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Pre-65 Club member Mike Herman racing the 1976 400cc KTM Evolution class bike at Woodlands Park in the USA
Vintage motocross racing in the USA
Words by Mike Herman
23 August 2005
When regular CZ rider and club member Mike Herman got chatting to some guys in an American Vintage Motocross forum, they invited him to ride at one of there scrambles...in Washington State!
It all started when I was scanning the web pages, looking for parts for my CZ380 and getting very excited about all these trick and hard to find components that I could buy in the US for (almost) next to nothing with such a great $/£ exchange rate.
I was looking at web sites offering fantastically restored Bultaco's, CZ's, Montesa's, KTM's, Husky's etc, in fact you name a European bike that the Yank's don't have that doesn't looks like brand new, like its just been pushed out of the showroom. For a 40 something 'Vintage' motocrosser that grew up on bikes like these, it's a fantasyland, like being in a toyshop flicking from one toy to another and not knowing what to choose.
It was on one of these fantasy trips that I came across a web site called VDR NW or Vintage Dirt Racing, North West: http://www.siegecraftnw.com/VDR.htm
The site is a plethora of cool racing photo's, excellent stories, anecdotal references to bikes and famous riders from the 70s and 80s (like Brad Lackey, Jim Pomeroy and Marty Smith). There is also a story about a team called Hellbent Racing and their 'leader', a guy with three names, Christopher James, CJ or Siege (think about it!). Not only is Siege a cool Vintage motocross racer from Seattle, but he also runs the VDR website and designs and prints the coolest vintage motocross T shirts you will ever find, so I contacted him and bought two of his shirts as Christmas presents for my mates.
This was the start of an email exchange that saw me joining a Vintage MX chat room for CZ enthusiasts called 'Cousin Weedy' where I made contact with Siege that resulted in an invitation to fly to Oregon as a guest of VDR and race with them at their home track at Woodland in Washington State. I didn't need to be asked twice.
I arrived in Portland Oregon at 7.00PM on Friday night. Siege drove down from Seattle, (about 2hrs) to pick me up. We decided to stay in Portland and have dinner and a couple of beers before heading off to the track to meet some of the guys. We got to the track at about 10.00PM where many of the racers/riders and their families had driven down the night before in trailers and motor homes that most GP riders would be proud of - they were huge. We chatted for a while with a couple of Maico enthusiasts before heading to a local motel and some much needed sleep. Oh yes, I forgot to say, it was raining and had been all week!
Saturday morning dawned at 05.00 for me (jet lag!). Siege got up about 06.30 and we went in search of breakfast. By 08.00 we were at the track and it was packed. There was every type of Vintage (Pre '74) and Evolution (mostly late '70s/80's Twin Shock) bikes you could imagine from BSA to Yamaha. There is no European only rule here, Japanese bikes are welcome and are very popular.
A guy named Chris Delaire came up to be and offered to lend me his '73 Honda CR250M Elsinore to race the Vintage over 40's class as an intermediate.
Several others offered me their bikes to ride including Tom (a Vicar from Seattle, nicknamed the Revving Rev!) who lent me his '76 KTM 400 for the Evolution Class and Tim who had previously offered to let me ride his BSA, but the thought of the gears being on the other side was a bit much for me.
Practice went very smoothly indeed and the track was perfect. Generally flat, with some man made jumps and small table tops, through some trees and up past the paddock, it takes about 4 minutes per lap.
My first race came and I was entered in the Over 40 intermediate and experts together. I lined up with 25 other racers waiting for the off. The flag was raised, the gate dropped and damn, I stalled it on the line. A quick prod of the kick start and the Honda burst into life and I was chasing down the pack like Graham Noyce chasing Brad Lackey at Matchams Park (in my dreams!) I rode my heart out, but to no avail, these guys were fast! The race was over in no time and I came somewhere near the back, but no-one cared. Racing with VDR is racing for fun and boy was I having fun.
Race two and the Honda was giving me grief. I fouled a plug which sent its owner Chris Delaire into a frenzy trying to change a plug on the line. He did it and I joined race 2 in a cloud of dust, sand and smoke. This is real racing I thought to myself as I remembered what it was like to crest a tabletop, low to the ground, at what felt like 'warp speed' with only 4" of suspension at the back. Into the sharp right hander at the end, ride the berms round the edge of the pond, over a small hill and down a long bumpy straight into a hairpin followed by a small tabletop and back through the trees. In front of me was the big jump with a banner suspended across the top that reads 'Welcome to Woodland Motocross Park'. Enthusiastically I launched bike and rider over the top, landing perfectly in the sharp right hander before the long drag race down the straight to start lap 2. I have no idea where I finished, I was just having fun.
In race 3, Tom, the Revvin Rev, lent me his 400 KTM Evolution bike. What a lovely bike to ride, fast, smooth, fantastic gearbox etc...but Tom weighs a fair bit more than me and the suspension was a bit hard. Tom was in the race before me, the plan was for him to ride in at the end of his race, jump off, and give me the bike on the start line and off I'd go. However, the starter forgot and let my race go. I joined the race at the end of lap one and charged round with the guys as if I was at the front!