AKIRA WATANABE: 1978 WORLD MX CHAMPION

In the history of the World Motocross Championship, riders representing upwards of 15 individual nations have claimed world titles. However, interestingly, amazingly and almost unbelievably, only one Japanese rider has won only one World Championship. His name is Akira Watanabe and in 1978 he won the 125cc World Motocross Championship. During the 39 years which have followed, no rider representing the nation of 127 million inhabitants has been able to win a World Championship.

Akira Watanabe was born in 1954 in Utsunomiya, Japan and first became intrigued by motocross by seeing 50cc race bike inside the store front window of a motorcycle dealership. He took to the bike quickly, and within two years was racing. Excelling in local and regional races around the nation, by the age of 17, Akira had caught the eye of the Suzuki Motor Corporation and was hired to test, research and develop the brand’s motocross bikes. In 1974, at age 19 and already a professional, he won the Japanese Championship in both the 125cc and 250cc classes. One year later, he fulfilled his boyhood dream of being sent to Europe to contest the 125cc World Championship Series. “Of course I remember Akira,” exclaims Roger DeCoster. “He was based in Belgium, actually, when he raced in Europe. That was during the Gaston Rahier days. He actually spent some time living with Gaston on the East Side of Belgium. He also rode with me. Akira raced the Trans-AMA Series, as well. He was a good rider – a very good rider. I mean you don’t win a World Championship without being a decent rider. Akira was very focused and he really wanted it bad. He came to Europe, which was not so easy for a Japanese rider.

MARTY MOATES AT THE CARLSBAD RACEWAY

In the month of June, during the summer of 1980, Carlsbad Raceway and Marty Moates would become synonymous with one another. On that sunny afternoon Moates, the consummate underdog as an empty-pocketed privateer, rode his LOP Yamaha to victory at the 500cc USGP, a race that until then was dominated by visiting European stars. It was the one race every American rider dreamed of winning, though no one had pulled it off up to that point. But in Cinderella fashion, Moates, born and raised in nearby San Diego, pulled off what remains arguably the single biggest upset in motocross history.

TRAMPAS PARKER: THE FIRST YANKEE WORLD CHAMPION

American-born, Trampas Parker created motocross history as the very first Yankee to win two World Motocross Championships. What made Parker’s rise to world-class racer so astonishing was that he was virtually unknown back in the United States (Remember, there was no Instagram or Facebook back then!). Based in Italy when his career took off, Parker lit up the global motocross scene by clinching the 1989 125cc championship for KTM. Two years later, the Texas-raised rider proved his skill and speed was no fluke as he won the 250cc championship on a Honda

OSCAR STORIES: MAX HAZAN

I think genetics played a major role in my talent, drive and the ability to work with my hands. My dad was always an inspiration even though I grew up dirt biking with my friends. He rode motorcycles but stopped long before I came into the picture. He had them all; old Ducati’s, BSA’s… he was a total gear head. I remember, every now and then I would come across some sort of problem and he would always say, “Oh yeah, that happened to me back in 19 so and so…”

I was an artist before I became a builder and it has helped in the process of custom motorcycle building. I started working with a foam model never really seeing that type of work done anywhere else. It allows me to see what I am working with without introducing any permanent mediums. It is such an easy step. I literally find this material at Michael’s Craft Store. As I said before, everything is fair game in my world. The first few bikes that I built I would rely on found material. I used anything from a kitchen sink screen to a bar mitzvah chalice.

This Ducati 998 will always be my favorite though. This was the cleanest most refined bike and it had a different engine than the rest. When it came out I literally had no money and would always tell myself, “someday.”

What attracted me to this bike was it’s elegant shape; it didn’t have any crazy graphics and it didn’t have air ducts that the 916 had, the exhaust and the features were all kind of cutting edge back then. It always just rubbed me the right way.

This bike is such an effortless ride. A lot of the artists, including artistic people that ride, space out, you know? I’ve left my keys in the fridge while thinking about how I could create a design and it is something that is definitely hard to switch off. But if you go out on a Sunday morning on an empty road and you just let it rip, that is pretty much the only way for me to switch it off. You completely forget everything and that is my favorite thing about this bike.

If someone were to ask me “if you could have anything else in life, what would it be,” I would say…keep it continuing as it is, there is no monetary amount or any material objects that I feel I need or that I want right now. This bike is definitely a testament to that. I have dreamt of it for years and now it’s mine.
I walked out on my back porch the other day and I thought there would be a bit more of a longing for more financial success or something like that…but I am more than comfortable with where I am in my life.

