Were here! I started in 1967 and am still riding offroad today. Observed Trials now, both modern and vintage. Something I wanted to do as a kid, when the Honda TL125 came out, but all my motocross and enduro friends talked me out of it.

Bikes I've owned, in order:

Many mini bikes.
6? Honda CT70
6? Honda CL70
70 Honda SL100 (New for Christmas & still have it!)
7? Suzuki 250 Savage, heavy modified for MX
79 Suzuki SP370
80 Honda XR500
83 Honda XL350
97 Beta 250 Techno (Picked up trials in 2000)
99 Montesa Cota 315
00 Montesa Cota 315
02 Scorpa SY250
03 Scorpa SY250
02 Kawasaki KDX 220 (Kept it 2 weeks. Trail bikes MUST be 4 stroke!)
74 Montesa Cota 247 (Still have)
04 Scorpa SY250 (Still have)

I noticed your photos of the Speedway bike. That was something I always wanted to try, but it was not exactly a big sport in Texas.

Glad to meet up with some other old timers that are still riding. "You don't stop riding because you get old. You get old because you stop riding."

Welcome to the Vintage Forum Darrell
glad to have you and your stories....
Im BC don't belive anything you hear about me, there all lies...

BC

Qualifications for a certified old fart ( or just certifiable)

1) Leather pants
2) Open face helmet - The latest at the time
3) Cotton or nylon mesh jersey - zero upper body protection
4) Zero protection for your arms
5) CZ's only - non-folding footpegs
6) Spic sickles and other commie assortments - wrong side shifting and starting. (spic for Spain- Not Central American)
7) German and Commie scooters - Extra pistons when you buy the bike.
8) Spic sickles again - One kick starting (HA!)
9) 3 inch shocks moved up on the swingarm.
10) Owning a Maico and pushing over the finish line.

At 44, I guess I qualify. My first "real" motorcycle, after a few minibikes, was a '64 Honda C110 (in 1972), which I rode the wheels off of in the Palo Alto Baylands. Moved up to a '69 Honda CL125 twin (not a good dirtbike). Then a CT70 with a pumped motor, and then a '71 SL100 which I rode to high school, and raced on weekends at Santa Clara PAL after removing the lights and putting on number plates. Next dirtbike was a '73 XL175 that I put a 267cc Powroll motor in. Great engine! I always rode 4 strokes in the dirt, even though my buddies had 2 strokes. I did have a '70 Kawasaki 500 my senior year in high school to compensate, though

Had bunches of stuff since then, including the two below. Also currently have a couple of CT70s, one of which has been raced 5 times at the No Spoke Nationals, and a pristine Yamaha XS650. I like dual sporting the most these days - an all day trail ride, and you never ride the same trail twice!

They only held mx events in two kinds of land near the bay. One was if it was a dump like Sunnyvale PAL or the one race in the town dump at Santa Cruz. The other was bay fill, like Fremont Raceway/ Baylands mx or Santa Clara PAL. Hollister had some mx events at the upper raceway- not much compared to today.

Let's not forget Champion speedway next to Hwy 101 in south San Francisco. Great racing there for years until the land got too expensive for the likes of motorcycles racing. Or that vacant lot near Trimble road and Hwy 101 just a bit north of San Jose. Saturday and Sundays would find quite a mix of folks having fun on bikes. The upper ranch at Hollister had super trails and was a wonderful place to ride. A much different riding place than the main ranch just down the road, 1/3 the size and twice the fun. Idiots racing between the ranches on the road with loud pipes killed that off.

Ahhh yes, the good old days. The manager of the place when it was still in private hands had a 500 BSA thumper all painted in green and yellow like a John Deere tractor and he even had a John Deere decal on the side covers.

Dogfeathers

Its great to hear you guys remembering Halls Ranch. And i have been out that way recentley..George E. Hall still lives in the house at the entrance he was the owner of the tracks and property. He ran the Triumph dealership in gilroy at the time.The old hillside track is still their but covered with weeds,i walked the entire track and remembered each corner. I loved that crazy hillside track.I rode a Bultaco 200 sherpa s then 69 or 70. It all started with John Gennai in junior high in los gatos he became one of my best friends and still is.By 8th grade he was 75t expert. He had faked his BC to get ama to let him ride and ride he did and still does.He is in oregon now and considering flat track again. He is riding a crf450 i am now on a yz426 no more ossas or bultacos but it would be great to have a nice one.If anyone has any old pics of Halls please post them. I will look around and see what i can find...Great topic and forum..Those were the Days.... Wild Bill 252l

Hi , I'm new here. I started (in 1968) Motocross on a 125 Yamaha MX , moved to Yamaha 250 MX , got into Flat Track and rode same , then got a sponser on a BSA 500 Victor with a Sifton cam and 600 kit . Then got into Drag Racing on almost all versions of Kawasaki Trippples ( the ultimate 15,000 RPM BUUUUUUZZZZZZ) . Also had a Suzuki 500 Titan and a KZ750 early model , CL450 Honda , KZ400 Kawasaki .
I havn't riden in almost 25 years but just bought 5 Honda CT90s and built one for my son for Christmas and also a 1977 CT90 with 155 miles on it for me .

