My love of the dirt started many moons ago, when as a kid I got my
first taste of trail riding on a cousin's Honda Trail 70. The one with the handlebars
squashed together at the top, sporting the fat tires. Honda built a tough monkey when they introduced those bikes. We knew
nothing of preventive maintenance....just lift the seat...fill the tank...and bolt. Though the bike had minimal
suspension, we showed it no mercy...but it never let us down, at least not
mechanically. I will attest to it being a fully functioning scab making machine.
I distinctly remember it laughing each time we took soil samples. An evil yet
fun bike. Every kid should experience one.
Eventually, through the grace of my parents, I was introduced
to the Yamaha YZ80. A pre-plastic tank beast that acquanted me with a clutch, more soil samples, and
larger scabs. Excellent fun. A boy and his YZ. We were inseparable. Especially the time I was wearing shorts
and the exhaust pipe stuck to my leg. It's amazing how fast you work to get a bike off of your leg after laying
it down in a turn. I can still remember the smaller kid across the way laughing at my predicament, as
I struggled in the dirt. I am not one to hold a grudge after sooo many years, but if your reading this....
and you know who you are....WATCH YOUR BACK!!!
The YZ was like an addiction. Most of my spare time after school-work
was finished, was spent riding that bike. The situation was enhanced to the max
when the cousin with the Trail 70, gave it up for a YZ of his own. And though
his bike had the plastic tank, looked more modern, and ran faster than mine....I somehow looked past my jealousy, and we
ripped it up every chance we had.
I know this is boring
to anyone but myself....so I will try to speed things up a bit. The YZ gave way to
an old XL125, which in turn gave way to a Yamaha Enduro 175. Somewhere in between
those two, I did a bit of swapping with a friend, and acquired a 1967 Honda Scrambler.
The XL ran poorly...valves I think, and I swapped it off fairly quick. The Scrambler
ran like a scalded dog. A bit scary actually. Of course we never ran it on the street,
and it was a beast to handle in the dirt. The Enduro 175 and I had an agreement, I would
make the stupid moves, and it would in turn introduce me to members of the tree family.
Dirtbikes are an awesome way to become one with nature.
1967 Scrambler - This was stupid without a helmet.
it was one of those times when your only gonna ride for a minute. Dumb way of thinking. Don't do it.
John and I attempting to prolong
the life of our wheel bearings at a local sand pit. I'm on the 79 Enduro, while he rides
a Honda 250R three wheeler. Talk about dating myself.
Of course....as with any addiction, you
always crave the harder stuff (at least thats what they say on TV). So I went out
and purchased a Honda CR250. I loved this bike, we went steady for a time. Finally
married....and built a small cottage in the mountains. Well, not really, but it was
a great bike. This is the bike that talked me into getting a taste of motocross. For
those of you that don't know what motocross tastes like, it tastes like minerals,
gritty sandy minerals. Especially if you spend most of your time near the back of the
pack. At any rate, I can attest for how grueling a race can be on an individual,
especially a person that has not taken the time to jog, weight train, or perform
any other form of excercise designed to enhance endurance. It matters not how well
you perform technically, if by the 3rd lap your foaming at the mouth and the muscle in
your clutch hand has bailed two laps back. Regardless, the CR250 was a great bike, and
the years we had together were great ones.
Many years have gone by now, and as
always things change. I became married to a fantastic lady that I dearly love, and together
we constructed (rated G) a fantastic little girl, who fortunately received most of her
genes from her mother. Though priorities change, and the past several years have been
void of dirtbikes, (though there was this short stint with a Kawasaki GPZ, It meant nothing
really, we never even went in the woods) I have finally managed to acquire a winter project
that will, if all goes as planned, put me back in touch with nature again. I have found the
spark. Now if I can find some cotton, or other dry tender, maybe the flame will return.
I shall try to post the results as they occur to this site. There may be lulls in activity,
but things will change as my job affords the time to me.
This was taken about...18 YEARS AGO!!!!! DANG!