Vintage Motocross Picture

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Vintage Motocross Picture by Oscar by Alpinestars

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Vintage Roadracing pictures

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all images © Alpinestars

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Malcolm Smith Vintage Boots

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Vintage Malcolm Smith Motorcycle Boots at : metropolisvintageonline.com

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Arizona Mike's Vintage MotoCross Bikes

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Bultaco 250 Pursang

Suzuki TS 250

CZ 250 M

HuskyCR430

Arizona Mike's Vintage MotoCross Bikes

Mike Grayson currently resides in New River, Arizona (just 20 miles N. of downtown Phoenix). He has a warehouse here where he keeps most of his bikes. If you are ever in his area, please call him to view his inventory at that time @ 623-465-0636.

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Vintage bikes take to the road

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Left: Phil Hammersley from Llandissilio.Right: James Adams from Tavernspite.

Anthony Devall from Reynalton.

The West South Wales Section of the Vintage Motorcycle Club met in Jeffreyston on Sunday for the Pre-31 and girder fork run.
Approximately 20 bikes from the section then travelled north on a 50-mile route through Canaston Woods, Gelli, over the Preselis and had lunch at the Old Post Office in Rosebush and then returned through New Moat, Clarbeston Road, Templeton and back to Jeffreyston.
Thanks to Les Thomas and Shirley Simpson for coffee in the morning and organising the route for the day.

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Life on bikes from 73 to 82

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Via : http://ltthor.home.comcast.net

1974 on a 73 SL100 at Richmond Dragway, notice the brake pedal dragging by the brake arm, who needs brakes on a 4 stroke anyway, finished 3rd in a class of about 24 2-strokers.

A wet and muddy day at Cedar Ridge with Susan Sharpe.

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Vintage Motocross by Lee Sutton

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all pictures are copyright Lee Sutton

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Vintage Motocross Pictures

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All pictures via : trail-adventurer.blogspot.com

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Motorcycle meeting held in town

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By: Jeremy Nolais via : cochraneeagle.com

Vintage motorcycle enthusiasts from across Canada rolled into the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre for a historic gathering Oct. 23.

More than 50 individuals gathered for the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group’s (CVMG) 2010 annual general meeting — the first in the group’s 43-year history to be held west of Ontario.

Bob Wardle, who has lived just north of Cochrane for 30 years, took part in the day’s festivities and was extremely pleased to see the meeting held so close to home.

“These guys are real enthusiasts,” Wardle said of the attendees, who were representing vintage motorcycle delegations from every province.

“All they’re interested in is preserving history.”

Wardle’s prized possession is a 1949 MK 1 Trojan, which he acquired shortly after the Second World War. He explained that, because factory production was slow following the war effort, a British company developed a motor that could be used on a bicycle and the MK 1 Trojan was born.

“You got 200 miles to a gallon of gas at 25 miles an hour, and gas was 14 cents a gallon,” Wardle proudly recalled, adding his wife won’t allow him to own more than three bikes at a time, and therefore the others he has restored are on display in museums.

Jim Kelsall sits on his 1947 Sunbeam S7 motorcycle in front of Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre Oct. 23. Kelsall, who lives in Calgary, was participating in the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group’s national annual general meeting. Photo by Jeremy Broadfield

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Vintage Road Racing

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Blalock, vintage motorcycle

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By Bill Walsh
Special to the Rappahannock News
If all goes according to plan, Bill Blalock will finally get to ride a motorcycle he owned for many years without ever having cranked up the engine.

That motorcycle is one of about 80 entered in this fall’s Motorcycle Cannonball, a 17-day race from Kitty Hawk, N.C., to Santa Monica, Cal.

Blalock with the restored bike.

Blalock bought the badly neglected 1913 Excelsior in 1952 from the Washington, D.C. family of its one-time owner. That owner, a part-time racing enthusiast, had been living in a nursing home for a few years, and the bike had sat in the basement, neglected, for a number of years, Blalock said.

“[A sister] really didn’t know what it was worth and didn’t really want any money,” Blalock recalled of the purchase, and he can’t remember what he paid for it.


“It was sitting in a basement, and had been sitting there long enough that the rear stand was almost rotted off,” he said. “It was a mess.”

Blalock, founder of Blalock Cycle Co., originally in Silver Spring, Md., before its 1984 move to its present location at 170 Lee Highway in Warrenton, took it back to his shop.

