OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: Bioflex on June 29, 2011, 11:00:30 pm
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One thing that I have always found interesting about the VMX movement is the various reasons why people are passionate about older bikes. For some it is the simplicity, others the fact an investment in classic metal is a wise one, while many it is to reminisce about the younger days when they'd race the bikes they now collect.
I don't know how many people are in the same boat as me, but coming from a single income family of 5 kids, while not exactly on poverty street, the thought of even getting a motorbike, not to mention getting a new bike and maintaining it for a season of racing with all the other costs involved was impossible.
My passion for 70's and 80's bikes now is much about being a kid drooling over magazines back then and now being in a position to obtain items which were of distant dreams once upon a time.
Perhaps once upon a time bikes were a bit cheaper relatively speaking, but I still find it hard to see how unless people came from families who were very well off, or there talent was exceptional (and this they picked up a lot of sponsors quickly) how they managed the financial stresses of racing.
Now a days, there does seem to be a lot more disposable income around and although the 4 stroke movement makes racing expensive, it does appear to be a bit more affordable.
I guess what I am wondering is, how many people here who grew up in the 70's, 80's and 90's (and even earlier if you dare) raced as youngsters, if so, how the hell did your families afford to pay for it?
I appreciate that some people got out there earned a living and may well have funded their own racing from an early age, these stories would be of interest too.
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I started racing in 1972 to 1977 had a break came back in 1979 for a few meetings got married, then l came back in 1990 when the vintage first started, went to all the Melbourne and western centre meetings with my brothers when they where racing in the 60`s. My brothers bikes in early 60`s at where modified road bikes, later they bought proper factory produced scrambler, my first bike was a bantam 125, then a HonVille, AT1 125, In 1972 I bought my first motocrosser and that was a Montesa 125 cappra, I paid for it by mowing lawns and working after school as a delivering boy for a chemist shop, in 1973 I was sponsored on Honda Elsinore, later Suzuki. I raced gippsland centre, South Australia, Calder Rally cross, western Districts meetings, Some Melbourne open meetings. Won the Junior title in 1973, Broke Mick Nicol Arm at Newtown Ballarat, Broke Kelvin Douglas Leg at Lake Gilier warranbool still to this l am sorry for that, but the is racing. Got 4th at Calder behind Karl Morlang cz 400, Gary Adams RH 400, Gary O`brien Cappra 360, I was my Husqvarna CR Mag 250. Brothers raced Cotton, Trump, Matchless, Kawasaki f21M 250, Montesa La Cross 250, Montesa 380 Cappra, Montesa Cappra MX 250
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I grew up in the 70's ..... similar position with affordability to race or have a new bike, we were lucky enough to have an indian 75 which dad swapped for a washing machine then a Z50a, and a BS 100. After several paper runs and other jobs i got an MX 80 and then a ts 100. I then purchased a ER185. soon enough i sold the ER to buy a car, then sold it to buy my first property at the age of 19. The next 11 years i concerntrated on property with not many luxuries. finally i freed up some $ and cahsed my passion with dirt bikes and road bikes. At 40 yeras old i did my first race at Nepean and the VMX addiction caught on from there. I have recently been selling a lot of my collection due to firstly having to demolish a large part of my house and also a sickness in my family, I must concerntrate on the kids and keeping myself able and healthy for coming months. VMX is a great passion - keeps me off the street.
Brett
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I guess what I am wondering is, how many people here who grew up in the 70's, 80's and 90's (and even earlier if you dare) raced as youngsters, if so, how the hell did your families afford to pay for it?
I appreciate that some people got out there earned a living and may well have funded their own racing from an early age, these stories would be of interest too.
