E.C. Burt

[firstturn]

Just got notice that an old Friend passed away yesterday.  Thought some of you may appreciate this notice.

Legends may die but glory lives forever...
 Due to recent health problems and surgery E.C. Birt, the builder, the racer, the husband the father, the mentor, the wizard, the friend and much more has moved on to glory March 7, 2012.
 I've been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be taught a great man and father figure. Since I was 10 years old I've always been, in E.C. words, that "tick turd kid" that hung around bugging him to learn how to make things faster. While I took over the business in 2004, E.C. has always been a huge part of how things run and progress over the years. This has always been a team effort and today we lose the heart of that team. I pray that everyone would offer a prayer for the Birt family. He leaves behind a wife, three sons and many grandchildren.
 E.C. Distributing, the business built with his own hands will always be a testimony to his hard work and dedication to the sport of racing, from motocross to karting, coast to coast and around the world, for the last 50 years and beyond.    -Carroll Ford

"Cut my finger this morning and it still smells like Blendzall.."    -E.C. Birt

"O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; and upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God."   –Psalms 43:3-4
I will keep everyone up to date on funeral arrangements and time. God bless and peace to all.


Ron Carbaugh

[sixdazed]

Thanks for posting Ron-we've lost another one of the greats.


p.s.-great to see firstturn post again-miss ya Brother!

[hankthecrank]

Thanks for the info Ron. Some folks , like E.C, are so unique in thier way they will never be replaced. We are praying for this man and his family. Hank

Hank Rinehart

[desmond197]

Rest in Peace Kind of one of my heros.

[tomale]

Ron, thanks for posting. I did not know the man but I know you loved him and that is enough. We are praying. Glad to hear you are still on the top side of the dirt, I was beginning to wonder.Good to hear from you.
most people will never succeed because they are too afraid to fail. I am not sure but some one wiser than me said that, May we all live up to our potential, like E.C. surely did. May God's Peace cover their home.

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)
74'250 hare scrambler (project)
74' 1/2 440 maico
78' 440 maico
72' cr125 Husky (project)
93' RMx 250 suzuki

[Lloyd Boland]

Gods speed E.C.  I first met EC in 1972-3 when he built the most power 400CZ I ever rode.  It was as fast as any factory bike, and I actually pulled Billy Payne's Maico (which I think EC also built) and a factoy Kawasaki on the start on the International track at Indian Dunes.  Too bad I wasn't that good of a rider.  Never had a bike that powerful since.  For the past year I have had numerous conversations with EC and he was mentoring me in trying to duplicate that CZ with one of the 400s I now have.  Just a couple of months ago I got it together and needless to say, it is much faster than what I started with, but still did not compare to the one EC built.  EC, you were one of a kind and I will miss our talks.  Our prayers are with you and your family.
Lloyd

[firstturn]

I had some questions from some people wanting to know more about EC.  Here is a nice write up you may enjoy.

