the second part of my column, it was onwards in a hot dry July to the British Bike Bonanza, a much loved annual event staged by ex-top grass track rider Adrian Moss, now in it’s 40th year. There was barely a two-stroke in sight amongst the paddock full of fire breathing machinery.It was a fast flowing course without jumps, so it made for some close and exciting racing. The guest or honour was Colin Dommett, an ex-scrambles champ and multiISDT gold medal winner and he was joined by Freddie Mayes,Vic Allen, Andy Roberton and the youngster Neil Hudson, all telling yarns of yesteryear. The racing was close and no quarter was given with Dave Bell taking six wins on hisTriumph Mettisse (Dave is normally a sidecar passenger). The results list for bikes reads like a history book including: Tribsa,
Onetravelled.itemof interest was the Huskyengined Rickman made for Graham Noyce, the only Husky example made and still in original condition. The swingarm is interesting with different drillings to alter the angle of the shock absorbers, perhaps the shape of things to come in the suspension world? While wandering around I saw that Wasp
on my way past the enclave of legends, I spotted the definitive autobiography of a certain J.V. Smith written superbly by Ian Berry and signed by JVS himself. It details his younger years and development and GP career in great detail plus covers the years in Canada
Next door was the entrance to the motorcycle museum. Stepping inside I was completely astounded by both the number
5.
This brings me to a much discussed item, that is the cost of what started out as a cheap bit of Sunday fun for the lads.
It has spiraled out of control, with metal start gates being the norm now. What was wrong with the elastic start (as used at the bonanza), if anyone broke it they started facing backwards! Then there’s transponders, as these have killed the art of lapscoring by ladies who would brook no argument, with the cross checking between teams ensuring there was no mistakes. As well, the use of prepared tracks which now invariably cost thousands of pounds. Previously it was a few hundred pounds that went to a farmer who was glad of the money and who knew the grass would be back within a few weeks. Add to all this is the fact that marshals are paid and the first aid is no longer the local Red Cross but a fully equipped team of paramedics. Then there’s the cost of travel/fuel for a large van. Small wonder that the entry fees have escalated and regional meetings are becoming just that with no one travelling hundreds of miles, with consequent smaller entries, which we are now seeing at many meetings.
Goldstar Mabsa, Norton Mettisse, Jap Metisse and last but not least a Greeves Griffon. It was definitely a wander down memory lane just with the names,never mind the occasional whiff of Castrol R - a track without jumps, incredible company...what more could you ask from a day at the races with legends?
The sport in the UK was entering a similar phase in the ‘90s as crowds stopped coming in their thousands. The costs then were considerably lower and as the costs of running a meeting exploded so did the entry fees to the point now where many simply cannot afford it. Please send me some solutions on the back of a £20 note - to go towards diesel to get to the next meeting!
4.Andy Roberton gives Vic Allan something to smile about. 5. Brian Salt (on right) meets up with Rickman’s No. 1 fan from Australia, John Matthews 6. Never seen one before a Rickman police bike. 7. One of Sammy’s workshop projects. 8. No metal gates here, the elastic has gone and a Victor, a MABSA and a Matchless are away! 9.The one-off Husky Metisse made for Graham Noyce.
2.A
1. Dereck’s GP winner. beautiful Honda 750 Rickman cafe racer. 3.Youngster of the stars on parade, Neil Hudson, saying how as an upcoming lad people like Andy and Vic were the riders he had to catch in those early days.
The final factor in this sad story is the way that the cost of all classes of bike have escalated putting the sport out of reach for so many. I have spoken to numerous organisers and they for the most part seem to be coming to the end of a long road. Spectator gate money is a small and not reliable consideration so the entire cost of the meeting has to come from the entry fees,plus whatever sponsorship can be found (always hard if not impossible to find)!
1 2 3 5 7 9 4 6 8 67
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MOTOCROSS - THE GOLDEN ERA
a 75cm (30”) harness so you can also include the rear taillight (and there’s a pickup to include a rear brake light). Does it work?
