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/140926
0 " l>'" Cl N .... '" I!i N c: .., '" rJl ;: w Z W ...J U >- U .1 ) I What Makes eling to Alabama, his home state, and collecting trophies with his spunky little 125 Honda. A gradual switch ensued -no longer did he think of riding motorcycles as a pleasant way to increase his balance for roller skating. Now he was skat ing and unicycling cross country to develop that gyr os copi c sense he has that can keep him on his machine a nd in control in some of the hairiest flat track situations you ever hope to lay your eyes on. Accordingly shy Jimmy Maness was crowned Southeastern States Champ of the 175cc class scrambles in 1966. He to ok the title with a win at Augusta's track and he did it on the same little Honda that had been reaping trophies as though the y were wheat stalks at harvest ti me. Jimmy really had the bug now; a year before he had gotten his novice license and had been sporting 1970 Natlonal nwnber 31 had a fantastic year on the half-mile, allowing only five number 6lL on his Honda and the Sprint professionals to beat him to the checkers. he'd started riding for Richard Sanders' Harley-Davidson dealership in Mobile, By Cycle News Dixie S taff Ala. The string of victories and small, but significant titles (Gulf Coast Champ Jim decided a factory ride might be You're sitting up in the grandstands -1964, Alabama State Champ-1964 &'65) a real help to his racing career after where your eyes are just two more began to infect Jim 'With an irrepressible the Atlanta National at Holiday Downs of many glued to that rough and dusty desire to be a real racer. in April of 1970. He had bought himhalf- mile oval . Eight hot shoes are Talking with Jimmy you gather right self a new XR that year and since the winging it around, but you can't take a way that national stardom and the chance machine was fairly new and Harley had your eyes off that guy in front . Outa to be a hero for aspiring racers and race ' had little time to experiment, his bike sight. While the other seven are holdgroupies were not motivating forces was on an even par with those of the ing back because of the bumps and in his decision to race. Nor was he factory-sponsored riders. Before the pot holes, this one rider is all strung lured into a professional commitment to race, Jim decided that he'd merely out as he skips over the rough spots, racing by the fact that it's now possible try to keep himself and the bike toplays with the thin line that separates to get rich riding motorcycles . Rather, gether and to finish as respectably control from catastrophe and slings Jimmy was drawn into racing by the as he could without getting in too deep . the rear end out as he balls through same crass circumstance that, twisted However, about. ' the half-way point, he the turn at 80 blurred miles an hour. some other way, might have made him noticed he was gaining on the leaders And to top it off, he's wearing these a carpenter, mechanic or architect. and his bike could run with any of hot-pink leathers: Man, he's got to Circumstances dumped Jim my into cycle them out there. He got on the gas be one of the new breed motorcycle racing and somewhere deep inside there's and moved up to fourth before the racers. that personality quirk that surfaced to flag ended it all. Jim thinks he could've So, after the dust has settled and drive him into serious motorcycle racing won it 'With a little more time. the trophy girl has gotten her award, a nd a driving ambition to be one of the Then came the Sunday after the you figure you'll just stroll over to best. Louisville National in 1972 when Bart the pits where those cooling engines It might seem, then, that once his Markel loaned Jimm v his Factory ~R are popping like crazy and meet this mind was made up, there was little for that afternoon's race. Harley, over far out character. Maybe you can get elsa to do but race, race, race,the past year had been experimenting into this big bike rap with him and show up in enough places to win enough and adding here and taking away there everybody'll pile into the train of vans and the resulting XR was a bit more . events with a flashy enough style and and off we'll go to some local dive he's home free, well-known and loved beefy than the stock model Jim had for suds and bench racing. racer-hero floating in adulation and By the time you push through the been riding. Just how much more juice big bills. But there are still obstacles Jim discovered as he blasted around small group of fans, .!he only person and a big one for Jimmy came in the the oval that day. When it was all over who seems to be associated with that Jim handed Bart his bike and said winning XR is standing there in blue jeans and a white undershirt sipping quietlY,"It's got twenty more horses Flashy broad-sliding on those bumpy a coke. The pink leathers lie in a day. than mine ." Like any other young man who had glowing heap in the back of a van. decided he wants to be a big-time fact.. Where is he?" you