Well I reckon myself and other country area people from the 70's are luckier because I rode my bikes to the track! Well to tell the truth you weren't allowed to by the clubs rules so we (other riders) pushed the last 500 meters! ;)
I worked service stations pumping fuel after school and weekends as well as worked for a family friend concretor on school holidays and got my first bike, an SL70, in my 13th year. I won my very first race not surprisingly against a couple of those lawnmower powered centrifical clutch bikes around at the time, a Kawasaki 75 and a Dax and it's been all downhill from there :D
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I bought my first motorbike, a Kawasaki KT250 in late 1975. At that time I had almost completed the first year of my elecrical apprenticeship and was earning almost $100 a fortnight. I rode the KT for fun and started riding it in club events, both observed trials and enduros as well as trail riding it.
In 1977 I bought a Yamaha IT250D and got more serious with the enduros, having ridden my brothers RT1B Yamaha in a few club enduros. In 1977 I started riding open multi-day enduros, riding several events at Cessnock, Wagga, Bathurst etc(a long drive from Broken Hill), including the first 4-Day.
In 1978, I traded the IT250 in on a Husqvarna 390 AMX, which cost $2000, and was a lot of money for an apprentice. I continued riding enduros and started riding C grade MX in South Aust. I continued riding both enduros at the club and open level as well C grade MX into the early 1980's. The final open enduro I rode was the 1981 4 Day (held in Broken Hill) on the 390 Auto. I then quite serious enduro riding and rode at club level for a few more years before driffting away from dirt bikes in the late 1980's when I joined the navy (not much opportunity to ride a dirt bike at sea).
During the period from 1977 to the mid 1980's I also rode observed trials, initially solo C grade on my brothers TY250B, then turned to sidecar trials on the KT250, before progressing to a 1979 (Model 199A) Bultaco 350 Sherpa (my 21st birthday present from my parents) with a sidecar. I rode the sidecars at state and national levels, picking up 2 B grade state titles and numerous top 10 places at the Aust titles, with a best result of 6th. In 1994, which serving at HMAS Cerberus, a navy base on the Mornighton Peninsular in VIC, I rode a season of sidecar trials on a 1978 (mod 199) Bultaco 350 sherpa in the VIC and Aust titles getting a 2nd (state) and 10th (national) placings.
I still own all the bike mentioned above, with the exception of the IT250 which I traded in at the local Yamaha dealers (although I know where the remains of it are).
After 17 years in the navy, I got back into dirt bikes after moving to Clare in SA and joining the local MC club. Since then I have been slowly pulling the various bike from the back off the shed and getting then back in running / racing condition. I have been ridding reliability trials for the past 4 years on a selection of Yamaha 500, and my 83 Tenere and the odd solo and sidecar trial on the Bultaco's with my daughter as passenger (yes, the things she has to do to keep her dad happy). I have resurected the 390 auto and all things going well will ride it at the titles at the Brook in September.
Over the years, the collection of bikes in the shed has grown, and now totals somewhere around 50, whith the vast majority being 1970 dirt / trail bikes.
CJ
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My family was not wealthy .My 1st bike was a yz80c.It was 2nd hand for $340.I only raced at the local minibike club.( from memory it was $2.40 to enter). Very Very little money was spent on this bike.My 2nd bike was a yz80G. Made up of the $350 I got for the yz80c and $100 I saved myself from working partime after school.I lived and breathed bikes.The yz80G cost $670. My parent and grand father put in the difference.I only raced it at the local mini bike club once again.2 years later it was a YZ125J.I bought it my self from saving saving saving.Next was a RM250D which I personal saved for again which was a little easier as I was now a 1st year apprentice.The end of 84 i began racing as a sidecar passenger as I could no longer afford to race by myself.The sidecars cost me little as it was a sponsored ride. I saw a lot of the country and met some great people in those next 6 years.
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Second generation. Started when I was 13 on my dads hand-me-down Cotton. When he retired I graduated to a Bulto Sherpa. Rode trials until I was 24. By then I needed a break so, on a whim, I bought a KDX200C1 and found I was quite good at enduros. Did enduros until 2000 then went back to trials.