PRESTON PETTY HEADLIGHT NUMBERPLATEWITH BATTERY
dusk or night use that most riders would actually require, then it’s simply a case of giving the battery a recharge. The recharge can be done while the battery stays installed in the unit and of course a charger is stopbedualredwhichbulbsupplyProductsPrestonsupplied.PettycanalsoabrightLEDforthetaillightactuallyhasabulbandwhichisfilamentsoitcanbothtaillightandlight.Thisnewheadlight/numberplate
David Dewhurst’s upcoming book, Motocross -The Golden Era, is billed as the biggest book in motocross history and it will most likely match the claim! David was in a class of his own in the‘70s and‘80s as a photographer in the USA,capturing the sport we all love. This book will be the culmination of decades of work at motocross events and will run to 480 pages,with over 600 images.
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Brilliantly! The LED headlight provides 1200 lumens of light, which is brighter than many regular headlights on trail bikes from the ‘70s. How long does the battery last? The battery will last around five hours at full strength and about eight hours altogether. That’s more than enough for occasional
The idea for the battery-operated headlight came from Paul Stannard’s friend Mike Murphy (Rokon fan extraordinaire). Mike and Paul even got to show Preston the prototype of this great unit before he Whatpassed.isit? The iconic front.on/offunitthenumberplateheadlight/cannowbeboughtwithitsownbatterypowerasacompletelyself-containedunit!Thelithiumbatteryismountedtorearoftheandthere’sanswitchontheAswell,there’s
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PARTS & PRODUCTS
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Contact: www.prestonpettyproducts.com or Cost:paul@prestonpettyproducts.comAllpricespluspostage.Battery operated LED headlight US$169.95. Battery operated LED headlight with LED taillight pigtail,bulb and Preston Petty taillight lens US$199.95. Battery operated LED headlight with our IT rear fender LED taillight pigtail,bulb and Preston Petty taillight lens US$279.95. Spare lithium battery with charger US$37.95
Right now, he’s offering a 25% saving (until 1st November) if you pre-order the book on his website, with the book due to become available in early November.
David also has a unique‘add-on’,as he explains -“For those with a little more cash in the bank, I am also offering two very unique books for US$15,000 each. Along with the book,these two lucky buyers will get to spend an evening with Roger DeCoster, Broc Glover and Rick Johnson. All proceeds go to charities of the riders’ choice.”
Mikuni Racing Carburettors Parts & Accessories mikunioz.com Online store with a comprehensive range and in-depth information regarding all our products. Like us on Facebook to receive new product release information. Authorised Australian Distributor Email: tdh@mikunioz.com T.D.Hatrick & Co. Townsville Ph. 07 4771 2677 AVAILABLE DIRECT OR AT BETTER BIKE SHOPS Vintage Roost continues to be dedicated to providing you the best in vintage motocross products, with a specialty in hard to find CanAm/Rotax engines parts. Located outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, we ship worldwide and look forward to helping you get those Can Am’s ready for the 50th Can Am Anniversary Festival slated for August 17-20, 2023 in Ontario, Canada! Questions? Email Glen and Michelle Grier at vintageroost@telus.net or call at 1-587-783-3306 We focus on Gearbox parts production for MOTORBIKES ● Oldtimer & Classic Vintage ● Motocross & Enduro Classic ● Speedway ● Sidecars ● Road Racing Website: www.motogears.cz Email: info@motogears.cz THE RIGHT TOOLS Easily Adjust Your Oil Level When Servicing Your Front Forks@motionpro@motionprofans @motionpro84 Check and adjust the oil level on conventional and single chamber cartridge forks Part No. 08-0742 Find your local dealer at MOTIONPRO.COM PRO FORK OIL LEVEL TOOL New elastomer X-Ring seals provide superior sealing and chemical resistance at NEW 70
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Andre from Enduroklassiker has a couple of new products for this issue. Firstly, there’s a copy of the Acerbis front MX numberplate that was fitted to the 1983 to 1987 models. The original part number was 565.01.095.000. Secondly, there’s the‘Spoiler Kit’ that fits the Acerbis Rally Brush handguards that were fitted to some KTM models (and other brands), available in either purple or white.
Lance Cornell, owner of Cosmic Racing, says on his website that“Roger DeCoster used to buy what we callYourMomma Gloves by the case back in the day. Check out these goat skin gloves with full padding, just like what RD wore.” These gloves certainly are a throwback to the ‘70s and look and feel fantastic. They are nice and soft yet provide good protection.
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WRITE STUFF Write Stuff By email www.vmxmag.com.auken@vmxmag.com.au
I purchased the bike from Peter in December 2020 and started restoring it in August 2021. This is my first ever resto and it has been challenging at times but satisfying. I’m very happy with the end result but I’m not sure I want to get it dirty!
