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British Bike Rally winners included (from left) Jim McCleery. Tina Gauer.
Ken Smith. Don Smith. Chuck Vrotney. Crandall Crane. Fay Younkin.
Howard Meeker. and David Undley.
he final quintet staged a breathtakng, race-long battle for the sixth
ough lOth place positions.
esults· .
12-lAPJR NAT'L: 1. Bryan Vilielle(W-R); 2. Scott
lump (W-RI; 3. Derell Devis (W-R); 4. Cmpleted by
Don.
"We're making it an original in
every detail," said Don, a truck
mechanic by trade. "About the only
thing we're missing is an original
six-volt Lucas battery in a rubber
case. Those are hard to find'"
The Smiths are part of a small
army of American motorcycle enthusiasts who recall the years after World
War II when British motorcycles
dominated the industry worldwide.
All of the marques featured at the
Becker rally have since passed into
oblivion:
Norton, Triumph,
Velocette, Vincent, BSA, Royal
Enfield, Matchless, and Greeves have
all ceased production.
Results
TAl 750: 1. H-erd Meeker ("75 Tridenll; 2. Lee
Phillips ("B2 Royal); 3. Todd Thompson ("77).
TAl 650: ,. Fey Younkin ("64 TR6SR); 2. George
Deshong ("751, 3. Bill Fulmer ("68).
BSA: 1. Charles Vrolney ("71-250); 2. Kevin
Anderson ("69 Rockel 3-750); 3. Pete Wagner ("69·
650)
VlN: 1. Crandall Crane ("50); 2. Larry Mellor ("52);
3. Crandall Crane ("52).
NOR: ,. Devid Donovan ("67 Alles-760); 2. Kevin
Anderson ("74 Commando-850).
COMP: ,. Don & Ken Smith 1'57 Mel G80CS);
2. Don & Ken Smith 1'69 Greeves Rangerl; 3.
William Dawson (BSA-500).
CUS: 1. Jim McCleery 1'66 Tri); 2. Rex Runwar
('75 Nor); 3. Bob Becker ("77 Tri).
MIXED BRANDS: 1. Devid Lindley ("60 Velo); 2.
Kirby Crane ("68 Ossa); 3. Pat Mellor 1'67 Bul).
PEOPLE'S CHOICE; 1. Don & Ken Smilh ("57
Mal GBOCS).
By Joe Mclaughlin
"yHray nails DeHa MX
DOVER, OH, JULY 12
A father and son team, Don and Ken
Smith of Canal Fulton, Ohio, pooled
their mutual skills, money, and
hundreds of hours of work to rehuild
a classic British 1957 Matchless
motorcycle. Sunday, they won first
place in the Competition class and
the coveted "People's Choice"
trophy at the 2nd Annual Florence
Becker Memorial British Bike Rally.
The event was staged by the
Singing Wheels Motorcycle Club of
Dover as a benefit for the American
Cancer Society. Other winners
included Howard Meeker (Triumph
750cc); Fay Younkin (Triumph
65Occ); Charles Vromey (BSA); Crandall Crane (Vincent); David Donovan (Norton); Jim McCleery (Custom); and David Lindley (Mixed
Brands). Thirty vil)tage motorcycles
were displayed under the grandstand
at the Dover Fair~ounds. •
"Dad used to nde a Matchless like
this one in desert racing in California," said Ken Smith. "We literally
built the bike from bits and pieces.
It had been set aside as a piece of
junk and was all rusted."
The Smiths have invested over two
DELTA, OH, JULY II
Kawasaki rider Tim Nyitray grabbed
a double dose of moto wins to clinch
the overall trophy in a grueling,
crash-filled, 125cc B class Saturday
at Glass City Motosport Park.
Sixteen banzai-mmded riders had
their 125cc engines screaming
towards the first turn when the gate
d!opped. Nyitray headed the snarling pack, followed closely by Jim'
Alrnroth, Craig Valle, Tracy Krum,
Kevin Korn, Robert Patchin, David
Oates and Glenn Severance, all of
whom were so close that it was hard
to tell their positions. Almroth
'swung wide in a corner near the end
of lap one, just for an instant, yet
he lost five positions in that moment,
falling to seventh.
The intensity never subsided. After
two laps six bikes were still clumped
at the front. Patchin made a dramatic
pass to grab second from Krum, only
to crash immediately. In the ensuing
confusion, Nyitray garnered a small
breathing space of 15 yards, with
Krum and Korn in hot pursuit,
themselves pursued by Valle, Oates
and a hard-charging Almroth. One
By Mark Montgomery
43
