March, 2014
LYLE
LOVETT
OFF ROAD OBSESSION
TEXAS
MOTOCROSS
WHY IT MATTERS A PHOTO HISTORY
THE LATEST RACE NEWS
TOP TEN ACTION PICS
WARREN REID ON:
MAGOO'S INSANE PASS AT 130 MPH DIRT BIKES, ATVS, UTVS, AND ANYTHING THAT ROLLS ON DIRT
Just Saying... March, 2014
Editorial Editor - Dennis Cox Columnist - Warren Reid Columnist - Jim Gianatsis Tech Editor - Ted Boyko
Contributors Mark Hector, Eric Narvaez, Larry Langley, Mitch Friedman,
Advertising Advertising Director Rick Conley (408) 804-0474
Videography Brennan Wright Eric Navaez
Art Direction Jack Wright Dennis Cox
Test Consultants Gary Jones Jim Gibson Justin Jones Brand Johnson Nic Granlund
Dirt Illustrated 20248 Neuralia Rd. California City,CA 93505 Email:editor@dirtillustrated.com The entire contents of this publication are ©2014 by Dirt Illustrated
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The 3-Amigos: Gary Jones, Dennis “Ketchup” Cox & late Brant Russell
Dirt Illustrated magazine is written to celebrate American Off Road Life. If you have been reading our magazine, then you’ll know that if it rolls on dirt- we cover it. That means riding Dirt Bikes, Dual Sports, ATVs, and Side by Sides, or UTVs. We show you where to find new riding areas with lots of how-to stories written by top pro’s and regular guys (and gals) like you or me. We show you ways to make your vehicles better with cost effective savings. All designed to make riding better and more enjoyable. Think Freedom. Think Communication Freedom. Our goal is to show you the latest information gatering, ready and waiting at your fingertips. You have instant access, anytime, anywhere, 24/7. It’s digital content, you can see and access on any computer, tablet
or link. You can post to Face book, send a tweet – use all the digital powers that be to discover the latest news on anything related to off-roading. Share us with your friends and family and others wanting to discover the joys of riding. Here is what we we want you to do for us – email us. Tell us what we’re doing, right and wrong. We promise to listen and take your comments to heart. Send your thoughts, pics & comments to us at www.editor@ dirtillustrated.com We look forward to getting your input and ways to improve the content for you and all your off road riding pals. Let’s do it.
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INSIDE LINE Just Saying... 2
We welcome your input...
Dirt and More Dirt 26
Best racing yet...
Ketch-N-Dirt 26
Best racing yet...
InTheDirt-Supercross 26
Best racing yet...
Facebook Friends 36
Cool people
It's Greek To Me 34
Gianatsis Rant...
Ask Teddy 38
Carb loading...
Interview 46 Lyle Lovett's Motocross Obsession
Texas Trilogy 50. Why It Matters
Bikes, ATVs, SxS's Tests New Polaris Models 50. ATV & SxS's
Dirt Clods 50. Hot Chicas & Crashing On the cover - Singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett from his 'The Road to Ensenada album'. Lyle has a secret love....dirt bikes. read about his early exploits in Texas.... Cover photo by Michael Wilson
The Hooter Girls were a popular attraction at the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championships
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IN -THE- DIRT-
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IN -THE- DIRT
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IN-THE- DIRT: NEWS AND VIEWS
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The Hooter Girls were a popular attraction at the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championships
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INTHE DIRT-
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Advertising
IN -THE -DIRT:FACEBOOK FRIENDS
Mike Guerra A former Husqvarna factory racer, Mike Guerra, is now the marketing director for the Colt firearms factory near his hometown of Bolton Connecticut. Mike was always a workman like racer, who rode from 1975 to 1982. Few people know that he actually won the Spanish GP in 1982 aboard his Husky. Mikes real world job at Colt firearms gives him plenty of opportunity to engage in his other favorite activity-shooting. Cool job Mike! DIRT ILLustrated \\\\\\ March 2014 + Page 36
Kenny Boyko & Bob Hannah A couple of the moto industries stellar players are Ken Boyko (left) and Bob Hannah. Ken and Bob go back a long ways. Back to the original DG days in the early to mid 70’s. Ken ran the R&D show at DG back then while Bob was a young upstart, looking to make a name and reputation for himself. Today Ken runs Cobra Exhausts, which makes products for street and performance dirt bikes, and Bob Hannah, well he did pretty well also. Noelle Davidson Noelle Davidson has had a passion for motocross since she was a teen. “You could say I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie,” says Noelle. She represents, DIRTY GURL LLC, which is involved in extreme sports. She did a piece on Wes Hale, a motosports trainer in Colorado, and helps to promote the sport with radio and TV interviews whenever possibe. Good job Noelle....
Troy Lee Troy Lee, of Troy Lee Designs, (shown here inside a Soviet-era Mig fighter) has turned painting helmets into one of the biggest companies on the moto block. Troy transformed the way we look at modern day motocross. His signature clothing line, and assorted riding gear, has been a trend setter for decades. The Mig was on display at Nellis AFB in Vegas, which was hosted by Greg Primm, on a tour of the base, several years back. Thanks Greg. A hearty tip of the DIRT IL visor to Troy Lee for all he’s done for the sport. Bill Kasson Bill Kasson was the owner and operator of Bill Kasson Yamah in Austin, Texas. Kasson’s Yamaha was a legendary place to discover the joys of on and off road motorcycling. Racers and friends would gather there to bench race and chat on Monday nights after the races. Bill also had a lot of Richard Creeds classic mx pics mounted on his walls. We’re thankful for that.
