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/126933
Dick Mann Kenny Roberts Dick Maim hosted the Dick Mann Vintage Dirt Bike Rally and won the Old Timers Expert class on his BSA. 3rd Annual Dick Mann Vintage Dirt Bike Rally- Vintage thunder at Sandhill Ranch' By Matt Hilgenberg BRENTWOOD, CA, OCT. 19 It was strongly evidenced that vintage motor- cycle racing and collecting is gaining popularity as former two-time Grand National Champion Dick "Bugsy" Mann hosted his 3rd Annual Vintage Dirt Bike . Rally thIS weekend at Tom Anderson's Sandhill Ranch in northern California. Mann's 24 gala - which includes motocross races, observed trails, exhibition hillclimb and din track, vintage din-and street-bike displays and a swapmeet -has been gaining momentum with each year, and was attended this time by such motorcycle celebrities as Ken- ny Roberts, Gary Nixon, Mark Brelsford, Men Lawwill, Chris Carr, John Kocinski, Hap Jones, Tom Sifton and John Hateley, along with Mann. The moto~ross was round fou~ of the 1986 CalIforma Vmtage Racmg Group (CVRG) Vintage Motocross Series, and boasted 150 entries with riders limited to riding pre-1975 machinery with four inches of rear wheel travel and seven inches of front wheel travel. The day's only double-class winner on the rough track was former National number 98 "Little John" Hateley, who topped the Vet Experts and the 65Occ-Open Unit Expens on a Triumph. Bugsy won his class, the Old Timer Expens, on a hand-built Dick Mann Specialties-framed, 400cc BSA thumper. The Vintage MX bike lineup included Greeves, BSAs, Triumph singles and twins, Bultacos, CZs, Yamahas, Husqvarnas, Ossas and Maicos. A two-moto format was utilized, with each moto lasting five laps on the two-min utes-plus course. Next up on the day's agenda was an observed trials, which was relativel y easy for a trials. Riders tackled the eight-section loop while dozens of spectators watched. The majority of the machines were Ossas, while at least one each Cotton, Yamaha TY250, Suzuki RL250, AJS and Montesa Cota 25 mini were also seen. The hundreds of spectators were also treated to an exceJlent display of dirt and street machines, ranging (rom one-off customs to antique box.stockers. Some of the notable display rigs included a two-stroke, singlecylinder Maico street cruiser, Don Castro's 1971 Triumph 250 shon tracker, a BSA twin dirt track-lookalike street bike, numerous Harleys and several sidecar setups. The swapmeet featured everything from· Harley-Davidson Fat Bob gas Chris Carr tanks to Moto-X Fox Airshox, and everything in between. The day's finale was the dirt track exhibition; only two riders were allowed on the track at the same time, a half-lap apart. It wasn't mea.nt to be a race, just an exhibition. The first rider to take to the bumpy, dry oval' was Nixon, who donned a set of his old National number nine leathers and straddled one of Bugsy's former short track singles for a couple of hot laps. Several other capable riders took to the track on everything from a 1940s-era Harley to Ralph White's BSA twin, which was raced in the 1960s. Dick Mann's Vintage Dirt Bike Rally has grown significantly each year, and is the predecessor to a number of other vintage motocross events which are popping up each year. The racing is the way motocross used to be - riders communicating with one another, hard racing without a lot of physical contact, and a bunch of people getting together just to have a good time. This is one of the latest forms of motocross racing, and it gains popularity with each event; it's a good time to see what kind of bikes people can dig up to compete in such an event. The next - and final