Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

MEET THE RACER EMIL AHOLA By Delmer O . Gasche EmU Ahola of Tacoma, Wash1ngton is rightly considered one of the best motorcycle racers 'In the Northwest. In 1965, EmU ranked first nationally in the Expert T. T. class . In 1966, he received National No. 80 and ranked fl!th nationally. Last year he was ranked third na tionally. What makes a good motorcycle racer? "I couldn't tell you," EmU answered. .. Desire to win Is Important, but desire Isn't always enough. Practice Is Important. You've got to stay sharp. Talent is lmportanL I mean raw, natural talent. The kind of talent that allows a man to deVelop a feel for his machlne, his competition and the conditions under which he'S raclng. Th e machine Is Importan t. You can't win l! you can't flnlsh. And l uck Is Important. Luck Is always Important. If you don' t wan t to attribute your wins to goo d luck, then at least attribute them to the absence of bad luck. "I always go to win , no matter what' the race or who the comp eti tion. I don' t always win, of course, but I always go to win. I like to race though and I like to race even l! I don't win, buUlike to race chance he ge ts to justify keeping that numbe r . Another r ider I know turned In his National Number because he felt he was not racing enough to just ify keeping It. He knew he wasn't going to co mpete to the full li mi ts of his ab ility and he wanted to give some r ide r In this area a chance to have a Nati onal Numbe r ." As an ac ti ve , top competitor EmU's comments on the current legislati on were illuminating an d presented an opinIon not voiced by many motorcycllsts . "I don 't know about the driver's license, " he said. " I won' t comment on that. As for the helmet legislati on, I think the state is interfering with a person's personal liberties . But - an d I want to make this pialn - I think If a per son rides at all , on the highway, onthe track, In the brush or anyplace else, he shoul d wear a helmet ." Emil Is s pons ored by Tacoma Motor cycle Sales and rides a Nor ton 750. " The futur e loo ks real good in this area," he said. " In 1965 I rode every race I coul d r each an d wound up firs t In the nation - and I only r ode 32 meets. This coming year there ar e 39 meets s cheduled for this area a long. The monel' Is ge tt ing better als o. 1966 was better than 1965, 1967 was better than 1966, an d this comi ng s eason promises to be better than 1967. Clu bs are helping promote race s. Th e public Is more aware of motorcyclists every year and our Image has Improved considerably s ince I began racing in 1955. "In the future I' d li ke to see more money and more co mpetition and more spectators - and I think I will. There's also something which I' ve heard r um or s of that I don ' t want to s ee happen In the future . I don't want to s ee 350 machinery replace open machinery In the Expert class . This has been rumor e d around for the last few years an d, of course, hasn' t happened yet. I'm not knocking the 350 machine ry because I think every class can put on a good s how. I just happen to think the big machines put on the biggest s how. Expe r ts should be left to ride any unlimited machinery which Is approved. LIke I said, this has been rumored for some years and hasn' t happened. But all the same, I can ' t hel p noticing all the new 350's and 360' s coming out this HAYWARD HAS 350 RIDERS FOR SECOND RACE Story IlY Dorothy Mobley May 11, the second race of the season at the Hayward, Calif. Speedway, was as cold and almost as crowded as the opener . The well - li t track was packed down to a s moo th glos s an d many of ihe riders chose the out s ide groove for some specIacular slides. The Hayward M.C. Is doing a fi ne job and shoul d be congratulated for doi ng this every Saturday ni ght. They are even . starting the r a ces a t 7:30 Instea d of 8:00 this year to ge t everyone home a little earlier. The r 250 Exper t Maln was fllled with District 36' s top r i ders. Dave Han s en l ed off the li ne on his Kawasaki with Paul J ohns on on a Suzuki r ight be hi nd untll Jay Kane moto and Bruce Te xira cr ashed Bultacos , Johnson le d