Motorsickle racing

[johnboy]

Watching a hare scrambles right now being run around some open pit mine in Austria. Man, these guys are hard core.

We used to run some old coal strip mines back in Alberta so I got a feeling for what they are doing. Fun stuff!

[Thumper]

Yep, I ran a few hare scrambles back in the day, but raced enduros semi-professionally. I only say that because I had a couple of VERY nice sponsors (Honda being one of them). They're basically the same type racing, except the scrambles are on a closed course and the enduros are "cross country". I think I still have a small pile of trophies packed away out in the garage. I gave it up when I thought I was going faster than any other human could possibly go ... then a 15 year old kid would blow by me like I was standing still. That's when I realized I was getting officially "old". I mean, heck ... I was like 28-29 years old for cryin' out loud! :(

[Captain]

My hair scrambled off the top of my head.... Does that count? :D

[johnboy]

Depends where it scrambled to. A lot of mine seems to be ending up in my ears and nose. :oldfart

Winner of this one was 41 years old. Watching him was a treat cause it reminded me why I quit dirt biking. Probably the worst coverage ever though. Way too much talk and not enough following the bikes around. Also, it's much more entertaining to follow the middle to back of the pack rather than the leaders. That's where all the real 'fun' stuff happens watching the less than perfect riders try to make it through.

[johnboy]

Watching made me think of a guy named Ed Hertfelder who used to write a column (The Duct Tapes) for Cycle then a few other bike mags. I loved reading about his exploits running enduros cause he was a regular guy, not one of the superstars. Looked him up on the web and came up with a bunch of his old stuff. Any dirt biker from back in the day will relate:

Did you ever - By Ed Hertfelder:

Did you ever try to let a pound of air out of a tire and have the valve stick open?
Did you ever think you were about to recover from a ferocious slide and pull a handgrip off?
Did you ever kneel on an Ace bandage clip?
Did you ever inhale a mosquito?
Did you ever put straight gas in a two-stroke?
Did you ever follow a really fast rider who was lost?
Did you ever lay in a creek to cool off then discover a leech in an erogenous zone?
Did you ever find a wood tick in your navel?
Did you ever go to an event a week early?
Did you ever replace a spark plug and forget to snap the wire back on?
Did you ever borrow a tool with your name already on it?
Did you ever loan a guy a tool with HIS name already on it?
Did you ever forget to unlatch a seat belt and think you were paralyzed?
Did you ever meet a tractor taking up half the road and the mower bar taking up the rest?
Did you ever get so exhausted you couldn’t turn the gas cap?
Did you ever try to start a strange bike and see your ankle bone?
Did you ever take salt tablets and sweat yourself a diaper rash?
Did you ever see your buddy make a wrong turn then try to catch him?
Did you ever pinch the web of your thumb with a pair of pliers?
Did you ever shoot the brake retainer spring to the moon?
Did you ever get clotheslined by a real clothesline?
Did you ever split a lip and tell someone it only hurts when you laugh?
Did you ever tighten a single loose spoke and loosen all the others?
Did you ever get Ben Gay ointment on a glandular appendage?
Did you ever force an SAE nut on a metric bolt?
Did you ever put a trailer hitch on the front of your truck so you could get the trailer up the driveway?
Did you ever hold your breath angling across white lines on wet pavement?
Did you ever blow into a tank line and have the tank blow back?
Did you ever stall with the kickstarter against a steep hill?
Did you ever follow someone into six feet of water?
Did you ever lean a bike on a dead tree and have the tree fall over?
Did you ever pass someone then high-side the next turn?
Did you ever leave your bike out in the rain after it let you down?
Did you ever clean your shield and make it worse?
Did you ever know anyone who won a motorcycle in a raffle?
Did you ever remove stitches with nail clippers?
Did you ever try to solidify a chocolate bar on an air conditioner vent?
Did you ever buy coffee just to warm your hands?

Well, did you?

[Thumper]

Cool Johnboy!! I knew Ed years ago and have two of his books (actually two of the same book). He hung out in our pit with us and he autographed one of his books and gave it to me. It was an ass-kicking enduro and anyone who managed to finish, also received his book (Duct Tapes), so I actually ended up with two of them. I can't remember if he signed both of them or not, but I'm sure I have them packed away someplace. I know I'd never have thrown them away! Wow! Talk about old memories! I believe that was around 1980 or so. BTW, racing is where I got my nickname, Thumper (that's what I raced). Ed was also a huge "thumper" fan.

[johnboy]

Bought the mag's just to read Eds column. I also rode a thumper - a 500 Honda and can relate to starting that beast in awkward situations. Get wussie on the kick and it would fire you over the handlebars. Had fun watching 2 stroke riders try to start it. Yeehaw!

[Thumper]

I played around with a Husqvarna 390 and it was a frigging rocket ship, but pretty "pipey" ... you had to respect it, or it would eat you up and spit you out!

Honda came out with their little XR185 in '79 and was doing quite a bit of advertising while entering into the enduro market. I ended up with a Honda sponsorship to run that bike in the 200cc class. I bought the bike, but being a strictly off-road "racing" bike, there was no warranty. What my sponsorship amounted to was my bike would be under Honda factory warranty for as long as I owned it. It was a nice little spiff, especially after I broke an oil slinger (basically the "oil pump") while running the Barstow-to-Vegas race. They replaced the slinger for me and went through the engine for me afterwards to "freshened it up" while they were at it. I was also sponsored by SUDCO International and they supplied any parts & accessories I needed. That deal was pretty sweet as they supplied a nice Mikuni carburetor plus a full set of jets. That was a huge improvement over the stock Keihin. The biggest bonus was the brakes, cables, shocks, chains, tires, etc. Heck, I'd replace the chain and rear tire at least every other race. (the front tire lasted forever as it was usually in the air and didn't get used much) ;)

I miss those days. Some lasting friendships were made and there are some fond memories. As a matter of fact, I still communicate regularly with my old teammate. Coincidentally, his name is Jim also and he's actually still involved as a race promoter. (he was my tune-up mechanic at the Hollywood Caddie dealership when we raced together back in the day).

Tour N'Trails Promotions
E-mail: tourntrail@aol.com
Jim Pilon
11756 Vanport Ave.
Lakeview Terrace, CA 91342
(818) 890-2209