|  | | Big Twins Rule. Group photo of the big twin riders with Cliff McGaughey, Promoter of the "Roar in the Rockies" holding his Harley |
| I tried to hear, but I just couldn't hear what was said.
"WHAT? NO IT'S A SPECIAL DEAL, JUST FOR BIG TWINS", I hollered.
They said something and I heard, "Mumble, horse, mumble rumble..."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY? NO, IT'S 'ROAR'..." I screamed. Gosh can't they hear.
Lots of loud rumbling and again a voice that can't be heard over the roar.
|  | It's a beautiful noise, as the big twins roar off the line.
Photo by Linda Neilson |
| "WHAT?" I bellowed, between my ear plugs and all this beautiful noise I can't hear anything, except all those twins running.
The same voice, a little louder still, but I just can't hear them over the roar of more than a dozen big twin cylinder four strokes, all running open pipes.
"I DIDN'T HEAR YOU. KIND OF HARD TO HEAR WHEN ALL THOSE TWINS ARE RUNNING." I can't scream any louder. |  | It's kind of tight in this corner for so many big twins! Some of these guys are hardly small either!
Photo by Linda Neilson |
| More mumbling and indecipherable words.
"WHAT? NEVER MIND LETS TALK AFTER THE TWINS RACE." Gads, you'd think they were never around Big Twins before. Hey maybe they weren't?
Whether it's "beautiful noise" or just noise it's all in how you look at it. Stand near one of these bikes when their revved up and the ground shakes. I'm not stretching the truth here either! Stand near the landing of a big jump and I swear the ground will move when they land! I first noticed this when in about 1969 at the Viewfinders GP in Westlake CA, when a |  | Danny Davies (Tribsa 650) leads Dave Dewoina (Tri. Rickman 750) and a charging Bill Fillion. (Yam 650)
Photo by Linda Neilson |
| young and now deceased, Al Baker was jumping a 650 Triumph during a race trying to win a few bucks for the longest jump. I think he got those bucks too. The sound of these bikes was mostly lost to the world off road motorcycling after the mid-sixties. In Southern California, desert racing was really big in the 50's and 60's with Triumph 650 "Desert Sleds" having a long run as king; with rides like Bud Ekins, Eddie Mulder, Bill Postel, Al Rogers and Mike Patrick. The day of the Desert Sled was gone by the mid 60's but die hard big twin riders continued out the decade and some guys right into the early 70's. As late as 1975 the classic Southern California event in Simi Valley CA, the famous "Hopetown GP", continued to have a real "Open Class" race for bike manufactured over 500 cc. This was the last off-road stomping ground of the big twin. Finishing results for the 1975 Hopetown Open Class has long time desert racer Gene Smith as the winner, on a Triumph 650 of course, with fellow |  | The rest of the pack chasing after the leaders, as Bob Neilson picks up his Triumph.
Photo by Linda Neilson |
| Triumph riders John Hately and Willie Hockey III listed as finishers. With a 36th and last place, finish recorded by Harley Davidson rider Rick Zimmerman. I used to think that I was born a little too late to really get to ride these big twins, but not with AHRMA around! Nothing cooler and "more vintage" to me than a Big Twin!
For the Speed and Sport National AHRMA MX National Aztec Raceway did an absolutely beautiful job on the track. It was superb! Wide, smooth and fast, and was just the right style for an AHRMA National. With flowing turns and great traction it just doesn't get any better. The left hand sweeper a few turns past the start was a great spot to really use the power and sliding ability of those big twins too. It's great to see Aztec giving the vintage rider what they |  | Cliff McGaughey (#55 '65 Harley), David Janiec, (#66 AJS) and Bill Rianda (Triumph) race.
Photo by Linda Neilson |
| want. A great track with room to run and gun. I think this showed the AHRMA National folks that Aztec Raceway is more than up to the task of running a first rate national MX and will insure a national MX at Aztec next year. Who cares if there's a car junkyard in the back ground, if you're here to look at the Rockies then your looking the wrong direction.
