Hall of Fame Dirt Tracks

Steve Baker - Class of 2014

admin — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 23:46:22 +0000

Steve Baker - Class of 2014 admin Tue, 10/24/2017 - 19:46

Blazing the path of a true Canadian champion

As a youngster Steve Baker enjoyed riding dirt trails around his home town of Bellingham, Washington. By the time he was 16 he had taken up racing and was honing his skills up and down the West coast of the United States and Canada. In short order, Steve became the top ranked novice short track and Junior TT rider in the country.

By 1971 Yamaha’s race director Bob Work, who had been following Steve’s dirt track success, offered him a ride on a TD2 sponsored by Canadian importer, Trev Deeley Ltd. Steve took to road racing naturally and by 1973 had won his first Canadian 250 Expert Championship. In the ensuing three race seasons, Baker blazed the path of a true champion, producing 9 more Canadian National plates. Bob Work speaks of Steve’s innate ability to learn a new track very quickly but to run at the front and finish the race, the bike also has to be very well prepared. The team of Baker/Work were the stuff.

Steve had success road racing in the US as well, supported by Yamaha Motor Canada. In 1975 Steve recorded a 2nd at the Daytona 200, 3rd in the 250cc 100 mile race and returned in 1976, making the podium again with a 3rd in the 250cc class. Baker then went on to earn his first AMA national win at Loudon, NH and capped the weekend off with a 250GP win. He duplicated that performance in August that season at Laguna Seca Raceway, again winning the National and the 250GP. These results placed Steve 2nd overall in the series behind Kenny Roberts.

In 1977, Baker started the year impressively by qualifying on the pole for the Daytona 200. He went on to win the rain-shortened 200 miler and the International Lightweight 250 Grand Prix event as well. From there he competed in both the newly formed Formula 750 World Series and the 500cc World Championship Grand Prix. With wins at Daytona, Spain, England, Austria and Belgium, Steve Baker and the Canadian Yamaha Team secured the Road Racing World Championship in the Formula 750 Series and finished runner-up to Barry Sheene in the 500 World Championship.

For that extraordinary season, Steve Baker and Team Yamaha were also recipients of the International Ambassador Award for their outstanding promotion of Canadian motorcycle racing.

The close of 1977 brought an end to that Cinderella season. Yamaha did not renew his contract so Steve spent 1978 contesting the 500cc World Championships on a privateer Suzuki. At the end of that season, Baker suffered a devastating accident at the Mosport circuit in Canada. That crash left him with a broken arm and shattered his left leg for the third time. Soon afterward, Baker decided to retire from racing.

Today Steve maintains an office in the motorcycle dealership he owned near Bellingham, WA. Since 2007 Steve has been traveling to Europe regularly as a rider for the Yamaha Classic Race Team based in Holland. This has provided him the opportunity to reconnect with many of the riders he competed against during his GP career and ride the 1970’s Yamaha race bikes ranging from the TZ125 to his favorite the OW-31 TZ750.

Steve Beattie - Class of 2017

admin — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:12:01 +0000

Steve Beattie - Class of 2017 admin Fri, 01/19/2018 - 09:12

“Take it a race at a time, a bike at a time, a session at a time.”

Steve Beattie’s 26 Suspension offers the best in knowledge and experience. He is well known for building and tuning flat track race suspensions and MX to DTX conversions. However, Steve also builds race tuned engines and works on MX suspension setups at his shop in the Petrolia area.

Steve is probably best known though, as a champion competitor with an illustrious career in Canadian flat-track racing as well as racing south of the border. He has been racing pro since the age of 14. To say Steve knows a thing or two about the finer points of flat-track racing would be a gross understatement.

Beattie was first introduced to flat track racing by fellow hall of famer, John Parker. He was a friend of his Dad’s and was the guy who got him out on the dirt track. He started racing at the age of 11 in Medina NY, on a TT style flat track aboard a Honda CR 85. His Canadian career started in 1986 when he turned 13 and progressed through the ranks quickly turning Expert in 1988. Steve’s US pro career started in 1989 and he currently has been racing motorcycles for 34 years.