Richard Creed As the original editor for Cycle News Central (a regional edition of the Cycle News chain) Richard Creed set an early standard for excellence in photography and writing that remains intact today. Richard gave Dennis “Ketchup” Cox his start, and a young lad by the name of Jody Weisel, his first motosports job back in the mid 70’s. Jody, of course, went on to Motocross Action fame, and Ketch, well, he’s still out there doing his thing. Namely this magazine you’re looking at now. We owe Creed a debt of gratitude for starting this whole shebang. Thanks Richard, for giving us our start in the wonderful world of action motosports! www.dirtillustrated.com
JIM GIANATSIS - IT’S GREEK TO ME
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James Stewart put in a dominating ride aboard his Red Bull/Yoshimura Suzuki at the Detroit Supercross, round11 on the Monster Energy Supercross circuit. With wins at Dallas and Anahiem, this gave Stewart his third win this season, and moved him up into third, ahead of Ken Roczen, who dropped back to fourth... Stewie displaced his arch rival, Monster Energy/Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto for the win, with Red Bull/ KTM's Ryan Dungey taking third, rounding out the podium positions in the premier 450 class. 2014 AMA Monster Energy SX: Detroit, Michigan 450SX Class 1. James Stewart...Suzuki 2. Ryan Villopoto...Kaw 3. Ryan Dungey...KTM 4. Andrew Short...KTM 5. Justin Barcia...Honda 6. Broc Tickle...Suzuki 7. Weston Peick...Suzuki 8. Josh Hill...Suzuki 9. Justin Brayton...Yamaha 10. Josh Grant...Yamaha 2014 450SX Class Season Standings (after 11 of 17 rounds): 1. Ryan Villopoto...Kaw 231 2. Ryan Dungey...KTM, 201 3. James Stewart...Suzuki, 182 4. Ken Roczen...KTM, 181 5. Justin Brayton...Yamaha, 167 6. Andrew Short...KTM, 143 7. Justin Barcia...Honda, 134 8. Broc Tickle...Suzuki, 126 9. Wil Hahn...Honda, 115 10. Chad Reed...Kaw 111 The series goes to Toronto Rogers Centre next Saturday night for the 12th stop of the 17-race championship. While Ryan Villopoto certainly looks good to defend his title... anything is possible.
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MOTO OBSESSION
LYLE LOVETT’S SECRET LOVE AFFAIR
The Country/folk/ singer/songwriter confesses all to DIRT ILLustrated
By Dennis”Ketchup” Cox
S
inber/Songwriter Lyle Lovett enjoys a wide following as a distinctive and entertaining country/folk/eclectic music entertainer who has a secret past.
He raced moto. Seriously. So much so that, at one time, he hoped to make a career of racing. Lyle grew up in the tough and rumble world of Texas motocross, during its hey-day of the mid-seventies.
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Lyle raced a Penton 125, back when the Berkshire based company had some to the hottest bikes on the circuit. As a fellow MXer, I grew up racing just down the road a bit from Lyle, in Austin, Texas. While Lyle raced the Houston, Texas
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Lyle Lovett’s dad, Bill, enjoyed off roading and he and Lyle would often go trail riding together...This is Bill’s Yamaha DT-1 enduro bike, which Lyle had riding buddy Bill Kasson restore. Cool hat. PHOTO BY BERNELL LOVETT
based circuits, I usually raced the Cen-Tex circuits around Austin, such as Lockhart, San Marcos and San Antonio. Lyle rode out of Houston’s Cycle Shack and became a pretty good racer, who eventually traded in his Penton 125 on a new marque, a Husqvarna one-two-five. At the time, Lyle was also serious about his music. He took lessons at a shop in Houston called H&H music. They DIRT ILLustrated \\\\\\ March 2014 + Page 48
also happened to be involved in the Texas moto scene at the time (mid seventies) and sponsored a squad of racers which was known as the H&H Music Team….
FAMOUS AMOS Lyle wanted a career in moto, so he hustled to Houston’s Cycle Shack and proceeded to put his moto skills to the test.