ask. ory rider, 28-year_old Jimmy Maness "Who ?" Pointing to the leathers and the Haris familiar with the long and often ley simultaneously - " Him. The funky discouraging road to the kind of produde who rides this and wears those. min ence and proficiency that causes The guy you're tuning for." The lanky heads to nod among the men who pull country-boy-tuner flushes about the same the purse strings in manufacturer's color of pink as his leathers, and you, racing departments. Along the curbs newcomer to the world 'of Southeastern of that well-travelled road are the cuts, half-miles, have just embarrassed Jimscrapes, bruises and broken bones that my Maness, the flashy guy you just advertise the afternoon when somebody punched you down, you swerved to miss saw making his claim to a big chunk a fallen buddy, or you just rode too of that world. far over your head and it caught up The seeming inconsistency is almost with you, The road's also littered with too much. How can the hell-bent-forvictory, all-stops-out zappy racer of he Imets, face shields, gloves maybe a tattered pair of leathers, speeding fifteen minutes ago and this. .. COtn.'TRtickets, gasoline tickets and gobs upon IFIED. soft spoken kid be the same man. gobs of money in the form of twisted, Wow, is it an undiscovered case of schizophrenia? Should we maybe call worn and broken motorcycle parts. You a shrink? win a warehouse full of trophies , occasPerhaps. If you're really bent on it, ionally some money, meet every racer buff in your region and you keep loadin' you might be able to convince those white frocked guys that this really is that tired bike and your hopes into the an undiscovered case of schizophrenia. van every weekend and strike out for Jimmy himself will agree to part of another roulette game across town or across the country. that - - the undiscovered case part. Jimmy Maness swung a skinny right But he intends to do something about leg over a motorcycle in Augusta when that, too. In 1972, the fates willing, he was sixteen years old. He liked Jimmy Maness will become a discoverit. But it was just a fun way to travel ed case, not mental problems or identity crises, but a discovered case of first rate then. It wasn't going to interfere with the hours and hours he spent at a local motorcycle racing talent. And then, hopeskating rink polishing and repolishing fully, those business-minded gents in far away Milwaukee will come down to his roller skating skills. chat with this racer about little essenSo, first he became a phenomenally tials in the racing field like machines good Skater, then he started doing things and parts and perhaps a little help like riding a unicycle seven miles at getting to and from those scattered a stretch, and just to amuse himself ationals. and fill his spare time, he took to trav- form of a " Gr eetin gs " from Uncle Sam in May of 1967. Now som e people let the Ar my really dominate their lives, but Jim's head just couldn't be bent around. He was a racer and apparently saw no reason why being a competent soldier should interfer with his bei ng a more- than comp etent racer. Consequently, the weekend passes that fr eed most of the G.I' s to go into town and drink booze or relax freed J immy to buzz from Ft. Knox, Ky., to Augusta whe r e he'd gather up his gear and take ofito a race nearby. After a tour in Viet Na m Jimmy was discharged fr om the service and was able once again to devote full time to racing. It had been five months since he 'd raced when AMA Expert number 61L unloaded his bike and parts at the fam ous oval in Daytona. With a scant two weeks' practice, none of which was in actual competition, Jimmy recovered most of what the years had taught him and took a fourth in the Feature on Friday night . He backed that up Saturday night with a fifth place. Off his usual winning pace, but not bad considering the rust. Jimmy had to work to support his habit. It's not that his getting out of the Army and two weeks later taking fourth place at Daytona's short track is the highiight, or even one of the highlights, of Jimmy's career. This guy has amass ed over the years a string of victories and titles at some of the most prestigious tracks in the East. And to dirt track fans throughout the South, he's not much short of legendary. The veteran pros, riders who've been at it for years, who have ridden and won on nearly every significant track in the country and who have that godsend factory contract, know it when Jimmy'S on the line with them - in 1970, the first year that Jimmy was able to be 100% racer with no side jobs or other major hassles, only five racers were able to take the checkers before him in the half-mile. This past season was to have been .. the one" for Jim. With plans of follow ing the National circuit and spreading his reputation, Jim felt 1971 would see a contract with Harley-Davidson in the works. Things were looking good until June 18. That night, the night before the National at Terre Haute, Indiana, tracks is a Maness trademark.