Steve is 7 time Canadian National Champion, CMA Canadian National Champion in 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1997. He was awarded the White Memorial Trophy in 1993 and again in 1995 which is for the best performance by a Canadian rider in all disciplines but later changed to the best performance by a #1 plate holder. In 1995, he was also the Canadian National Ice Racing Champion as well as being the recipient of the Ambassadors Award along with Miguel Duhamel for exceptional recognition at the international level.

In the USA, Steve won the AMA Grand National at Lake Odessa, Michigan in 1995, placed second at an AMA Grand National Short Track at Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2003, took a third place at the AMA Grand National half-mile at Columbus, Ohio in 2002 and won the USA Grand National Mile at Lexington, Kentucky in 2002.

During his dirt-track career, Steve rode for many teams including – John Parker Racing from 1986 to 1989, Deeley H-D Canada from 1989 to 1998 and 2003 to 2006, GCR racing in Peoria, Illinois for 2000 and 2001, Johnny Goad in Richmond, Virginia in 2002 to 2004 and Kurt Biegger Racing in 2005 to 2006 and from 2012 to 2016. Steve also tuned for the late Ricky Graham. In Super Moto, Steve raced for Inglis Cycle Racing from 2003 to 2007.

There were other Flat Track and supermoto national wins including the CMRC Canadian National Champion in 1999 and 2005 and the Flat Track Canada National Championship in 2016.

The 2016 championship wasn’t without incidence as the newly crowned Flat Track Champ spent some time in hospital recovering from serious injuries suffered at the final round of the National at Ohsweken Speedway. Beattie’s crash with his Kurt Beigger Racing Honda single occurred just after the start of the final Expert Open class race of the year. Exiting the second turn, a few positions into the still tightly-bunched pack, Beattie went into a speed wobble, fell along the edge of the track’s outside retaining wall and was struck by two other racers. His injuries include a broken collar bone, broken left hand and two broken vertebrae in his neck. This is the fourth time that Beattie has suffered serious neck injuries in a motorcycle racing-related incident.

Prior to the incident at Ohsweken, Beattie was in the midst of a very successful summer of racing and garnered enough points, even though he didn’t finish the race, to win the championship and #1 Plate.

Steve identifies his best trait as being “fearless” and second best as, “the ability to forget pain.” Over his long career, he has been involved, in addition to flat track racing, with ice racing, supermoto, road racing, motocross, mountain biking and sprint triathlon (non-motorized).

There have been many influential people that have played a part throughout his career, Mom and Dad and all his family, wife, Michelle and son, Ryan, as well as John Parker, Jon Cornwell, Brian Olsen and Kurt Biegger. There have been many people that have been a part of Steve’s racing success but these are the key people.

Steve’s most memorable ride was winning the AMA Grand National in 1995. He came from 13^th on the first lap to win the race against the absolute best of the best.

“Everyone talks about winning the Championship, but really I’m not too focused on that. I try to take it a race at a time, a bike at a time, a session at a time. We will see what happens at the end.

Chris Evans - Class of 2015

admin — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 14:43:39 +0000

Chris Evans - Class of 2015 admin Tue, 10/24/2017 - 10:43

Determination or stubbornness got him back on the track

Unlike most competitors who win the big one in the prime of their career and with support from the factory, Chris Evans on June 30, 2002, won his first AMA Pro National ½ mile event at Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio, (his favourite track) one month short of his thirty-ninth birthday; well past an age when most riders have won their last. The win set a record in 2002 that most people aren’t even aware of – being the oldest rider in AMA history to win their first National race.

This same man set another record in 1979 when at 16 years of age, Chris was the youngest person to ever receive the coveted CMA White Memorial trophy awarded to the competitor who scores the highest points in a year in all competitive events with 136 points.

Chris Evans was born July 21, 1963 in St. Catharines, started riding at eleven and won his first race at age 12 on a TY80. In 1978 he switched to Dirt Track and Ice Racing and has never looked back. Chris’ father, George has been his biggest supporter, accompanying Chris to most of his events and between the two of them, building and maintaining their own equipment and mostly on their own dime.