After racing his Penton 125, fairly successfully, he moved up (or down) to a Husky 125 and raced the tracks and locales around that area. Like a great many youth of the 70’s era, Lyle loved racing and moto. His enthusiasm exceeded his skills though and so gradually he drifted from moto to music. Today, Lyle Lovett is an outstanding musician, known for his ability to incorporate different musical styles and blend them into a rich, multi-cultural sound that defies classification. Part country, part folksyballadeer, with a mix of jazz, pop, and gospel Lyle’s musical career easily ecliped his journey through the moto world. Lovett’s witty, and lyrical style made his music stand out. …Sort of like choosing to race a Husky 125….Different. But unique. Lyle was born and raised in Klein, Texas, which is now a suburb of Houston. He was raised on his families horse ranch. He loves horses to this day, as a gentleman horse rancher, with a nice stable of animals that he trains, rides, and shows. We had a chance to chat with Lyle recently and asked
about his early motocross days and how he felt about racing and riding back in the day. Lyle still loves racing, and can be found spectating at races whenever he’s not on the road touring. He also has quite a stable of dirt, street, and vintage race bikes that keep him busy as well…. DIRT ILL: Lyle, tell us about your first experience with motorcycles. Lyle Lovett: A couple of guys I used to know had little mopeds. Then one of the guys got a Honda, I think it was a S65 or something. One of those old, peanut tank street bikes. I remember he would ride that to school. DIRT ILL: That was your first time checking out bikes? Lyle Lovett: Yep. We lived out in the country and therefore it wasn’t a big deal to ride a short distance on the street. It was kind of overlooked in terms of the age of the rider and all that. But we would stand around and admire that bike. I finally talked to my folks about it, and they were against the idea of me having
Lyle worked at Houston’s Cycle Shack to support his early racing career. He loved racing his Penton but he got an offer too good to pass up. So Lyle switched over to racing a Huaqvarna 125. PHOTO BY BERNELL LOVETT
a mini bike, or motorcycle, but I wore them down and we finally bought a yellow and white Honda Z50. That was in like 1969. So that was how it all started for me… DIRT ILL: What happened next? Lyle Lovett: We would go down to Galveston, TX, sometimes for the weekend. You could rent those small displacement Hondas on the beach. My dad’s older brother had a Harley and when
my dad would come home on leave from the Navy, he would ride his brother’s Harley for fun on the beach. And I can remember sitting behind him on the bike, we’d ride it around. But when I brought it up, the idea of getting a mini bike was not well received at first. DIRT ILL: So you parents did not want you riding a bike initially? Lyle Lovett: I think my parents were concerned with www.dirtillustrated.com
North.They were involved in riding and racing and were real enthusiasts. I remember wanting to get one of the early Yamaha AT-1’s. DIRT ILL: What was your first race bike?
Lyle Lovett and his large band tour the country frequently, as well as Lyle and other musicians of note such as his good buddy John Hiatt..
my wanting to ride it to school. When we bought my first bike, the Honda Z50, their stipulation was, don’t ride it on the street. DIRT ILL: So, like a lot of parents, they didn’t want you riding on the street, but dirt was okay? Lyle Lovett: Luckily, we had plenty of space to ride off road on the farm I grew up at in Texas. That was the deal. So, I never even thought
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about riding on the street because of that. I was so excited to have a bike, and be able to ride at all. Then our cousin invited us to the local motocross races. DIRT ILL: What happened then? Lyle Lovett: That really got my interest. My cousin Sonya Kwan was married to a guy named Maudy Stoots. They bought the Honda and Yamaha dealership in Conroe, which is now Cycle Shack
Lyle Lovett: You’ll probably understand this progression. I went from the Z50 to a CT70, then a Yamaha AT-1, all in about 6 months. The AT-1 was a regular enduro model, I bought it second hand from an ad in the paper in Houston. The guy who sold it to me was named Mike Inglehart. I remember his name and bought the bike from him for like 425 bucks. When we went to his place to pick it up, I said to him at one point, why are you selling this bike? There must be something wrong with it. He said, “welI, I want to buy a new bike. I’m going to buy a Penton.” I’d never even heard of a Penton. He explained what it was. And then he told us we could take the AT-1 out for a test ride at Cycle Sports Park, in Conroe, TX. Just a practice ride.
DIRT ILL: What was that first ride like? Lyle Lovett: Well, I’m out there on my new yellow AT1, and I see this bike that I’ve never seen before, with a burgundy gas tank, I think it was a Penton 100 Berkshire. That was so cool. I immediately started looking through all the off road magazines I could find to read about all the bikes. I started paying attention. I kept the AT1 for about a year. Then I traded that bike in on my next machine, a 125 Penton. It was a 1971 model, a Steel Tanker. That’s the one I’m shown working on in the pictures… (laughs)
DIRT ILL: What kept you racing bikes?
Lyle Lovett: All I really can say it
that it’s Richard Creed’a fault (ace photographer/editor of Cycle News Central). It’s because Richard, back in the day, took these incredible pictures of these guys doing crazy tricks on the bikes. You look at that and you think, I guess I can do that. So it really is Richard’s fault, ultimatel
Texas Moto was a staple of the young Lovett growing up in Houston, Texas. Lyle moved from amaeture to the pro class for the last six months of his racing career.
DIRT ILL: So Creed got you hooked. What happened after that? Lyle Lovett: That was in 1981, I had just turned 13. It was really too big a bike for me at the time.
Yamaha had just come out with the smaller YZ 90, which would have been better for me. So that 81’ Penton was my sort of growth year, in terms of learning how to ride. We went up to the Sam Houston National Forest, near www.dirtillustrated.com
Penton on something newer.The summer of 72, I went down to Cycle Shack and asked the owner, Rich Sanders, for a job. DIRT ILL: That was the start of your motorcycle career? Lyle Lovett: (Laughs) You could say that. I was 14 and I remember Rich Sanders Cycle Shop being a cool shop. A great place to hang out. They carried real race bikes, Pentons and Husqvarnas. I had even gone to a couple of Inter-Am races at the time. I even took my parents’ Super 8 movie camera to record the races. DIRT ILL: Did you get your dream job working at Cycle Shack?
