Russ Darnell

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Russ Darnell was one of the early stars of American motocross racing. His most famous win came in the prestigious Grand Prix at Corriganville (later known as the Hopetown GP) in 1964. Darnell was one of the star riders who bridged the gap between the "rough scrambles" days of the 1950s and ‘60s to the time when motocross became firmly established in the United States by the early 1970s. The bespectacled racer was also one of the first Americans to compete in Motocross Grand Prix and International competition in 1969 and 1970.


Darnell was born in Santa Cruz, California, in 1947. He likes to say he was riding motorcycles before he was born since his dad would take his mom on rides on his Triumph while she was pregnant with Russ. Russ’ father, George, was a leading desert racer of the 1940s and ‘50s. Russ got his first motorcycle, a pre-war Royal Enfield 175cc two-stroke, and later a BSA Bantam, when he was 6 years old.


Darnell began going on desert rides with his father when he was 7 and began to hone his skills as an off-road rider from an early age. At 9, he entered his first race, a 100-mile hare scrambles. Darnell loved the camaraderie and competitive nature of desert racing. By the time he hit his teen years, Darnell was already a formidable veteran among the desert rats, as the desert off-road racers like to call themselves, and had already earned dozens of victories. He earned his AMA expert license while still in high school. He also branched out and competed in nearly all forms of motorcycle racing, from TT to observed trials, scrambles, drag racing, hillclimbs, enduro, flat track, speedway and road racing.


Darnell’s first job was working as a gofer/parts washer and later mechanic at Nick Nicholson’s motorcycle shop in North Hollywood.

Darnell’s biggest victory came relatively early in his racing career. The Grand Prix at Corriganville was one of the biggest off-road races of the 1960s. The track setting was idyllic. A challenging seven-mile circuit set in the scenic hills of a 1,600-acre movie ranch in Simi Valley, California, owned by movie actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan. The ranch was later bought by Bob Hope and renamed Hopetown and the race renamed the Hopetown GP.


Corriganville brought out all the best off-road riders from across the country. Even some of the top AMA Grand National riders were regular participants. That race was a predecessor of what would later become motocross.
In 1964, Darnell was one of the top riders in the 250cc expert class entered in Corriganville. The race featured a huge field with 25 to 30 rows and 20 riders across, all starting en masse.
“Everyone was cheating, trying to move forward for a better starting position,” Darnell recalls. “Steve McQueen was the starter the year I won and he walked out in front of all those guys and picked up the flag. He was going to do something fancy with the flag but as soon as he touched it we were gone. He had to run for his life.”


... Read more





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The Texas Vintage Racing Club

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TEXAS VINTAGE RACING CLUB. Established 1988.

is a social Network for all the motorcross lovers
Be sure to check out the official Texas Vintage Racing Club website at:
www.TVRC.org

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2010 AMA Motocross Washougal Results

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By Matt Davidson via : www.motorcycle-usa.com

Celebrating its 30th year of hosting an AMA National Motocross, the Washougal organizers of the event decided to kick it old school. Fans and riders alike were encouraged to break out their vintage duds to mark three decades of pro racing in the Pacific Northwest. Although some of the outfits in the crowd were tired, the racing was anything but. All day the racers had to contend with constant changes from bright sunlight to dark woods at the legendary track. Ryan Dungey and Trey Canard kept the winning streaks going at the retro-themed National. Both riders swept the motos with perfect 1-1 victories while Andrew Short and Christophe Pourcel took solid 2-2 second-place overalls in their respective 450 and 250 classes.

Suzuki's Ryan Dungey captured his seventh overall victory of the '10 season at the Washougal Retro National.

Once again taking a page out of Mike Alessi’s playbook, Short grabbed the holeshot in Moto 1and tried to break free from the pack. In hot pursuit was his stand-in teammate, Kevin Windham, followed by Brett Metcalfe and Dungey. TLD Honda’s Ben Townley experienced a difficult day after crashing during the opening lap in the whoops and injuring his shoulder, putting a quick end to his Washougal experience. Just five laps in Dungey made a hard charge to secure the lead ahead of Short and Windham, while GEICO Powersports Honda’s Metcalfe made an impressive push toward the front of the pack to take third at lap six. Josh Grant moved up to fourth as K-dub began his slow decent back to a ninth palce finish. With just five minutes left Dungey crashed entering a turn, but managed to quickly recover and went on to earn his sixth consecutive moto win. Rounding out the Moto 1 podium was Short followed by Metcalfe.