In the middle of this I did a few MX events but they didn't really suit me. Too much adrenelin (trials and enduros you compete against yourself. Mx you compete against other riders).
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Big brother was a top road racer and did a little scrambles in NZ when I was in my early teens so I was around quite a few of the good guys in my formative years. Banged around the farm on a converted AC50 that I pedalled hard enough to brass off a lot of guys on 125s and then a TS185 before heading stateside again.
Old man had a Suzuki shop there so of course gravitated to that brand even though we sold Bultaco, CZ & DKW. Started racing the SoCal scene and quickly developed skills to let me run with the big dawgs. Got some support from US Suzuki and rode the HS class at the 1975 Superbowl where I crashed out of the first moto, but won the second. Lots of pre-production test riding for Suzuki with the first RM series and a lot of tire and pipe testing for different people. Back to NZ I had to find a real job and never really rode too much except for a few national qualifiers where I was usually the first 250 in the A grade class before I had an industrial accident that retired me.
Back on a bike in my mid 30's I raced for a few years until a big crash in the support class at the nationals when I was 40 put me off work for a month or so. In my 50's now I have been mountainbiking for 8 years and looking to get back on a bike. I figure something from my youth would not encourage me to do things the body can't handle ::)
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Money was always a problem when we were school kids.
In school holidays, I got a job in Dandenong at a brick factory ... got an adult wage! I was 15.
It included night shifts. After a few weeks, your hair got thicker, and your nostrils went kinda chunky inside.
It was mindless, noisy work ... but it put you in the money!
I bought a superceded RT2-MX. They were going out the door for $740 brand-new in 73.
(They had a bad reputation ... a bit like the Cyclones ... and Milledge didn't sell too many the year before.
I was probably lucky from the outset, in that mine had a leaky reed valve, and didn't run too hard.)
They SURE WERE PRETTY though!
Then did my first (ever) race on it ... at Dandy MCC club champs.
(http://i1043.photobucket.com/albums/b431/DoggyDigger/rt2manual.jpg)
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No money at our house, the old man was a big old school cop, whacking a few Maoris with his flashlight and living his own white version of Once Were Warriors ::)
I got given a stack of ADBs by a neighbour ( at the time Glenn Bell was on an Italjet 80) and I was gagging for my first serious race bike .... so had after school job in a butchery at 13 making sausages and corned beef, hay making in the summer, pumping gas, which meant I could purchase a TS185..... First real MX bike was RM125S .... er with the TS185 motor in it, power and handling. race transport involved stuffing the bike in the back of an Austin 1800.
Finally like a lot of Kiwi's in the 80s, moving to Australia the land of milk and honey allowed me to race for real with Mitsi ute and YZ125, petrol was 22 cents a litre and a new bike was finally possible..... the lucky country ;D
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always a dream of mine to swing on a sidecar did it last year then got the chance to have a ride and have not looked back. my first ride was a 84 wasp last year never had any money when i was younger but loved to go to the gps in uk now living my dream!!!!!! 8) 8) 8)
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Seems to be a common thread, i too came from a time when money was scarce. I only dreamed of having a bike from 75 onwards till i eventually saved up enough moola for a second hand RM80B ( half anyway, parents paid for the other half), which stayed around racing local minibike clubs until it gave up the ghost altogether. By then mum had gone back to work after raising 5 kids, and lent me the money for a new RM100T. From that day on i have kept up the racing (somewhat sposmadically) and riding just for the enjoyment. To this day i still enjoy racing and riding, and Bikes are still the best stress relief i know of. Had the chance to ride a local club day a couple of weeks ago for the first time in i dont know when, on my modern bike, and remembered why i started racing in the first place- I had an absolute blast. It really brought a smile to my face when my wife turned up- with my Dad, who is 86 years old next week, and is responsible for taking me to so many race meetings when i was a kid l lost count. My own kids came along too, and i have to say it was a great day having them all there. The kids loved seeing their old dad racing too.