Noted Cen-Tex photo journalist, Richard Creed, was as Lyle tells it, responsible for his moto addiction. “It’s because Richard, back in the day, took these incredible pictures of these guys doing crazy tricks on the bikes...that’s what got me hooked,
Waverley, TX, and rode up there and loved the bike. But then,once again thanks to Richard Creed, Texas Motocross Magazine and Gulf Coast Motorcycle News, I got the bug for something else. DIRT ILL: What was that Lyle Lovett: The local motorcycle magazines around Houston DIRT ILLustrated \\\\\\ March 2014 + Page 52
started talking about this new guy and I started seeing pictures of Steve Hackney on this whole new kind of bike at the races. I started reading up on the new dirt bikes and tried to learn everything about them and all the differences. My intention was to save up for the next year, then try to sell or trade in my steel tanker
Lyle Lovett: I did finally. I wasn’t really aware of the H and H Music Company Racing Team. You know, this kind of piqued my interest because they were a music store. I used to take guitar lessons at H and H and the fact that they had a race team seemed like the best of both worlds. DIRT ILL: So who stood out on that early H&H Music Team? Lyle Lovett: They had their own cast of characters over there, like Jake DeBeaux, and Don Rainey. And then there was Cecile Han-
na. She always won what they used to call the Powder Puff class in those days. DIRT ILL: One of those early H & H Music guys was Robbie Holbert. What are your memories of him? Lyle Lovett: I remember seeing Holbert for the first time out on the track. There was a gulch that ran along the feeder road of the front straightaway. It was a long straightaway with a drop off and then you jumped out of this gully. I remember seeing Robbie fly off the drop off, sideways of course. Then he hit the bottom, straightened it up and just shot up into the sky. I mean, I’d never seen somebody ride as fast as Robbie, seemingly out of control, but always saving it, he was simply amazing. DIRT ILL: What was your musical connection to H & H at the time? Lyle Lovett: I grew up playing guitar and I also played the saxophone in our stage band. So I was aware of H and H Music and I went there for supplies and for lessons. At the race track, I’d watch Freddy Hanna ride and I’d think to myself, that’s how I
wanna ride. I want to be like Hanna. He taught me to sit forward and keep my elbows up and always pick the smoothest line. He just seemed like a really smart, smooth, correct rider to me. And he won every time, you know? Nobody in the 250 class could beat him. DIRT ILL: At the time, who did you like the most, the Euros or the Americans? Lyle Lovett: I always tried to figure it out. Like, why can’t the Americans beat the Europeans? I had great admiration for the Europeans. Watching Roger and Slyvain Geboers ride, I mean, it was just incredible. You know, we’d sit there and go through a stack of the current motorcycle mags, I would read every word and look at every picture and I loved keeping up with the races. I especially liked to follow the World Championship MX series. I’ll never forget when Pomeroy won that first GP in Spain. Then Lackey decided to go to Europe and spend a season competing over there. Then he won his first championship. I mean, that was really huge, I thought. DIRT ILL: How did you finally get that job at Cycle Shack?
Check out this bubble wrap photo shop pic of Lyle racing at Rio Bravo.
Lyle Lovett: I asked Richard for the job one day and he said, ‘You can’t work here. You’re only 14. I can’t even pay you,’. I told him, I just want to work here, you don’t have to pay me. He finally relented and said okay. He told me to come in the next day and they’d see how I did. I remember that first day.The first thing they had me do was clean the bathroom on the mechanics’ side of the shop. Then I cleaned the bathroom on the parts side [laugh]. I swept up and all that kinda stuff. I took out the trash. I did whatever they
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for that summer, Richard gave me the bike. All I had to do was pay the difference on trade-in for my old Penton steel tanker against the difference between the new Husky. You know, as I recall, the Husky was a great handling bike. But power-wise, if you’d be up against a class of of 125’s. DIRT ILL: The Husky 125 wasn’t exactly a rocketship. How did it work out for you?
Lined up and ready to race. Lyle was a regular fixture on the Conroe, Rio Bravo race scene....PHOTO BY BERNELL LOVETT
told me to do. At the end of the day, Richard finally said, “you can come back”.
LyleLovett: You’re exactly right. The Husky was not that fast, but it was a good handling bike, for sure. I loved the Husky, but still liked the Pentons. Then, after about a year of riding the Husky I sold it and then bought a new fi-
DIRT ILL: How did that work out?
Lyle’s latest album: ‘Release Me’ on Curb Records.....Our Favorite album? ‘Joshua Judges Ruth’. Just saying....
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Lyle Lovett: Pretty good. Kept me busy that summer. I even worked out with him to sell my Penton steel tanker that summer and was waiting for the new Pentons to show up. That’s also when these new Husqvarna 125’s showed up at the dealership. Richard showed me the Husky and wanted to know if I still wanted a Penton or the Husky. I thought, well, that Husky’s pretty cool, so I decided on the Husky. As my pay,
Scott Burnworth and his wife Debbie showe the Sea in San Diego....Scott and Debbie a
berglass tanked Penton. I rode it for the next several months and then when I sold that bike, I went back to a Husky. So I kind of went back and forth to check them out. DIRT ILL: What was the last bike your raced back in the day? Lyle Lovett: A 1973 125 Husqvarna, the last dirt bike I raced. It’s a bike I still have today, in fact. DIRT ILL: Did you ever consider racing pro? Lyle Lovett: At the time, it really appealed to me and If I had been faster, [laughs] it might have been more than a pipe dream (more laughter). Yeah, I loved it, I loved all
ed up for Lyle’s concert at Humpreries by are big fans.