Brett Metcalfe had to fight back through the pack in the second moto to earn his third place overall finish.

In Moto 2 the #29 bike of Short once again snared the holeshot while Dungey took an inside line to secure third-place. During the opening laps Short received tremendous pressure from Windham while Dungey rapidly approached the veteran from behind. Just a few laps later Dungey successfully passed Windham and began working on the five-second gap separating him from Short in first place. With the overall victory on the line, Dungey shot around Short for the lead on lap eight and instantly pulled away. The championship leader eventually took the win by more than 17 seconds, and earned his seventh straight overall victory in the 450 class. Rockstar' Energy's Tommy Hahn put on an impressive ride as he charged from sixth to third. Short rounded out his day behind Dungey with two second-place finishes and was followed by Metcalfe, who was third in the overall results after his 3-5 score.

After getting another of his trademark holeshots, Andrew Short took second in both motos to finish in second-place behind Dungey.

With his latest win Dungey has now increased his lead to a monstrous 95 points ahead of Short who trails in second.

"The second moto I had a good start. Then over in the back section they watered the back side of a tabletop, and I lost the back end," said Metcalfe about his difficult second moto. "I came from 25th, and all I could think about was riding aggresive and hard as I could."

"Dungey is pretty far gone I think. There's a pretty good battle for second," said Short about the points race. "Metcalfe is right there behind me, so i still have a lot of racing and a lot of points to take advantage of." ... Read more



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BMW R100/7 scrambler

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via : the Bike Exif


Even the stateliest grand tourer can be turned into a scrambler. This example is a 1977 BMW R100/7 owned by Frank, from Kandel in Germany. He bought the bike in 1983, with just 5,000km on the clock; the BMW is now up to 196,000 km, without any issues apart from a gearbox defect last year. Frank lowered the forks 6 cm, and made a new sub-frame, seat and license plate bracket. He also fitted Tomaselli bars, Koso digital instruments, Dunlop Trailmax tires, a Ducati rear fender, and a fuel-tank from a BMW /5... Read more





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The Sunday Movie

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via Billy Weston

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Trans-AMA motocross champions

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DeCoster won the Trans-AMA Championship four years in a row (1974-1977), becoming an admired and popular figure in the sport in America as well.



The following is a list of Trans-AMA Champions, from 1970 to 1978. The championship was an international series established by the American Motorcyclist Association as a pilot event to help establish motocross in the United States. The series was based on a 500cc engine displacement formula, although the first year of the event featured both 250 and 500cc events. The races run on American tracks to international standards, featuring the top riders from the F.I.M. world championship against the top American riders. In 1970 and 1971, the highest placing American rider at the end of the series was considered the A.M.A. national champion. After 1978 the series was renamed the Trans-USA series, but had fewer European riders participating. The Inter-AMA series was a similar year-end championship, but used a 250cc engine displacement formula.

• Year Rider...............................Country........................Machine
• 1970 Dave Nicoll...............United Kingdom...................BSA
• 1971 Sylvain Geboers...........Belgium...........................Suzuki
• 1972 Åke Jonsson..................Sweden............................Maico
• 1973 Adolf Weil...............West Germany......................Maico
• 1974 Roger De Coster............Belgium..........................Suzuki
• 1975 Roger De Coster............Belgium..........................Suzuki
• 1976 Roger De Coster............Belgium..........................Suzuki
• 1977 Roger De Coster............Belgium..........................Suzuki
• 1978 Bob Hannah..............United States....................Yamaha

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1966 Honda CB450 Police Special

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If you saw one of these rare motorcycles on the road in the 1960s, you were either very lucky or very unlucky. It all depended upon whether that set of red lights was flashing in your rear-view mirror or someone else's.


Honda imported a mere 25 CB450 Police Specials to the United States in 1966 in an effort to crack into the law-enforcement market. So if you came into contact with one, you could certainly count it as one of the more unique bike sightings of your life.


Based on Honda's "Black Bomber" CB450, introduced in 1965, the Police Special was entirely normal in its engine and running gear. But it incorporated some nifty anti-crime devices.


The large speedometer, for instance, was calibrated in 1-mile-per-hour increments. And with a flip of a switch, Mr. Policeman could lock the speedo reading to preserve the evidence of your illegality.

copyright the Vintagent

Then he'd switch on the lights and pull a lever on the left handlebar that worked the unusual siren-activation system. The lever brought a rotating steel drum into contact with the rear wheel, much like those old electrical generators on bicycles. The only difference was that this drum drove a flexible steel cable that snaked forward to spin the siren.