Legends Motorcycles sponsored the "Roar in the Rockies" to help get more guys to bring those big twins out, and maybe encourage riders of those "little bikes" to give the big twins a try too. There's nothing remotely like these bikes on non-vintage MX tracks today. That's for sure! Cliff McGaughey of Legends just thought that it would be fun to give something back to the big twin riders and then gave them all T-shirts - just for showing up. He paid back the entry fee to the class winners too. Thanks Cliff
|  | Gets kind of lonely out in front all by yourself doesn't it Danny. Danny Davies, unofficial "Overall" winner.
Photo by Linda Neilson |
| Danny Davies, Premier Expert, on 650 "Tribsa" blasted out of the gate in the combined Premier and Sportsman Open Twin race, checked out in both moto's and was the unofficial "Overall Winner" of the twins race. Danny has this big twin stuff down. I think it helps that he is a former AMA Pro rider. His bike is a Triumph pre-unit 650 twin from the early 60's setup just like a "TT" special with 11 to 1 compression, JoMo cams, 32 mm carb. and big short pipes. The engine is matched up to a BSA standard transmission and sits in a BSA frame. The bike is completed with lightweight Bultaco wheels and forks and a fiberglass gas tank. Why Bultaco wheels and forks. Seems that Danny was a Bultaco dealer once and I guess he's got lots of Bul stuff around. Danny revs this thing like he's trying to launch it to the moon. Second in the unofficial overall results was Colorado's Bill Fillion. Bill, a Sportsman Intermediate was riding a 70's Yamaha 650. Dave Dewoina, Sportsman Expert, came home |  | | The winning 650 Tribsa of Danny Davies. Note the BSA frame and transmission, Triumph engine, Bultaco wheels and forks. |
| first in class with two solid rides, and third in my unofficial overall results. Dave's mid 70's T140 750 Triumph Rickman was assembled at the Rickman factory and sold as an Enduro machine, complete with lights, big gas tank and a side stand. Doesn't seems to make it less of a MX bike now does it?
Bob Neilson, on a 650 Triumph, bagged the Premier Open Twin Novice win after a second moto and nearly last turn pass on Cliff McGaughey. Cliff was riding the only 65' Harley Sportster you may ever see as a MX bike. Look for a riding impression of Cliff's Harley some time soon on the Vintage Scene! Bob Neilson is also the guy who made the shirts that Cliff gave away to all the twin riders. Nice job, Bob!
|  | | The Rickman Metisse "Trail Bike" of first place Sportsman Open Expert Dave Dewoina." |
| Premier Open Twin Intermediate was won by the guy with the best looking twins on the track. Dave Janiec had to ride fast to keep the rocks and dirt roost from the other bikes from messing up his paint and polish work. This bike is a just superb eye candy for those fond of big twins. In second was Dan Beher on his very stock looking BSA A10, with Nelson Burrell on his Kawasaki pre-unit 650 twin, in third.
Sportsman Open Twin was totally dominated by Bill Fillion, with second going to Dan Wilson, both on Yamahas. Rich Moehring (Yam) and Rob Stickler, Triumph Metisse, were four and fifth. I think that maybe Rick Moehring could have challenged for second if that black Metisse road hog would have just gotten out of his way.
|  | | The AJS of Dave Janiec. Note the CZ wheels and forks and all that polished alloy. |
| "Bro" Leiker, on a very clean and nicely put together Yamaha 650, put in a good ride to win the Sportsman Open Twin Novice class. We will have a ride impression and maybe a little "how-to-build-it" information on Leiker's Yamaha in the near future too. Just to help out all you "want-to-be" twins racers on a tight budget. Wayne Rantz, Triumph mounted, put in two good ride to finish second to "Bro". Bob Neilson, finished third after winning the first moto, but fell early in the second go around. Bill Rianda finished fourth on a Triumph.