Lovett loves to ride down south of the border down in Baja. He goes there with friends often. His album ‘The Road to Ensendada’ is all about that...
of it. So much. I just wasn’t that fast. I started riding in the expert class for about the last 6 months of my racing career. Back in those days, they called it the novice/ expert class. I had gotten to where I was a threat for the win at some of my local tracks. I was capable of winning in the novice class. But I had a couple of bad experiences in the first turn at Rio Bravo. It scared me a bit. Someone took me out in
the first turn and it spooked me. I didn’t move up to the expert class because I was ready to, more so because I wanted to race with guys who had more control than some of those novice races i used to run. You kinda trust the riders more.
NEXT MONTH: Part TwoLyle talks a bit about his musical style and the Texas music and race scene….. www.dirtillustrated.com
Texas Motocross: Circa 1970's
One Photographer's
Journey
Photo's by Richard "Hog Body" Creed By Dennis "Ketchup" Cox My friend, Richard Creed, will always be one of my earliest moto hero's.
That's because Richard lived the life of a true moto journalist. Creed had that Hemingway-esqe like persona about him. He was a genuine character. Richards style was to resort to last minute creative jam sessions, (a Creed tradition) while employed at our Austin, Texas based news weekly called Cycle News Central. It was the gateway for my entry into a career as a moto journalist. Without Richard Creeds help...I doubt that I would ever have had the opportunity to do what I do today. Richard was the genesis behind Cycle News branching out to become three separate newspapers- a Central, East Coast, and a Western Edition. Had Chuck and Sharon Clayton, the original owners of Cycle News, not decided to launch a cycling empire into Austin, Texas I am sure I would have taken an entirely different career path... LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION... Thank goodness. At the time, Richard Creed was an accomplished photographer for the Austin American Statesman, the main newspaper in Austin. He soon took on the gig of Editor-in-Chief, of the newly formed Cycle News Central Edition, which was way back in the mid-seventies. Creed assembled a hodge-podge of editors, aspiring photographers, and moto riff-raff into the core of a weekly cycling newsmagazine. I was fortunate to be one of that bunch, the other being MXA’s future editor, Jody Weisel. So come take a look back with us, as we showcase some of that early Black & White photography of Creeds best work. It was a different time, but timeless because it captured that instant love of racing and riding, which we all enjoy today. A simpler time of newbie racers, corn-o-cross, the misadventures of Motocross Cat, and good old fashioned moto-fun. Motocross in Central Texas in the seventies was an adventure. Join us. DIRT ILLustrated \\\\\\ March 2014 + Page 56
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Porum qui blaboria providuci abora nations equissi occuptiustia destibus digni a non nem. Hit lant a quatio. Nam, conesti aturis moluptatcrumquibus iust, asperem fuga. Hicae ius modi blaceatibus a ni officitae del explicid exeribu sdandi volenet, omnieni squost mintiae quatiatent. www.dirtillustrated.com
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Me and Magoo on the starting line for the ‘83 Hangtown 500 National. Danny was a fierce competitor who got a reputation for never letting off. Sadly, it would effect his career in a negative way that led up to his injury that paralized him for life. PHOTO: Ken Vanderhoof
Me and Magoo By Warren Reid
“It’s funny you know, about the random coincidence and seeming impossibility of crossing
parallel paths”. Everyone in motocross has a Danny “Magoo” Chandler story. Danny connected to fans like no other motocrosser ever. It was almost Babe Ruth-like. I came to know Danny Chandler in a very funny way, that had ZERO to do with Motocross. We might have met, even if neither of us had ever ridden motorcycles. But the fact that we had great MX careers, so different, but each filled with ups and downs, and a tenacious spirit that is a testament to our roots. It started when my dad, Joy E. (Bud) Reid was born, to Irish parents in Texas, in the 1920s, before the Stock Market Crash, the resulting Depression and worst of all for Northern Texans, the Dust Bowl. He was the eighth of 10 kids, and born minutes after his twin sister DIRT ILLustrated \\\\\\ March 2014 + Page 64
Joyce. The older Reid boys apparently couldn’t handle a brother named “Joy” so Rex, Curt and Dean called him “Buddy”. In my entire life I never heard one person, EVER, call my dad by his real name- even my grandma. Shel Silverstien’s song, “A Boy named Sue”, recorded by Johnny Cash, captures what my dad must have went through as a kidthough he never said anything about it. I can just imagine the first day of school, every year in every class, when the teacher did the first Roll Call. “…So I give ya that name and I said goodbye, I
knew you’d have to get tough or die, and it’s the name that helped to make you strong…” So there you have the roots of my personality, especially with a name like Warren. Since they were of age, by the standards-of-theday, Dad’s older brothers left Texas for California in quick succession, especially since it was at the height of the Dust bowl. Their lives were well chronicled in history of the Dust Bowl through the works of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie in his ‘Do Re Mi’ folk songs. Dad and his parents, and the younger
'EVERYONE IN MOTOCROSS HAS A DANNY "MAGOO" CHANDLER STORY...’