In 1980, with a handful of junior and senior championships to his credit, Chris moved to Expert dirt track. By 1982, he earned his first #1 plate for Expert Dirt Track and repeated his success with the HD XR750 winning the CMA #1 Plate again in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1994, 2001 and 2006 and CMRC in 2004. His last #1 Plate for Dirt Track came in 2012 at the age of 50. Hundreds of trophies fill the recreation room and spill out into the halls and other rooms.

Over the last 40 years, Chris has won 24 Canadian National Dirt Track Championships, over 20 Provincial Dirt Track Championships and 5 National Ice Racing Championships. The White Trophy, awarded by vote of the CMA Directors to the outstanding racer in Canada in recognition of his successes has been awarded 3 times to Chris.

Evans was the first to break the dominance of the Quebec riders in CMA National Ice Racing riding the Jim Sehl tuned Wood Rotax four stroke as well as Kurt Biegger’s Honda CR500 and taking the #1 Plate in 1985, 1991 and 1992.

He was invited along with Jon Cornwall to ride for a Swedish team in the intense world of spiked tire ice racing but Chris was doing so well in ice racing here that he decided not to go. Cornwall competed for two seasons and in retrospect Chris has regrets for not going.

Chris with his father George have put on over half a million miles travelling to events all across Canada and into the US. In 1986, he tied with Steve Morehead as Ohio State Champion and rode at 10 Ohio tracks, a few in New York and Pennsylvania and competed in everything available in Canada. He has had many sponsors and supporters over the years; most noteworthy is Jeff Hartrich of American Harley Davidson in Tonawanda N.Y.

Erie County Fairgrounds’ track at Hamburg, New York has been a jinx for many riders either on the track or traveling to it and Chris was no exception. He took a nasty spill and when he came to, he couldn’t talk, walk or see and doctors revealed that his neck was broken and he likely wouldn’t walk again. Either determination or stubbornness caused Chris not to give up and he literally stared at his toe until it began to move. The paralysis only lasted several weeks. Chris walked around with a halo fixture around his head to keep it immobile and within six months, for the love of the sport, he was back on the track and having fun again.

On his victory round at Lima, he took his father, George with him and knew that he had achieved what all good racers dream of, to be able to look back some day and know that on that night they finally did it, they were the best.

Chris is St. Catharines’ genuine unsung hero, we welcome him as an inductee in the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame and look forward to seeing him compete for many years to come.

Peter Grant - Class of 2013

admin — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 19:56:56 +0000

Peter Grant - Class of 2013 admin Wed, 10/25/2017 - 15:56

Earning the nickname “Rubber Ball Boy”

Aversion to risk was never in the genes of Peter Grant, and it’s not surprising that two-wheel motorsport eventually lured him on the rocky road to success. It all started at around age 6, after Peter’s family had moved out from Toronto and ended up in the suburb of Woodbridge, Ont. A local kid had a go-kart and the two friends would tear around on it during the rare occasions when it could be made to run.

Things stepped up a notch some years later when Peter’s father bought him a Lil Indian, the archetypal ’60s minibike with lawn-mower engine, high handlebars and little else apart from a thinly padded seat. Comfort matters little to a 12-year-old and Peter bounced the Lil Indian around the fields of vacant farm land at the end of his street. He says, “It was ride, crash, fix and repeat.”

Soon afterward, Peter and the hard-used minibike were shipped off to Everdale Place, a farm an hour outside of Toronto that was the site of Canada’s first experimental free school. Rules and structure were in short supply and Peter took full advantage of riding opportunities on the 20-hectare property. Then along came a Honda S90 and Peter developed the tuck-and-roll crash technique that served him so well in later years. Successively larger Hondas followed, and Peter’s road riding experience started somewhat illegally at the age of 14.

Turning 16 on Victoria Day of 1970, Peter had to wait until the next day when the motor vehicle licensing office opened to complete the written part of his test. That summer he and friends rode their bikes to the West Coast and back, racking up 15,000 miles on Peter’s CB350 and learning many lessons en route. He honed his mechanical skills through such techniques as dropping a screw from the points plate down the empty spark plug hole, necessitating a tear-down of the Honda’s top end in a campsite near Nanaimo.

