Ol'89r

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For anyone interested in seeing where many of us old farts in So Cal came from and the tracks that we rode, check out this link. These were the days of TT Scrambles. Before MX. I'm number 6 on the first page. The track is Perris.

Photos from more tracks will be added later.

www.faphoto.com Click on District 37 TT Scrambles, Flat Track at the bottom of the page.
 

RM_guy

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So it is true, you ARE as old as dirt!! :debil:

Pretty cool. It's like that photo album from the 50"s and 60's that was posted a while ago.
 

VintageDirt

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I like this old stuff, when it's older than me. :)
 

Ol'89r

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VintageDirt said:
I like this old stuff, when it's older than me. :)

Speaking of older than dirt. :whoa: ;) :laugh:
 

Rich Rohrich

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Now that is COOL. :cool:
 

a454elk

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I was expecting to see 89r dragging a cavewoman by the hair into a cave. :nener:
 

Patman

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Cool stuff Terry! Looks like you were in on the original 4 stroke craze :laugh:

a454elk said:
I was expecting to see 89r dragging a cavewoman by the hair into a cave. :nener:
I expected YOU to show up with a bunch of donuts! ;)
 

Okiewan

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Very cool Terry.. VERY cool.
 

whenfoxforks-ruled

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An original! How were you guys feeling about taking them bikes to an mx track? That track did not look flat! Lot of set up changes? And then the european 2 stroke came? I can barely remember bad rapping the CHEAP jap bikes, kinda like the china bikes now. Thats creepy! A friend dug up the first MX race in Indiana, late 60's or real early 70's, down some where in the sothern part of the state, it was a real joy to watch!
 

CRASH39

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that is wild, its like modified street bikes on a dirt trak...
 

holeshot

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Ol'89r said:
For anyone interested in seeing where many of us old farts in So Cal came from and the tracks that we rode, check out this link. These were the days of TT Scrambles. Before MX. I'm number 6 on the first page. The track is Perris.

Photos from more tracks will be added later.

www.faphoto.com Click on District 37 TT Scrambles, Flat Track at the bottom of the page.


I always liked the idea of flat track, because it required more in the way of finesse than strength (compared to motocross). There wasn't much going on in Alberta with regards to flat track back in those days (everyone wanted to be Roger DeCoster or Joel Robert).

I've been reminiscing a bit too - for a brief moment, I was thinking of restoring or buying a '73 Husky 125CR. Then I came back to reality.

When I first looked at that link, I thought it said fartphoto.com

:whoa:
 

Ol'89r

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High Lord Gomer said:
Cool! But...when did you switch to 89R?
Also, is the photo flipped or are you turning right in one of those pics?

Number 89 was my pro number Mike.

The tracks shown in the photos are sportsman TT tracks. They are just like a MX track without the big jumps. They had left hand turns, right hand turns and jumps. Some of them were flat, some had many elevation changes. Many, like Perris, were very, very, rough. We also rode short tracks. They were flat smooth ovals. In those days you had to ride sportsman classes and achieve the rank of expert before the AMA would let you have a professional license.

Pantsless. Been riding fourstrokes for a long, long time.

Foxforks. The Euro and Jap bikes were already on the scene. They raced in the lightweight classes, 0 to 250cc classes. In the heavyweight classes, 251cc to open, the bikes were mostly Triumphs, BSA's, Royal Enfields and Harleys. They were 350 to 400+ pound motorcycles with about 4 inches of suspension. We rode the same bikes on flat, smooth tracks and on rough scrambles tracks. The rough scrambles tracks were similar to Euro rough scrambles tracks. (Early motocross.) Also rode them in the GP's, (Hopetown, Viewfinders, Elsinore) and desert races like the Barstow to Vegas race.

Crash39.
That's exactly what they were. Stock street bikes that we took the lights off and modified what we could to get them lighter. We used stock frames, forks, wheels and fiberglass gas tanks and special seats. We cut and ground what we could to get the weight off and gusseted the frames to keep them from breaking. The engines were modified heavily for both horsepower and reliability. You couldn't just walk into your local dealer and buy a race ready race bike. You had to build your own.