One of Danny’s proudest moments was his victory at the ABC TV promoted Carlsbad SupeeBikers competition, a made for TV event.
kids, followed them from Texas to California in the late 30’s, settling in the San Fernando Valley, near Los Angeles. The older Reid boys all worked construction. They all worked at one point or another, with my mom’s dad, who had a construction business in So Cal. Fast forward 20 years later, and throw in the old friendships of the 30’s, and that my dad met my mom, and there you go. Crossing Parallel Paths... Rex, the oldest brother, ended up moving - from Southern California to the Truckee/Donner area in Northern California around 1950, and started a business that survives today. Dad’s twin sister, Joyce, and her husband, Jack, followed Rex up to Truckee. Dad went into the Coast Guard and remained single for more than 10 years after Joyce married. Joyce and Jack had 4 kids, two boys and then two girls and the boys Jack and Curt were my idols. They were almost 10 years older than me and cool. When I was about 10, they’d just gotten out of the service. Joyce and Jack lived in Grass Valley at that time and Jack and Curt settled in Truckee near Rex, and they worked construction, specifically Backhoe.
They started racing motorcycles…and here’s where all these crossing parallel lines converge. Curt worked with Danny Chandler’s dad, who raced. Curt took Mr Chandler’s number when he started racing, sometime around 1968 to 1970. They raced around Tahoe/Reno/Marysville/Plymouth at the classic Northern California tracks. They raced Hangtown amateur day at Plymouth, before it was an AMA National. I just realized I never got to ride with my cousins, let alone see them ride or race. They lived 450 miles away and we only got to see them at family reunions. But they were my dad’s twin sister’s boys, and the only male cousins that were older than me, but not so old. They were so cool. By the time I started racing, they’d given it up. My cousins Jack and Curt made a lot of motorcycle friends…20 years later, Speedway National Champ, Alan Christian, was quite surprised when I mentioned Jack and Curt were my cousins, while at Costa Mesa Speedway, one Friday Night. Six Degrees of Separation I was surprised when I found out how close friends, Jack and Curt, were with Danny’s dad…this was years after we were both AMA Pros. I remember I laughed so hard when Curt told me about the time Uncle Rex’s granddaughter, Melody, my second cousin, knocked the sh*t out of Danny- when they were little kids. I was even more surprised to learn that years later, Melody, would be a Bridesmaid at Danny ‘s wedding to his wife Tracy. The wedding sadly ended, in the years following Danny’s paralysis. Imagine how surprised I was at an early 1980s Detroit Supercross when Jack and Curt showed up, out of the blue, with their old military buddy, Gordy Tamm, who brought his brother Bob Tamm to his first SX race. Bob loved it, and Team Tamm started soon after. I never thought Danny would make it to
the very top. He could be incredibly fast, but he crashed so often, that he couldn’t put together two long motos at a National, let alone a full season. First Time I saw him ride The first time I saw him ride was when he showed up at his first AMA National in 1976, at Plymouth (the old Hangtown course) racing a Penton 125. Nobody raced MX with a Penton in 1976. If the course measured 2.1 miles, Danny’s laps surely measured 2.5 miles. Magoo: The Early Years… He went outside, inside, straight through the corners, arcing the straightaways, wide open in the slow sections, jumping a million miles and landing sideways, flapping like a flag in a hurricane. A lot of times with only his hands attached to the bike, and then sometimes only one hand, scattering the spectators away from the fences, as they cheered wildly for their local hero. Fast forward 5 long and crash filled years of mediocrity. I saw a new Danny Magoo Chandler at Prairie City OHV park (the new Hangtown track) riding the excellent Honda CR500 at the 1981 Trans-Am. Magoo was smooth, and easily dominated a strong field while, and if I’m not mistaken, he won every moto of the series. I didn’t have a ride at that race. I was only there to garner a contract for 1982, after being bought out by Kawasaki, three months prior, to sit home…that’s another separate column I need to write about contracts, the legal system, and the importance of PR. But we’ll get to that later. First Contract… Honda offered Danny a B+ ride for ’82, that quickly turned into an A+ ride, as his results steadily improved. He was on a CR125, at the CMC Golden State Series, when the season started, and would be ‘Cycle News’ Rider of the
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year, by the end of the season. Many people remember Magoo’s 1982 Season as one of the most dominant racing seasons of all time. It wasn’t dominated by the standard of winning a National Championship, but by the standard of total domination Magoo set at the 4 most important races of the year. However, 1982 wasn’t all rosy for Danny. He was one of a bunch of Honda riders in the 500 Nationals in 1982. Darryl Shultz and Chuck Sun were also on that list. There is an iconic photo of Danny’s tenaciousness, where
Racing for the crowds heart… Danny, more than any rider I’ve ever seen, raced for the crowd. He loved them as much as they loved him. His mechanic, Steve Carter, did a great job setting up the Hondas. Think of what a monumental task that was. Danny never finessed anything. Here’s how I imagine the mechanic to rider conversations during testing or after practice with Danny and his mechanic…. Steve: “Hey Danny, how’s it handling?” Danny: “OK”
TO WIN, DANNY MADE THE MOST LIFE ENDANGERING, AND PURELY AMAZING PASS I'VE EVER SEEN.. he’s racing hard, with the left handlebar bent straight down. Bent Bar Episode… This occurred at the 1982 Southwick National, in a heat race, not even in the National main event. On the surface, this photo seems to indicate his never-say-die spirit. But at the time, I remember watching the qualifier and thinking, ‘You’ve got an easy qualifying position, just take it easy, and make the National’. He didn’t and crashed…and then did it again when in qualifying position. He didn’t make the National, and it made no sense. The very next week, he made the National at Mt Morris, and won the first moto, beating his Northern California nemesis, Darryl Shultz. Go figure? A little over a month later, it all came together again. He put a “No Tourists” decal on his bike, to make fun of the Europeans, and the way they dressed, and promptly won the Carlsbad 500 USGP. The crowds love of Danny propelled him to win. ABC TV’s Wide World of Sports loved it too. DIRT ILLustrated \\\\\\ March 2014 + Page 66