E.C. Birt
Who in the hell is E.C. Birt?
Well I'm the 1st born son of an honest to God cowboy in Panhandle of Oklahoma in 1939 that punched cows for $20.00 a month plus house and board... My mother was the cook for 15 plus other hired hands... He was a Bronco Rider and got paid $10.00 a horse to get them ready for others to be able to ride as workhorses on the side... Because of his size his nickname was Shorty... Don't think I called him Daddy or Father more then 15 times in my life... He was my buddy and I always called him Shorty... He couldn't read nor write, sign his name was about as good as it got for him... He never got to go to school, being the 9th one to come along in a family 0f 12 his parents went to a better life at his age of 9... Passed from brother to sister, till he was 15 and went out on his own... Kind of funny now as it comes to me, at the age of 23 he married my Mother, daughter of the Rancher he was working for... They stayed together till the end and at 75 went on to the big shy... With my life style I thought my Mom would out last me... She passed on at 94 years young still cooking her own meals...
When I was in the 5th grade I fallowed his footsteps and he had a custom built saddle built for me and I broke Shelton Pony's for $5.00 for another rancher to get them ready for sale for Kid's to ride... Yes I was always small in size... As I got older I rode 1/4 horses for Rancher's on the weekend jockeying brush meets and they would bet a wad of $20.00's big enough to choke a Mule on their horse... I got paid $5.00 to ride $10.00 if I won plus tip's if they had had enough suds and Jack Daniels... Some weekends I made more $$$$'s in a day then my Daddy did in a month.
We moved to Colorado by the time I was in the 8th grade... By the time I was 15 my interest had turned to cars, and hot rods because I knew they would go faster... Horses and a Ranch Life just weren't for me any more... Still to small to do heavy work I turned my way to building Hot Rods and Shooting pool for $$'s to get thru high school.
With High School over with in 1958 like a lot of young guys at that time I didn't have a clue on what to do with my life... So like Hunky I joined the Navy... Problem was I only weighed 98 lbs... You had to hit the scales at 105 (didn't know that) to make it when I hit the induction center. They sent me back home and said see you in a week for another try. Old 1st class Sailor said eat lots of Bananas before you get back to us... Stuffing myself for a week and a bunch of Bananas the size of a basketball that morning and back to the Navy induction center I hit the scales at 106 lbs... Only problem with the Navy idea was with that I got hurt badly in boot camp... Which led to Hospital Time and let us cut on your knee and fix it, or take a medical discharge... I had already seen to many guy's coming out of the Hospital with a stiff leg... No brainier here, give me the paper work and I'm gone... I walked into here and will walk back out...
I went back to which I knew was bolts and nuts and working in garages and building Hot Rods for fun and living $$'s...
The time had come where in no place USA Colorado, and 1st Wife Connie, and yes she was a farm hands daughter... It was 1962 and there was no challenge left for me there... The word then was if you think your fast go to California...
Ok, loaded up my toolbox, wife and left not looking back... Wound up In Southern Calif., El Segundo 1st stop on the Beach... Did the car thing for the next 4 years...
Some of the guy's in the shop had Motorcycles and asked me to go with them for a Weekend in the Desert and ride with them... Needles to say the first ride on a Dirt Bike I was hooked for this New Action... As soon as I got back to Venice's where I lived then I went shopping for a Dirt Bike...
This led to a new 1965 250cc Greevs Scrambler which after 6 weeks of riding and getting thrown on the ground 18 zillion times I come to realized that at 110 lbs. I just wasn't man enough to handle it... Sold the Greevs and bought A Hodaka Ace 90...
It was bad slow... So I took it to a local dealer and told them to make it faster... Didn't care what the cost, was just do it... After 3 weeks wait time picked it up and went to the desert with it and soon knew it was slower then what it was when I took it to them...
Got the bike home and set and looked at it for hours. Thinking real hard to just sell and go back to what I knew with Racecars... But knew I had more fun with the Motorcycles then anything in my back go for it type of life style...
What the hell only three moving parts in this engine... I said self; I know I can make it faster... So I studied all the 2/cycle information I could get my hands on... Ever page I read I could poke holes in what they were saying and said there has to be a better way... So I took what I knew about carburetion, duration, head port design, exhaust, and all the things that it took to make a V8 faster... Got out my degree wheel and porting tools and went to work...
