76 Qld MX titles

[oldmotoxer]

I have photos of the 1976 Qld unlimited MX titles held in Rockhampton Qld that I wish I could share with everyone but the have been in the Album so long they just wont come out  Anyway take it from me there was some great racing with Sam Kendal taking the victory on an RM that weekend, does he still ride VMX or other? I also have pics of the first RM370 that I had seen and was the first open class MX bike I had seen actually and with it being the current model I was very impressed. Unfortunately the track didn't favor an open class bike and the Phil Phew sponsored 370 rider didn't have a very good weekend. Does anyone else remember riders from that series and if they still ride?

[Doc]

I believe the Phil Thew rider would have been none other than Peter Boyle.. I was at Tivoli that year to see Gaston Rahier and the new RM's. The other PTM rider I remember was Stu McLaughlin. Phil Thew Moto was where I purchased my RM80 in '77 followed by the RM400 in '78 both of which are still going well to this day 

[Wombat]

Thanks for the memories; I'd love to see those photos.
I remember Peter Boyle and Stu McLachlan - if memory serves they were #55 and #151.
I was only 16 when I first talked Mum into taking me to watch MX at Tivoli.
Peter Boyle was brilliant on the RMs and was my hero at the time (remember I was a kid)...
He regularly won by huge margins and it was these events which inspired me to take up racing.
I couldn't get the YZ 80B to fly through the bush like Boyle but I tried hard!

Doc, I recall watching Gaston Rahier at Tivoli in '78 or '79; are we mixing up the dates or did he visit Oz more than once?

[Doc]

Wombat, yup! Peter Boyle was #55 and Stu #151
I saw Rahier race at Tivoli the day after he held his MX school also at Tivoli.
It was very late in the year and now come to think of it, I do have my dates confuddled..I don't think it was 76 at but infact it would have been December '75. The only oz to hold a candle to Rahier on the day was Vic Allen on a 250 Bultaco..he actually beat Rahier in 1 of the over open heats but it was on the 125 that I remember him most..he slayed em'! He and a fast Japanese rider of whom I can't recall a name..

[Hoony]

IPhil Thew Moto was where I purchased my RM80 in '77 followed by the RM400 in '78 both of which are still going well to this day 

fork, thats a radical jump Doc RM80B to RM400C talk about progression !

i had an RM80B as well great bike.

[Doc]

  nah Hoony, use your head and not your fist the salesman (Big Ron Johnson) told me when he delivered it. Not a childs toy he said.. I was over 15!! I knew everything and I was indestructable! I nearly killed myself the first night when I snuck it out at 10pm and took it up to Nudgee..full moon..nice flat area, what could possibly go wrong.. apart from everything!! and everytime I opened the throttle I shat myself. Come to think of it, not a lots changed except my underwear

[Hoony]

yeah we all did those silly things back then, i too used to ride at night.

 i think every 15 Y/O thinks they have a superman Cape attached.

[dkupf]

Oldmotomxer. Think I met you boy yesterday. Does he have a broken foot??. Suppose I'll have to get off my ass now and ring you now so I can come and look at the photo's. Darcy

[oldmotoxer]

Oldmotomxer. Think I met you boy yesterday. Does he have a broken foot??. Suppose I'll have to get off my ass now and ring you now so I can come and look at the photo's. Darcy

Not unless he has broken it in the last few hours dkupf  Spent all afternoon with him out at the bike tracks out past Plentiful Creek, Nth of Rocky trying to do my self a mischef on the RM400. I wish  had his confidence, Oh to be 23 again  I sent you an Email the other day dkupf, did you receive it?

[oldmotoxer]

I believe the Phil Thew rider would have been none other than Peter Boyle.. I was at Tivoli that year to see Gaston Rahier and the new RM's. The other PTM rider I remember was Stu McLaughlin. Phil Thew Moto was where I purchased my RM80 in '77 followed by the RM400 in '78 both of which are still going well to this day 

Thanks for the correction Doc  I wasn't sure about the Phew and as you have pointed out its actually Thew. How about the rider of the day on that particular day, Sam Kendal, any thoughts? As a kid back then I use to work in a bike shop on the Central Qld coal fields called Bob Osbourne Suzuki so RM's were well and truly in my blood and watching these blokes ride them the way they did only served to reinforce that Bob was a great promotor of the sport of MX and bike riding in general back in those days and a great bloke toboot, was a sad day when he passed away, F@#% Spanish dancer!

[Doc]

Oldmotoxer I remember seeing advertisments for Osbournes Suzuki around that era. I was still at school till the the end of '78 but well into bikes before that. My first job was with Bert Kingston..I was the guy who had the wonderful job in the loft of packaging up the big bore (Cobra) kits that were really popular at the time.  The Red Devils had been released and looked beautiful on the showroom floor and I quite easilly could have ended up with a garage full of red instead of yellow.

dkupf maybe it was oldDT's boy you met ?? I believe he has a broken hoof. Reminds me of a time I thought I was talking to you at a meeting only to find you were working 600k's away  I do it all the time  but I still swear you have a clone!!!

 

[firko]

Doc, that day at Tivoli with Rahier....Vic Allen was in fact a Scotsman who rode GPs for Bultaco. He was rocket fast but all over the shop. I saw him crash his brains out at Saddleback in '77 in a crash that took out half the field. He got up and passed nearly everyone to finish second to the great Gaylon Mosier. He rode out here a few times.

[dkupf]

Yer got your phone number just havn't got off my ass and used it, Sorry, Met a young bloke in Shoppingfair on thursday with a broken foot(dropped a landcruised diff on it) He said he and his oldman owned a rm400 and a pe400 and lived out Byfield way so though it might have been your son.Darcy

[Doc]

Thanks Firko, I didn't really know anything about Vic Allen and I must admit I am still quite ignorant. (he was the Brit MX champ at the time but I still thought he was Oz for some reason...doh..I really should have listened more instead of drooling all over the new RM's) I do remember watching him (Vic) and like you said, he was fast but not smooth and appeared to be riding above himself 99% of the time. Gaston on the otherhand barely put a wheel out of place although he rode many extremely rough alternate lines. 

[oldmotoxer]

Doc, I'm told that Rahier was a small of stature sorta little bloke who had trouble touching the ground when aboard his works bike, is that right? It obviously didn't affect his riding ability though if he was, he was a fantastic rider!