Motorcycle Memories of Dad...

[Smit-Dog]

Thought I'd post some great motorcycle pics I found while going through my dad's photo albums. He started a club back in the late 60's / early 70's called Wheels of Fortune. Mostly a street bike club that put on ride events and charity runs, they dabbled in some offroad racing on weekends. My dad did some occasional riding (street and dirt) up through the early '90s, and was active with the USFS ORV Safety Patrol.

1970 - Muskegon hill climb. Beatnik biker dude.

1971 - Muskegon hill climb. Mod biker dude.

1971 - Muskegon hill climb. That's the hill in the background.

1971 - Harescramble race. Full-face street helmet, leathers, and 4" suspension.

1971 - Harescramble race, different shot.

 

[Smit-Dog]

Wheels of Fortune Motorcycle Club - dad on far right.

Wheels of Fortune. Dad is 3rd from left in the bad-ass Brando hat.

Wheels of Fortune bike trip, circa 1971.

1972 - Drag race, possibly Milan. Dad is leading in the orange helmet (same gear he wore harescrambling).

Bringing home the hardware drag racing.

 

[Smit-Dog]

Honeymooning in the Catskills, 1971.

Honeymooning in the Catskills, 1971.

Christmas 1970 - Honda QA-50 "Sprout Green"

My brother learning to ride a dirt bike... on icy sidewalks.

OK kid, where's your helmet!?

 

[Smit-Dog]

Building skills that'll last a lifetime! Me - left, brother Ron spinning donuts.

Dad giving rides... 35 years before Thor's General Lee gear!

Even the older ladies like to go for rides!

1974 (age 10). Boy I wish we would've kept that XR-75.

Grandpa Smith, Otsego Lake, 1971. He was always clowning around... Never would have guessed he was mayor of L.A. (Lake Ann, MI!)

 

[Smit-Dog]

One of my favorite pictures of Dad.

 

[Fred T]

awesome! I remember those days and those DT Yamahas.

 

[bigpower]

Thats good stuff there.

 

[TCTrailrider]

Great pictures. My first full size cycle was a 1968 DT125. You forget how short those things were.

 

[CircuitRider]

Great History, Bill..

Thanx for sharing...

I was there and so was Jr.

Mike Sr

 

[BadgerMan]

Wonderful............very cool. Those HS shots are classic and should be framed!

I had a Yamaha 60 just like that 'cept for the Hooker pipe.

 

[SGJ_Johansen]

cool pic's Bill. Glad to see you back to posting again. Look forward to riding with you and Zack this spring. I took Brent out this after noon on the new grass track. He is still a little tame on the KX. I was riding the KX I got from you. That is one wheeling machine, WOW! It is much more chrisp that the other KX. Must be the pipe and jetting.

Brian

 

[KiwiBird]

Good stuff mate!

 

[WaltCMoto]

Thats BEUTIFUL

 

[Don Marsh]

Neat stuff Bill.

 

[ellandoh]

the coolest

 

[KTM Mike]

Outstanding pics - and better memories! Makes me want to dig though some old pics I have of my dad.

 

[Asrith]

Man those are some great pics. Great historic photos.You could probably sell those to Honda..lol.

 

[GETMETOCA]

INCREDIBLE photos. PS, I had the plaid pants just like you. I used to wear them to gymnastics because I thought the polyester "stretch" helped me do the splits better. :)

 

[MWEISSEN]

Those are great photos Bill, thanks for sharing them, and it's great to see you back on the site!

 

[crazy4nitro]

Look at the 7th picture.... :ohmy:
THATS why my parents always told me "You must have a helmet !"



Crazy4nitro

 

[3KDXXR2]

What a great way to remember your Dad. Awesome pictures, :cool: I can really see the family resemblance. Was that a mini enduro with a hooker header pipe, Oh the memories :ride:

 

[Smit-Dog]

... I had a Yamaha 60 just like that 'cept for the Hooker pipe.

As an 8-year old kid wandering around my Dad's store, I thought those Hooker stickers were so dirty... :debil:

... I was riding the KX I got from you. That is one wheeling machine, WOW! It is much more chrisp that the other KX. Must be the pipe and jetting.

That bike is a 143lbs ROCKET! The power-to-weight makes our 2-hundy's seem puny by comparison. Watch for fouled plugs when it gets warmer. I leaned out the jetting slightly, but didn't get in a whole lot of seat time to test it.

Hope to see you guys at Kalkaska the end of April!

... I had the plaid pants just like you

I eventually moved away from plaid pants, but do still have the paisley tie. It all comes back in style...

Thanks for all the other comments too. Life is short... make memories that'll outlive you...

 

[Fred T]

My first full size motorcycle was a 1973 Kawasaki F6 125 cc rotary valve and I put a Hooker Header on that baby. :worship: I really thought I was sumtin. I was 17 years old.

 

[WildBill]

Cool pics, Bill. Thanks for sharing them with us. I didn't have a bike, but I'm sure we all had a pair of those plaid pants! :laugh:

Right now, I'm in the process of sorting and scanning pics my Dad has taked over the years. Dad isn't in to bikes, but we enjoyed a ton of camping and fishing trips over the years. Bad thing is that they are all slides and are starting to fade.

We've got to cherish the memories we have and never stop making new ones!

:ride:

 

[Smit-Dog]

I also have boxes and boxes of slides that my dad took, along with a 60's vintage projector. The projector has a tendency to stick and jam the slides, sometimes ruining them. I'm going to look into this service to digitize them.

http://www.slidescanning.com/