OK, there were other races too, for all those little bikes. I was really impressed at how well the "locals" were riding. Especially intense, or it seemed to me, was the battle between Graham Barber and Don Adams, both on Hondas in Sportsman 125 Expert, with Graham
|  | | Now, I wonder who this AJS 650 twin is ridden by. |
| getting two straight wins. Would appear that Morrill Griffith continues with his march to three National Championships, 250/500 Sportsman and Over 40 Expert. Rumor also has it that Bill Fillion is out chasing points in the Sportsman Open Twin Intermediate. Keep riding like you did at this race and you might bag that Championship...and maybe get moved to Expert too. Good luck to all.
Oh yea, I think it rained a little during the last couple of moto's. Not sure because I was checking out Janiec's bikes!
|  | | The Yamaha 650 of Rich Moehring is typical of Yamaha twins used in MX. However, unlike most others this bike is kitted to 750 and has two-into-one ex. pipes (ya got to look real close under the carb to see it). |
| Hopefully, AHRMA will have good coverage of all those "little bike" classes. Here are the final results lifted from the AHRMA web site. But hey they won't have a bunch of pictures like we do here at The Vintage Scene!
|  | | Jeff Smith (BSA) leading Duane Spence, on a Honda four stroke the +60 race. Don't you wish you could ride like this when your 64. |
| Final results AHRMA Speed and Sport MX National in Colorado Springs CO, Aztec Family Raceway on 29 July 1999.
Prem Twin--Exp: 1. Danny Davies, T-B (1,1); 2. David Wilson, Tri/AMC/Metisse (2,2);
Prem Twin--Int: 1. David Janiec, AJS (1,1); 2. Dan Beher, BSA (2,2); 3. Nelson Burrell, Kaw (3,3);
Prem Twin--Nov: 1. Bob Neilson, TRI (1,1); 2. Cliff McGaughey, H-D (2,2);
Sptmn Twin--Exp: 1. David Dewoina, RIC (1,1); 2. David Wilson, Tri/AMC/Metisse (2,2);
|  | | Don Adams chases Graham Barber in a heated battle for the Sportsman 125 Expert win. Both are on Hondas. |
| Sptmn Twin--Int: 1. Bill Fillion, YAM (1,1); 2. Daniel Wilson, YAM (2,2); 3. Rich Moehring, YAM (4,3); 4. Rob Stickler, RIC (5,4);
Sptmn Twin--Nov: 1. Gary Leiker, YAM (2,1); 2. Wayne Rantz, YAM (3,2); 3. Bob Neilson, TRI (1,4); 4. Bill Rianda, TRI (4,3);
+30--Exp: 1. Graham Barber, HON (1,1); 2. Don Adams, HON (2,2); 3. David Van Steele, HON (3,4); 4. James Smith, C-A (5,3); 5. Dan Johns, AJS (4,5);
|  | | Bruce Dalton, flattens his Tryan 125 on his way to second in Classic 125 Expert. |
| +30--Int: 1. Mark Simpson, YAM (1,1); 2. Stephen Linquist, YAM (2,2); 3. Dean Offen, CZ (3,3); 4. Jim McCulloch, HON (5,4); 5. Bruce Patrick, BUL (4,5); 6. Ross Meyer, BUL (7,6); 7. Marty Yorges, CZ (8,7);
