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Lately, Roberts has been spending time going through the rigors of construction with carpenters, brick layers, etc.
•
When it comes to relaxing, Roberts is all golf; the three-t ime World
Champion carries a 10-15 handicap and a strong will to win.
A golf bag doesn't alter the famed
Roberts walk.
wa y via hi s secret shortc u t, flyin g o ff
th e road a nd hitting a small jump,
p ropell ing the sma ll truck three feet
in the air, land in g wit h a thud and
a no ther Ro berts ch uckle. •
The Rober ts chuckle. It 's some -
th ing you hear a ll day when you visit
th e former ever y thi ng- you-ca npossi bIy-w in -in -m o to rcycl e-raci n g
champion. T he giggles start at 6:30
a.rn, with his first o f wha t seems lik e
10 cu ps of coffee. " Early, hell l T his
is late," he says wh en th e co m p lain ers start complainin g.
Then it 's off for a q uick to ur of
h is 5000-sq ua re-foot, six-bedro o m
log home, cu rrently under co nstruction o n o ne of the more elevated hills
on h is acreag e. O n the wa y to see
hi s mo torc ycl e s ho p in n ea rb y
Modesto - Kenn y Robert s Yamaha
Co u ntry - we to ur the Ro berts
racing facilities.
Let's see, the re's th e short track
(the si te o f ma ny Way ne Ra iney/
Bub ba Sho bert/ Joh n Ko c in sk i/
Rob ert s duels on 100cc mi ni bikes;
th ey even h a ve ru les regarding
mo d ifi ca tio n s. Ra iney, how ever,
claims that Kocin sk i's bike is a
chea ter, a fact Kocinski ada ma ntly
d eni es ), and th e two m o to cross
tra cks . R o bert s says a Yam aha
YSR50 tra ck is o n its way . H e's just
waiting for th e driveway to the new
house to be paved. Yes, sports fans,
paved. We're ta lking reli eved neighbor here.
.
After th e o ff-road excurs io n in the
tru c k , i t ' s o u t o n th e two-l an e
hi ghway to Mod esto.
" Peo p le always run stra ig h t in this
corner, " R oberts says as we ap proach
a tight right hander th at 's covered
with skid marks: a co mfort ing statement as we push the Nissan to it 's
"paved road " limits.
When Robert s drives (o r, for tha t
matter, whe n he ea ts, drin ks, wa lks,
go lfs, etc.) th e man co ntinually tells
sto ries. Ove r 90% of the stories are
fu n ny , with 50% of th ose tak en from
practical jokes he' s p ulled o n friends.
Let 's see, the re's the one abou t h im
shooting a crow arid hiding it in
Shobert's truck, beh ind the seat; th e
AMA Grand Nat io na l Champio n'
discovered the sm ell y carcass a few
weeks la ter.
35
