Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 18, 2014 P115 Dunes guy." In those early years of MX there were two factions, the CMC guys and the Dunes guys. If you lived in Orange, San Diego, or Riverside counties, you raced on Sunday at CMC Carls- bad or Saddleback. If you lived in north LA or the San Fernando Valley, you spent your Sundays at Indian Dunes, Valley Cycle Park and Bay Mare. That is where Zahrt honed his craft, winning hundreds of races over a couple of decades. Amazingly, he was being paid $750 per week to race those Bultacos, which was huge mon- ey back then – more than Marty Smith was getting from Honda! He was a brilliant starter and usually had the #402 Pursang screaming at the front of the pack. In 1974, he smoked the field in both motos at the Red- Bud AMA 250 National, his first and only National win. Besides Bultaco, Zahrt rode for two other Spanish marques: Montesa and Ossa. He was a test rider for Dirt Bike magazine, which was a natural fit for him; he could ride anything and make it look good. He was also not afraid to try any- thing that was asked of him and more. He had absolutely no fear on a bike, a point that becomes obvious when looking back at the photos from those Dirt Bike photo shoots… there's Kenny do- ing a no-hander off a jump, arms folded across his chest… there's another of him executing an im- possible whip for a cover photo. Jim Holley, who grew up in nearby Northridge, remembers much about his childhood hero and lifelong friend, "For a 12 year-old kid like me, Kenny was bigger than life… just always the coolest. I will never forget being at Evel Knievel's Snake River MX race with Bobby Jones, and Zahrt came out and smoked everyone in the jump contest, wearing ten- nis shoes and a t-shirt! He was also the first Dunes guy to win a National and he always had time to talk to me and help me out. He was that way with everybody! He would see a kid struggling and he would give him some riding tip, or help with a guy's suspension – whatever he needed. Kenny knew what he was talking about, wheth- er it was riding or mechanical." Bill Payne, an old Maico pio- neer and friend of Zahrt's, told of how Kenny helped his son, Billy Payne, with his jump technique. "Kenny jumped right on Billy boy's 80, wearing shorts and tennies, and showed him how to clear a double jump that he was struggling with." In the days since Kenny's death, the outpouring of love and affection that people have for him has been tremendous, with most sharing their own personal story of how "The Dart" positively im- pacted their motorcycling expe- rience. Whether it was the time that he won the "Lion's Leap" jump contest at Lion's drag strip while breaking his bike in half (while wearing shorts and ten- nis shoes, of course!), and then loading the broken bike into a station wagon, or when he duct- taped a quadriplegic and smiling Danny "Magoo" Chandler to him and did a couple of laps at a Day In The Dirt, Kenny Zahrt knew how to make us smile. Zahrt was a genuinely nice guy and unbelievably humble. When he showed up at our 2012 Old SoCal Pro reunion he wore one of his Bay Area Bultaco jerseys and was like a kid in a candy store, collecting autographs on it from all of his heroes, almost all of whom considered him the big- gest hero there. I spoke with Kenny a couple of weeks before he died. The folks at CALVMX were honoring "The Legends of SoCal Motocross" out at Glen Helen, the same day as the Dubya Vet World Champi- onship. I phoned Ken to remind him to be there. He didn't sound quite right to me and I could tell he wasn't feeling it. He hemmed and hawed, saying that he was not "feeling very legendary" due to having picked up some weight recently. I reminded him that most of us are fat bastards these days, so he would fit right in and not to worry. That was enough to get him to say yes, but he never showed up. We missed you that day, Kenny and now we will miss you forever. Bultaco Cemoto! CN

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