The Police Special also came with a solo seat backed by a small metal box for carrying an officer's ticket book.


Honda's Police Special took on Harley-Davidson for a place in America's law-enforcement community…and lost badly. Even though Honda billed it as "a big bike with a big ride," the 450 couldn't make a dent in a market that had been dominated for decades by American V-twins. So the initial U.S. shipment of 25 was also the last... Text via the Motorcycle museum hall of fame




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Street Tracker Comes To Life

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Via the :

This past Winter was unusually cold for the Houston area. We had snow, a couple of freezes and all around nasty stuff that lasted through April, one of the longest winters in quite a while.


Traditionally during the winter months we take on some sort of project. We have done a few vintage restorations over the years as well as helping a few of our Racer clients prepare and set up their racebikes. This year, our 29th in business, we decided to do something different, a project for ourselves. After some serious though on the matter we decided that Chopper/Bobbers have been done to death and since we have been wanting to build a Street Tracker (Street legal flat track Racer). For some time thats the direction we would go.


We had a Rusted 1975 Yamaha XS650 chassis that had been out behind our shop for about 16 years as well as 3 XS650 engines residing under our stairwell for about the same amount of time. . We pulled em into the shop and had a starting point. Our concept was to use as many parts off of bikes we had laying around the shop and buy as few new parts as possible. Instead we would refinish, replate, repaint, and refurbish parts off of any brand bike that we could make work.


We ended up with Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Harley, and even a few take off parts from a Custom Triumph flat tracker that our buddy Mark Lanoue races at Pikes peak every year on our project. We had help from many friends, James Moody machined the custom rear wheel sprocket adapter, Mark Lanoue and Shane Davis waterjetted brackets for foot controls and Rear Brake hanger.


Shane Davis and Mark Martinez helping with the frame paint as well as design and airbrushing of the paint scheme on the tank & tailpiece. Sam Romeo at Sam’s Cycle Salvage Found us a great deal on a pair of Kawasaki ZRX 1200 shocks. John Easton at Jemco Exhaust Systems built the Exhaust that looks so good on the bike... Read more




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Motocross Championship Goes Retro This Weekend

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The second half of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship season kicked-off this past weekend with more of the racing action that has made the series the most prestigious in the world. This weekend, 450 Class points leader Ryan Dungey and the world's fastest riders head to the Pacific Northwest and scenic Washougal Motocross Park, where the series will celebrate 30 years of American motocross in the state of Washington with the Motosport.com Washougal Retro National.


At last Saturday's Rockstar Energy Spring Creek National from Millville, Minn., Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Dungey continued to dominate the 450 Class field in front of his hometown crowd and took the overall victory for the third straight season at his home state facility, adding a premier class win to his pair of previous 250 Class victories. The 450 Class rookie's homecoming always creates considerable buzz throughout the state of Minnesota and it brought thousands of fans to the small town of just about 200 people to witness their local hero and the world's best lay it all on the line.

Ryan Dungey has won the last six events and leads the 450 Class by 89 points.
Courtesy Simon Cudby

Ryan Dungey

In the end, Dungey posted his fourth 1-1 moto sweep of the season, but was also forced to deal with veteran rider Kevin Windham, who made his return to the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship with a pair of strong outings for Honda Red Bull Racing. While the duo experienced success at the front of the field, reigning 450 Class champion Chad Reed was at the opposite end of the spectrum, failing to finish the first moto and scratching from the second moto due to an apparent neck injury. While his status remains uncertain, Reed will have a tough road ahead to rebound from his fall from second to sixth in the championship standings.

Andrew Short

With seven rounds completed, Dungey's advantage over Honda Red Bull Racing's Andrew Short, who moved into the runner-up spot in the standings after Spring Creek, sits at 89 points and since taking over the top spot at High Point, Dungey has extended his lead every round. He enters this weekend with a two-year winning streak at Washougal thanks to a pair of overall victories in the 250 Class and is in no way looking to ease his grasp of the premier class as he aims to make it three-in-a-row... Read more




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Mid-Ohio 2010

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via : bigdcycle.com


Mid-O this year was an interesting mix of events. The dirt Track races were rained out on Friday night, and we had to scrounge the swap meet for a valve adjuster after the yellow bike ate one.


The 275 sportsmen bike destroyed a piston, rod, and rocker arm when it decided it did not want to continue anymore in Saturday morning practice. We then had to share the one yellow bike for the rest of the weekend.


