M
arland Whaley was the
dominant American Ob-
served Trials ride of the 1970s. In
fact, a case could be made that
Whaley—who, from 1975 to 1980,
won five National Observed Tri-
als Championships—is one of the
true elite riders in the history of
trials competition.
In 1977 he turned in the per-
fect season, going undefeated
in all eight rounds in which he
competed and clinching the title
with three rounds remaining.
One might think that Whaley's
accomplishments would earn
him a place in the Motorcycle
Hall of Fame or at the very least
the North American Trials Coun-
cil's Hall of Fame, but Whaley
seems to be the forgotten man
of observed trials.
Whaley's dad was a success-
ful local racer during the 1950s
and early '60s and young Mar-
land grew up going to the events
with his dad. Thus, motorcycles
were always a part of his life.
Finding a place to ride wasn't an
issue.
"I would push my bike a half
a block up the street and be on
the trails and up into the hills,"
Whaley recalls.
Living in the San Diego suburb
of Santee, Whaley knew and
rode with many of the area's
motocross riders—guys like the
"Martys": Tripes, Smith and
Moates. While most of his fellow
riders were ripping around the
trails at speed, Whaley seemed
CN
III ARCHIVES
P136
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
In a short period of time, Marland Whaley
became a trials legend in the U.S. The
Californian retired at just 22 years of age.
THE
TRIALS
Of
WHALEY
