I
t is 1970 and the owner of a
certain Harley-Davidson Baja
100 couldn't care less that his
bike bears at least some resem-
blance to one of the most suc-
cessful desert racers ever made.
The fact that heavily-modified
Harley 100's were ridden to vic-
tory in Baja by well-known racers
like Mitch Mayes isn't worth a
hill of Mexican jumping beans
to him today. This little Italian-
made two-stroke is at rest in a
garage in El Cajon, California,
about 100 miles north of Baja
and its frustrated owner has
given up, telling his 12 year-
old neighbor, "if you can get it
started, you can have it!"
After a little tinkering, some
fresh gasoline and a few good
pushes, a confident, curly-haired
kid named Ron Turner has the
bike running. "It never ran well,"
Turner recalls today, "but it did
run. I rode it in the hills near our
neighborhood and I fell in love
with motorcycles!"
That Harley-Davidson 100
would be the first of many bikes
that Turner would ride and
repair, modify and make bet
-
ter. It would lead to a full-time
position in research and devel-
opment work in the industry and
would also launch a successful
California racing career; flip
through the local race results in
1970-80's Cycle News archives
and Turner's name pops up like
CNIIARCHIVES
P110
BY KENT TAYLOR
One of Ron Turner's most memorable wins came at the CMC Aloha
Supercross in 1985 while riding a Cagiva.
PHOTO: KIT PALMER
"RADICAL" RON
