Super Hunky
Passes
R
ick Sieman, aka "Super Hunky,"
recently passed away after a long
illness. He was 83.
Sieman was one of the original staff
members of High Torque's Dirt Bike
magazine when it was launched in 1971.
His unique writing skills, humor, and
hard-hitting honesty made him the ideal
choice as the magazine's first editor.
His "From the Saddle" columns are
legendary, as was his work protect
-
ing our rights to ride motorcycles. He
worked alongside Louis McKey, who is
perhaps better known as the Phantom Duck of
the Desert, to battle massive land closures in the
Southern California deserts and to keep the infa
-
mous Barstow-to-Vegas desert race going.
Super Hunky, along with his iconic English-style
handlebar mustache, was one of the first true media
personalities of the sport of off-road motorcycling.
Earlier this year, Siemen was nominated to be
inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
His name remains on the ballot in the category of
Leadership & Rights.
Super Hunky will be missed.
CN
WIND
IN THE
P28
Rick "Super Hunky"
Siemen passed away
at the age of 83.
John Barton—The TT Gatekeeper
F
or those who are consider-
ing participating in the Isle
of Man TT, you should block out
half an hour and listen/watch
this video containing the legend-
ary John Barton.
Barton is one of two Rider
Liaison Officers at the TT and is
responsible for signing off on a
newcomer to the TT. Essentially,
he's the man you must convince
that you have the chops to take
on the 37.73-mile TT Mountain
Course. In this interview, John
details what a newcomer has
to go through to get the okay to
race the track, the experience
they need in the bank, and a few
of the little tricks and tips he
uses to weed out the really ready
from the not-so-ready.
Barty, as he's affectionately
known, was instrumental in
helping our own Rennie Scays-
brook in his first ride at the TT
in 2022 and also in 2023. He's
an absolute fountain of TT
knowledge, having competed
for an incredible 33 years at the
TT with his final outing occur
-
ring in 2022.
CN