the r es tar t followed by Fr ank Gllles pie on a Bultaco and Bob Gr os s i on a Monte sa. Grossi took over second place with Gllles ple 3rd and Texlra 4ih . Hansen. Johnson, Texira, Glllesple an d Kane moto are In the District's top twenty r ider s and hold numbers 4, 5, 7, 15 and 16, respectively. tl SALES-SERVICE PARTS- (oc~ ' oJ BSAW BACK TO BACK WINNERS season." ,. VICTORS M.C. EUROPEAN SCRAMBLES MAY 30, 1968 Trail Bike Novice Class 1st WAYNE GARRETT #129 Trail Bike Amateur Crass 1st MARK RADER Trair Bike Expert Class 1st JACK MORGAN #1 even more when I win." Since first beginning In 1955, EmU has en joyed his share of wins . "In 1955, It was nothing like It is now, " EmU s tated. " Raclng consisted mostly of spo rtsman events . I s tarted with a slreet rig mod! ned fo r the brush. Maybe I was lu ckier than most guy s, but I cam out winning almost right from the start. Atte r that firs t win, the wins kept co ming pretty regular." EmU has over 250 trophies now, tho ugh he does n't race for trophies as orten as he used to . "I enjoy racing," he comme nted, "and I enjoy getting trophles . But there are some meets In this area where I have to pay mo r e entry fee to race for trophies than to race for money at other meets. SpeakIng as a profe ssional, this atways kind of bugs IAn Hughes and Willie F os te r, both ~ Honda- mounted, took off with a big lead g:, In the 350 Amateur Maln an d kept It all '" the way to the finls h. a, In th e 500 Amateur Maln, there was a scrambles bet w e e n Bud Gibson on a ~ Matchles s, Richard wymer on a BSAand ;:; John Paro on a Triumph Metisse . They ended up wymer, Paro and Gibson. ~ The 500 Exper t MaIn had to restart an d left Al Ken yon s pe ctati ng. Paul Jo hnson § won on a Bultaco with Lou Demarrow on '"" a Trium ph and Bob Grossi on a BSA ~ cl os e behind. Jim Rice, Dis trict 36 top rider, was ~ in perfect form as usual on his BSA an d '"'stretched out a big lea d with Bob Haines !oJ on his Triumph and Lance Anderson and BraIn Norgard, on BSAs , following. ;.., The a ction at Hayward Is GREAT . Now U if the club could just do something about the cold ••• F il iron Air Filters, Judson P ro ds. Francisco Castoroil , Dri-slide , Fiberalas a tanks& sea ts. John Coope r & Big John Boots. All a vai la ble from SIMPSON MOTORS 4210 San Ferna ndo Rd. Gle ndale . Ca.9 1204 (213) 247-3068 me ." EmU'.s biggest thrill came at Boise In his lirst year as an Expert. "The Northwes t Championship TT Is always the nrst Sunday In April each year," he said. "It's kind of a coming out race since it's the first race of the s ea son In the Nor thwest . Everybody spends all winter getting ready for It a nd eve rybody is the re that can poss ibly make it. To win that race In my fi rst year as an Expert was pr obably the biggest thrill I' ve had from a singl e meet." Emil received National No. 80 In 1966. " This system for awarding National Numbers is r eal peculiar to me ,"- Em ll said. "Only so many numbers are allowed for each area of the country . Some guys capable of handling a National Number can't ge t one here whlle there are numbers vacant In other area. I think it' s a little unfair because we do have people with National Numbers who are not very active. You only have to make 10 points In co mpeti ti on each year to keep your number once it's awarded to you. "One guy I know went out for years and Just made enoutb points to keep his number. Personally I figure a guy who's got a National Numbe r should race every THREE MILLION USED M/C PARTS RAMS M. C. EUROPEAN SCRAMBL ES MAY 30 ,19 68 WE PAY CASH fOR USED PARTS- ALL MAKES Trail Bike Novice crass 1st WAYN E GARRETT 1t129 Trail Bike EL -Am. Class 1st JACK MORGAN It1 WE SHIP ANYWHERE. WRI TE OR CA LL FO R OUR PROMP T SERVICE - For a first.. hand demonstration of HODAKABILITY,visit yourdealer for a free test ride. MOm YClESAlVAI 835 W. FOOTHILL BLVD . AZUSA, CALIFORNIA PHONE: (213) 334-5912 .-J..... For_ dea le r --~ ~ - - ~CO p.o. aox 227 AnertA.. 0U00IlII 9711:; ~..I'"...... neo rbtyou .write: - 110 11'''' 11 0 11'''' 110 11'''' 11 0 11'''' 11(1) ' '' ' 11 ( 1)''' ' 11011'''' 1101"'"

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