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from a dairy farm in NZ, had lots of mx tracks but no bike. I can still design a track whilest driving past a paddock anywhere at any time( shit--look at that down hill off camber left hander*-that'll sort them out if it rains :D )
Did a deal with dad that if I raised the potty calves could I use the money for a rugby trip-trip fell through so I bought a bike :D :D
Used to buy Trail & Track and the adds in Oz all pissed me off as bikes were always cheaper there(less tax?)
Came to Oz with some race horses my dad sent over and got a job here (40.00 wk) and saved for a MX250a from local shop-hot as and was leading my 1st club race by miles when I had a peak back and overshot a corner-over the bars, lost footpeg and very sore foot at work next week.
Took that bike back to NZ and raced my 1st ACU race at Gordonton-got holeshot, overran 1st turn rejoined in 4 or 5th went around mudhole instead of thru it, lost l/h hand grip and went over the bars again. That bike was the holeshot king.
Back to oz to earn more bucks but after buying an RM250b realised I would never have the bucks to be competitive.
In '76 I was asked to swing at a club day on a 500/4 outfit that looked like it delivered milk in its other life. we finished last but i realised that I could do it and as passengers were in demand I decided to be good at it.
From there I have been to most Oz states to race and even to Europe wher I spent a yr with the then World Champion
Retired in '87 and then came back in 09-still love it to bis and shouild never have stopped.
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No money at our joint either to speak of but we never went hungry I might add. Had a chance to buy a SL70 second hand for $260. Approached the old man who said you raise a $100 and I will chip in the rest. You should have seen mum's face (dad had told her she didn't have to worry about her son being injured because he would never save the money) when a few months later I had raised the cash and come to understand the concept of work for money. Cheers J
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RACED FLAT TRACK NBJMCC
1974-1977
RACED CARS 1984-1992
FLAT TRACK 1996-PRESENT
VMX BMCC 2005-PRESENT
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Another one that suffered from the ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’ syndrome.
When I was young we were so poor that when I went to school I couldn’t afford to pay attention.
I blame my sister & 3 older brothers for bleeding my parents dry before I was born. Not that we really went without, but Santa never left a minibike under the tree for me.
My first bike Dad paid for, an old road bike, CB 250, that came in several boxes. Cost $50.00 from memory. Took me a year to learn how to put it together.
A neighbor down the road made Moccasins and a couple of my older brothers worked for him at some stage. When they moved on I inherited the job, working the clicker press cutting out pieces and punching holes. It was piece work so the harder you worked the more you made.
Eventually made enough to buy a real bike, a secondhand MX125A.
They were good days, I used to ride it to work through the property next door, then cross the road. My MX track was on the way so it was 5 or 10 laps after school, shoot off to work then 5 or 10 laps on the way home.
It wasn’t unusual for me to go to school with a hundred dollars in my pocket after payday. Seemed to have more ready cash in those days that what I do now
Eventually saved enough to buy my 3rd bike, a brand new DT400D.
Such a shame it turned out to be such a lemon.
I even stayed on making moccasins and used to work after hours after a day at my sheetmetal apprenticeship. It was actually better money than a first year apprentice but I could see there was no future in it.
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im one of the Y gen younger ones.
wasnt born till 83 when all of the nice twin shock stuff was over.
learned to ride at 12 on the bike im currently doing up, only one ive ever had, though ridden others over the years. Dad bought it brand new back in 75, Kawasaki F11B (250 ) its done 9300km & now being resto'd and altered a little to my tastes
me and most of my mates seem to like older things....work give me a car so my other hobby is a toyota corolla AE82 twincam....something about oldschool mechanics that is simple, to the point makes you feel more at one with the car / road with feedback etc....i dunno i just love them
The twincam is great and its niche is flying through the twisty stuff with great poise and handling.....as for the F11 its still to be determined, though from reading old hop up articles and dirt bike tests etc is was not a bad bike and is commonly underrated by many.