+30--Nov: 1. Charles Moline, HON (1,1); 2. Jimmy Sutton, CZ (3,2); 3. James McLaughlin, HON (2,3); 4. Mark Ziliak, HUS (4,4); 5. Paul Jensen, HON (5,5); 6. Jason Pease, HON (6,6);
+40--Exp: 1. Morrill Griffith, YAM (1,1); 2. Van Hice, MAI (2,2) ; 3. Ed Flanigen Jr., CZ (3,3); 4. Bill Patton, MAI (4,4); 5. John Bertalan, HON (5,5); 6. Mike Griggs, BSA (6,8);
|  | | Husky vs. Husky. Classic 125 Novice winner Stan Newton chases Classic Intermediate winner Shawn Mayo. |
| +40--Int: 1. Wes Willis, HUS (2,3); 2. Alex Reid, BUL (5,1); 3. Preston Cooper, CZ (4,4); 4. Gary Graves, YAM (3,5); 5. Jim McCulloch, HON (11,2); 6. Evan Wilcox, MAI (10,6); 7. Bob Garner, PEN (12,10); 8. Bill Fillion, YAM (8,14); 9. John Bergener, HUS (16,7); 10. David Pierce, HUS (18,8); 11. Don Seidel, CZ (17,9); 12. Larry Speaks, MAI (15,11);
+40--Nov: 1. Russ Townsend, OSS (1,2); 2. Bill Stamey, CZ (3,1); 3. Lindell Weaver, HON (4,3); 4. Glenn Neal, HUS (2,6); 5. John Hernandez, MAI (5,4); 6. Dal Smilie, HON (6,5); 7. Roberta Ewart, HON (7,7);
|  | | Dan Johns (AJS) racing to a win in Classic 250 Expert. (OK he's on his big bore AJ in this picture) Dan is the only guy to win a Classic 250 Expert overall this year against Dave Boydstun's string of wins. |
| +50--Exp: 1. Hubert Betzen, PEN (1,3); 2. Claude McElvain, BSA (2,4); 3. Victor Barlish, MAI (7,1); 4. Rick Williams, CZ (6,2); 5. Danny Davies, T-B (3,5); 6. David Ranum, KAW (5,6);
+50--Int: 1. Wes Willis, HUS (1,1); 2. R. Glenn McMinn, MAI (3,2); 3. Roger Dowden, OSS (2,4); 4. Mark McDonald, MAI (4,5); 5. Randy Montgomery, CZ (7,3); 6. Daniel Dobson, MAI (10,6); 7. John Heir, OSS (9,7); 8. Scott Scarborough, PEN (6,10); 9. Bob Egan, RIC (13,8); 10. Len Gillette, CZ (8,13); 11. Dennis Peterson, MAI (15,9); 12. Kim Armstrong, MAI (11,14); 13. Bob Marchbanks, HON (12,15);
+50--Nov: 1. Robert Bowen, HON (1,1); 2. Dal Smilie, HON (2,2); 3. David Webster, (3,3); 4. Ike Winchell, BUL (4,4); 5. John Gulliford, RIC (5,5); 6. Charles Barr, HON (6,6);
+60--Exp: 1. Jeff Smith, BSA (1,1); 2. Duane Spence, HON (2,2); 3. Corky Root, BUL (3,3);
+60--Int: 1. Rich Moehring, HUS (1,1); 2. Bill Staley, CZ (3,2); 3. Doug Archibald, HUS (2,3);
+60--Nov: 1. David Dean, BSA (1,1); 2. Wayne Mount, BSA (2,2); 3. Jim Cameron, BSA (3,3);
Clsc 125--Exp: 1. Robert Borg, CZ (1,1); 2. Bruce Dalton, TYR (2,3);
Clsc 125--Int: 1. Stan Newton, HUS (1,1); 2. Andy Blackburn, CZ (2,3); 3. David Carriker, BUL (4,2);
Clsc 125--Nov: 1. Shawn Mayo, HUS (1,1); 2. Paul Jensen, HON (2,3); 3. Wayne Rantz, HON (3,4); 4. Darrel Boone, SAR (7,2); 5. Jason Pease, HON (4,5);
Clsc 250--Exp: 1. Dan Johns, AJS (1,2); 2. David Boydstun, HUS (4,1);
Clsc 250--Int: 1. Kerry Caraghar, CZ (1,1); 2. Harry Wynns, MON (2,2); 3. Don Baker, AJS (4,3); 4. Jerry Sibley, CZ (3,5); 5. Chris Makynen, BSA (5,4);
