Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 49 Winter 2018 i Classic Dirt Bike

Clive Smith shocked the trials world – or the experts at least – when he battled his JAS Montesa Cota round the 1973 British Experts Trial in Wales and beat the cream of the crop. At the time, 20-year-old Clive hadn’t actually won a national trial but had met the qualifications for an Experts entry. “I thought I’d thrown it away at the last group when the rear wheel went sideways and I picked up a five,” he admitted to MotorCycle’s Bob Currie who interviewed him after the win. The Smith family were introduced to trials riding when Clive’s elder brother Raymond swapped a Triumph Speed twin for a Tiger Cub trials bike and, without actually knowing what a trial was, had been persuaded to have a go. Clive himself…

Directly backed by the factory in Spain, Gordon Farley still had a good rapport with UK importer John Brise. Speaking recently for this feature ,Gordon says: “John’s business Montala Motors was just along the motorway in Dartford and easy for us to nip over with a van for bikes and we were selling lots in those days. My first big success for Montesa would be the Hurst Cup in Northern Ireland and this was great news for the factory as it was such a prestigious event.” So did this mean the factory would do whatever you wanted? “Not exactly,” he laughs, “Pedro Pi and I got on well together, I was involved a little in development but more it would be telling him how the bike felt and he would…

Running a works team in a number of disciplines is never easy. Resources are often stretched, certainly as far as the European factories were concerned as without the vast sales of small capacity machines to various Asian countries that the Japanese factories enjoyed income was often limited. When speaking to Bob Wright who joined Montesa in 1974, he felt the motocross effort was second to the trials scene. “Don’t get me wrong there, the factory and Sandifords were brilliant to be with and all sides did their best for me in particular but they had a massive trials team and were riding high with that at the time. I was directly linked to the factory in Spain, full works rider but as Sandifords were close to me in Lancashire it…

CDB is always more about using bikes than seeing them lined up on display, which is why we try and include a few events in our quarterly magazine. It’s not ideal as they’re often a while out of date by the time your copy reaches you, but we like to ignite that spark, the spark which becomes ‘d’you know, I fancy trying that…’ Then we’ve got you… Your life will never be the same, the workshop will be your first home, family forgotten as you strive to keep that bike fit for action until you stand on the start line, or wait to go into a section and pit your ability against your fellow rider……

This year marked the 10-year anniversary of the now famous Vets Motocross of Nations event held at the iconic Farleigh Castle Grand Prix circuit. To mark the occasion, organiser Dave King went all out to attract one of the sport’s biggest names. You could say many a legendary rider has graced the hallowed grounds of the Wiltshire circuit, but as far as legends go they don’t come much bigger than seven-times AMA motocross and supercross champion Ricky Johnson. Quite apart from riding a parade lap, the 54-year-old American from El Cajon in California was here to support his home team USA as well as present the trophies. And as far as the two main team events were concerned, it complete dominance for the boys from across the pond. A strong…

It wasn’t only Lackey’s brilliant and determined riding which caught the public eye, the lad had a whole litany of terms almost incomprehensibly alien to the UK and European scene of more than 45 years ago… Out went ‘pressing on’ and ‘a chap to watch…’ and in came ‘WFO’ and ‘check out.’ Martin Christie compiled this list in 1954 and I’ve shamelessly pinched it… of course we’re all familiar with such terms these days… and there’s much less “cor blimey, mate, are you an American…” Check out watching the opposition Dude achap, lad or bloke Bad very, very good Holeshot first off the line Gas it full throttle Berm build up of earth on a turn WFO wide flat out Moto half a motocross race Smoke ahead of the opposition,…

Fabulous at 50! Brace yourselves, as you’re about to read an unashamed spot of trumpet-blowing for Classic Dirt Bike … Who are we kidding? It’s not just one trumpet parping away, it’s a fanfare of brass band proportions. Yes, the 2019 Hagon sponsored Classic Dirt Bike Show on February 16/17, 2019 will coincide with the 50th edition of Classic Dirt Bike magazine! Ta-da! For over 12 years we’ve strived to bring you the best from the Classic Dirt Bike world and witnessed our scene grow exponentially, to encompass not only the traditional classic world of thundering Fifties four-strokes but the newer twinshock and Evo bikes coming under our mantle. How do we do it? Because…