This forum has been brilliant for advice and ideas.
cheers
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Geoff your story moved me to tears. I thought I had it tough! Cheers J
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I was about 13 or 14 when I got my first job at a petrol station after school.
A mate came round on a clapped out old XR75 which had no kick starter, but I was in awe and saved my money to buy a new bike.
I had no idea about bikes but went to Elizabeth St in Melbourne where all the bike shops were and saw an RM50T and decide to buy that based purely on how it looked and it's price ($600 I think).
After riding that for a while at the Epping track (W&DMBC), I realised I needed a bigger bike to race so I set my sights on a YZ80H.
It had just come out and another member at Epping gave my a ride of his bike and I couldn't believe the power.
So after I had saved up again, I sold the RM and bought the YZ. (It was $800 I think)
I started racing at Epping mainly and rode the H for a few of years until I traded up to a YZ80K when it came out.
When I turned 18, I bought the only second hand MX bike I ever raced from a mate, a CR125RD.
I was totally self funded, including maintenance which I learned by following workshop manuals and getting help and tips from the mechanics at the petrol station.
My dad was happy to drive me to tracks towing the bike trailer and he never charged me for fuel.(probably because he had a company car ;D)
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Never raced,but unlike some, my parents were more smart than poor ;)
Now spending way too much money relieving my youth, spent lusting after all those pretty linkage bikes,that I could only read about in Motocross action back in the day.
Whilst I dont mind a bit of cyber racing as well ::) ::) ::) ::) getting out on the bike is the best/funnest thing I do with my clothes on.
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I have two older brothers who are 8 & 10 years older than me, in the late 70's between the two of them they had about 20 odd bikes,mostly aggy's & stepthrus but in amongst them were a couple of Bultaco trials & enduro bikes & a Maico mx'er, all of ten years old me was often found sitting on one of the bikes (not the Bulty's or the Maico, I'd get the crap beaten outa me by my big bros if i so much as touched one of them!) making brap brap noises & changing endless gears & twisting the throttle like there was no tommorow. Soon enough i went to see my first race meeting at the local track & was wide eyed & hooked on the sights sounds & smells, A bunch of XR75's all lined up behind the rubber band start, Bell motostar's,Leather's,Rossi boots,Body armour. F***ing cool!
To be continued, gotta go back to work!
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Born 1960, dragged around to what seemed like a race meeting or event just about every weekend as my father sponsored various riders including my brother.
First ride at 4 on a minibike my father built for the Chimp's in the Sole Bros Circus.
Not long after that scored a new Z50, what followed after that were numerous step thru's and an A100 Suzuki, SL70 and a brand new TM75.
Apart from sneaking out onto the tracks at lunch time, didn't race ( no juniors then ) but was allowed to compete at varios clubkharna type events in slalom and chase me charlie's.
Virtually went from the TM75 to my brothers 2Valve Jawa at 15, that made the freckle pucker.
Rode at NSW Speedway Riders Assoc club days and won C, B and A grade events over the next 2 years.
Came to leave school at 16 and had a contract offered in England 2nd Division and really wanted to go over to join my brother who was riding at Oxford at the time.
At the suggestion ( read insistance ) of my father I started an apprenticeship and couldn't wait to get my racing license at 17.
I lasted 2 and a bit meetings at the Sydney Showground before taking on the concrete and my Speedway carreer virtually ended there & then.
Rode again after 2 years but didn't have the strength or movement in my right arm that is needed to ride a Speedway bike properly so I gave it away and rode a bit of Short Circuit for a while but I'd lost my nerve so gave it all away totally.
Only to make a comeback last year after nearly 30 years away and I'm loving it.
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I wanted a bike bad when I was ten but it was no go. My parents bought me a new BSA meteor air rifle for x mas on the condition I never asked for a bike again. I broke the deal after I got the air rifle. Some of the neighbor hood kids used to buzz the streets on mini bikes. I yearned.