Later that year Peter attended his first race, a motocross at Streetsville, Ont., as a spectator and got the urge to compete. First, he needed a motorcycle and since all he had was the CB350 his first event was a combined junior/expert production road race at Mosport. Being lapped by Yvon Duhamel on a Kawasaki triple on the third lap was a sobering experience. Peter looked to the dirt and persuaded his mother, who had already been nagged into signing a guardian’s waiver for his CMA competition licence, into co-signing a loan for a shiny new 125 CZ motocrosser. Overweight and underpowered, the CZ taught Peter “how to be the underdog, the little guy that had to try harder, learn faster and work for everything.”

A change of rear tire made the long-suffering CZ into a dirt tracker and Peter entered a TT at Welland, winning a grand total of 75 cents for finishing third in his class. The next spring it became an ice-racer for an early-season event on the stock car oval at Pinecrest Speedway in Concord, Ont.

In the summer of ’73 Peter found himself working as a mechanic at competition central, Sonic Motorcycles in Scarborough, Ont., where the owners Bill Sharpless and John DeGruchy were avid supporters of racing. Fellow mechanic Ben Heisl loaned him a Bultaco 250 Pursang on which Peter scored fourth place at the season final half-mile at New Hamburg. Heisl was not only an expert tuner, but he also acted as coach, mentor and psychologist; Peter says, “Ben was the king of tuners in my mind.”

Peter paid his dues on the short track at Welland where he earned the nickname Rubber Ball Boy for his ability to roll down the track and leap back to his feet. His short stature, long ponytail and winning ways made him a crowd favourite. Track announcer Wes Pierce regularly used the phrase, “And it’s little Peter out in front again. Everyone likes to see a little peter out in front…” It was classic Wes Pierce and it always brought laughter from the grandstand crowds.

By 1974 he’d earned two provincial junior championships and placed second in the national series behind Mike Fair. In 1975 he gained the 750 senior class national and provincial championships riding in Ontario on a Big Bike Racing Products Norton sponsored by Doug May and in two western rounds on a Triumph belonging to Frank Wood.

Peter’s father Jack stepped up again, buying an ex-Dave Sehl Harley XR750 with money liberated from Peter’s college fund. Peter gained expert status in both Canada and the U.S., with 250 class championships in Canada and multiple top-10 finishes in AMA regional competition. The No. 1 plate for the 750 expert class was Peter’s reward in 1979 and again in 1980, but by ’81 success was starting to elude him. Peter rode his last CMA national in 1982 when a poorly organized race on a dangerous track in B.C. made the event a shambles and cost a junior rider his life.

Nowadays he is in the business of golf and enjoys playing the occasional round.

John Parker - Class of 2013

admin — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 15:40:06 +0000

John Parker - Class of 2013 admin Wed, 10/25/2017 - 11:40

“The professor” - twisting the throttle for 47 years and counting

Few racers can boast of a career in which they are riding against not just the children but the grandchildren of their former competitors, but John Parker is one. One of the winningest riders in Canadian dirt track history, he has been twisting the throttle for 47 years and counting. With five No. 1 plates, 21 national championships and 32 provincial championships, he’s a bona fide living legend in Canadian racing. John’s also a perennial winner on his adopted home track at Medina, N.Y.

John spends his work days in the motorcycle service department of a BMW dealership and his evenings and weekends building race bikes, teaching dirt track techniques to aspiring young riders and watching for the twitch of the starter’s flag to gain his inevitable holeshot into the first corner. He’s widely known as a master at all these disciplines and remains committed to putting back into the sport as much as he’s gained from it since he was eight years old.

John learned the love of motorsports from his father, also named John, who had raced cars in his native England. Young John started in a go-kart and progressed to a Rupp minibike before his father bought a pair of 50 cc Honda Mini-Trails so they could ride together. His first competitive events were with the Minibike Club of Canada, but as John grew he got involved with the Steel City Riders Club through his dad’s friendship with Ray Boasman.