Craig Thornton - AUSTRALIA
It is curious that your early ‘82 model twinshock has Alpha livery (or seat at least), delivered that way as you say and confirmed by the original owner. It is not often that you get to buy a bike these days from the original owner and get to know its history.
MINIS
MAICO 1982 GS 250
After chatting to some guys from VTR, I started chasing some old dirt bikes from around the Condobolin area, where I grew up. Back then I was riding my Hodaka Dirt Squirt and later raced at local club on my MT 125 Honda and later on a YZ125J. I used to race thatYZ against this 1982 Maico 250 GS which was bought by Peter Smith in March 1982 from Ross King, the NSW Maico distributor.
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Here are a couple of photos of my bikes. The reason I like the minis is because these particular models were iconic back in the day and still are today. I was lucky enough to purchase these bikes and restore them back to original. The restoration process was hard especially when it came to finding OEM parts (almost everything on the bikes is OEM) but once I had everything I needed, that’s when the process started. I do everything on the bike myself, the only thing I might send out are the shocks for rechroming. The time it took from start to finish was about three months each for each bike.
Yes that’s right, a 1982 Alpha 1 twin shocker, perhaps part of a changeover model between the Mega 2 and Alpha 1.
Hi Craig - You have done a magnificent job, first resto or not, that Maico looks fantastic. By coincidence we have another great GS 250 Maico featured in this issue, restored by Dave Coupe.
Cheyne King - AUSTRALIA
Overall a wonderful tale of restoration and of someone taking a leap into the vintage dirt bike world. You’re a worthy winner of this issue’s Yamalube Reader’s Reward, congratulations and enjoy every minute with that restored Maico!
Yamalube provides a ‘Two-stroke Service Kit’ for the best letter in each issue - a Reader’s Reward. Yamalube are some of the best lubricants on the market for any brand of motorcycle and have an outstanding reputation built over decades of production and use. The Two-stroke Service Kit retails for A$69.89 and contains Y2R Semi synthetic premix oil, Gear oil, foam filter oil, off-road chain lube and fuel stabiliser. It’s everything you need to care for your two-stroke in one handy carry box.you your handy carry
Hi Cheyne -The bikes look brand new and you have obviously put a lot of time and effort into each restoration. Thank you for sharing your bikes withVMX Magazine and I’m sure a bunch of our readers will really enjoy checking out your minis.
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Twinshock trials on his blue Bultaco at a high level and with a very distinctive riding style that is energetic, fluid and great to watch. I suspect that his riding style has been influenced by both having ridden bicycle trials and riding a Bultaco Sherpa T for so long. Bultacos work best in trials when ridden in a fluid manner.
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rodeacquirebutachievedsomethingthatmanyofusdesirefewachieve.Hemanagedtofindandthesameactualmotorbikeheasayouth.
A days ago, Allan Phillipson
Allan198A.rides
Hodaka Story
The colour scheme is reminiscent of both the late model slotted-tank stripeTY80s and the yellowYamaha Majestys of around 1979. Practical modifications included wider handlebars and later on,an ergonomically-shaped kickstart lever.
The reason why the bike was so easy to recognize as his old Yamaha TY80 was its distinctive appearance. Allan’s Dad Col was an expert motorbike restorer who could produce
both museum standard original appearance restorations as well as top quality restorations where he had put his own stamp on the visual outcome. This particular TY80 was one of his restorations with creative interpretation to the graphics and also had a couple of distinctive practical modifications.
for a year. Following that, he started riding his current twinshock trials bike, a Bultaco SherpaT model
The photos show Allan riding his TY80 in the early 1990s and the bike as it is now, prior to restoration.
Allan wrote - “I figured this thing needs a good birthday. I’m hoping to get my niece and nephew riding it. Will be cool since it was the bike that my sister used to ride as well. So it’s gonna be amazing”
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Words by David Lahey
Col had restored the TY80 in the early 1990s when the bike would have been about 15-20 years old, in anticipation of Allan and his sister learning to ride on it. After learning to ride,Allan rode trials competitions on this TY80, starting in 1994 until he became too big, which was 1997/98,when he changed to riding aTY175
Allan wrote “I was scrolling through the internet and Gary Boniface had it for sale. On first look I knew it was my bike. However, I had an owner’s manual from Dad’s stuff. He always wrote the frame numbers inside the front cover. So I confirmed with Gary it was indeed my childhood bike.”