One day my uncle invited us over. My dad and him were mates before they got married and shared a keen interest in home brewing. Drinking the home brew was probably more to the point. He had just bought my cousins a couple of Yamaha 60's and took us all down to the Greensborough quarry where there were hundreds of people screaming around on bikes. My dad had such a ball he went out the next week and bought me an SL70.
I never raced, as buying the bike was his only input into my hobby. He did take me fishing a lot and I became quite a skilled angler, not to mention a crack shot with the old BSA.
I found an abandoned apple orchard close to home were lots of other kids were riding, we called it the Lewis road bike track and spent all my spare time riding there with a great bunch of young blokes. Most were older than me and were good role models. They were great days.
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het GMC didn/t a bloke write a song about not getting a bike for christmas [hey santa wheres my f#$cking bike :) :) :)
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Part 2. My drooling over XR75's at the racetrack didn't go unnoticed by big bro No1,He brought me a secondhand K1 XR75 for my birthday as a suprise,was i a lucky little bugger or what! That poor little bike got flogged for the next couple of years,along the way the engine was transplanted into a YZ80E frame for a short time until the rear shock cacked itself on full extension & stayed there,I did not have any dough so the donk was put back where it belonged in the honda frame, I also set it on fire when the engine backfired through the carby & caught the pod filter alight,burned comprehensively from the rear of the fuel tank everything forwards,I tried putting the fire out with a hose but the hose came up a couple of feet short of the bike & the pressure was very low,I ended up on my hands & knees throwing sand on it ,all the while bawling my eyes out but not wanting to go too close coz i thought shes gonna blow at any minute! I repaired it with a second bike i got out of the trading post,for some reason that now eludes me i swapped it for a MR175 that belonged to my sisters boyfriend.
When i got my first job i was able to save & buy a new 1983 KX80,I told my old man i was gonna race & he hit the roof, he said there was no way he would sign the papers,I waited till he was away & i was living with my nan for a while so i got her to sign me up & i was away,My pa would take me out to the racetrack in his 1966 Valiant Safari wagon towing a rusty old trailer,one meeting nan came as well & after the moto she gave me a good dressing down in front of my mates because my kidney belt had come loose & was flapping behind me & as she said putting off the other riders,how embaressment! But i didn't care coz i was finally racing. When i won my first trophy a couple of years later my old man was proud as punch & even took it to work to show his mates, Geez that was over 25 years ago & i have since raced 125's,250's,& modern four bangers in mx,enduros,supermoto & roadracing & still loving every minute :)
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Many thanks for everyone that is sharing their stories.
I suppose this is a good example of the realities of bike ownership that I have always misunderstood a little.
Being a young fella and reading magazines, you get the idea that 90% of bikes riders (or at least racers) are rich kids with parents who throw endless amounts of money at them. Seriously, the amount some spend on one kid for a season alone could be a years worth of mortgage repayments for many people.
What this thread has made me realise is that the people represented in magazines are the minority, and the large majority (at least in the past but no doubt now also) are hard working people with a passion who get away with older, borrowed machines, people who scrimp and save from meet to meet and probably miss many in between.
I have always believed that the harder you work for something and the less is 'given' the more you tend to appreciate it. The fact that so many here are still into bikes is no doubt testament to that "passion" which was developed as the bike iteslf and keeping it running was such a part of the lifestyle.
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A good VMX thread and read. 8)
Thank you,Bioflex.