Schoolboy motocross and ice races with Steel City came next and John soon ventured across the border into New York State through his friendship with another up and coming rider, Norm Carr. His enjoyment of sideways action on the ice led John to try flat track racing, though until the age of 14 he devoted his summers to motocross. The highlight of 1975 was beating expert riders Peter Grant and Doug Sehl at Welland while still a CMA senior. In 1976 John turned expert and won all three class championships at Welland aboard his F Manley supported Kawasaki’s.

John made the jump to the 750 class in ’77 when he gained his AMA pro licence and bought a Harley racer with the help of local dealer Chief’s Custom Cycle. Late that year, though, his family’s Kawasaki business was sold and the help he’d been receiving dried up. John quit school and devoted himself to learning the craft of becoming a professional motorcycle racer. He struggled financially but continued to race and to learn until August 1979 when a serious crash on his 750 Triumph at a pro race in Hamburg, N.Y., left him with a badly broken left arm. John still found the means to race, but as a passenger to Blake Pierce on an 800 cc sidecar ice racer. The team won two national ice racing championships.

It was a dry spell for John but he had help from Doug Sehl with installation of a Yamaha engine in his old Kawasaki dirt tracker which eventually led to some solid finishes. He credits Doug Sehl with getting him started on a 35-year career as a fabricator and builder of race bikes. An important boost came in 1980 when he was offered a job by Larry Bastedo and Jim Kelly at BK Motorcycles and started on the path to become a licensed motorcycle mechanic, this relationship also led to his first two No.1 plates in 1982 and 1983. He began attracting corporate sponsorship, first from Yamaha and then from Deeley Harley-Davidson which supported him on an XR750 for nine years. Nowadays he’s come full circle, with backing from Kawasaki.

John’s previous day job was at Brutune Racing where for 12 years he built and modified road race and street bikes, as well as doing restorations. He took an interest in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and in 1996, ’97 and ’98 travelled to Colorado to compete in the Race to the Clouds. He also taught at youth dirt track schools through the ’90s and helped launch youth 50, 60 and 80 cc classes to encourage more young riders in CMA racing.

The year 1999 brought spectacular success. John turned 40 and also became the most dominant rider in Canadian dirt track history by winning 12 nationals of which 10 were in a row. He won the CMA No. 1 plate in dirt track, received the White Memorial Trophy, was CMA national champion in the 600 cc and open expert class, CMA provincial champion in both classes and CMRC national champion in both classes. At the end of the season he also married his long-time fiancée Dawn Van Roon.

Not that he has slowed down since. He was rider rep with the CMA for many years and sat on the board of directors in 2002-2003, his last No.1 plate came in 2003. He continued racing though dogged by injuries, especially a left knee injury—never a good thing for a short track racer, though he continues to excel at half-miles. John still races, builds engines for other competitors and supports young riders wherever he can. His nickname “the professor” is richly deserved.

Al Perrett - Class of 2018

Vada — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 18:33:21 +0000

Al Perrett - Class of 2018 Vada Fri, 01/25/2019 - 13:33

From the day that Al was offered a ride on a 250 BSA, he was hooked

From the day that someone offered Al Perrett a ride on a 250 BSA, he was hooked. He was only 14 but thought that motorcycles were awesome. Motorcycles however, would have to wait as his love of skiing got in the way. He competed from the age of 16 until he was 22, even trying out for the Olympics in 1961.

Al tried working at various jobs but was not enthused and his brother suggested he go into the motorcycle business. In 1966, he borrowed $4000 from the bank, bought five little Suzukis and opened a small shop in Richmond. It didn’t take long before he moved to larger quarters selling Yamahas. Money was tight but Al bought out Tyne Side Repairs, a long-time established dealership. This purchase saved his bacon as he had truck loads of parts for sale and was soon able to pay off the bank as well as Deeleys for the Yamahas. He was even able to move to a larger location.

Al purchased a Montessa and started motocross racing at Totem Raceway in Aldergrove. MX was OK but Al’s preference was cross country and he raced the Ashcroft cross country event numerous times, coming close but never winning.

In 1972, Al sold his Yamaha shop and moved to Kamloops starting Kamloops Honda. Now he was able to compete more and won his first cross country race.