God gives us all a Talent, I just got lucky to be given a brain that thought like a engine and along with that the hands to make what ever it told me to do to get business done...
So here we are in the mid 60's and building small bikes was my thing to do... The Desert was my Dyno and Testing Grounds with the Hodakas... My wife Connie was still putting up with me and was always with me... A bad day in the Desert or on the Moto Cross Track eating my shorts she would haul me into the Hospital... Here it is yr. 2010 and she is still putting up with me...
1966 I bought a house in Lawndale, and was building motorcycles in my garage at night... Still doing the car thing to pay bills...
The garage thing lasted for a couple of years... In 1968 I think it was I opened my first Shop called Precision Cycle in Englewood... By then I had started making a mark in the Motorcycle Racing World with Hodaka 90 and 100cc Bikes, Zundapps 100cc and 125cc, American Eagles powered with Zundapps 125cc engines and Maico 125cc to 501cc Ground Killers... Soon I out grew that small shop and moved to a larger building in Lawndale about 8 blocks from my house... The bigger shop led to more development time and I started building all the pipes for Pabatco the Hodaka Importer and working with the R&D Department... Next on the list was working with Copper Motors the Maico Importer and Team Bikes... It came to a point when we showed up with the Maico's they got dubbed as the E.C. Wrecking Crew... From there it went to Steens Motorcycle shop out in the Valley working with development of their line of bikes... This led to the Rickman thing with Hodaka Powered Bikes and 125cc Bikes with Zundapps in them... Along with those top of the Line Bikes of that time DKW with the Sachs engines become part of the group...
From here it lead to me working with Rick Sieman on Dirt Bike Mag Project Bikes and doing some writing for Motocross Action, Cycle News and Mini Cycle Action... To say it like it was I had worked myself into 7 days a week 12 to 14 hour days Making Racing Faster and Better for all Racers...
In 1974 I moved my operation to Florida and set up as E.C. Distributing... The reason for the move was the Desert was being taken away from the Desert Riders... Saddle Back Park and Indian Dunes had changed from the first time I had put a wheel on them... Along with the point thatVietnam War was over with and Southern Calif. was changing from something I loved to Death to not so neat a place to me...
In Florida up and going WFO I designed the 100cc Reed and 125cc Reed Hondas for Motocross usage and was shipping built E.C. Racers all over the United States... Maico was still my choice of Big Bikes and had a team of them also...
But after awhile the sand and bugs got the best of me and pulling out of West Palm Beach Fla. Was a all day drive to just get out of Florida... Faced with more tow to get to Races from Texas to Canada I moved one more time to Dickson Tennessee in 1977, just one howler away from Nashville... This was God's Country and had gone thru it on my way up North for a race... Now I was in the middle of the Racing World and 8 to 12 hours from any Race coming due any where North' South, East or West...
In the mid 80's due to the changing in Motorcycle Racing and just looking for another War to fight I got into Karting... From there that led me to develop of racing Carburetors for Karting... Made a deal with Tillotson LTD in Ireland to take over the development and importing my designs and sending them World Wide... In a very short time from now a dream of mine comes true there will be an All-New E.C. Intimidator Line of Carburetors for Racing... These carbs will all be built and made in house with the Teknowledge of CNC Machines and 10 Axis Hands of the Best Craftsman in the World... Here's the web address for the shop and a peak...//www.ecbirt.com ... We have our own Asphalt Mini Talladega track with a Dirt track in the middle of it for testing usage just off to the side of the shop... Sorry for no pictures of the inside of the shop... That's off limits for photo work, but if your on your way though Memphis to Nashville or going the other way, were out in Redneck Land and just off Interstate I-40... Stop in and we will give you a privet walk thru... Nothing we enjoy more then have Racers stop by for a visit... Yes if you're driving an 18-Wheeler or a Motel Cheater we have plenty of room to park you...
Cut my finger this morning and it still smells like Blendzall... 2/stroke engines was my love life in Motorcycle Racing and with all that I have done with 2/stroke engines of all kinds over the last 45 years I think I can be of a help to you with those little and big things everyone thinks is a Speed Secret. You will have to learn my way of typing, spelling and phrasing of words an the usage of capitals on a lot of my words... In Short I Read, Write and Speak Red Neck Fluently... For my friends that don't read fast I type slowly...
You have nothing to lose, trash my email box [email protected] ... I'm sure I can help put more fun and pleasure into your Motorcycle Needs... I'm here for the Long Haul...

