Retro Dirt Bike Australia - For All Your Pre 90/95/00 Needs

[vmx42]

No conspiracies here.

Damn it. Conspiracy theories are one of my favourite things in life.

Can't beat a good 'grassy knoll' 












And as for the 'old boys' who are not happy, or maybe just a bit disgruntled, at this whole pre90/95 discussion. Just look back through the previous postings where the majority of you told Nathan et al. to get out and do something… Well they took your advice and the new forum could well be the first stage in the MMX movement.

If that is the case, then good luck to them. The worst case senario is that the pre90/95 discussion should disappear from OzVMX, and that is probably a good thing too.

No losers as far as I can see…


Graeme was ahead of his time with OzVMX, so let's see if he can spread the magic to pre90/95. He has my vote. 

[firko]

I look forward to reinvigoration of 78/75 in NSW, Firko. Hope it comes to pass, I remember you had hoped to get that going a little while back.

Graeme.......The previous attempts to get a pre '75 register up and operating were nipped in the bud by some terminal computer problems that were closely followed by some coincidental personal dramas in the lives of those involved which put an end to the momentum behind it. There had been some talk of reviving the concept but the original format proved to have some inherent problems causing it to end up in the too hard basket.

As in the previous concept I've been approached by other interested parties to help them formalise a plan to get pre '75 and pre '78 back on deck as a viable and exciting VMX category. The project is only a couple of weeks old so it'd be unwise of me to openly discuss too much detail at this early stage but some of the ideas are to incorporate a couple of pre '78 dirt tracks, a couple of grass track style motocross meetings and possibly one or two pre '85 Vinduros. There are a couple of obstacles in the way at the moment but time and some work by those who proposed the idea should see the basics up and running some time early next year. Like anything, a concept is only as good as the people who support it so lets hope those who are sitting back because they're unhappy with the way the older classes have been treated in recent years can come back and support the folks who hope to make this a reality.

[TeeBone]

Tho I was a bit concerned the other day when I noticed Nathan weighs the same as a duck!

Is he a witch??? (my apologies to Monty Python)

More people on bikes is always a good thing and having a forum dedicated to a particular sector isn't going to hurt things - not from my Pre 75 side of things!

[Tim754]

No the witch is a duck, and coincidentally both of them combined weigh twice as much as Nathan.

[GMC]

Sure the occasional question about a 1988 CR500 is OK, but what if that became the norm? I for one have no interest. I DON'T want Pre 90/95 stuff on OzVMX to be honest.

Oh really, well please excuse my ignorance, I wasn’t aware that Pre 90 talk wasn’t welcome here.
I always thought this site was more of a National site and not just based on NSW ideals.
Might have to change my avatar.


Will one Era affect another? I doubt it.
Pre 75 or Pre95, you either love them or hate them,
I doubt Pre75 lovers will suddenly park their bikes because something newer is around the corner.
And those into the younger classes would probably never consider Pre 75 either.

[Graeme M]

Geeze... doesn't matter which way you go you upset someone, eh?   

My comment about pre 90 on OzVMX is from my own personal point of view. I'm just not that interested. That doesn't mean that I will suddenly prohibit any such discussion on OzVMX.

Am I forgiven now? 

[vmx42]

Sure the occasional question about a 1988 CR500 is OK, but what if that became the norm? I for one have no interest. I DON'T want Pre 90/95 stuff on OzVMX to be honest.

Oh really, well please excuse my ignorance, I wasn’t aware that Pre 90 talk wasn’t welcome here.
I always thought this site was more of a National site and not just based on NSW ideals.
Might have to change my avatar.


Will one Era affect another? I doubt it.
Pre 75 or Pre95, you either love them or hate them,
I doubt Pre75 lovers will suddenly park their bikes because something newer is around the corner.
And those into the younger classes would probably never consider Pre 75 either.

Geoff,
I don't think that anybody [especially me] meant that pre90/95 was no longer welcome here. But the thread that precipitated the new Retro forum did tend to dominate OzVMX for a few weeks - and I think that those are the threads that will now disappear from this forum. Not by being banned, just a natural shift in focus to the new forum.

Personally anybody who has an old 'motorbike' question should feel encouraged to ask it and take advantage of the wide ranging 'brains trust' that lurks on these pages. I just like motorcycles - the sharing of knowledge on that subject is fascinating to me - and OzVMX is the best place to go for interesting posts.

And let's not forget the joy that is an OzVMX meandering thread - God only knows where it will go next… Freeform magic!!!!!
VMX42

[firko]

Now all we need is to get Ji's TAFE courses back on board and we're off and running.

[gdr]

all im reading is pre75 and pre78 [the protected ones] and then the jump to pre90/95.where is evo going to fit in ?

[Shaun G]

all im reading is pre75 and pre78 [the protected ones] and then the jump to pre90/95.where is evo going to fit in ?

And this is what I am afraid of.