Dan Amor talked Al into going to the Six Days Trials in Italy in 1974. All he had was an XL350 which he put aluminum bars on, Koni shocks and a Snuff-or-not muffler. He made it to day 5 but crashed, landing in the hospital for a couple of days. Al thought this was such a great event that he continued to race the ISDT over the next decade. At the Isle of Man in 1975, he earned a Bronze medal and a Silver in Austria in 1975. He entered the 1977 Czech event and the 1980 one in France but broke down both times and did not finish. Day 5 must have been his unlucky number as his DNF’s and crash all happened on that day.

Al was so impressed with the ISDT events that he organized two-day qualifier events in Kamloops and encouraged a lot of the local riders to go to the 6 days. He also did a lot of trail work with many dedicated riders and organized many races over the years.

In 1973 and 1975, Al was offered a Harley-Davidson franchise and turned it down. In 1977, Don James made him an offer he couldn’t refuse – 6 prepaid Harleys, no interest, pay when you sell them and ship them back collect if it doesn’t work out. This was one of Al’s best business decisions.

In 1986, a disastrous fire destroyed the business. Robyn Muglich, a longtime employee and Shirley Perrett worked tirelessly with Al without pay, to salvage as much as they could. Things worked out and the business slowly grew and thrived again.

Kamloops Harley-Davidson was the sponsor for the Harley Owners Group from 1988 to 2016. This chapter raised $850,000 for Muscular Dystrophy. Their poker runs have been amazing with one event raffling off ten Harleys. Over the years, the dealership donated many gifts as well as cash to local charities. These donations as well as the HOG events helped to support and benefit the community.

In 1990, Al rode his first Baja 1000 and finished! He was hooked! He has competed in 17 Baja races with different team mates over the years winning class 50 and 60 numerous times. His last race was in 2012. Al grew to love the Baja and eventually bought some property and built a small house there where he spends his winters.

In 2003, Al wanted to start a small ride for close friends and family at Sun Peaks. It is called “Round the Peaks” and has been an annual event ever since.

Many riders have been inspired and encouraged by Al over the years which he didn’t realize until lately when people started to express this to him.

Al is very proud that he survived 50 years in the motorcycle business through some very tough times. According to Malcolm Hunter, “His customer service is legendary and has been the cornerstone of his success from the start.” The business grew from 2-4 people and had 28 employees when he sold to Barnes Harley-Davidson in 2016.

Al is grateful he could follow his passion for motorcycles as a career.

Dave Sehl - Class of 2013

admin — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 15:20:27 +0000

Dave Sehl - Class of 2013 admin Wed, 10/25/2017 - 11:20

“You’d never know what Dad might bring home for me to race”

For Dave Sehl it almost seemed predestined that he would become Canada’s most successful competitor on the AMA grand national circuit of the early 1970s. He has motorcycle racing in his DNA. First in Canada as a privateer and then in the U.S. on the Harley-Davidson factory team, for a few shining years Dave Sehl ruled the half-mile dirt tracks like few others.

Dave was a natural at motorcycle racing, and grew up in a family where twisting the throttle was a rite of passage. His father Wilf was a veteran of numerous forms of two-wheel motorsport, his older brother Jim set an example in his early teens and younger brother Doug was not far behind. Dave was competing in Steel City Riders club events as early as age 12, starting with a small Villiers-engined two-stroke and progressing to a Triumph Tiger Cub. “You’d never know what Dad might bring home for me to race,” he said. “He’d cook up a deal with Percy (Poole) and I’d have a new bike to race.”

Racing with his brothers and fellow club members was plain fun and Dave progressed rapidly. He moved up to a BSA 250 and gained his first ice racing experience, then tried a Harley-Davidson 250 Sprint and a 500 cc BSA Gold Star. A short stint on a Poole Cycle Harley KR750 presented mechanical challenges, but once Dave graduated to the immaculate Triumphs built by his brother Jim things really started to click.

