Vintage Dirt Racing on a 350 Honda Twin

[oregoncoast]

Some more great pictures from LoudAl

Start of second heat:



And here was where I got lucky and passed LC:









And some more:

[Loud Al]

Some more

Making it fly









Close Racing


















Happy Racers

[LC Garage]

Thanks Al, great photos, thank you for sharing these and also the support from you and the other ADV Riders!

Originally Posted by Loud Al

Some more

Making it fly









Close Racing


















Happy Racers

[LC Garage]

Time to start planning for the next race, the Vintage Nationals at The Farm in Chehalis on August 14th. Here is a link;

http://www.100megsfree3.com/ahrmanw/aaMX_ChehalisWA.htm

Lots of work to do on the old bike as well as the old body, no excuses, gotta work out more if I want to keep up with that young whippersnapper OC (Paul)!!!

[Ladybug0048]

I plan to be there. Watching the vintage bikes and riders will be a good time.

[Loud Al]

Originally Posted by Ladybug0048

I plan to be there. Watching the vintage bikes and riders will be a good time.

Well that is a nice way of calling them old

[LC Garage]

Those of you who have been following along have heard me mention my friend Brian at Wide Open Motorsports and how much he has helped with this (and other) projects. As I have gotten to know a few of you, it occurs to me that some of you appreciate how much friendships mean and might enjoy the story on how Brian and I came to know each other and become life long friends.

When I was 27 and no longer racing in any way (I had flat tracked from age 18 to 25 and was pretty burned out) a group of young men that were trying to build a race track at the local fair grounds approached me and asked if I would help them. They needed assistance working with the local fair board and were having trouble making any headway. I decided to get involved and before you know it was working with the fair board and then actually building a race track (it is still there in St Helens, except it is car only track now).

During the race track bulding process, a man walked up to me and said "I've been watching you for a few days and have a son who is ten years old and really wants to learn about racing. I want you to take him under your wing and teach him." After a moment of surprise, I decided I wanted to meet this young man, so told the dad to bring him over. He went and got his son, I asked him a few questions, mainly would he do as he was told and work hard. He gave all the right answers so I told his dad we would give it a try and see what happened.

As it turned out, not only was Brian a good worker, but also a dedicated young racer who had good success for many years and eventually came to ride quads at a fairly high level, appearing on televison as the captain of the Seattle team when the quads would battle during intermissions of the monster truck events. It was all just a show but his riding talents were (and are) for real.

So back to 1981, when the flat track season ended, my enthusiasm for riding had returned and once again began riding but vowed to only do it if it was "fun". We would take Brian with us trail riding and to some of the grand prixs and mx races we competed in. 30 years later, Brian is a devoted family man, a great husband and father who works a day job and then spends most everynight in his garage building motors and repairing motorcycles and quads. We have worked together in our regular work careers, raced an open wheeled modifed as a team and even go fishing when time allows. He is a great friend and I am proud to know him.

Wide Open Motorsports

[Ladybug0048]

That's a great story, Rick.

[never2old4fun]

It's nice to see someone taking those bikes out to do battle.
I'll have to see if I can dig up some of the pictures of the my 350 SL. In the mid 1970's I ran TT scrambles and flattrack with it and had a blast.

[LC Garage]

we would love to see your pictures!

Originally Posted by never2old4fun

It's nice to see someone taking those bikes out to do battle.
I'll have to see if I can dig up some of the pictures of the my 350 SL. In the mid 1970's I ran TT scrambles and flattrack with it and had a blast.

[LC Garage]

This weekend I picked up a parts bike that has several good pieces that will help upgrade the old twin before Chehalis. This bike was last raced several years ago and I'm told blew the transmission. One interesting twist; this bike is said to have my original powroll 400 kit! When I went to pick the bike up, the prior owner was there and he said that he had bought the motor from the guy who had my bike for all those years. The SL350 community is small and everyone seems to have some information or a bit of history to add to each of these machines, it keeps it interesting.

The rear shocks are Works Performance and will be a big upgrade from my bargain basement SW's, the low swept exhaust and smooth side panels will help slim the bike and lower the center of gravity and the TT500 rear wheel will reduce unsprung weight and give more sprocket options. It even has the same Elsinore forks and front wheel I was already running so will provide some spares. Over the winter I'll tear down the motor and if the 400 kit is in decent shape will add that as well for next year.

Here are a few pics of the new parts bike;


right front view


left front view


rear; exhaust, shock, rear wheel


elsinore front end

[oregoncoast]

score!!

Lots of great stuff there!!

[LC Garage]

OC, haven't heard back from the AHRMA rep yet, but reading thru the rule book this weekend makes me believe your rear shocks will be legal..........

Originally Posted by oregoncoast

score!!

Lots of great stuff there!!

[never2old4fun]

Originally Posted by LC Garage

we would love to see your pictures!

So I've tried to put up the pictures I have, but a message came up about some type security issue.
Hope to get them up as soon as I figure it out.

[never2old4fun]

OK, lets try this again. Remember these are 35 year old Polaroid Pictures my Dad took so the quality may that great.