The coming division in NSW is not going to help either side. This is why I am so keen to see HEAVEN embrace the next eras of bikes. In no way do I think that the introduction of pre '90 should be to the detriment of the earlier classes. That facts are that pre '78 and earlier classes in NSW seem to be going in ever diminishing circles and if we hitch our wagon to them without a plan to reinvigorate them in some way we will be in for troubled times.

Quite simply I personally can't see an answer for getting pre '78 and earlier bikes back to where they were. Firko hints that moves are underway to remedy the situation and I wish him and his cohorts the very best of luck. Until then I stand by my opinion that HEAVEN needs to look to the future. This is even more important if a revitalised vintage group gains a foothold.

Cheers
Shaun

[Shaun G]

I wouldn't have mentioned HEAVEN at all except for the email I got this morning indicating an attempted coup this weekend.
I think it's quite relevant to the situation. Good old club politics at work .

I know as a respected journalist you would never divulge your source Firko. However I would advise that you check your facts before publishing such errant nonsense.

The facts are.

I drafted a letter to the committee requesting a special general meeting to consider a proposal that the clubs constitution be changed to allow the introduction of later classes at the will of the membership. The changes pertain to amendments made in 2007 to the original constitution. This letter was signed by 21 other members and met the requirements of the constitution regarding such a request.

There is no coup. The meeting this weekend, while discussing the motion, can not and will not have any bearing on subsequently having a vote. I am quite happy to provide any further information regarding this matter. Just ask. Further may I suggest you tell your correspondent that mischievous emails do nothing to add to the debate and only serve to cause grief where it is not needed.

Cheers
Shaun

[Nathan S]

I wouldn't have mentioned HEAVEN at all except for the email I got this morning indicating an attempted coup this weekend.
I think it's quite relevant to the situation. Good old club politics at work .

This makes my skin crawl.

Sending out (apparently misleading) emails to rally the troops is all good, but putting things back on the club's agenda through the proper channels is "club politics"?

[SLAWESY]

Nathan and Grahame
Well done guys. A natural progression as I see it, just as day follows night or some on this forum may say night follows day.

I raced 78 to 81, so no interest in the new site at all, went "cold turkey" for nearly 30 years so cannot relate to the "Retro bikes" or riders for that matter. That said, I also have no interest in pre-77 either as it is not my era (all be it short) either.

All I know is it is great to have a forum that facilitates interest and information from guys that know so much about their time involved with dirt bikes, whatever the era.

Good luck, sure it will go well.

[DJRacing]

Quite simply I personally can't see an answer for getting pre '78 and earlier bikes back to where they were.
Firko hints that moves are underway to remedy the situation and I wish him and his cohorts the very best of luck. Until then I stand by my opinion that HEAVEN needs to look to the future. This is even more important if a revitalised vintage group gains a foothold.

Cheers
Shaun

Shaun, you may well be right that we may never see the big numbers on the start line of those (pre75/78) eras but by your thinking of "my opinion that HEAVEN needs to look to the future is even more important if a revitalised vintage group gains a foothold.  Do you not want to see pre75/78 contribute to the sport in Heaven?
Their are many ways to get growth back into a sport. If the older members dont wish to "race" anymore maybe a class of 'all in pre75/78' free riding could entice people to bring their bikes back.
By 'free riding' I dont mean not paying, I mean like classic dirt. But the entry fee could reflect that its not racing.
How about a couple of non-racing rides on pre75/78 bikes for newcomers, friends, families such as father/son non-racing rides to promote the older bikes.
I have yet to have met anyone that likes riding motorcycles who hates an old bike when they are riding around on it.

Graeme, your's and Nathan's idea on the new RetroMX forum is a positive step forward to communicating with a new bunch of guys who love dirtbikes/motocross and all things in that period of time that for allot of us looked upon those bikes as more 'tools for the trade' rather than 'tools that made the trade'. I hope the forum is well supported.

[Shaun G]

DJ we currently have a situation where due to the lack of numbers of pre '78 riders at HEAVEN events we have serious issues with regards to flag marshal duties for the later era's at many HEAVEN events. Even to the point where people are flagging their own classes of racing. They do this for the good of the club. And I simply think that if we continue along this path we will start loosing them as well.

I certainly want to see pre75/78 contribute to the sport in Heaven and in fact I would like to see even greater numbers do such a thing.

However I am a realist.

If HEAVEN was a vibrant pre '78 club believe me you would not hear a word from me. However in my opinion the past three years has seen the club on a path of self destruction. At the moment numbers are good if you amortise it over the whole season.

But! If you drill down and look at numbers round-by-round you will see that without EVO and later classes the club would cease to exist at most rounds. My point is a new movement with a focus on later classes will, in my opinion, drag the later bikes, EVO and Pre '85, towards it. Thus leaving HEAVEN with attrition in its healthiest classes and no plan for its future VMX vision.

Cheers
Shaun