Clsc 250--Nov: 1. John Gulliford, OSS (1,1); 2. David Brown, HUS (2,2); 3. Jim Cameron, BSA (3,3);
Clsc 500--Exp: 1. David Boydstun, HUS (1,2); 2. James Smith, BSA (3,1); 3. Brad Kennard, BSA (4,3); 4. Dan Johns, AJS (5,4); 5. Claude McElvain, BSA (2,7);
Clsc 500--Int: 1. Rob Stickler, RIC (2,1);
Clsc 500--Nov: 1. Ike Winchell, MON (1,1); 2. David Dean, BSA (2,2); 3. Wayne Mount, BSA (4,3); 4. Tom Van Steele, BSA (3,6);
Prem 500--Exp: 1. David Dewoina, BSA (1,1); 2. Corky Root, BSA (2,3); 3. Terry Pratt, BSA (4,2); 4. Brad Kennard, BSA (3,4);
Prem 500--Int: 1. David Janiec, RIC (1,1); 2. Dennis Moore, BSA (2,2);
Prem Lwt--Exp: 1. Terry Pratt, BSA (1,1); 2. Brad Kennard, DUC (2,2);
Prem Lwt--Int: 1. Doug Shepherd, COT (1,1); 2. Dan Beher, DUC (2,2); 3. Dan Vitaletti, COT (3,3); 4. Nelson Burrell, BSA (4,4); 5. Daniel Wilson, DUC (6,5); 6. Chris Makynen, BSA (5,6);
Sptmn 125--Exp: 1. Graham Barber, HON (1,1); 2. Don Adams, HON (2,2); 3. Erik Griffith, HON (3,3); 4. Bill Nazelrod, HON (4,4); 5. James Smith, HON (5,5);
Sptmn 125--Int: 1. Tom Brunholtz, SUZ (1,1); 2. Mary Yorges, SUZ (2,2);
Sptmn 125--Nov: 1. Bill Huff, HON (3,1); 2. John Hernandez, HON (2,2); 3. Charles Barr, HON (4,3); 4. Robert Bowen, HON (3,4);
Sptmn 250--Exp: 1. Graham Barber, HON (1,1); 2. Morrill Griffith, YAM (2,2); 3. Erik Griffith, YAM (4,3); 4. Scott Ross, HON (3,4);
Sptmn 250--Int: 1. Tom Boyd, HUS (1,1); 2. Steven Linquist, YAM (3,2); 3. Gary Graves, YAM (2,3); 4. Steve Prinke, MAI (4,5); 5. Mike Hotchkiss, YAM (6,4); 6. Hal Nunn, YAM (8,6); 7. Bruce Patrick, BUL (5,9); 8. Ross Meyer, BUL (7,8); 9. Tom Rogers, HUS (10,7);
Sptmn 250--Nov: 1. James Wait, HON (2,1); 2. Shawn Mayo, HUS (1,2); 3. Jimmy Sutton, CZ (3,3); 4. Lindell Weaver, HON (6,4); 5. Tom Johnson, OSS (5,6); 6. Glenn Neal, HUS (9,5); 7. Marc Pape, MAI (10,7);
Sptmn 500--Exp: 1. Morrill Griffith, YAM (1,1); 2. Ed Flanigen Jr., CZ (4,2); 3. Van Hice, MAI (3,4); 4. Bill Patton, MAI (5,3);
Sptmn 500--Int: 1. Alex Reid, BUL (1,3); 2. Alfredo Rodil, CZ (3,2); 3. Stan Newton, HUS (2,4); 4. Preston Cooper, CZ (4,6); 5. Andy Blackburn, CZ (8,5); 6. Don Seidel, CZ (6,7); 7. Bob Garnew, PEN (5,9); 8. Tim Swanson, MAI (9,8); 9. Scott Scarborough, PEN (10,10); 10. David Pierce, HUS (11,11); 11. David Fetsch, HON (12,12);
Sptmn 500--Nov: 1. R. Glenn McMinn, MAI (1,1); 2. John Lewis, YAM (2,2); 3. James McLaughlin, HON (3,3); 4. Mark Ziliak, HUS (4,5); 5. J.T. Southern, MAI (6,4); 6. Bill Staley, CZ (5,6);
Women--Int: 1. Sandra Ross, HON (1,1);
Women--Nov: 1. Suzette Stamey, CZ (1,2); 2. Roberta Ewart, HON (3,1); 3. Kim Sutton, SUZ (2,3); 4. Linda Neilson, HON (4,5); 5. Robin Webster, BUL (7,4); | |
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