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Ron Carbaugh

[Mick Milakovic]

Thanks Ron, for that great story, and BTW, welcome back

Mick

[Lloyd Boland]

I think Donny Emler, owner of FMF actually got his start at Precision Cycle with EC.  I have heard a variety of different stories about many of the early guys being taught by the "Wizard".

[ALB]

Ron,
Thank you for sharing the story about E.C. Burt. I have seen and heard of his name through the years but never knew about his background. Another "great one" is gone.

Alan Buehner

[tomale]

Thanks Ron, that was an awesome story.  I am sorry I never knew the man, my lose.

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)
74'250 hare scrambler (project)
74' 1/2 440 maico
78' 440 maico
72' cr125 Husky (project)
93' RMx 250 suzuki

[firstturn]

Lloyd,
  Here is a story that will answer your question on the relationship of Donny Elmer and EC Burt.  I hope you enjoy it!


Husky Hooker Headers Mystery
by Robert Haag #74Y


I rode Huskys for a few years in the early '70's and got a lot of help with bikes and parts, and a little training with Rolf Tibblin. Husky West also gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and let me tag along with the Team on the summer Inner Am series in '72 though I was only 15 and could only ride a few Sat support races.

Happened to see an add for Hooker Headers expansion chambers from '72 in Cycle Guide as I was going through a box of old magazines, and I finally resolved a puzzle over 35 years old now.

To lay the groundwork, my dad Dave was really into the racing and a great supporter with no pressure but a lot of enthusiasm. He was involved in an accessories company called Pacer, making hop up accessories for early Yamaha Dt'1s, At'1s, and Ct'1s. Also involved were the Jones Family as they were developing the YZ prototypes. I was just a shy quiet squid and couldn't really appreciate Gary's work ethic and speed, as no one could have lived up to the European heroes of the time, but I loved hanging around Don, Gary and Dewayne with all their tall tailed bench racing stories and down home sense of humor. It was really a gift knowing the Jones and through them we met a lot of influential people in the exploding MX scene. A friend of the Jones, Gary Bryson was involved in Pacer and introduced us to the legend '50's Dirt tracker Everett Brashear who was running Husky West, and was instrumental in my later getting Husky's support.

We also had gotten to know Donny Emler who was working for EC Birt at Precision Cycle in Torrance, before Don started the Flying Machine Factory (FMF was named after his favorite movie Those Magnificent Men And Their Flying Machines). Speaking of squids, Don was a cozy longhaired kid, sleeping on our couch for a few months. He was even a later sleeper than me and I still wonder where he found the work ethic to take FMF so far, many years later. We had Don modify my first expert class bike, an American Eagle with a Zundapp motor 125, including porting, milling the head, jetting the larger Bing, and modifying a Suzuki Pipe. Later he did my brand new '72 New Generation 250, the first Husky I rode. We added a Hooker Header pipe, as they were right down the street from Pacer in Ontario, Ca. That bike was fast and smooth with a broad power band and good top end.

So as a shy and quiet, laid back So Cal kid, who only really woke up around motorcycles, they arranged it that I got to travel with the Husky team for the summer Inner Am series in '72! Arne Kring, Torleif Hanson, Gunnar Lindstrom, Bob Grossi, Gary Semics, Bill Clements, and Jim West were the Husky riders for the series. Kenth Ohlin was along as the main mechanic, with Clement's buddy JoJo and I helping out too. Later in the series as it moved back East, Dick Burleson who was working at the Ohio distributor played a big part too.

The first race in Boise Idaho, on a very demanding and steep hilled sand track, was ridden on all new, just uncrated, box stock, big case, New Generation, 250's. I don't think they'd even been started or broken in. It was both inspiring and heartbreaking too, to see them wearing themselves out against the factory Yamahas of Torsten Hallman, Hakan Anderson, Arne Lindfors, the Jones, Jimmy Weinert, and the prototype KX of Brad Lackey, but they still did OK. Up until recent seasons, they'd been able to win on stock bikes, but as we all know, the times were changing so fast.

The second race in Washington was not much different, though Torleif seemed inspired and got 2nd I think. It was hot and he looked red enough to faint after the motos. But for the 3rd race, the first ever stadium race in the LA Coliseum, they were really motivated to get the bikes competitive. So this is where the mystery really begins.