Steve: “Is it swapping at all?” Danny: “Yes, but don’t change anything. It might be me and I can go fast with this setting” Not a lot happened the rest of the 1982 500 Nationals for Danny. After the Nationals, came MX & TrophyDes Nations. The American team would consist of Magoo, and his Team Honda compatriots, Jim Gibson, Johnny O’Mara and Donnie Hansen. Donnie Hansen was considered the most dominant rider of 1982, with numerous race wins, the SX and 250 National titles Donnie was really hot heading into the September Des Nations races, having also won the final 250 GP in Sweden, the week before the Trophy Des Nations. Not only did he win both motos, he beat the newly crowned 250 World Champion, Danny LaPorte and past defending world champ Georges Jobe. During testing, weeks prior to the Des Nations, Donnie and Danny were racing around a practice track, with Danny leading. They came up on a set of jumps. Donnie
didn’t clear the landing jump, he crashed hard. He didn’t get up, didn’t move, didn’t respond, didn’t ever race a major race again. Donnie Hansen spent the next couple of weeks in the hospital in Germany, in an induced coma, with holes drilled in his head, to relieve the pressure. He was medi-vac-ed back to the states, after the Des Nations races were over. Magoo’s Best Rides... Danny utterly and completely, dominated the 1982 250 Trophy Des Nations, winning both motos. The next week he utterly and completely, dominated the Motocross Des Nations. Danny became the only rider in history to win both motos at both races! That includes a history replete with the greatest of the greatest. Think of who you consider the greatest motocrosser ever, and that person never matched Danny’s accomplishment. As great as his Des Nations’ accomplishments were, at the end of 1982, he had what I consider his greatest race ever. In front of the USA’s biggest motorcycle racing TV audience, Danny won ABC’s ‘Wide World of Sports’ Superbikers competition. This was an event with National and World Champions, of all racing disciplines, all riding together on a combination dirt and pavement track, not particularly suitable to any one specific discipline. Not only did he win, Magoo beat Steve Wise, his Team Honda teammate, who was the two-time and defending Superbikers champion! Not too shabby. To win, Danny made the most life endangering, and purely amazing pass I’ve ever seen (even by Danny’s unique standards of daring and testosterone). I was standing right there where the pass occurred, having failed to make the main myself. The TV coverage did not do the pass justice, though they tried. Pass of Doom… Danny, at 130 mph, drafted past Steve Wise, as they swept down onto the paved drag strip from a downhill, left handed sweeper. He didn’t just draft past though. Since the sweeper was so fast, as it merged with the paved straightaway, the riders would drift out to the right toward the drag strip guard rail. It wasn’t a crash wall, it was a steel posted metal guard rail and it was 3 feet from the track edge. There weren’t any hay bales against the rail. If you hit the rail at these speeds- you leave
Honda’s Powerhouse 1980’s race team consisted of Danny Chandler, David Bailey, Bob Hannah, Johnny O’Mara and Ronnie Lechien. Magoo’s ride aboard the Works bikes was a mixed bag. He lost out on a National title but ended up winning the Motocross and Trophee Des Nations in 1982.
As this MotoDude cartoon shows Magoo was the type of rider that the faas loved and he knew it...
Magoo’s career aboard a Maico got him his fan base. He never let off the throttle...but paid a price.
A slew of magazine covers kept Magoo in the limelight. He rode a KTM in some European GPs. www.dirtillustrated.com
body parts. Not only that, there was a three foot strip of space, from the track edge (a striped line) to the guard rail. At that point the asphalt had a 3 inch step-down ledge (you know, like the ones they have when they repave one lane on a highway but haven’t done the other one just yet). Well, it was the most dangerous section of any race track, of any type of racing I’ve ever seen. When Danny swept off the downhill sweeper, on the tail of leader Steve Wise, I was right there watching it all…They were upshifting factory prepped RC500’s to fifth gear….serious high speed stuff. As Magoo drafted close, his speed was way too high to pass to Steve’s left, as they drifted right toward the rail. So he went to Steve’s right anyway, dropped off the 3 inch ledge, and put his 32 inch wide handlebars into the 36 inch wide space between Steve and the Guard Rail. At that very moment, that Magoo dropped to the right, Steve looked back over his left shoulder and saw nothing. He turned his head back to the front, and had a whiplash-level flinch, as he suddenly saw Danny go past on the right. It was a flinch that emanated from years of experience. You see, one second before, when he didn’t see him over his left shoulder, Steve Wise thought, not unexpectedly from Danny’s reputation, that Magoo had crashed. After getting past Steve, Danny somehow, magically traversed left, back up the 3 inch ledge…onto the race surface. He won… and it was exciting. I consoled my good friend, Steve Wise, after the race, heck, I think he stayed at my house that night. Edge Out of Control… There was never any animus or bad feelings between Danny “Magoo” Chandler and I. We never hung out much even, even though there were very strong friend and family ties between us.When Magoo shook your hand, it hurt badly, if you weren’t ready for it. I never liked racing with Danny. I admit it. He took me out more than once. Not on purpose, but because he was so often on the edge of control. He didn’t know what line he was taking and if he didn’t, I sure as hell didn’t either. Danny’s personality was emphatically presented in his riding style for everyone to see and appreciate. If you cheered for Magoo, you were NEVER disappointed. All of us that competed against Danny, at the highest levels, were true DIRT ILLustrated \\\\\\ March 2014 + Page 68
racers. We had that obvious but rare personality, that is hard to explain.