“I got married in ’55, and we had a child in ’56,” Blalock recalled. “I had taken it apart and it was sitting around in boxes,” and with a demanding business and a growing family, he didn’t have much time to work on it.

His original plan was to restore the bike and ride it.

“Usually, there are a lot of parts missing,” in a project like this, Blalock said.


“I had to re-make the rear stand. The pedals were completely worn out, but you just unscrew those, just like a bicycle. I replaced the chain with Diamond chain, which is still in business today; I was able to get the same chains that were on there. The seat . . . I was able to restore the leather on it. The gas tank had pinholes all through it, but there is a chemical that you put in as a liquid and it dries and becomes a plastic-like material... read more




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Festival of Jurby

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By: John Gregory via : www.isleofman.com



Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts and families are expected to descend on Jurby Airfield this Sunday (August 29) for the Festival of Jurby.
Last year marked the inaugural festival which attracted more than 8,000 visitors and featured vintage motorcycles and other vehicles as well as attractions for all the family. It was the biggest single spectator attraction of the year.
This year the organisers are predicting in excess of 10,000 people attending the festival and have completely revamped the event to cope with the huge numbers.

It has been organised by the Isle of Man Vintage Motorcycle Club.
Secretary of the club Tony East said: "We were completely overwhelmed by the number of people last year."We thought we might attract a couple of thousand visitors if we were lucky, but we totally under-estimated how popular the event would be."
The events committee of the VMCC Isle of Man came up with the idea of holding a gathering similar to the well established VMCC Festival of 1,000 Bikes held annually at Mallory Park.

Tony added: "We were well organised and we had lots of exhibitors and an enthusiastic group of people at VMCC who worked hard and who believed in the festival, but the number of people who arrived was just amazing... Read more

follow the Link http://www.mgpfestival.com/

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The Texas Vintage Racing Club

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TEXAS VINTAGE RACING CLUB. Established 1988.

is a social Network for all the motorcross lovers
Be sure to check out the official Texas Vintage Racing Club website at:
www.TVRC.org

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About vintage motorcycles

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via : www.collectorsweekly.com

Motorcycles have figured prominently in movies, music, wars, recreation, and just about every aspect of 20th century life. Classic and vintage motorcycles have become highly collectible, especially among baby boomers.

1975 MV Agusta 750 America

The first motorcycles were produced in the late ...19th century, on both sides of the Atlantic. Some of the earliest efforts were simply small motors attached to a bicycle. In the 20th Century, hundreds of makers produced motorcycles of all varieties, including Indian, Harley Davidson, Ducati, Crocker, BMW, Triumph, Honda and more.

RARE 1931 TT REP NORTON

Two American companies, Indian and Harley Davidson, dominated the market in the U.S. until the waves of British and Japanese imports in the 1950s and 1960s respectively. While Indian ultimately failed, Harley Davidson made a comeback in the 1980s, and its classic 'hogs' are now a favorite of riders and collectors.

1967 Triumph Bonneville T120R Bobber

and many, many more ...




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ebay stuff

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VINTAGE 1930S LEATHER MOTORCYCLE BOOT COVERS SPATS

Vintage 1930s leather motorcycle boot covers or spats. Made of black leather. Each has 4 buckles. They are marked: MOIX 87 9 BUTTIKER 87. They're 9" tall and 14.25" around. In very good condition with a nice patina.

VINTAGE 50'S TRIAL MASTER WAX MOTORCYCLE JACKET RED

VINTAGE EXTRA RARE 50'S TRIAL MASTER WAX MOTORCYCLE JACKET SIZE 38 MEDIUM VERY GOOD VINTAGE CONDITION ,HAS SOME DIRT AND DAMAGE ZIPPER WORK PERFECT SNAP ALSO MADE IN U.S.A.



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Vintage motocross Photographer

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I just want to invite you today to take a look at this vintage picture gallery from : Don. Don is an amateur photographer living in Falls Church, VA, near Washington DC. His photographic interests include taking pics of his 3 kids, low-light/night photography and portraits. His taste runs to artsy rather than clinical. He prefers moody to stark.
He uses a Canon Digital Rebel XTi(400D) DSLR with an Opteka grip. His lenses include:
17-85mm Canon IS (primary walk-about lens)
50mm Canon 1.8 prime
60mm Canon Macro
75-300mm Canon telephoto (man this thing needs a lot of light!)

He wants to upgrade the 75-300 someday, as well as get a macro lens...












AHRMA/ACR combined event at Budds Creek, MD. Vintage Motocross at its finest.




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