For such a small pool of people to draw from, Finland seems to have the knack of producing great off-road riders. The trials world has seen Yrjo Vesterinen and Tommi Ahvala scale great heights while the MX world had Heikki Mikkola leading the world. Before these riders though there was Kalevi Vehkonen who helped Montesa take its place on the MX world stage with a superb fourth place in the 1972 250 championships. Considering the Japanese factories were flinging money around like it was going out of fashion and Montesa was a much smaller concern, Vehkonen’s achievements were all the more remarkable and Montesa paid homage to them by christening their 250 MX model ‘VR’ for Vehkonen Replica in 1973.…

Cheshire racer Peter Mathia told us Jim Sandiford was his first sponsor and he rode Montesa for him from 1973-1976, then back for 1979. “I was on the 250 which was a fabulous bike,” he recalls, “alongside that came a 360 which wasn’t brilliant, though could have come good, then came the 414 when I was back in the fold. That was a great bike and would have led to better things as there was a full 500 prototype waiting to go, but the factory hit trouble and it was shelved.” Peter said he’d been flown to New Zealand to do the 1979 national championship there, when word came the factory had closed. “Jim contacted me to say there was a problem but not to worry as it would be…

I've been asked more than a few times what it was like ‘back in the day’ at the old Spanish trials factories. First of all, I'm not actually THAT old, thanks for asking, and in any case you'd get a much better story from the chaps who were actually there. Sammy is almost too obvious – Dave Thorpe would be a great place to start if you are looking for unlikely stories and don't mind sore ribs from laughing. I once rode all day with Dave one day at the Scottish, and I'm still laughing now! What we all want to hear, of course, is that the Spanish motorcycle industry of the Sixties and Seventies was a bucolic throwback, with bikes built in backstreet sheds by swarthy, oily, gnarled engineers…

From casting a leg over a mini-bike at the tender age of three to earning his professional MX licence at 16 and retiring after a serious wrist injury aged 26, Californian Ricky Johnson made an indelible mark on the USA and world MX scene. The seven-times AMA championship winner picked up his first title – in the 250 class – in 1984 riding for Yamaha. By 1986 he was riding for Honda thanks to Roger DeCoster and his winning ways continued with two 250, two 500 and two Supercross titles coming his way over the next three seasons. A practice crash resulting in a broken wrist which never really recovered prevented even more success coming his way and Johnson reluctantly called it a day in 1991. Embracing the Vets event,…

Peace of mind I thoroughly enjoyed issue 48 and your piece on the 3TA engine/bike project. I’ve spent most of my working life in the auto and motorcycle business, so have amassed a reasonable amount of skills, tricks of the trade and spent time showing other apprentices how to do it. Please don’t reuse those valve springs, they may look alright and clean up lovely with your cleaning techniques but they are old and most probably getting to the brittle stage; the cost of new items and the peace of mind that you won’t drop a valve on your first fistful of revs will far outweigh the uncertainty. Your valve compressor: neat as it is, is a real tiddler compared to the chunky equipment used in the trade. Maybe a…

For those of my generation who were reading the motorcycle press in the mid-Seventies, Montesa meant ‘Sandiford’ in Lancashire. The premises of JAS were the mecca for all things Montesa and Sandiford’s name was on the tanks of a considerable number of motorcycles at the sharp end of the entry. In my home centre – the North Eastern – there were a number of riders who had received help from Sandifords through our local dealer in those days, which was Quinn’s in Gateshead. Even I had pushed a shilling or two towards Quinns and come out with a smart 238cc Cota. Why 238? In fact why not a 348 which was out at the time? Well, the French Government had decided in their wisdom to penalise motorcycles of over 240cc…

We chatted to Pere Pi, who the off-road world would more readily recognise as Pedro Pi, and the first question to him wasn’t about Montesa, but the slight change to his name. “Ah, you see I am Catalan. When Franco was in charge of Spain we had to have the Spanish name which is ‘Pedro’ but ‘Pere’ is Catalan.” So Pere, at Montesa were you the development engineer? “Not exactly, I am not an engineer but my job was like an engineer, more correctly from 1964-1980 I was head of the development and competition department at Montesa. My role was to develop the models for all disciplines Montesa were involved in and react to the changes needed as riders reported to me.” Retiring from motocross in 1966 allowed Pere to…

A stalwart on the classic MX scene is Dave Godley – sorry Dave but you are one of those the sport relies on. The Ipswich lad will admit to being 68ish and by profession is in liquid waste disposal and has always either driven lorries or operated plant but by passion is chairman of the Pre65 MX Club. Like many of us he started on a field bike, a 350 Ariel, stripped for action, but his first proper racer was a Greeves Challenger in 1966. From there he had a few other Greeves such as Griffons and a CCM before heading for the classic scene. Us fiendish writers like to put people on the spot and toss in awkward questions to see what happens, one of my favourites is: “What’s…