I had ridden the first Saturday support race at Boise, and after hearing how fast my bike was from Kenth Ohlin, who generously had taken me to the race, Torleif came out to my 2nd race at Washington, Spokane I think, to watch and check it out. After my race, he rode my bike and raved about how it ran. So Everett Brashear called my Dad and they set it up to get Emler, still sleeping on the couch, with my brother Steve's help, to port 6 new cylinders in the week just before and in time for the Superbowl (don't we all know the perils of major mods the week before a big important race). They were also getting the heads milled, and Kenth would be building the pipes from stamped pieces Hooker had supplied. I don't know why the pipes came only as parts. I believe mine came already built. I guess they were in early production, as I think Hookers were the first ever stamped accessory pipes made. They also put on the small, but still steel 125 tanks that had been specially painted red, mounted those cool gray vacu-formed early Hallman plastic fenders, and everyone was excited and hopeful that now they'd be competitive.

With a hell of a lot of work and scrambling in one week, all the bikes were ready. They looked great and pretty trick before practice. Unfortunately they had had no time to test the bikes. Again I don't think they had even been started! Hard to imagine by today's standards. No testing and no practice during the weeks between races. A lot of fun traveling, and swimming back at the motels though, as Torleif was known to be wild and crazy in his early 20's.

Getting to, set up at, and looking around at the first ever Superbowl definitely lived up to all the hype, and everyone had high expectations. Frustratingly though, after only a few laps of practice all the guys came in one by one and complained that the bikes were really pipey screamers. It was too late to change anything, so they were sent back out and just had to try to get used to them, give it their best, and see what they could do.

As the night sensationally went on, Torleif who said he liked pipey bikes, got great starts and would have beaten Marty Tripes for the win, if his still stock Girling shock had not broken and come apart in the 3rd moto (remember the good old days of 3 motos). The rest of Team Husky did pretty crappy as I remember and were very frustrated with the motor mods and results.

They never did have, or take the time to figure out why the bikes were so peaky. The American guys went back to mostly stock engines, and Torleif's works prototype small case Mag arrived from Sweden for the last 3 of the 6 races (yes he did let me ride it at the Pentons practice track in Ohio!). They started experimenting with Eyevind Boyeson's reed cylinders, and I don't know where those early Emler cylinders ended up. I later heard they took one back to Sweden for testing but never got it running right. They theorized the European air was different which sounded like a bunch of hooey to me.

This little known mystery was resolved only recently by seeing the ad for Hooker Headers in the old magazine. While looking closely at Torleif and his bike, and of course nostalgically imagining all the what-ifs, I noticed that the pipe was obviously a 125 pipe!

After that '72 Inner Am series, I got more into riding the 125s, even getting 3rd at the first ever 125 National at Hangtown in '74. So I got to know the early 125 Huskys pretty well. And I'm absolutely sure that's a 125 Hooker Header exhaust on Torleif's 250 in practice at the LA Coliseum. It's much shorter with smaller cones, headpipe, and silencer. A 125 pipe on a 250 has got to be unimaginably pipey to race on an MX track!

It dumbfounds me that the then European Gods of motocross were so unprepared, naive, and unobservant. Not sure what the point of this story is, as the rest is history. Those sure were fun and exciting times though, and hard to ever live up to. The Swedish Husky Team turned out not to be the adolescent's idealized image of perfection after all, but they sure did know how to have fun and I'll be forever grateful and indebted. Just wish I could go back and point out they had the wrong pipes in time for the now astronomically historical and pivotal 1972 Los Angeles Memorial Superbowl Of Moto Cross. Who knows, maybe Stewart or Reed would be riding a Husqvarna today.

Robert Haag #74Y


Ron Carbaugh

[Mick Milakovic]

Thanks again Ron; Robert used the word "nostalgia" in his article, and I agree so much.  Modern MX just isn't the same; so surgical and similar, every week in and week out.  I love it, and it's the most exciting game in town, but we were all fourtunate to live in the glory days!

Mick

[Lloyd Boland]

Thanks Ron. Great story.
Living, racing and growing up in So.Cal was a great time.  I didn't appreciate it as much back then as I should have.  But I cherish the memories now.  (You don't know what you had until it is gone.)

[firstturn]

I had some people asking me  about E C Birt so I  thought I would relight the fuse on this Great Engine Builder.  Enjoy


Ron Carbaugh