Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Alook back A " ~otorcycle enthusiasts eagerly await the International Six 6/ " "' ' Da y End uro sched u led to ta ke p lace this Sep tember in Tu ls a, Okl a h oma, w here e nd u ra nce r ace rs from around the wo rld will compet e on the John Zink Ranch , One Fort Smith, Arkansas, man will be ther e, wa tching from th e sidelines, recalling wh at it was like 30 yea rs ago w hen he first ra ce d in the Six Da ys , Leroy Winters will be remembering his eigh t tries for the go ld when he raced for the glory of the United States and for the recognition of being one of the best motorcycle racers in the world. For 50 years, in this part of nort hw est Arkansas a nd easte rn Oklahoma, the name Winters ha s been sy nonymou s with motorcycles. To little boys and big boys alike, Leroy Winters was a hero of sorts - the ki n d o f mo torcycl e m an they'd like to be if only they wer e bra ve eno ugh, smart enough, and, yes, even a little crazy enou gh. Ler oy Winters g r e w up arou nd mo torcycles. His father, Quin Winters, opened a bicycle and Harley-Davidson motorcycle s hop in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in the early 1940s. UMy d ad put me on an Indian Scou t when I was six ye ars o ld," Winter s recalls. "He push ed me off and dumped the clutch in. I would ride around the block and when I got tired I'd holler for him to get me off. On the next lap, held grab me." Win ter s spen t his afternoon s after sc hool w o rki ng with h is fa ther. "I wasn' t allowed to goof off after schoo l. Dad had me right there wo rki ng with him , learning ali I could about motorcycles." By the time he reached his 20s, Winte rs was ra cing in cr o ss country endu rance runs. "I raced in Shreveport, Tul sa, Joplin, and Littl e Rock. Then I ventured a little farther from home and raced in Ca lifornia, Florid a, and eve n Can ada and Mexico." Winters was the firs t person to wi n th e prestigeous 500 Mile Jack Pi ne End uro in Lansing, Michigan , on a Iight weigh t mot orcycle. " I cha nged, modi- fied, and prayed over that 165cc Harley until I finally got it dependable," Winlers says. " I battled all the g iants like Sa l Scripo, Don Pink, John Penton and Bill Baird. I felt a little like David fighting Goliath. Winning the Jack Pine was like being champion of America." In 1965, after nu rsing their blist ers and sore bones, Winters and Penton agreed to try the Six Days in England. " We paid our own ex p enses and air freight for my Honda 5-90 and his BMW 250 to the Isle of Man. We though t we were really something, kind of like Caesa r an d Napoleon. We had trop hies on the shelves and metals on our chests, but by the third day, we were out of the running. I was in my p rime then; I was strong, and I was a good mechani c. But I was no match for the likes of Sammy Miller of Englan d who rod e w ithout gloves, vod ka d rinking Russians, and Swe dish riders who passed me styl ing like the new sensati on, Jeremy McGrath." Winters wen t to Swed e n th e next year alone. "Ed ison Dye, the Husky dis- (Top) Leroy Winter's fourth attempt at finishing the Six Days In 1968 again ended In disappointment when the wheel bearings on his Penton went out on Day Three. (Left) On the back of this photo, Leroy wrote: "I lost my gold medal on this ski slope." It was taken at the German Six Days In 1969. tributor, told me I wa s to ride a 125cc Zundapp, but instead, I ended up riding a 250 Husky. After all the frustration of just finding my wa y to the starting line, I ended up ou t on the third d ay, after losing my wa y in a rainstorm," Winters says, shaking his head. "Ou t again." Winters competed the ne xt year, traveling wi th Jo hn Penton, Ma lcolm Smith, and Dave Mungenast. "We left Sweden in a borrowed Volkswagen bus and drove to Zakopane, Poland, a little sk i resort to wn . It was quite a d ri ve. There we met Bud Ekins an d John Nelson. We had no team manager, an d we were in a country where no one spoke English. It too k stamps we wer e supposed to purchase at the border to buy gasoline and oil. And, believe me, that old bus really used the oil. All the food tast ed like it was spoil ed. Some of us got sick, and I lay in a hotel room in a cold , sweat and fever for two d ays. I had to visit the toilet often, and the toilet tissue felt like sandpaper. But we all mad e the sta rting line on a bunch of motocross Huskys. And, on ce again, I was ou t on the third da y; th is time whe n th e connecting rod let loose. I can 't tell you the fru stra tion I fel t to have let down my team and country." On th e fou rt h try in 1968, Winte rs' enthusiasm was high as he left for Italy. "I had a motorcycle that inspired confid ence, and for the firs t time, all of us fro m th e U.S. wo re some th in g that

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