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Adventure Trailrides New Zealand Ltd Grenville Button PO Box 20233 Bishopdale, Christchurch 8053 New Zealand
Falcon 4 - Sandford Sandford WarehamLaneDorset BH20 4DY
Tel:England+44 1929 554545 +44 1929 550550
VMX Racing.com Replica Plastics and Parts P.O. Box 761 Angel Fire, NM 97710
Tel: (07) 4771 2677 Fax: 1800 659 663 www.mikunioz.comtdh@mikunioz.com
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Preston Petty Products PO Box Sandgate,130VT 05250
www.bzsracingparts.nlbzs@kabelfoon.nl
Motion Pro Cables andTools 3171 Swetzer Rd Loomis CA 95650
T.D.Hatrick & Co. Mikuni carburettors 93 Ingham Townsville,RoadQueensland 4810
AMS Racing Vintage specialists 1648W Bentley Mesa,AZ 85201
Kingdom
Ossa Parts Bruce Rennie 58 Herald Cheltenham,StreetVictoria 3192
Shock Absorbers Twinshocks for MX andTrials Unit
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Vintage Roost
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Vintage Husky 605 Cox Road San Marcos, CA 92069
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375 0215 www.prestonpettyproducts.comPaul@PrestonPettyProducts.com RESELLERS of VMX Magazine Current Issues. 77
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Nightmare Racing Kawasaki specialists 818 Spring Crest Drive Fenton, MO 63026 www.nightmare-racing.comKx250a4@aol.com
Vintage & Suspension co.uk/productswww.classicandvintagesuspension.co.ukshop@classicandvintagesuspension.
Dubya Wheel building 2175 N. Batavia St Orange, CA 92865
Maico at Chippys http://maicoatchippys.com.au
Tel: +64 (0) 274 510 584 www.adventureride.co.nzmail@adventureride.co.nz
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Tel: (802) 375 0212 Fax: (802) 375 0215 www.prestonpettyproducts.comPaul@PrestonPettyProducts.com
Australasia
Tel: (650) 594 9600 Fax: (650) 594 9610 www.motionpro.com
Mob: 0411804924 www.bearrs.com
Tel: (505) 870 4807 www.vmxracing.comvmx@vmxracing.com
MotoGears spol. s r.o Krásná 196, 739 04 Czech Republic Tel: +420 7 3726 2789 www.motogears.czinfo@motogears.czVintageGearSpecialistwww.facebook.com/
WHO, WHAT & WHERE
CANADA
Starec Original Parts CZ Specialists Jiri StrunkoviceStarec nadVolynkou 30 387 01Volyne okr.Strakonice Czech Republic Tel & Fax: +420 383 372 489 starec.veterancross@iol.cz
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Replica plastic guards/fenders 3053 Myers Road Sebewaing, MI 48759
http://hva-factory.cominfo@hva-factory.com Preston Petty Products PO Box Sandgate,130VT 05250 Tel:USA(802) 375 0212 Fax:
Obsolete Bike parts N.O.S.parts for British Bikes(competition)a.o.Wasp,Weslake, CCM, BSA, Norton, &Triumph Enquiries: NetherlandsHenkVerstegen, www.obsoletebikeparts.cominfo@obsoletebikeparts.com
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More promotion details can be found at www.shannons.com.au
Videography:Kevin Strey/MotoMan
In the last issue I wrote about the mayhem so many of us have experienced this year trying to hold our vintage events. Even as we wrap up this latest issue of VMX Magazine two more of our major events have been cancelled or rescheduled to 2023. It’s never easy at the best of times but so many factors have worked against us this year for CD16 and I recently added another with some unexpected personal health issues that will sadly mean our plans for an event this year have finally been scuttled.
R IDER ’ S B RIEFING Words and photos from
news but never fear, our sights are firmly set on 2023 for what will be a great time at an amazing new venue. Anyone wanting further info about our Classic Dirt 16 plans can contact me directly be email at perry@ vmxmag.com.au. And of course those who have paid their entry and would like a refund can contact me as well and we’ll arrange everything promptly.
