BACK IN THE DAY

Where the photos are blurry but the memories are clear!

As a lifelong rider I was totally overjoyed to find that my work as a young economic development officer during four years in rural Cameroon, West Africa, in the early 1980s required me to reach extremely iso- lated mountain villages and farms by motorcycle. After years of street riding, I had to learn some pretty rough trail riding the hard way just to get to work. Quite a shock for the local folks seeing me show up at their door. In the end I was also training new Cameroonian field officers how to ride their newly issued motorcycles. Ever since in every country I’ve worked in I’ve had a motorcycle. These days I stay on the roads on my Goldwing or my Zero.

Adam Koons

3Just out of the Navy in 1946, here’s my 22-year-old father-in-law Jerry Huberth and his Harley-Davidson Knucklehead. Jerry was a devoted family man, motorcyclist and life-long union carpenter who worked in Rochester, N.Y. Jerry was a great guy and is missed by the whole family.

Dave Christof

5It was 1969 in San Francisco and my dad had just bought us my first “real” motorcycle, a 1970 Yamaha HT-1 90cc Enduro. Never mind that my friends all had 250 DT-1s and Huskies, but it was a start. As much as I regretted being on the smallest bike in the group, in hindsight it made me a far better rider, as I had to work harder on hills, trails, and sand, flogging that poor little bike for all it was worth. And there were plenty of places to ride around the city in those days…you just had to know where! I am still riding 52 years later (I finally retired from racing) and loving it. Now I have nine bikes in the collection (including my ’71 Kawasaki Mach III) and have no intention of quitting. Shiny side up! Keep up the great work; I really look forward to receiving the magazine!

Eric Bickel

Regarding your article about the Yamaha DT-1 in the August, 2022 issue. Here’s mine…taken in 1973 or ’74 (those were really hazy days). I bought it new; I think it was $750.00. Ten years ago I graduated to three wheels. My wife and granddaughter rode in the Montclair, N.J., July 4th parade. The 2006 Ural is just as much fun, and my feet never touch the ground!

Jack Pignatello

My parents were part of a group of motorcycle enthusiasts from Northern California’s central valley prior to World War II, riding Harleys (that’s them pictured on the Harley) and Indians. They were involved with the founding of the Lodi, Calif., Motorcycle Club in 1938, which is still in existence. During the war the motorcycles were set aside as my father served in the U.S. Navy. After the war my parents focused on raising a family — I was born in 1944 — and earning a living, but the motorcycle bug bit again 25 years later and my father purchased a Honda CB77, followed a short time later by a Triumph TR6.

Up to this point I’d focused on school and other activities but seeing how much my parents enjoyed riding, it piqued my interest. As a college student I was a late comer to motorcycles when I bought my first bike, a Honda 250 Scrambler, which I rode to classes and on weekends. A friend of my parents introduced them to trail riding, which led to the purchase of a pair of Yamahas, a DT-1 and AT-1, and a short time later I sold my Scrambler and bought a Yamaha CT-1 (second photo), which I rode on the street and off-road before modifying it to compete in English Trials.

My interest in riding continued for many years thereafter, riding a mostly street and off-road bikes. I took a 15-year hiatus to race sports cars but always knew I would resume my motorcycle riding, which I did post 2012 on bikes ranging from 500 to 1200cc, which I rode quite often with my wife as passenger. Recently, I acquired a Ducati SCR 800, which I enjoy riding the many back roads near my home. Ride on!

Gary Horstkorta

I learned to ride on a 1969 Carabela Mini 100 (made in Mexico) that my oldest brother purchased, and I rode it more than he did. That got me started, and I bought my first bike in 1970 (without my parents knowing) — a 1969 BSA 441 Victor. This is me outside of Mexico City in the mountains. This was a fun bike on- and off-road, but wasn’t much fun in the rain. I met my wife, who was visiting from Michigan, in 1970 on this bike, and I invited her to go for a ride around a few blocks of Mexico City…and she accepted. The rest is history. After several different bikes we celebrated our 50th anniversary in July and we still ride, now on a more comfortable 2014 H-D Ultra Limited. We now live in East Tennessee.

Jose Sanchez

This is me in 1967 on my Suzuki X6 Scrambler riding the hills west of Denver. Nowadays, this part of Lakewood is all homes. That Suzuki never let me down, and I was pretty hard on it. I have owned many motorcycles, and I have to say that this one holds the most fun memories. After the tach hit 5 grand the 250cc two-stroke just screamed! I’m 78 years old and still riding on another Suzuki, a TU250X.

David Voss