Bikes that rocked

[firstturn]

Thanks James for the profile and some great tracks to remember.  I have raced at all of them except Rabbit Run and Mossier's Nite Track.  While working for Honda I was living in Grapevine for a while and it was a treat to drive back out to the tracks of the 70's.  I did not know your coach personnally, but knew of him through his ties with wrestling at TCU.  Thanks again -  Tomale I bought a brand new 1974 Honda elsinore several years ago with the only damage was the broken rear fender - this person had bought the bike not knowing of its remendous horsepower to weight ratio.  Quite a surprise how they bought it, rode it one time and parked it.  Thanks again for the memories.

Ron Carbaugh

[FMF MX]

Mike -

Yeeup, back in the "day", summer of '73...Irwindale Raceway, So. Cal.. the "mettco" pentons ruled night mx with McDougal, LaPorte,& Chuck Bower on them..

Awesome looking bikes..very fast..not even the elsinores could keep up with them...

It was quite a time to be 14 and racing 125 int. on a husky, and have them lap you when the classes were run together..

Those were the Friday nites I remember best.

Bart Carrigan

[OUCWBOY]

Hello again gang!
Bart, how are you doing? Long time! Hope all is well.
Ron, I once bought my young bride a 1973 TM125 Suzuki for her to paly on in the pits when we went racing. That was a fast bike, but it too handled like it's bigger brother the 400. She would let the guy I was tunning for(another Ex Monark factory rider) ride it in the 125 class and he would smoke everyone on it. In 73 the 250 Elsinore was just plain fast and was one of the most race ready 250's on the market at that time. Stan's Honda out of Duncan OK was our sponsor and other than jetting and changing the shocks and gearing it was ready to go. We beat a lot of factory riders on that Honda. Steve Wise, Steve Stackable, Kent Howerton, Tony Wynn, just to name a few. We owned Lake Whitney and Mosier Valley that year. I still say it was more the rider than the bike. After all, he won the 125cc Tri-State Chanpionship in Amarillo in 72 riding a 71 Montesa 125 and let me tell you that the boys from Penton Central hated that.

Donny Smith

Edited by - oucwboy on 08/22/2003  11:58:12 PM

[tomale]

The first race I ever won was on that 73'Elsinor. I was sick that day. The first moto I kept having a problem with the red on of switch. I kept hitting it  and the motor would die. That was so frustrating. between moto's I took that thing off and found that by the end of race I was leading.... how did that happen? I had managed to place in the top ten a few times on that taco of mine but that Elsinor was really fast and easy to ride and unlike the taco it shifted without hesitation. The only thing close to that was my Penton. I remember pulling the top end off my Penton after riding it that first season. The rings were still within factory specs of being new. I realized that I had found a bike that would finally hold up year after year.
Thanks for the Memories

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.