My whole memory of that era is fuzzy since the 1st stroke
Shee-oot. Sorry to hear that. I look around here and realize that if I ever have a serious problem ? Just stuff me into a cardboard box and drop it over the ocean, may as well avoid the pain. You do
not want to go into a Chinese hospital.
The first K291 put me on my ear in T11.
I hate eleven. Elenoah hates eleven. Does anyone not hate eleven ? Does it still have the spring underneath, and it's always all broken up and gravelly ?
I do have one good turn eleven story tho ... for the National that Roberts won so convincingly, Jerry just happened to "accidentally" come across two AMA officials badges. So we hung 'em around our necks and went wherever we wanted and no one said a word. I think we even got free parking. Amazing what the appearance of authority can do for you.
In practice, Romero (on a TZ then ? not sure. It was blue and white) would come
flying into eleven, just
way too hot. He must have gone like 100 feet past the normal braking point, still on it. Maybe it was only 50 but seemed like 100. The first time I saw this I almost yelled "Holy shit ! Run, get the ambulance, he's lost his brakes ! Romero is going to die right here in front of us !"
He didn't. He would come in way too hot, get on the brakes way too hard and way too late, then let his body fall forward to put weight onto the front wheel. The back end would get light and come around viciously, he'd sit back at just the right time, rear wheel would grab just as he nailed the throttle. He
flew out of eleven.
Didn't see anyone else doing this, in fact I don't think I've seen anyone else ever do that (altho I don't watch much these days, it's not that much fun.) Even Roberts was not as fast through eleven and KR was cooking that day. Through the kink on the front straight, come out from behind the wall with the front wheel about a foot in the air, throttle wide open, hanging off, leaned over hard, banging off shifts and steering with his feet. That's a race I won't forget. But Romero never did that trick during the race. I've always wondered why.
I seem to recall snapping pics of Kork Ballington on the KR250= green bike sometime before I started racing. ~1975'ish? I seem to recall Nixon was riding the KR750 too?
In 73 - 74-ish, there were some pretty cool Kawasakis at Laguna. Maybe they ran once or twice at Ontario in AFM, too. That was the fubar 750, it was pretty neat but I haven't seen anything about it ever since. Those were the Yvon Duhamel days ... he could fall off a rock. What an idiot.
I think the KR250 came along a little later ? Aermacchi won the 250 and 350 series in Europe in 75 and 76, then they sold them in the US, then the 250 Kwacker and Kork Ballington came along. Not sure anyone in AFM ever had a KR-250 ? I was the only one I know of with an RR-250. Be there or be square, it was Yamaha time in the racing world.
Nowadays it's Harley Harley Harley but back then, if you said Harley someone would hit you with a bowling ball.
David Gibbons shared these with me this morning.
That's cool ! thanks !
Check out who the guest speaker was ...
Crunchy Granola ! It was humiliating racing against a twelve-year-old
and who the MC was
Getting a little professional already, I see
I hope these are as readable here as they are on my computer.
Works fine here. Seems like almost everybody is different from 1980 already. Mostly Art and Marty left. I thought Marty went to that big racetrack in the sky earlier than this ... he always had that huge shit-eating grin. Glen Shopher is the only other familiar name. All the classes are different, too. Generational turnover ...
This might have been when Art Chambers was running that ex-Luchinelli Ducati ?
Art needs to get his butt over here. He's not talking to me, I must have hurt his feelings or something. I thought he was running a Kenny engine. Damn you, Kenny, no one gave you permission to leave
I made him a clutch about then with a couple more plates and a spur gear drive. It was a nice clutch, too nice to waste on a race bike. And oh yeah, a gearbox. If I never needed a lawyer Art would have had to spend a lot more money ...
More programs, WoodsChick ! Earlier ones. And photos ... it's second childhood time