My sons project.
http://www.zianet.com/fifer/ct904.JPG

Mike

I don't know where this thread came from but some how I missed it??
I'll just say that my first desert sled was a 1954 Velocette MAC 21" (350cc).
Nice to read all these stories.
Keep them coming.
Sounds like most of you guys were No. Cal riders. TT's and Scrambles.
To give you an idea of my age!!
I used to take Donnie Hansen and my son to Indian Dunes to practice after school so they could finish a moto on Sunday without getting run over.

Corky

fifer said:

Welcome aboard, Mike!

My best friend's dad owned the Honda shop in Pensacola, FL in the late 60's. He took me to my first scrambles race and I was hooked! Started in MX and a little flat track a couple years later. Went roadracing in the mid 70's. Made it to the pro roadrace ranks in BOTT then 250GP for a couple years. Stuck a TZ250 in a ditch at about 100mph in 86 and spent the next year and a half learning to walk again. Came back to bikes just to play, a few years ago.

No offense to my dirt bike buddies, but riding a 250GP bike on the high banks of Daytona rules!

Favorite bikes:

Yamaha TZ250J
Yamaha HL500 replica

Curent Bike:

Honda CRF150 mini moto

Dave Morrill
Orlando, FL.
National #32
AMA 250GP 1985-86

This old timer started about 1963 and went till about 1980. Quit because of business issues (bad move) and started back couple of years ago. Getting/building bikes for daughter and grandkids.

Will try and find the pic of the Combat Wombat in a 1975 Enduro in Picayune, Ms. Rode a couple of nationals on it but I was good enough to finish within my time but never good enough to win or place.

DB

whanlon said:

Yeah, I remember Gennai. He used to ride Vallejo speedway back in the late 60s. I was just a novice in the 100 class. Him, Jim Foley (did I spell it right?), Rick Hocking and of coarse B.C. where our heros back then. I think John Gennai was probably the most talented of all the experts at the time. He was riding a 250 pursang if I remember correctly. He may have rode a 650 also as most of those guys rode two classes. Foley rode a Yamaha for Rick Schell. I remember Hocking riding a Bultaco 360 El Bandito. B.C. had a british thumper. Yeah I remember.

C.H.

As long as we are telling stories of the old days . I used to drag race in ET against this guy:
Dave Campos
World Motorcycle Land Speed Record
322.149mph
Harley-Davidson 'Easy Rider'
14 July 1990
Bonneville Salt Flats, USA
Even did some hill climbs against him. Real nice guy but until his Speed Record kinda used to have trouble with his Harleys. Used to beat him alot.
Also used to race Flat Track at the same time Al Unser Jr was racing go-carts in Albuquerque. He's a super nice guy as is the Unser family.

Almost done with the 77 CT90. Waiting on fork seals and seat cover and for the lock company to get the damn key made. They have had the ignition switch for a week now.

hey corky,
you'r not corky keener are you?

Kaos

corky said:

This thread came from me Corky, but it was awhile back......and I still like hearing from stories from my past.....who else did you hang out with from SO
Cal...I met alot of racers during my Ascot days 73-75

BC

Kaptain_Kaos

No, I am not Corky Keener. He was fast!!!!!
I am just one of those guy who showed up and raced!!
I did carry a 2 digit open number for several years in Dist 37.

BC3

I ran 1 season of night moto-X at Ascot. 71 or 72 I think??
Can't remember to good, I have slept since then!!
I did this to try and learn how to turn a corner in the desert without coming to a stop first.

I did know Eddie Moler(sp). Rode with him a few times.
Raced against him a few times in Baja.
That is we were in the same race at the same time!!

You guys keep the stories coming.
Every time I read one, some old brain cells wake up and I remember something else.

Corky

hey corky and bc3, geeez you guys i was going roundy round at ascot in the 1969 70 and 71. maybe we even know each other. moved back to the mid west in 1972 and continued flattrackin untill 1976. it got to expensive trying to maintain my bikes to keep up with the factory teams. just wasn't as much fun anymore. iv'e been MX'ing in the vintage series here in woodland wa. for the past five years. lots of fun and low key. just like my early days of racing back in wis. check out my web site. www.pacifier.com/~geolee
i belonged to the gripsters m/c back then and we put on the elsinore grand prix. back when steve mcqueen used to show up. i worked for mitco bultaco in buena park for about a year when they were sponsoring tom rapp. when they went belly up i went to work for T-R industries in buena park. we did all kinds of m/c custom work from engine building to frame mods. was a fun time. now i drive a semi...... uggghhh. still have a whole garage full bultacos

Kaos

Kaptain_Kaos said:

Yeah, and how many of them are still unfinished from when I was there 3 years ago?

KAPTAIN KAOS ,
Did you work for Bob Bradford at TR ?