THEY WERE UPSHIFTING FACTORY PREPPED RC500'S TO FIFTH GEAR. SERIOUS HIGH SPEED STUFF. Over these many years, I’ve contemplated what Danny meant to me. I’ve contemplated what he meant to my family and friends, and most of all, what he meant to the sport of Motocross. Mano a Mano Danny and I first raced mano a mano up at Helvetia Cycle Park (I think that’s the name) in Northern California near my cousin’s and Danny’s. It was not even during a race. It was during practice the morning of a Golden State Series race in 1977. It was my first year as a Factory Honda Rider and we used the GS series as prep for the Nationals. The first race of the series was a Prairie City (What is now the Hangtown National
Track) but back then the National was still at Plymouth, CA in the sand pits. I’d won Prairie City beating LaPorte and Glover for the OA… remember, the two guys who tied for the 125 title later that year. Nothing got Magoo going on the track like going after the fastest guy, anywhere, anytime, anybody. If they were hot, he’d get incredibly motivated. I was the same way, but I tended to keep it (my excitement and my bike) between the banners. Here’s how I remember it…My RC125 Type II Factory Honda Works Bike broke a ring early in practice. I got out my CR125 FMF bike to get in few laps of practice because after driving that far, I needed to do battle with the boys. I did a couple of laps on the CR and slowed to check lines and Magoo went blowing by me on his 250 KTM. I could tell he’d been stalking me. I couldn’t let him even THINK he’d caught and passed me, so I lit off after him. Was that smart? NO. Was that my ego? YES. So what? That’s why I was a racer and so was he. I dove inside every corner and put front tire knobby marks on his swingarm and boot buckles. Nothing too Alessi or Barcia style, but I was on fire, I was pretty cocky and I was FXXXing with him. All the mechanics were watching from the mechanics area, including Jon R, my step dad and in case you lived in a cave for 40 years, also my Factory Honda Wrench. With him watching was Donnie Emler. Again, in case you were living in a cave for 40 years, Donnie Emler was/is the owner, founder, brains and inspiration of FMF. He was my buddy, was my first National Sponsor, was my engine builder, and most of all, was my most enthusiastic cheerleading spectator. In those days Emler would stand practically on the track and watch and cheer his riders on. Finally, I set up Magoo right in front of the where they were all standing. It was a big, flat sweeping left hander and I pulled the classic go hot to the outside, square it and dive to the inside heading toward the corner’s exit. I didn’t dive way inside of him, I dove just barely inside so I came up right next to him on his left with my bars just ahead of his with just a few feet of turn remaining. Because I was right next to him in the dominant position, I kept pushing outside to the edge of the track forcing him to straighten upright. When there was little track left for
him to work with, I dove hard left down the next straightaway and he had a slight delay as he went from upright to leaned over. By that time I was gone. Uncle Donny Freaks out... I came around the next lap and Emler was FREAKING OUT as only he can do. The Helvetia spectators loved it. All the So Cal guys loved it. For all of them and for me and Danny, this was kind of a North/South Shootout. And it all happened in practice. We both had fairly long MX careers by the standards of the ‘70s and the ‘80s. Some MX careers are like the guys in a War who come away with a chest full of colored medals, like me. Some guys like Danny come away from MX with the equivalent of a few giant world renowned hand crafted medals actually that are pinned on by the President. Danny and I never hung out much except occasionally at the track. Of course, because of our connections through my cousins, we always knew what and how the other was doing, during our careers and after my retirement and his paralyzing injury. It is strange to think now, about how all of the life connections and coincidences of Danny and I fit together. While I can think about them and I can explain them, I cannot adequately describe them except that time has given me the perspective to feel good about all of them and about Danny’s rightful place in history. Hero’s image… During the many experiences in my life, and from the values I’ve learned from history, that Danny “Magoo” Chandler was a hero in every sense of the word. To this day, it is still incomprehensible to me, how he pulled off some of the moves he got away with…. Consider his 1982 SuperBikers pass of Steve Wise….full speed, wide-open, edge of control, death defying 130 mph pass. Up over an asphalt ledge, at an impossible angle, and something that would spit a mere mortal into the guard rail and oblivion. Only Danny would have attempted it… and only a hero could have completed it. Danny was a hero. “I have learned from history, that Danny “Magoo” Chandler was a hero in every sense of the word...” Warren Reid
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DIRT CLODS & HOT CHICA’S
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