Carl Cranke Dirt Bike March 1976

[Mick Milakovic]

My brother Tom gave me all his old Dirt Bike mags from the 70's.  One of them had Carl on a 125 Penton and an article about that year's Baja 1000.  Pretty Cool:



Mick

[tooclose racing]

So...is it just slightly strange that Carl is on a 1974.5 (maybe 1975) Berkshire 100 and it's a Spring 1976 DB cover?  Granted - he looks good, the bike looks good...but come on, shouldn't he airborne on an MC5?

[Richard Colahan]

Pop Quiz:
How many of you can recall the significance of the article (on the cover) titled "Six Days of Almost Seeing The Queen".
What original DB Mag article is this title based on?


Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA

[JP Morgen]

In the photo, Carl is riding a rare bike, a KTM engined 125 with "short" travel, rather than a MC5 variant like the first '76 models sold in the states. I know they sold that version in Europe.

[tooclose racing]

So - it is the "little" KTM engine in basically the Penton enduro frame circa 75-76? Fascinating. Looked like Sachs cases but upon closer inspection....

Thanks Mr. Morgen.  That must be a rare bird...as in...were there actually any of these sold as Pentons (or west coast KTMs) in 1976?

[Mike OReilly]

re: "Six Day of almost seeing..."
It all started in Massachussetts in 1973 with the rumours of Steve McQueen being in Dalton. I guess there were all kinds of folks running around who "almost" saw McQueen - hence the title.
The folks at Dirt Bike continued the gambit in the following years.
So the next year was Italy? I do remember the headline for that one was "Six Days of almost seeing Giovanni Batista Montini". (Funny how stuff like that sticks in your brain).
The skill testing question is, who was Montini? The clue is, why would you see him in Italy.

[Richard Colahan]

Mike...you got it ALMOST 100% correct!
Your prize is a used 10 tooth countershaft sprocket...

DB's feature article, written by then editor Chet Heyberger, about the 1973 ISDT was just a bit too focused about Steve McQueen's potential siteings...
And many of the Six Day riders and fans were not at all pleased that the #1 dirt bike magazine of the time period failed to take the event seriously. Word is many let Mr. Heyberger know that in no uncertain terms.
In a subsequent editorial he issued an apology.

And I have no idea who Montini was!

Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA

[Mike OReilly]

Montini was the Pope at the time.
Heyberger couldn't have been that apologetic, because the kept the gag running for the 3 years: McQueen, then the Pope, and finally, "Six Days of Almost Seeing the Queen".
On a side note, I mentioned before: W A N K E L, with an "R" instead of "L" on the end is British slang. Apparently quite offensive. Which is why the spell check rejects the word.
Mike

[Mick Milakovic]

Mick