BACK IN THE DAY

y first bike was a Honda CL175, possibly a 1972 model but don’t hold me to that. The picture was taken in Orlando, Fla., in 1977 while I was in training at the Navy base. Only kept it a few months before I upgraded to an RD350. Alas, I have no surviving pictures of that.

6I used to ride my ’71 Kawasaki 250 F8 from Naval Air Station North Island, where I was stationed just south of Imperial Beach, Calif., to an off-road area just north of the Mexican border. I’d stop and strip the headlight and taillight off the bike, hide them in a bush and proceed to thrash the bike though the miles of trails all day. Then, I’d put it back together and ride back to the base. The picture is of me conquering a hill called “Bear Killer” in 1972!

Sometime in 1970, puttering around on my then-new Penton Berkshire 100. I belonged to the North Jerry Motorcycle Club, and we were running a trials competition at the Mountain Rest in West Milford, N.J.

Growing up in Las Vegas, my brother and I rode our dirt bikes every day in the desert surrounding our house. We were lucky to have very cool parents who supported our love of motorcycles. Dad had an RT-1 360. Little brother had an HT-1 90. That is me on my 1971 CT-1 175 in my first MRAN (Motorcycle Racing of Nevada) Hare Scramble. I won the 250 Novice class that day. Two years later I was racing a 250 Husky in the 1973 Barstow to Vegas Hare and Hound. I can still remember all the sights and sounds of 3,000-plus bikes starting all at once. Little did I know then it was going to spark a lifetime passion of riding and racing in the desert. I still compete today in the Masters Over 60 Class.

As the story goes, my daddy would ride around the yard with me on his bike to get me to stop crying when I was a baby. Photo circa late ’70s; me and Daddy on his Honda. The sound of an engine has a calming effect to this day. I’m proud to say I’m now in my late 40s and still riding!

The year was 1974, I was 20 years old, and I’d gotten my first street bike — a 1974 Suzuki GT750 Water Buffalo with a Windjammer fairing. This was my first trip from East Texas to Big Bend National Park, approximately 800 miles. I had all the latest motorcycle camping gear, an alloy-frame backpack, a two-man tent, and on the back an ice chest — I had to have my bacon and eggs in the morning. The bike was a little squirrely when the ice melted, but I made out there and back. Not my first bike but an early one. My brother and I went to different tracks that day and each was proud to show the other our success. This is from early ’70s, and the car is my 1972 Dodge Demon. When people ask who’s who I tell them I’m the one with the bigger trophy. So many memories…from showing up at a track and seeing the Pentons there and knowing we would not trophy that day, to Frank Piasecki whistling for me to move over just before he flew by as I was going as fast as I thought humanly possible in the woods!

4I love seeing all the Back In The Day photos in your publication! Here is me on my very first motorcycle...I was 15 years old and had a late-’60s Yamaha 250 Street 2-stroke. Loved this bike! My best friend had a new Honda 350 Scrambler. We would race up and down a country road, and that 2-stroke Yamaha would eat him up. What memories. I have been riding all my life on many machines. I am 65, soon to be 66, and I now ride a Harley Nightster, BMW Stiletto with Sidecar, Yamaha 250 Morphous, Honda Helix, and a Yamaha Zuma 125. Many thanks to you for all you do, especially AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. Love the new magazine layout, too.

3I was 16 in this photo, riding a Southern California desert enduro on my 1968 Greeves 250 Challenger. I took my younger brother (who was 13) out to ride his first enduro on his Hodaka, and when he didn’t show up at the finish, I had to ride the second loop over again to look for him. That was a long, 120-plus-mile day in the saddle, but I saved having my dad kill me for losing the kid by finding him along the route. He and I are still riding together constantly. My current steed is a 2018 KTM 300XC. Two-strokes forever!