Despite the UK showing quite good promise in events such as the ISDT in the classic period, the sport of enduro took quite a long time to gain a foothold here. There were events which followed this style but they were few and far between until the Eighties when the sport seemed to spring into the consciousness of the UK rider. There was always the Welsh of course and the ISCA, but suddenly they were joined by lots of other events too. Now an enduro is a good day out and the North East Vinduro club organise an event or three which are very popular, they also seem to have the weather gods on their side too. The latest event, Fowberry Two Day, comprised a hare and hounds on Saturday…

Frank Mercer Memorial Trophy Willie Burgess || Martindales Rider of the Meeting David Hopkins || MotoX Concepts Over 50s Willie Burgess || MotoX Concepts Over 60s Martin Snape || MRH Consultants 125 Evolution Andy Lawton || Wulfsport Experts Barry Turnbull || MRH Consultants 125 Twinshock Matt Rudd || Hazport Veterans Over 40s Rick Du Feu || Hazport Veterans Over 50s Steve Ward || CI Sport Inters David Hopkins || LPE Clubman Mark Lakeland || Modern Class Ryan Morris || Woody Vintage Off Road Honda Evolution Barry Turnbull || Super Evos Mickey Eccles || West Mids Evos 125 James Hudson || West Mids Evos 250 Chris Jones || West Mids Evos 500 Jonathan Tapp || West Mids Evos Four Stroke Matt Hitchman.…

In the Sixties, Robin Humphries felt the stock front suspension supplied with most comp bikes was lacking in performance. So, as you do, he decided to make his own under the REH brand and any number of the two stroke makers of the day bought units from him. Fast forward a year or two, the suspension world moved on, the Japanese factories provided bikes with reliable and good front suspension. Robin moved on too and the REH name was consigned to history until the pre-65 trials world heard about them. Enter Duncan and Judy Macdonald who – under the ARMAC brand – were servicing the mechanical and accessory needs of classic trials riders. “Oi!” said the scrambles lads, “we want a bit of this too… can you do suspension for…

In late September this year I was privileged enough to be present at the Imola Motocross Reunion for a second time. This year, the 5th edition of this biannual event celebrated the 70th anniversary of the first International Motocross to take place there, on May 23, 1948. Usually held earlier in the year, it was held over till September to coincide with the final round of the MXGP series staged on a makeshift track at the renowned Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, better known for high-speed car and motorcycle racing on asphalt. I had the good fortune to be in the company of Jeff Smith, Derek and Don Rickman, Triss Sharp, Alan Clough and Freddie Mayes. Also in attendance were Ken Lundin, Jeff Nilsson and Rene Baeten Jnr, the sons…

The UK can sometimes experience interesting weather during July and for the Scottish Grand National Scramble at Drumlanrig Castle it proved distinctly unCalifornian-like for guest of honour Brad Lackey. Not that it was a problem for him though: “Hey I was based in Europe for a while and experienced the Brit weather…” his face creased in a wide grin as he and I hurried to the marquee, set up for the evening entertainment. Inside and out of the weather, Brad flopped into a couch and said: “Okay, the guys putting this together tell me you do ‘an hour with…’ so, ask me what you want.” So, I began with something simple… “How old are you?” “I’m 65,” he replied. “We’re off to a flying start,” I joked, thinking on my…

Some nations seem to exude certain qualities almost as a national stereotype – we British have our stiff upper lip and our ‘complain dear boy? Not the done thing sir…’ attitude, then there’s the French with the Gallic shrug, Germans with Teutonic thoroughness and order and so it goes on... Such stereotypes are exactly that and the division is never clear-cut, there are certain things which could only be produced in a particular nation – a vertical twin motorcycle for instance. Other countries have produced them but none as well or as prolifically as the British. See a massive V-twin and one thinks ‘America’ no matter where it was made, a horizontally opposed twin could only really be German and in such illustrious company we give you the Moto Aspes…

If your twinshock, Evo, Super Evo or even modern motorcycle is sadly lacking in the spark department, then Westcountry Windings can more than likely help. Stators can be rewound, coils can have the wire renewed and reinsulated. Different grades of wire can be used to make enduro lights brighter, MX bikes start easier and trials bikes start. See our feature on them in issue 39 where our IT465 ignition was sorted. Web: www.westcountrywindings.co.uk Tel: 01279 731172 Email: westcountrywindings@gmail.com…