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/128320
You Meet The Nil:e§t People.. . Name: RikSmits Age: 37 Residence: Zionsville, Indiana Profession: Former NBA basketball player Stick-and-ball sports fans might well remember the Dutch-born Smits, who starred as the cen ter for the Indiana Pacers from 1988 through 2000 . Since retiring, Smits has been reliving N a me: David Boydstun Age: 50 a youth he never had, racing vintage motocross. Residence : Phoenix. Ari zona Profession: Owner of AMS Racing As AHRMA:s national off-ro ad director, David Boydstun says that the hardest thing for him to do ai the races is race . Thanks to his great organ ization skills, AHRMAmotocross and offroad events are run far more effi- ciently than in years past. Part of Boydstun's success comes in having the attitude that all he can do when runn ing an event... is the best that he can do . "I used to get all nervous before I came to the events, but now I kind of have the att itude that by six o'clock on Sunday night whatever is going to happe n is going to happen ," Boydstun says. "I just try to take that att itude coming into the even t, try to solve the pro blems and just keep things moving. I just t ry to pay attention to the details. I always goof something up, but maybe I'll reme mber something e lse. I just look forwar d to every weekend." A lot of time s that means racing in the Premier Lightweight class aboard his spotless 1963 Cotton 250 scrambler. "The only thing that I did to it is take off the leading link front end and put on a te lescopic front end on it," Boydstun said. "That makes it wo rk better. It's quite a rare machine. There were only about 200 made, and most of them we re exported into the United States , but I found this one in England. I love it." And Boydstun loves vintage racing. Name: Terry Banks Age: 43 Residence : Stafford, Virginia Profession : M arketing executive for an automotive company Terry Banks hasn't bee n ridingAHRMAraces for very long, but his trick, water-cooled 1983 Can-Am 125 has been racing for even less time than he has. " I found the bike in new condition about two years ago," Banks said. "It had never been ridden when I got it . The bike was from the first year that the company had moved its manufacturing from Canada to England. This bike was actua lly built by CCM Armstrong under the Can -Am/Bombard ier banner. This is the only complete one that I have eve r seen ." Nonetheless , Banks said that because the bike is Rotax-powered, he can stillget a lot of the inte rnal parts for it - not that he has had to yet . "It rides like a brand-new bike," he said. "The power is there. The difference is that you notice the sus- pens ion is not quite like what a modern bike is. As far as power, it' s a pretty strong-pulling motor. It's much better than some of the older 125s. Youdon' t feel the radiator; it's "I've just been doing this AHRMAthing, trave lingthe country - in my RVth is time ," Smits says. "What I like about it is that it keeps my competitive spirits alive. I have always enjoyed motorbikes as a kid growi ng up. I had my first moped when I was seven, and I always dreamed abou t having a motocross bike when I was a kid, but I never really got one . Now that I am retired, I found out about AHRMA, and I joined at the Novice level. I sta rted doing some motocross and some cross country, and I rea lly just fe ll in love w ith it." Smits said that his favorite part abo ut the organ ization is the people he en joys seei ng at t he races. "That' s the bea uty of the whole thing," Smits says. "Compared to mode rn motocross, this is just a party. Peopl e here are so laid back, helping each oth er out all the time . We 'll have bar becues and campfires. Everybody knows everybody, and eve rybody says hi to everyb ody. We all enjoy getting toge the r and see ing ea ch other in different parts of the country. That's part of the appeal." Name: Bruce Rounsaville Age: 52 Res idence: Flem ington, New Je rsey Profession: Auto body shop owner For Bruce Rounsaville, AHRMAracing is a form of therapy and a way for him to keep alive the spirit of his late brother, Tim, who tragicallypassed away due to a heart attac k wh ile racing at an AHRMA National in 2003 . '1>.fter losing my brother last year July at the Thunder Ridge Nat ional, the motorcycles and AHRMAhave really helped me through a really tough time ," Rounsavillesays. "We both started back do ing this in 1999, my brother and I. He shattered his ankle, and I bro ke some ribs. That was our first time back." Like most people racing In AHRMA, Rounsaville does n't limit himself to one racingclass, instead running multiple classes on both daysat most events. "I have a couple CZ 125s and a CZ250 that are kind of prepared by Charlie Richardson of CR High Performa nce," Rounsaville says. "They have all of Charlie's tricks done to them, and he shou ld be giving me some free stuff now for saying so (laughs). I've got a ton of motorcycles, some RMs, some Maicos." Li ke Smits, the draw for Rounsaville is not the racing, but the racers. just more a case of getti ng used to see ing it up there. After a while, you just become ob livious to it." Thanks to AHRMA:s poslVintage classes, Banks has a place to ride and show the machine . He eve n sees himself getting involved in some of the vintage classes in the future. "I love it," Banks said of the group . "I hadn't even ridde n a bike in 18 years before I started with this. I had no des ire to go racing against young kids on modern bikes and on a trac k that I knew I was not capab le of riding. This is a great opportunity for anyone, regardless of age or ability. Ifyou want to come out and have fun, there is a class and a place for everybody." "Just going to the races and seeing everybody is the best ," he says. "There are so many great people. It's just an incredible experience - not only the races , but just the time spent at the trac k." Rounsaville is pro ud of the fact that his girlfriend, Anita Van Assen, is active in the sport as well. The owner of Finish Line FOOto, Van Assen sells images to the racers, which keeps her busy w hen Rounsaville Is on the track . "She shoots the photos, and she loves doing that," Rounsavillesaid. "She loves motorcycles." Rounsavillesays that he pre ferred not to reveailovely Anita's age . That would be more dangerous than the racing. www.cy cl enEWs .com CYCLE NEWS • APRil 2 1, 200 4 4S