AHRMA qualifier

[Dale Sonnenschein]

Anyone here coming to new York for the 2 day? I'll be there, but not on a penton. It was a blast last year.

75 husky wr250
73 Husky 360 WR/RT
76 Husky WR360
78 husky cr250
82 husky wr430
10 ktm 250xc
02 bmw r1150r

[tooclose racing]

All in, Dale.  It's an awesome event, just need to figure out when to  refuel on Day One. I had to push to the final grass track lap with my MX-tanked Jackpiner!

[Richard Colahan]

Gee...maybe I'll enter the 125 WR in the 200 Int class and hope Bob runs out of gas again this year!
I'm planning on being there...have heard nothing but good things about this event.

Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA

[wfopete]

I think AHRMA dumped the Qual. series this year due to Michigan cancelling so is NY just a stand alone event?

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[Dale Sonnenschein]

I looked on AHRMA and it says since Michigan was canceled there will be no six day series. I guess it will only count as part of the CC series.


75 husky wr250
73 Husky 360 WR/RT
76 Husky WR360
78 husky cr250
82 husky wr430
10 ktm 250xc
02 bmw r1150r

[fastwillie8568]

I will be there on a 1973 Jackpiner W13  Fastwillie

[skiracer]

I'll be there Friday afternoon!

1976 MC 5 Original Owner
1982 Suzuki PE 175
1976 Penton 175 XC
1985 20' Hi Point trailer

[skiracer]

Well, it was a perfect weekend for the event.  The turnout was decent, should have been more riders for such a great event.  Once again, Fred Housse showed the way.  He is an amazing rider.  Dale Sonnenschein was also running some very fast times throughout the weekend being pushed by Dan Gavin most of the weekend. I had a fun time with mixed riding experiences with my XC 175.  Saturday was 32 miles, and I struggled with 31.5 of them.  I just couldn't get going; rode very flat, without much excitement.  Sunday was 9.7 miles in the woods and the final test on a grass track.  I rode the woods section very well, stayed on time.  It felt good to have a good ride.  The grass track went well too.  Pulled the hole shot against big bore IT's and Husky's.  Rode the four laps like I meant it, and won my moto with about a 10 second lead.  It was a good finish for the weekend.  Finished on Gold both days....  The bike ran awesome, couldn't be happier with it.  A big thanks to everyone that chimed in to help with my jetting issue....  problems solved!

1976 MC 5 Original Owner
1982 Suzuki PE 175
1976 Penton 175 XC
1985 20' Hi Point trailer

[tooclose racing]

Oh come on - you beat me for first in the MX by 10 seconds?!? The humiliation.[:I]  Well I least I passed the 75 yr old gentleman from Arkansas on the Honda XR on the next to last lap. Or was he 80 yrs old?

What a great, technical, challenging event.  Again! We got some rain (in a very dry upstate NY) before the event on Saturday and I had a half dozen near-misses "surfing" slick roots and banging the trees on Saturday. I too struggled with rhythm that day (it's relative though, folks - James is FAST).  Sunday, we re-ran trail that was much drier (even dusty) and it was like riding a completely different route - at least in terms of confidence level.

They shortened things a bit this year, particularly Day 2 - which was due to some volunteers becoming unavailable to help with timing and checks.  All good. And the motocross track was a lot of fun, kinda like The Mazerunner with as tall as the grass was.  Every corner was blinder than blind in terms of exit.

I agree with James about turnout - it's just a shame we cannot attract more riders to this show.  I'm told that a lot of routing is much tougher than some of the Reunion rides but I guess I'll have to get to one and find out.  Hey wait - NEXT YEAR'S  RR is going to be at Bear Creek, Hancock NY, the former WEC site! That ain't gonna be no walk in the park. I'll be there!

Great to see James and Dale, Fred H, Lew Mayer, our local NE and MA fast guys, and gotta give a big nod to the always friendly, very fast Drew Smith also.  Actually, over half this field was pretty darn fast, and I have the tire tracks on my back to prove it.

BTW - Fred Hoess indicated that he is going to race the (shorter?) Vintage event at the ISDE this year.  A lot of unknowns according to Mr. Hoess, but because of the rules, he's probably going to prep and race an 86 water-cooled Husky vs. the White Lightning '83 250 he brings to our events.  GO FRED HOESS!

[Richard Colahan]

This was my first trip up to ride the King Ferry event...just didn't give it much thought last year...although only a few hours away.

Based on the number of entries perhaps I'm not alone...

This is a great event...apparently very much unappreciated...and also perhaps under promoted. I'm not convinced enough folks know just how good this is.
Could it also be mis-understood based on it's "Qualifier" title? I've talked with more then one potential entrant that dismissed it because they didn't know what a "Qualifier" is.
I's not complicated: it's basically a closed course Start Control enduro. No secret checks, no timekeeping, no tags needed.

Simply put: If you enjoy riding a Vintage or Post-vintage bike on great trails...with no stoppers...no ignorant stick farms...no un-climbable hills...then this is the event for you.

And it finishes up with a great 4 lap race...divided up by classes...on a really fun grass track. Yes...even when there's a bit of dust!

In just the past 2 weeks...there have been 2 AHRMA events that must go on any Vintage dirt bike fan's calendar for next year:
> The Vintage Enduro at McKee's in WVA
> The King Ferry NY "Qualifier"

We have these bikes to ride them...these are the events you don't want to miss!



Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA

[t20sl]

My opinion is the summer Jun / July / Aug months are just to hot for a lot of riders.  I personally hate riding in the heat.  The Midwest is so nice in the fall, especially late Sept and Oct.  Wish the clubs took advantage of the cooler months more.
In Ohio back in the day almost all enduros were between Feb and Memorial Day and then Labor Day and mid November.  After all enduros used to be called "mud runs".
Ted Atkinson

[wfopete]

Ummm.  What are "ignorant stick farms"?

Coming from Arkansas I agree about the summer heat but I see big humidity and temps in the mid to high 90s.  So northern states in the summer are a relief too me.  Last year I rode the Michigan event and was looking forward to cool temps.  Guess what? The temps were in the 90's but I still had big fun. Yes it is "Nicer" in the autumn.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[Richard Colahan]

Ignorant stick farms??
Sorry...some ECEA slang for woods so tight you just about have to come to a full stop to weave your bars between them.

Unless your last name is Lafferty!

And I agree about high summer heat being a potential drawback to some events.

For example: The weather forecast for Philadelphia during the McKee's weekend was 98 degrees. But in WVA at 2500' it was a pleasant low 80's.
NY this past weekend was warm...but not oppressive.

So...when it comes to the weather...we take what we get...

Richard Colahan
1969 V1225
Upper Black Eddy PA

[tooclose racing]

Summer vs. Fall - for whatever reason(s) this year, we are actually going to have a pretty full Fall XC schedule in NE AHRMA, with races at Hancock (Bear Creek), Cortland (Logan's Farm/Husky Gathering), and Lamoka, NY.

The best of both worlds.  

It WAS warm at King Ferry, but we actually dodged the HOT bullet.  That showed up about mid-week after the event!  Still - glad I brought my pop-up, and so were a few others.  Beer here! They come like flies to a zapper.