This cool project from George Woodman is dubbed the Wild Horse. While George works his blend of artistry and ingenuity on larger motorcycles too, his attention to small Japanese motorcycles of the 70’s is amazing to behold.
Man, a whole lot of BSA motorcycles show up during my searches for Running When Parked candidates. Here is another beautiful example. A 1970 BSA Lightning that the owner’s nephew says enjoyed a frame-up restoration in 2005 and hasn’t been started or ridden since. The bike appears to be complete and the only thing that jumps out is the cracked paint on the side panels. Not too sure why that would happen to a bike that has been sitting unmolested for 13 years. There may have been an issue with…
This Husqvarna is indeed a miracle machine if it was truly running when parked. That’s because careful examination of the photos reveals that the bike does not have a carburetor. Did the rider hold a spray bottle of gasoline and squirt it into the intake port to get this beast fired up? Maybe. Regardless, this is one rough Husky that could serve as a parts bike. Good luck finding the parts necessary to rebuild this project. The phrase “running when parked” (RWP) is code for a once treasured possession that…
California State University Northridge Art Galleries is presenting an exhibition titled Kings of Speed: Ascot Raceway 1957 – 1990. The exhibit title says all you need to know. If you don’t “get it” you are either too young or were never into the most dramatic racing that California ever produced. I attended the opening reception and can show you just a little of what is in store for you if you can make it to the exhibit before it closes on October 13, 2018. The photo above is of the…
This Running When Parked (RWP’ed) looks to be very complete even if all the components appear to have been sun baked for the past 25 years. And those components were probably soaked in salt water before the solar baking. Worth $500? To somebody who restores old Yamahas, there are enough stock parts here that can be sanded and painted for other projects. It would take way too much money to restore this old bike.
Harry Klemm was standing at ground zero when the Southern California motocross bomb exploded in the 70’s. In addition to being a highly-respected mechanic, engineer and tuner, Harry is a consummate story teller. Reading his manuscript, The DG Years, 1975-1976, is like looking into an unearthed time capsule for those of us who had the pleasure of living through those times. And there is plenty here for new generations of racers, mechanics and dreamers to learn from. I asked Harry if I could turn the manuscript into a serial format…
It is said by many long-time motocross enthusiasts that the 1970s were the golden era of USA motocross…in particular the Southern California scene. I’m not wise enough to say whether or not it was a golden era, but I can say that the 1970s Southern California motocross scene was an erupting volcano of increasing participation unlike anything that the sport had ever seen before, and unlike anything it will ever see again. At the risk of over-simplifying it, the 1970s was an era of countless racing participants at every skill…
In the early ‘70s, I often raced in SoCal amateur road racing. At that time, local road racing was a sport that moved at exactly the same relentless pace as the amateur motocross world. The bike preparation and traveling in 1970s amateur road racing took long hours, little sleep and offered even less pay. My thin wallet and a few broken bones helped convince me that it was much safer to be a road race mechanic and tuner, rather than being a rider. Along with that, being a tuner was…
My Riverside California 125-pro buddy Rick Stout and I took the 40-mile drive to the DG headquarters to meet with Gary. After the initial introduction, Gary was not too impressed with me. Then my friend Rick went into his “used car salesman” mode telling Gary how I was the tuner responsible for the Rex Staten USGP CZ400 (at the time, it was still big news in the motocross world), and Rick followed up with how fast I had made his YZ125 race bike. Yamaha Motor Corp. had provided a large…
The next day at work I witnessed easily the most disorganized and chaotic shop atmosphere I had ever seen in my life. As I was moving in my rollaway toolbox, I realized this place was not a race shop, but a three-ring circus. There was a constant stream of racers wanting parts, bikes prepped and repair work. No one was in charge of anything. I was flabbergasted. Gary introduced me to a few race team 125 pro riders (Davey Williams, Bob Hannah and Gary Denton) who were all there at…