Holeshot. Try herding a 400 lb motorcycle around a rough scrambles track or Grand Prix course. Takes a little strength. :nod:

At one time I had a BSA 250cc, C-15 that I rode in the lightweight class. I rode it to work during the week and on weekends, I took the lights off and raced it. A lot of us did that.

Glad you guys are enjoying these photos. Mario says he is adding more to the list every day.

Hey copper. No donuts here. :ohmy: Go bust some bad guys or sumtin'. :fft:
 
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holeshot

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Ol'89r said:
Holeshot. Try herding a 400 lb motorcycle around a rough scrambles track or Grand Prix course. Takes a little strength. :nod:

:

I knew you'd say that... :rotfl:
 

XRpredator

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well, I herd an almost 300lb motorcycle around with a rider that's a few biscuits over 300lbs . . . does that count?
 

Shaw520

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Kewl stuff Terry!

My first race was a TT scamble in 72' I was on a stripped down honda SL125, couple of elevation changes and two rolling jumps, pretty flat compared to to todays MX. Did have 2 long straight where top speeds were near 80mph though!
How things have changed,... how old Im getting :whoa:
 

whenfoxforks-ruled

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Yeah times have changed, there used to be a ton of people at those events! Look in the backgrounds and starting lines in them old pics and vids. And they came in whatever, or drove it there! I am sureeeeee glad I did not have to be a kid now!
 

Ol'89r

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XRpredator said:
well, I herd an almost 300lb motorcycle around with a rider that's a few biscuits over 300lbs . . . does that count?

Nope! :fft: Not even close Pred.

I'll have to get Rich to do some physics calc to be sure but.

My bike outweighed me by almost 2 1/2 times. Now, I have never met you but by all eye witness accounts, to get the same rider weight to vehicle weight ratio, you would have to be operating a BMW R1200RT or possibly a Volkswagon. :nener: ;)

Shaw520 & Foxforks.
That's what was so great about those days. There were classes for just about any bike that you wanted to bring out. It was all about having fun as opposed to having the best equipment and the biggest motorhome. At least in the sportsman classes.

I think that type of racing could become popular again. Many riders are tired of augering themselves on the big doubles and triples on todays mx tracks, but still want to race. These types of tracks could provide a venue for those riders. And by having so many classes for different size bikes, it brings down the cost of racing. You wouldn't need a $ 7,000 motorcycle to be competitive.

The size of the crowds back then was amazing. At the Grand Prix's they lined just about the whole course. At the original Elsinore GP, the street section was about 4 miles long and they lined almost every inch of the street. That's why the race got cancelled because the crowds got so big and uncontrollable.
 

XRpredator

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Ol'89r said:
Nope! :fft: Not even close Pred.

I'll have to get Rich to do some physics calc to be sure but.

My bike outweighed me by almost 2 1/2 times. Now, I have never met you but by all eye witness accounts, to get the same rider weight to vehicle weight ratio, you would have to be operating a BMW R1200RT or possibly a Volkswagon. :nener: ;)
Hey, I was just talkin' total weight, no power-to-weight ratio, silly!
 

Ol'89r

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XRpredator said:
Hey, I was just talkin' total weight, no power-to-weight ratio, silly!

Just messin' with ya' big guy. ;) :p :laugh:

Speaking of power-to-weight ratio, my old Triumph put out about the same horsepower rating as my CRF450 Honda does. Only the Triumph weighed about 150 pounds more and had about 8 1/4 inches less wheel travel.

We sure have come a long way. :yeehaw:
 

Shaw520

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Ol'89r said:
These types of tracks could provide a venue for those riders. And by having so many classes for different size bikes, it brings down the cost of racing.

Agreed,..... puts the FUN factor back into racing :cool:
 

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