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Started in the early 70s riding an SL70 at the Bill Patterson Honda rallies at Ray Owen "Wallan" Back then the $300 to buy new was affordable as times were economically good for many. My Dad made me earn about $50 stacking vegetable boxes and cleaning at the local greengrocers. He was a sales Rep for AMACO and it was selling like rocket fuel. (Maybe something to do with the advent of the V8) Progressed through KTM, Elsinore to Maicos (Rex Wolfenden gave a young sub juior a test ride and I was hooked.) Raced till about 76 but buying a maico at the start of a season for $1000 and selling at the end for $500 became too difficult. Bought a good 2 valve Jawa and went racing speeway. Bugger me the 4 valve evolution happened. But the 2 valve and the wessie mark 1 kept me going round for a few years into the 80s when marriage and house took centre stage nd isposable cash. Interesting how varied the riders socio-economics situatios were back then. Ron Dinsdale a western suburbs boy tough as nails and when talent was reognised was well sponsored. Grant Cramer probably very much your classic Aussie "mid" family. Again talent recognised, brothers good results obviously also helped as Grant had an absolute beast of an SL70 from Cycleworld in Parahan. Andy Horne very much on the well to do side and always had the best bits. Roger lamberts Dad had him race bikes I hought we uncompetitive believing it would make him a better rider in the long term. Chris Kelly fom Altona was assisted greatly by his uncle who raced speedway carsut definetly battled in the early years. Regetted selling him my SL70 and it just seemed to go much quicker with him on it. Chris Oldfield very much your average Aussie (except everyone had a pommy accent)who lived in the sticks of Mooralbark so his family could afford a new home. Russel Bergmier was a good old country boy. Like the Chasemores they had beig earthmoving concerns but I'd imagine it what would be termed assest rich, but no money that can afford to be wasted. So basically there was the good the bad and the ugly or the rich, the average and the battler all racing. Basically the family has to be the main sponsor initially and for most "always." (The names mentioned above are my perceptions of guys I knew and raced against. Perceptions are one persons internal opinion. What I consider a battler will be viewed different to someone who has less.) Is today any different. In eneral probably need the dollars but, in my times in Mackay I have seen kids into MX, a couple whose Dads have big dollars due to Construction companies and another whose family who seem to be permanently on welfare. So it may depend on where you want to still spend your bucks?
Rosco 86
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all of ten years old me was often found sitting on one of the bikes (not the Bulty's or the Maico, I'd get the crap beaten outa me by my big bros if i so much as touched one of them!) making brap brap noises & changing endless gears & twisting the throttle like there was no tommorow.
Smed you have nailed it I think we all started like this .I sat on my dads BSA scramble bike as a 10 year old doing the same thing and then when my daughter turned 2, I sat her on my KTM and started it up and gave it a rev and to my regret she hasn't been back in the shed since DOH >:(
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Many thanks for everyone that is sharing their stories.
I suppose this is a good example of the realities of bike ownership that I have always misunderstood a little.
Being a young fella and reading magazines, you get the idea that 90% of bikes riders (or at least racers) are rich kids with parents who throw endless amounts of money at them. Seriously, the amount some spend on one kid for a season alone could be a years worth of mortgage repayments for many people.
What this thread has made me realise is that the people represented in magazines are the minority, and the large majority (at least in the past but no doubt now also) are hard working people with a passion who get away with older, borrowed machines, people who scrimp and save from meet to meet and probably miss many in between.
I have always believed that the harder you work for something and the less is 'given' the more you tend to appreciate it. The fact that so many here are still into bikes is no doubt testament to that "passion" which was developed as the bike iteslf and keeping it running was such a part of the lifestyle.
When i was racing, there was always a couple of guys who had a new bike every year who's parents obviously were supporting their hobby.
Most of the field were supporting themselves though, and even those that were getting results and had earned some sponsorship from a bike shop, were still paying for most of it out of their own pocket.
I often wonder whether those guys that had everything given to them got the same thrill when they rode as the rest of us did.
When I was racing there was a young kid who was so fast, Chris Hill.
He was only about 8 years old so he obviously was being supported by his old man.
Where is he now?
I heard he retired at 16 from the bikes.
Was it just his old man pushing him while he perhaps didn't enjoy it even though he had an incredible gift at such a young age?
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When I had my first ride at Moorebank there was only one bike competing there that was not a home grown modified road bike, that was a Jawa 250 twin pipe riden for the agent by Les Fisher. It won everything there that mattered.
cheers pancho