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/127679
riding instead of shifting to keep the bike moving fo rwa rd. For reasons beyond my control, th is would later prove to be a real bonus. With lit tle more than two practice starts under my belt, the Vintage classes we re called to the gate. We wo uld be running a t th e sa me time as the Vet class, which mean t not only wo uld I be racing an old bike on a modem course, but I' d also be getting roosted by old guys on mod em bikes. Pure poetry. As the s ta rte r waved the flag, I missed a shift and gated last, but thanks to m y "ne w" vintage bike's power, I was in third place by the time the pa ck hit the first righ t-hander. I immediately went to work on second place, trying to stick a wheel in here and there when, looming ahead on the track , I spied the one set of obstacles that I'm convinced will forever keep me from being a competent motocrosser - a set of stadium style rockers. I panicked, hit the brakes and stalled the motor as I slid to a halt. All of my Vintage compadres disappeared around the next bend before I could even get going again. Well, there goes my sho t for a win . But at least I can concentrate on testing this thing now. Despite getting roos ted by the modem bikes and one Vintage Expert, who was practically flying an old CZ around the course, I had a great time. The Vintage 'Ir on Els inore was work ing su perbly. The motor was making excellent power, and the su sp ensio n was doing its job well enough. The no rmal headshake tha t accompanied the stock Elsinor e wa s n o where to be found, replaced with a willingness to tackle the rough stuff. Another thing tha t I noticed immediately was that the bike would go where pointed as opposed to the stocker's tendency to push in the turns - and sometimes on the straightaways. Landing from jumps showed that while the suspension was still sorely lacking in the travel departm ent, the four or five available inches was of much higher quality than stock. Still, I avoided shooting for max altitude over the jumps. As the 45-miI]u te race progressed, my mount's one flaw, which Vintage Iron had nothing to do with, surfaced as the bike became con tinually harder to shift. Looking down, I no ticed tha t the shift lever was p ractically p o inted to ward the ground . Apparently, th e wrong shift shaft had been installed on the bike at one point, and it had already been broken once. Whomever "fixed" it had decid ed to fuse the tw o. broken p ieces toge ther and s leeve them . It d idn't work, and I wa s left with the opti on of coaxing the transmission from gear to gear onl y when necess ar y. But the bike was working so well in third or fourth - I'm not sure which - I was too busy having a good time to worry about it. In my enth usiasm, I'd also failed to n otice th a t I was w o r king m y way thr ough the pack to a fou rth -place finish whe n the checkered flag fell. After the race, I tu rned the bike back over to Thom e, but before I d id, I made hi m prom ise tha t he' d le t me ride it again on ce the shift sh aft was fix ed. Becaus e, you see, when it was all said and done, I really ha d a good time, which is one of the main incenti ves for rid ing a vin tage bike in the first place. I'd also learned a coup le of things along the way. One, "vintage" and "cool" can be sai d in the sa me sentence bec a use vin tage racing can be cool if you've got a good bike, which Project Rusto rati on certainly is. The other? N ext yea r, aroun d th is time when Carruthers' face sports tha t look of puzzlement, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut. cv VINTAGE RACING Once again, its the Golden Age of Motorcycle Racing. N ames like MV Agusta , Matchless, Norton, Aennacchi on the road courses. Handshift HarleyDa vid sons and gleaming Trackmaster Triumph dirt trackers . Maicos , CZs and Husquarna motocrossers. Observed trials wi thout the gymnastics-Bultaco Sherp a T s, Y amaha T Y s and great th um p ing B S A sing les. If you belie ve old motorcycles are meant to be ridden , AHRMA is for you. SO UND OF SINGLES & BATTLE OF TWINS M aybe your tastes run to modern roadracing machines-of the single- and twin-cylinder variety. If so, AHRMA is the place to race. W e offer fi ve Battle of Twins classes for everything from Honda Hawks to the fabulous Britten . Sound of S ingles also has f ive classes, including two for twostrokes. The singles are h ere, the twins are back, and both are with AHRMA! Motorcycle Week in Steamboat Springs , Colorado. I t's fi ve da ys of fun in the Rocky Mo untain su ns hine. Don't m iss it! Sept. 14-Classic Bike Magazine DirtTrack, Hayden Speedway Sept. IS-Britsh Bike Magazine Trial, Howelsen Park Sept. 16-Vintage Iron Motocross, Steamboat Ski Village • Sept. 17- BMW Classic Cu p Roadrace , Streets of Steamboat Sept. 18--MRA Modern Roadrace , Streets of Steamboat . Event info: AHRMA, 715·945-9699 . Lodging: Steamboat Central Reservations, 800-922-2722. AllAHRMA Steamboat races are pre-entry only. His toric CUp " " R oa d r acing \;II S ept . 17-Steamboat Springs, CO (Vintage only) Oct. 15-16-Talladega, AL (Including SOS tBOT) AND MORE! Concours, swap meets, BMW Battle of the Legends, vintage end uros, cross-country races, paced track rides-the list is long an d getting longer (vintag e drag racing is coming soon). We also h ave a prof essionally edited monthly newsletter, and plenty of opportunities for nonracing volunteers. Come and join the fun ! Vintage Iron MX . Cla ssic Bike Dirt Track Aug. ll-Rapid City, SD Aug . 28--Lake Odessa, MI Sept. 14-Hayden, CO Oct. 2-Dallas, TX Oct. 8--F1at River, MO Aug . 20--Budds Creek, MD Aug. 27- Linnville, OH Se pt. 16-Steam boat Springs, CO Oct. 23--Hollister Hills, CA British Bike Magazine Trials Aug. 13--Toronto, OH Aug. 28--White City, IL Sept. 1S-Steamboa t Springs, CO Oct. 9-F1at River, MO Oct. 22-Hollisler Hills, CA Nov. 5-6-Dickson, TN AHRMA P.O. Box 882 Wau sau, WI 54402-0882 Telephone: 715-842-9699 Fax: 715-842-9545 MID-OHIO. Get x -tre Performance and X-tra Value from D.I.D 's New Gold Prem ium X-Ring Series. Try it and Feel the d ifferen ce of the Lo west Frictio n and Hig her Strength! • Lowest friction achieved by an oil reservo ir formed by a special ' X' shaped O- Ri ng , fg.~~~ -::.-_ · TIgh ter sealing . Longer life · 17% Stronger tens ile strength Least amou nt of fncllon 01 any CoRing . {O.l.D pa ten ll R-".. ".. ~ poi nttl Sco tt zempacn . 1st r '''ce: A MA H ert ey-pevtctson Twin Sport ra c e in Mid -Ohio Erion ~dng. 1s t r'tece : U nli m i te d "ream Ch.dlcnge In M id -Ohio .