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/127974
\ TIM E E B R D -; ER M M E E , ". ·?r- . . ~ :"'.' .~"" .: .• " '", . . both the highs of movie stardom an d the low s of frustration due to mech an ical ma yhem aboa rd the factorv XRs. ;' 5 0 we ge t to 197 0, ' a nd the y 've changed t h e ru les," Bre lsford sa ys . "Prior to tha t time, we were running 750cc si de-valve Ha rleys aga ins t the 650cc Triumphs and BsAs, but then they cha nged it so that it was all 750, and the KRs were su dden ly uncom petitive. 5 0 Harley an d Dic k O 'Br ien sa id , 'W e'll take the iron Sportster engine and shorten the stroke and low er the barr els a little. We'll race that for two Years, and in the meantim e w e' re designing an allaluminum engine.' I r eme m be r th ey were so positive becaus e they knew they had a good engine coming out later. "Bu t man, those (iron barrels ) jus t broke, broke, broke , and spewed oil all over us and our compe titors . You can talk to anyo ne who raced with us, and if they wer e behind a Ha rley , the y we re covered in oil." But d espite th e misfortunes of th e iron XR750, the Harley-Davidson factory go t plen ty of mileage ou t of Brelsford and Lawwill, thanks to movie producer Bruce Brown . "Th ere' s a funn y an ecd ot e to tha t wh ole thing," Brelsford says. "I was at my mom 's house one night, and she told me that a fellow by the nam e of Bruce Brown had called , and tha t I needed to call him back. 50 I talked to him, and he said , 'I' m tryin g to put a movie together about motorcycle racin g, and I was hoping to focus a cer tai n port ion of it on you because you' re new to it and kind of young.' He told me tha t he'd mad e a do cumentary before, and tha t it was a surfing movie. "I figured this guy was full of shit, so I sa id, 'N o: becau se I figured he was just blowing smoke. I told him to giv e Mert a call and ma ybe Mert wou ld be intere st ed . I d idn 't know Bruc e, and I just figu red it was bulls hit. Bu t Mert got together w ith him and realized that he wasn't kid d ing . As it turned ou t, one d ay Me rt to ld me, 'H ey, I' ve go t thi s guy who's going to travel with us . His name is Bruce Brown , and he's going to make a movie abou t mot or cycle racing.' 5 0 Bruce met us somewhere, an d he just traveled with us like he wa s our buddy. His crew wou ld flv in to the races, but he rod e with us." ' 36 (Left) Brelsfo rd (87) poses wit h Mert Lawwill (1) and Dudley Perkins Sr. (cente at Ascot Park in 1970. " Without those tw guys," Bre ls ford say s, " I never would have don e mu ch of any1hing." (Bel ow) Brelsford (87) grabs the lead at the 1970 Houston TT ahead of Bart Marke (4), Dick Mann (2), Cal Rayb orn (25) and Gary Ni xon (9), among others. Looking back on it all now , Brelsford says that the su mmer of 1970 was one of th e m o st mem orabl e of hi s ca ree r, thanks to Brown . "We had an absolut e ball:' Brelsford rem embers. "Bruce was just such a character, a hell of a brigh t gu y and so mu ch fun. It was one of the highlights of my career, not only to have a small part in the movie, bu t to be tied in wit h Bruce and all of the wonderful people in it. And I'm talking abou t the other rid ers fro m that era. Those fellas that year that w e were m a kin g th e mo vie - Ch uc k Pa lm gren, Gene Romero , Ga ry N ixon, Cal Ra yb o rn , Mert , Rog e r Rei ma n wha t a familv affair." During the filming of the movie On Any Sunday, which beco me the quintessential motorcycle movie, Brelsford , the so ft- s p o k e n , h ard -ridin g k id fr om ort hern Cali forn ia, prov id ed Brown with some of th e m os t u nforgettable foo tage in the film. In addition to doing much of the o n-bike camera w ork for Brown , it was against Brown's narration - "Meri's teammate and sort of proUge... Mark Brelsford... Mark is spectacular on the mile" - that Brelsford pin ned his Ha rleyDavid son wid e op en w hi le hur tlin g do w n the Sa cram ento Mil e' s fro n t straightaway and never backed off, execu ting a flawless, gracefu l, fu ll-th rot tle slide arou nd the bend. "1 got into that (fu ll thro ttle) thin g a lot .deeper than I an ticipa ted, as far as comm itting myself to it," Brelsford say. " It was the night befor e, and we wer d rinking a few beers. And Bruce sa y 'Boy, Mark, d o you think the condition will be goo d enough tomo rrow to wher you guys will be doin g some real goo slidi ng out th ere ?' And I just kind teas ed h im a nd sa id , ' Hell, Bruce, if cou ld be th e fir s t guy ou t in p ra ctic tomo rrow , I cou ld ru n that thing in sid ways wid e o pe n, and n ever shu t th throttle off.' He orde rs another round beers and sa ys, 'You su re yo u can d tha t, Mark ?' I sai d , 'Aw, no problem because I thou ght we were just bullshit ti n , . " It jus t so happen ed tha t the AM official was sitting ove r in th e corne and Bruce went ove r and talked to hi and told him, 'Fo r filming purposes , need to ha ve Brelsford be the first on out for practice.' 50 then he comes bac a nd tells me, ' I' ve go t you covered Mar k. You 're gonna ge t the cha nce t m ake your wid e- ope n lap bec au s yo u 're gonna be th e first guy ou t fo practice tom orrow !' I was thinkin' , '0 shit, I don 't know if I can d o it.' My bee talk got away from me. But the next da they did a magnificent job preparing th track . Bruce and I walked the track, an I told him that I thought I could d o it. told him that if I felt good thro ugh thr and four, then I wo uld open it up do the front straight an d just leave it on . I just worked out. I look b ack at it, an it's ama zing. I wa s just fortu nate. Ther w ere pl enty of othe r gu ys w ho coul have done the same thing, but for vari ou s reason s th ey d idn't ge t the ri gh chance." Tha t wa s one of few glories experi en ced by Brel sfo rd, Lawwill a nd th iron XR all seaso n. As th e mo vi e sr bea utifull y a rtic ula ted , Gen e Remere gave Tr iumph its fin a l AMA Gra n