Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

By Tom Mueller Some call him the Typhoon - yet on some days he can't seem to wOTk up a bTeeze. He's been known to ride at such a pace that Bob Hannah said he was uncatchable; he's also been known to pull off the tTack fOT a self-induced DNF. He's been seen in the pits with a bottle of wine dun'ng the Taces - typical of the paTty-heaTty Teputation he caTTl·es. He's had mOTefactory n'des than anyone we can think of S<, many, in fact, that he himself had to sit back and think about it befoTe he could tel, us aboullhem. He won the inauguTal SupeTbowl of MoloCToss in 1972 allhe age of 16. He was second in the 250cc National standings in 1974. He TetiTed in 1976, came back in 1978 and shot to second in the SupeTCToss standings, took the USCP at Unadilla, New YOTk, and claimed a thiTd place beTth in the 250cc National standings. He's MaTty Tripes, one ofthe most talked about yet unexplained motoCTosseTS on the American MX scene. I t wasn't easy to pin Marty Tripes down for a chat. Phone calls to his home, which as of three months ago became Las Vegas, Nevada, proved fruitless. Letters to him through Yamaha remained unanswered. Tripes finally agreed to talk in the lounge of the motel he was staying in. That in itself was an accomplishment. Tripes was dealing with a bad cold and had been sleeping most of the day. The next day was the Daytona Supercross round, and Tripes refuses to talk to anyone on race day. "I don't usually talk to the press. There's only a couple of people I'll talk to. I don't know - I just decided to give it a try and see how it goes this time," Tripes said as he ordered a club soda and lime. Though at first seemingly uptight and tense, Tripes soon began to unload his story. Sometimes making eye contact and sometimes gazing into the distance, he quickly unwound. Racing for Marty Tripes has been like playing with building blocks. If one structure tumbles, you have to stan from scratch. Tripes tumbled once and came off hard. It was 1976, the year he went irito retirement. "I was fed up, burned out. Everyone was controlling my life but me. I needed to sort myself ol,lt. "When I quit I had less than 500 bucks. I went and worked at a resort my sister was involved with for eight months." 18 Tripes had a right to be burned out. By that time he had ridden for Honda, Yamaha and Husky twice_ He had completed five seasons of professional competition - he had seen highs and lows. As quickly as Tripes dropped out of the scene he came back in - this time with a factory Harley-Davidson ride. He liked the arrangement, but didn't feel the bikes were up to the task. It was then, in 1978, that he signed for the second time with Honda. 1978 and 1979, Tripes' two most recent seasons associated with Honda, proved to be colorful years. He was interesting to watch at an event because one never knew what to expect. Manv times he would !Un to the front - but if he decided to stay there, drop back a few positions or DNF was the question. Internal problems with Honda seemed to be the cause. Tripes felt the bikes he had to ride weren't equal to the competitiop's. _ "Honda builds a bike for three years. They can't do it! They can't afford to do that. Most of the time I was riding a production bike, not a factory bike. The powerband was way off." If the bikes were that bad, that far behind the times, how could Tripes win on them on a given day, a day such as July I, 1979 when he swept both 250cc National motos at Buchanan, Michigan? 'Td get so mad. I'd just smoke 'em to show 'em. I told them why I went fast and I wasn't bullshittin' aroundl "I'd rather quit racing than push the bike to its limits like that to win. My weight (now at 212) and strength alone kept the bike on the track. Reid and Wise (Tripes' team members at the time) couldn't hold it down on the track. They'd crash_"

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