Post-production:Leslie Hale Roberts
We’re sorry to be the bearer of this bad
Rickman Metisse Owners Gathering in VIC This gathering promises to be a cracker - a gathering of Rickman Metisse owners, and the their beautiful machines, from
Peninsula about an hour south
major recentlyDirt16 Classic
KTM mounted Alessandro Gritti.
78
https://youtu.be/8LwrvYO_VjY
around the country. The dates are October 22nd and 23, 2022. The venue is The Vintage Shed on Mornington-Tyabb Road atTyabb,VIC, 3913. the Mornington of Melbourne city centre. All Rickman and Metisse motorcycles welcome! Bookings are essential and to do so please contact: PeteWilmott 0429 454 350 or Peter Smith 0419 396 750.
1Inspiration:Music:CriticalTownRobinHannahhourand3min.@2022
VMX Magazine Classic Dirt 16 news
the American Dream Team - a 1967 Mustang and a new Scout Rogue Indian Motorcycle! Including up to 12-months Shannons comprehensive Car and Bike Insurance and Shannons RoadsideAssist.
CZ World Championships movie
Leslie Roberts,one of the main organisers of the CZWorld Championships, has advised us that the movie of the event has been completed and is ready to view, for free on Youtube! Brought to you by the Original CZ World Championships Committee and MotoMan Films, the movie is a little over an hour,a bit rough in places and doesn’t capture every race or every moment, but it will give you an overview and a feeling for what took place on the weekend ofApril 22-24 at MMX Racing in Marysville, California. You’ll see Saturday morning with the bike show, then highlights from that afternoon’s post-vintage Robin Hannah Cup, and then it’s on to Sunday’s CZWorld Championships with race and post-race highlights!
Shannons Mustang & Scout Rogue Indian Motorcycle Competition
Films
Twelve Hour Vintage Enduro in Italy
As vintage enduro continues to grow they say it shows the popularity of the sport from its original days is still present. The 2022 event will be based in Barga, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, in the Serchio Valley, north of Pisa.
The ‘22 12 Ore formula has been refined and will be run over two days of six hours, plus the preliminary speed runs on Friday. The event is inspired by the original race but brings it up to date with rules for displacement and bike type, and also by age of motorcycle. Legendary riders like Alessandro Gritti, who raced in the original events, have already signedTheup.event will cater for bikes built up to 1981. Only 177 entries are to be accepted. More information (entries and regulations): www.dodiciore.com Perry Morison
Tyabb is located on
Now here’s something a bit different - a twelve hour vintage enduro for pairs of riders. This event first ran in 1975 and though it has run in recent years for four wheels,this year’s ‘dodiciore’ will be for enduro bikes again.
Plus, $5,000 cash if you’re an eligible Shannons Club member.That’s up to $101,000 in prizes for one lucky winner!
Shannons have been a terrific supporter of both VMX Magazine and our Classic Dirt events over many years. In their latest promotion, Shannons are giving motorcycling and motoring enthusiasts the chance to win
Same old dirt, same old bikes, same old fun www.vmxmag.com.au JAWA 250 1985 ADB AVENGER CZ - HARRY STITT •Beta Nationals•DirtTrackCharityevent•Vintage•FaltaMemorialevent•AustralianClassic&PostClassicSA•BritishSoil•PartsandProducts•Trialscolumnandlotsmore HONDA RC360 PROJECT HONDA XR200 SPECIAL N EXT I SSUE VMX #92
80
A moment in time…
Bob Hannah was making his comeback from a leg broken in a water skiing accident. Off for a year, Hannah was not really ready, but that day at Saddleback would prove to be one of his toughest.
Kent Howerton on the factory Suzuki was clearly faster and during practice he deliberately bumped Hannah. “He poked the fucking tiger,” recalled Hannah forty years later. Hannah was mad and in the first moto the two bumped and banged into each other lap after lap. Howerton eventually went down after a hefty bang from Hannah, but the Texan remounted and won the moto.
Words and photography by David Dewhurst
In what later became know as the massacre at Saddleback, the AMA officials warned the riders between motos to stop the crazy riding. It had no effect. Moto two was a ruthless replica of the first. The fans were screaming for joy as Hannah showed that poking the bear was never a good idea, even when the bear was injured and riding what Hannah called, “a piece of crap Yamaha.”
eale n ui ies Welcome all 8 2.375.2 5 Email: aul@ eston etty o ucts.com
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