JD's-O-Plenty

I've mentioned a few times now that I've been going through a serious JD phase. Based on this photo it would seem there are plenty of them out there...

Ran When Parked

1967 Yamaha TD1B/C and 1969 Yamaha GYT - It's a surprise to no one that I am a hopeless sucker for anything two stroke with a full fairing. If you are swimming in cash maybe you could arrange some sort of package deal. Don't forget the reserve fund for spark plugs.

Norway 1951

Cliff Stering

I had the distinct honor of meeting Cliff Stering last night. Cliff was actively racing both pre and post WWII. In addition to being Pacific NW Champion Cliff raced all over the West Coast and Canada. Cliff raced the likes of "Ironman" Ed Kretz, Red Farwell, Trev Deely and Gwen Meyers.

Cliff Stering is also a lifetime member of the Seattle Cossacks (member #38). Prospective Seattle Cossack members must be voted in unanimously by the existing member base. I heard from a reliable source that Cliff initially met some resistance while trying to become a member. The story is there was a contingent of existing Cossack members that weren't all that happy about being routinely beaten by Cliff on the racetrack.  Ultimately the acting Team Captain eventually had to intercede to make it right.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us Cliff. If you are able to make the time Rob & I would love to see some of the photos you have and listen to a few more stories.

Knowin' What's What

I had never heard of Tom Fritz until just recently. I sure like this piece.

HD-165 Race Prep

Flathead Rob & I have crammed a ton of restoration time into a short time frame on a cool family project with a tight deadline. As is often the case a dependency on a third party meant we just missed the deadline. It will be done very soon and I will post some photos.

Since we missed the deadline and are waiting on paint anyway I say we regroup and turn it into a Bonneville racer. I'm betting we could hit 75 MPH with 12 HP if we recruited Vaughn to ride it...

I have the long lost secrets required in the August 1954 issue of CYCLE.

Practice Practice Practice

Generally the Seattle Cossacks make what they do look pretty easy. It's not.

When was the last time you dropped your pristine '41 Knucklehead in front of 500 bystanders as 12 guys where counting on you to not screw up?

Captain Sam dropping the hammer in practice

 Behind the scenes there is actually a fair amount of practice. In a lot of settings the Cossacks are kind of a fixture. People enjoy watching them but don't think or know much about what they do or what it takes to do it. Multiple current members have been doing this for more than 30 years. Some of the bikes are 80 years old and having been preforming for multiple generations. The 75 year heritage of the team is pretty damn cool.

 

Sightings of Knucklehead era bikes in stock form are becoming pretty rare, most of them are hidden away in collections or museums. Seeing 20 of them really being ridden is something you might never have the chance to see again. Get out and see these guys this season.

How The West Was Won

I find myself a little envious of Jeff Decker on a pretty regular basis.

Duthie Hill

My son Vaughn has begun to take a serious interest in BMX racing. It started with a trip to a local BMX track. Soon after he decided having a better bike would be cool. We spent most of the money he has been saving for a couple of years toward a bike. In effect his Mom & Dad matched what he had to buy the bike that he'd finally settled on. He's been riding it non-stop since he got it but he was really anxious to try it out on a track. We were near Issaquah on Sunday and ended up being about 10 minutes from Duthie Hill. Given that it's a facility that attracts a lot of mega long travel downhill mountain biker I was a little apprehensive about taking him out there.

Vaughn hammering up a ladder

I ended being pretty proud of him. He did a better than a lot of novice adult mountain bikers I've accompanied before. And he and I were both on BMX bikes! He also takes instruction really well.

I hadn't ridden a bike much in quite awhile, mostly out of concern of re-injuring my bike. It was fun and felt good both after the ride and the next day. I'm gonna have to take him back soon.

29th Annual Tsawwassen Show & Shine Swap Meet

This looks cool.

BMX Flashback

My youngest son has recently taken a real interest in BMX. It's made me reflect a lot on being a kid. I spent countless hours perfecting this sort of stuff while still put the work in to improve as a racer. Pretty good times.

While riding with my son this weekend it occurred to me that I've been riding BMX off and on for 40 years now. Unbelievable.  If my son even has a fraction of the fun I did doing it, it's well worth the money/time required to support him.

It's absolutely amazing how many Generation X and younger vintage motorcycle guys I meet that have a BMX background. I believe it breeds the sense of freedom two wheels can provide and fosters a passion for tinkering and improving a bike that that to some extent defines your individualism.

Vellocette KTT 350

English Stephen passed along this jewel.

Stephen, I saw a tentative date of May 10th for Crawley's Fly-In in South Prairie. Show up and we'll ensure you have something cool and vintage to ride to the event.