10 chapters and over
100,000 words worth of
stories, and hundreds
of previously unprinted
photos from Malcolm's
personal archive, Mal-
colm! - The Autobiog-
raphy is a must-read for
any off-road enthusiast,
as well as any motorcy-
clist who simply relishes
a very good story.
"I've done a lot in my
74 years," Malcolm says,
"and I even managed to
remember a lot of it de-
spite falling on my head a
few times!" CN
long and fruitful asso-
ciation with the Swedish
marque, sponsored full
time by the US importer,
Edison Dye.
Smith's fame grew in
riding the Swedish bikes
as he won countless
races in the 1960-70s,
including eight gold med-
als between 1966 and
1976 in the ISDT. He went
on to become a six-time
winner of the Baja 1000,
three times each on a
motorcycle and a car, and
a four-time winner of the
Baja 500. He's also won
Nevada's Mint 400 and
the Roof of Africa Rally
twice each, and won Mo-
rocco's Atlas Rally once,
as well as competing
twice in the Paris-Dakar.
The book recounts
numerous tales associ-
ated with this panoply of
success—like the time
Malcolm swapped his
helmet for an Isle of Man
police bobby's hat after
being recognized by the
copper on point duty
directing traffic while in
the Island for the ISDT. Or
turning down the chance
to buy a Manx Norton
road racer that was
chained to a telephone
pole with a $1,000 price
tag, then being taught
by tuner Clarence Czysz
(grandfather of electric-
bike guru Michael Czysz)
how to work on such
bikes. Or teaming to win
the Mint 400 with works
Husqvarna motocrosser
(and first AMA 500cc MX
champion) Mark Black-
well, future Victory/Polaris
motorcycle boss—who
crashed and cartwheeled
the bike, but remounted
to bring it back home
in battered but rideable
condition.
However, chances
are that most people
who know the name of
Malcolm Smith do so be-
cause of his starring role
in Bruce Brown's classic
motorcycle movie On
Any Sunday, alongside
Hollywood star Steve Mc-
Queen and AMA Grand
National Champion,
Mert Lawwill. This book
recounts the making of
the film, complete with
much little-known back-
ground—such as, the fact
that for the iconic trailbike
sequence with the three
stars, Lawwill rode a
late-model Greeves two-
stroke festooned with
Harley-Davidson XLR900
stickers to keep his race
sponsors happy!
Rich in detail with
VOL. 52 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 17, 2015 P101
