Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125892
h e next summer I had to give the cham ber and carb back and the Matador returned to its original tune. It was obviously much happier that way . We played and romped with scarcel y a whimper . We rode togeth er in closer harmon y . I found I could hear an d un d erstand it better wi th o u t th a t cha m be r 's racket. I d id n ' t see m to ge t so tired. I learn ed to use that stump-pulling torq ue and wall-climbing first gear . Once we were so exci ted at leading a larg e pack a fter a Bultaco-rare first kick start th at we just fell down ... no reas on . .. just. ker-plo mp . In the time it took to get up and extract the sapling wra pped around the rea r wheel some 200 cyclers passed by. On ce again un derway, now in last place , I saw a rider ahead take a sho rt cut. I started to follow him until he disappeared over a sharp drop-off. He fell free about 40 feet and lande d flat o n h is back be twe en so me rocks and an o ld rusty wash in g mach ine . The race was stopped an d everyone gathered ar o und an d watched t he m p ac k him off to the amb ulance. He did n't move or say anythi ng , and h e ke p t co ugh ing up bl ood. I fini shed th e rest art po orl y . I still rid e every we e ken d , but I th in k seei ng that guy lying the re marked a change in me. I always enjoyed co mp eti tio n but had o fte n bec ome angry an d up tigh t if th ings di dn ' t go my way, o r if I broke down. I used to let it all han g o u t just for a chance to gain a p ositi o n . Now I pass if I h ave a better lin e o r if I have mo re mo to r T or if the other guy gets squirrel y. I've learned to enj o y every ride, and I learned th at with the Mat ador. I see guys sp eeding pa st their abili ty , taking rid iculous ch an ces, push ing their luck , sometimes taking others wi th th em. If they cras h I often d et ect so me vague rese nt ment b etween man an d mach ine . Maybe it's all in my mind , bu t I still sense it. And I wonder if they rea lly enjoy the sport as much as I do. hat j aunt down Baja was th e last significant ride I mad e with th e Mat ador. When I moved to Cali forn ia m y bedraggled fina nces said o ne of us co uld n ' t m ak e th e trip. Three-ye ar-old Mat adors weren't to o much in demand and th e price I go t from the classified ad seem ed disgraceful. Sin ce my move I've ridden and owned seve ral other "high performance" bikes but the feeli ng has never been the same. ICs easie r now . Recen tl y I visited my fami ly an d friends back in Indian a. It was good seeing everyone an d ta lking over old times. Th e Bultaco shop had changed . Sales wer e booming an d the enlarged sho wroom was pa c ked w it h new J ap anese st ree t bikes. A few of th e same old characters still gathered in th e evenings to d rink beer an d swap th e sa me o ld tall tal es. Behi nd th e shop t he fenced -in jun k pile and m ot orcycle grave-yard had grown su rp risingly. I bro wsed arou nd and noticed ho w ma ny mod els I rem embered fro m wh en th ey wer e first new . So short is the li fe o f a T - - .----- _ ...----._- motorcycle. I recognized the remains at .. '6 7 Matador and examined it nostalgicall y . The red and black paint was badly faded and the tires were bald and flat. Cables dangled and rust was every where. The fenders were typicall y cru mp led. The primary case s remained but th e rest of the en gine ha d been str ippe d away, leavin g t he ex ha us t hanging. Broken fragments of pi st on aro u nd th e water-logged crank indicated the thing had blown an d probably wasn 't worth the repair bill. I caught the mo tor number in the com er of my eye . " 130 I 988. Havi ng written it on so many entry forms it was all too familiar. There it was, myoid Mat ador, Dead! . That was two months ago and I hadn't thought much about it until today. This morning I attended Rick's funeral. I first learned of his death when I saw the car crash featured on the newspap er 's front page. We were nei gh bors as kids an d always the best of friends. He go t married shortly afte r our Baja tri p and I regre t not having ke pt closer to uc h since. The fu neral service has left m e quite sad an d lo nely. I've be en thin king agai n about the ol d Matador, and abo ut Ric k, and th e grim similarity haunts m e. We grew up togeth er. We shared good and b ad times. We understood an d trusted o ne another . We were h appy. Now th ey are go ne. I've written this d own and I'm begin nin g to feel a bit lighter. I'll t ry n ot to t hi nk any more about Rick o r the bi ke ... bu t I wish I could kno w th em aga in. • .. 39 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ IIIIIIIIISstIIIIIIIIII