Ryan ended up with two first places, and Jerrett placed with two thirds and a second. Ryan did score enough points to retain the sportsmen 750 number one plate.


The dirt tracking pictures are from a practice session we went to before leaving for Ohio.




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The Sunday Movie

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A video from my friend Kenny Cummings from www.nycnorton.com


'68 Seeley Norton Commando at AMA Vintage Grand National Championships, Mid Ohio, July 26, 2009. I was gridded in the last row of the second wave and had a group of 350 GP bikes in front of me. In front of them was a group of Middleweight Superbikes that went off in a first wave. I was able to get a great start and made my way past all bikes from the 2nd wave by Turn One. I then set out to chase down the Superbikes from the first wave. I managed to pass all bikes and not only led my class but got the overall win as well. Unfortunately I forgot to turn on my camera until about the 3rd or 4th lap, so I missed all the action in the beginning, but you can see me catch the last Superbike at about 6:00. My camera worked well, but I still have to figure out how to get better sound and less wind noise.




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Honda NX650 Dominator

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Via :

Eighteen years ago this bike left Honda’s factory as a chunky dual-sport thumper—a less sophisticated version of the Transalp, if you like. Today it’s a sleek, lightweight street tracker burning up the roads of Wales. Andrew Greenland bought his 1992 NX650 in Swansea for a mere £300 (US$450), with the intention of just restoring it as a winter project.

“I thought I would maybe change a few bits and bobs,” he says. “One night, when the bike was stripped down to the rolling chassis, I placed a Honda CG125 (1976) tank on it for a laugh—and that was it! Retro dirtbike was the theme.” Greenland cut the rear subframe uprights down by three inches and added a loop at the back, leaving the rest of the structure original.

He rebuilt the motor with a bigger bore and piston and new valves and guides, and swapped out the stock 21” front wheel for a 19” Honda SLR650 wheel. The exhaust system came from Jemco in Texas, with Trail Tech supplying the headlight and speedometer. Greenland then built a new tail unit using fiberglass (“took bloody ages!”) and did all the painting himself with rattle tins.


The project took six months, and the bike rolled out of the shed a few days ago—owing Greenland less than £2,000 (US$3,000) in total build costs. “I’ve been tinkering with my own bikes since I was 12,” says Greenland, “but I’ve never altered a bike from its original form before and it was a pain in the ass! But when I go out on it, and see the looks it gets, it makes it all worth it.” Home building at its best, don’t you think?



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Ake Jonsson's 1972 Maico's

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Via the Great website : www.vintageworksbikes.com

Featured here are Ake Jonsson’s 1972 Trans AMA Maico and his 1972 GP
Maico. Both bikes in Sweden.

Ake Jonsson began his career in Sweden riding for the Husqvarna Factory
Team. Back in those days, there were no Husqvarna dealers so riders
sponsored by Husqvarna dealt directly with the factory. Getting factory support
proved difficult for Ake, being over shadowed by World Champion’s Bengt
Aberg and Torsten Hallman. After finishing third in the 1968 500cc World
Championship, Ake was hired by the Maico Factory Team.


1970 was a tough year for Ake and Maico. Despite the seemingly constant
mechanical problems, Ake managed to once again finish third in the 500cc
World Championship. Going into the final World Championship race in 1971,
Ake had a slight lead over Suzuki’s Roger DeCoster. While leading the race,
Ake suffered mechanical issues with his Maico and ultimately lost the title to
DeCoster. Ake went on to dominate in the 1972 Trans-AMA held in the United
States, winning nine straight races and the title!


Ake moved to Team Yamaha in 1973. Mechanical issues kept him from
repeating his performance of 1972. He retired from motocross a few years later.


Ake remains in Sweden today and recently retired from running his very
successful Yamaha dealership.




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Mike Baldwin

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Mike Baldwin was record-setting five-time AMA Road Racing Champion and the all-time wins leader in AMA Formula 1/Formula 750 history. His records in the class will never be broken since AMA Formula 1 was discontinued after the 1986 season. In all, Baldwin won 27 AMA national races – 17 in AMA F1/750 and 10 in AMA Superbike – and he is considered one of the top road racers America has ever produced.
Baldwin had great international road racing success as well. He was the first rider to win the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour Endurance race three times. Baldwin also contested the 500cc Grand Prix World Championships (now MotoGP) and scored a career-high ranking of fourth in the world championship in 1986.
Baldwin was born in Pasadena, California, in 1955. When he was 7, his family moved to Tacoma, Washington, before settling in Darien, Connecticut when Mike was 9. His first motorcycle was a lawn-mower-engine-powered minibike he got at 14. A year later, he stepped up to a Honda 50. He and friends carved trails through the woods and he spent hours after school and in the summer riding, later getting a Suzuki trail bike and eventually a Honda 175cc street bike when he turned 16.


In 1972, Baldwin bought a Kawasaki H2 and he and a friend rode to Bridgehampton, on Long Island, New York, to watch a club motorcycle race. There they saw top AMA competitor Gary Fisher and club expert Bob Pepper fight it out in a race. Both Baldwin and his buddy decided to put number plates on their bikes and give road racing a try. Baldwin had a decent debut, finishing fifth, and he was sucked into the club racing scene. His parents were unaware of his early racing exploits, thinking only that their high school-age son was out riding on the street.


While on Christmas break in his senior year of high school, Baldwin attended a Kawasaki service school and became service manager of a new dealership near his home after graduating. A wealthy customer of the dealership had a highly modified Kawasaki Z1 and told Baldwin he’d like for him to take the bike to the track to see what it could do.


While at the track, the customer was attracted to the little white Yamahas with the red stripe and bought a TZ 125 and 250 from one of the racers. Baldwin first raced the TZs up in Canada a couple of weeks later. Baldwin won the 250 race, beating factory Yamaha Canada rider Steve Baker in the process. He then began winning a slew of club races on the TZs... Read more



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1977 Suzuki RN400 De Coster

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In the late 1970s, Roger DeCoster was winding down one of the most successful careers in the history of motocross. And this full-on works RN400 is the bike that allowed him to go out in style.


It was 1977, and the racer still known as “The Man” was defending his championship in the Trans-AMA series, which pitted European stars against the Americans in the fall series on U.S. soil.
A Belgian, DeCoster represented the last of the old-school MXers, a five-time world champion going up against the rising stars of the Supercross generation—riders like Bob Hannah, Marty Smith and Brad Lackey.


To nail his fourth Trans-AMA title, he needed something special—a bike that took full advantage of the U.S. rules of the time that allowed one-off factory race machines.Everything about the motorcycle was designed to go fast. It had a billet aluminum fork and remote-reservoir works shocks. The swingarm and chrome-moly chassis were modified for additional strength and weight savings. Overall, the bike weighed a svelte 209 pounds.


It was the best equipment the Suzuki factory could design, which was certainly fitting treatment for the company’s star rider. And thanks in part to this bike, DeCoster was able to outshine the young guns and win the ’77 Trans-AMA title.


As it turned out, that championship would be the last of DeCoster’s storied career. A lingering practice injury in 1978 hampered his world championship effort, while in the U.S., a series-long duel with “Hurricane” Hannah in the Trans-AMA series wound up with Hannah on top.


DeCoster, of course, went on to become a successful team manager here in the states, overseeing the first title-winning U.S. Motocross of Nations team in 1981, and running Honda’s factory team and then Suzuki’s team, which he still leads today.



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AMA pulls the wraps off new Hall of Fame gallery

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An enthusiastic crowd was on hand Thursday, July 8, at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, for the dedication of the new main-floor gallery and the opening of the new exhibits, "30-Year Ride: Honda's Ohio-Made Motorcycles," and "Dirt-Track! All-American Racing."


Following a VIP tour and brunch, the noon ribbon-cutting ceremony officially ushered in a new era at the Hall of Fame.

"Our main-floor gallery takes the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame to a new level," said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. "We are shining a spotlight on the incredible men and women who have shaped the history of motorcycling. Their stories are as inspiring as they are fascinating, and help visitors and fellow motorcyclists fully appreciate the sport and lifestyle of motorcycling."


The new main floor gallery features eight areas, each representing a segment of motorcycling for which men and women are inducted into the Hall of Fame: Ambassadors and Industry, Design and Engineering, Dirt-Track, Leadership and Rights, Motocross and Supercross, Off-Road, Roadracing and Specialty Competition. Each area tells the story of a specific Hall of Fame member.



Introduction of the new gallery was accompanied by another Hall of Fame first: the opening of an exhibit showcasing 30 years of significant Honda motorcycles manufactured in Marysville, Ohio.

"I am deeply honored to represent the many Honda associates who manufactured some of the world's greatest motorcycles here in Ohio for 30 years," said Jan Gansheimer, the purchasing division manager for Honda of America Mfg., who served as plant manager of the Marysville Motorcycle Plant from 2007 to 2009... Read more


























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