Dave’s first success came in ice racing in 1966 when he won the CMA junior 500 national championship. In ’67 he was Canada’s top half-mile dirt track competitor in the senior class, repeating the win in ’68 as an expert. He topped that in 1969, winning on the ice again as an expert and taking the CMA No. 1 plate in dirt track. At Daytona in ’69, Larry Bastedo arranged for the loan of a 250 Yamaha road racer from Fred Deeley Imports but engine seizures kept him out of contention.

It was Dave’s first year as an AMA expert and he caught the eye of a Harley dealer from Atlanta, Georgia, named Powell Hassel who admired his riding style and urged the factory’s race director, Dick O’Brien, to give him a place on the factory team to replace Fred Nix, who had died in a dune buggy accident. Dave quickly was brought on board to join three other now-legendary riders, Mert Lawwill, Mark Brelsford and Cal Rayborn. Compared to the Jim Sehl Triumph to which he was accustomed, the early Harley XR750 seemed heavy and slow, causing Dave to struggle and even consider leaving the team.

O’Brien came to the rescue with a call to race tuner Babe DeMay in Illinois and Dave’s fortunes began to turn around. The two personalities clicked as they worked together in the spring of 1970 in an intensely focused effort to make the bike competitive. The project consumed every waking hour over two weeks and Dave moved in with DeMay for nearly a year. The bike was ready the afternoon before the Louisville national and since DeMay had another obligation, Dave drove himself and the bike to the track alone.

On race day, the iron-cylinder engine seized in practice and Dave coasted to a halt. Once it cooled, the engine loosened up but seized again in the first heat race. The only chance left to make the main event was through a semi-final and to Dave’s suprise, the engine ran strong and he won. He repeated the win in the final, giving him his first AMA national victory. It provided a huge boost and three weeks later Dave won again, this time another half-mile in Columbus, Ohio. He was on a roll, and over a five-year spell he won Louisville three times. “It was a nice track,” he says in retrospect. “Big and smooth, and nobody got in your way.” Over a five-year span Dave was on the Louisville podium all five times.

Perseverance and talent were rewarded and in 1971 Dave placed fifth overall in AMA standings—his best year. At the same time, his dominance of Canadian racing continued and Dave took the CMA championships in 250 and 750 cc half-mile dirt track in 1970 and ’73. By then, though, O’Brien had reassigned DeMay and his crucial mentorship, not to mention his mechanical gifts, were no longer available to Dave. The national race wins stopped coming and eventually for Dave it was time to come home.

Richard, Reg & Bob Shanks - Class of 2018

Vada — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 20:17:07 +0000

Richard, Reg & Bob Shanks - Class of 2018 Vada Fri, 01/25/2019 - 15:17

The Shanks family was instrumental in laying a solid foundation for motorcycling in Victoria, BC

The Shanks family was instrumental in laying a solid foundation for motorcycling in Victoria, British Columbia and left an unforgettable legacy, a love of the sport and the ability to make things happen and inspire others to achieve their goals.

Brooklands speedway opened in 1907 and Shanks Motor Garage was nearby. Richard “Pop” Shanks got to know all the early car manufacturers and drivers. Reluctantly, for health reasons, Pop gave up his garage and racing club memberships and immigrated to Canada in 1912 with his family including two sons, Reg and Bob, and daughter, Mollie. A year later, he opened up Brooklands Sales and Service, handling Harley-Davidson and BSA motorcycles and later on Greeves and Honda. Pop soon became active in the motorcycling community and the Victoria MC Club and the shop became the gathering place for motorcyclists and the centre of the Club’s social life.

In 1921, Brooklands became a franchised Harley dealership. Pop established Bob in his own business, a block away, selling Indian motorcycles. Later Bob added Velocette, AJS and Panther. Indian produced their last motorcycle in 1953 and in 1955 Bob opened up Shanks Saddlery, evidence of his love for horses and his equestrian skills.

During high school and college days, Reg learned to ride at 12 years of age and his first motorcycle was a 1913 Douglas two-speed and a 1000cc Indian racer. The first motorcycle he ever owned was a 1913 Indian 61 which impressed him so much he recalled every detail including the engine number. Reg graduated from high school in 1924 and was the first Economic Major to graduate from college at Craigdarroch Castle two years later. The Brooklands shop moved to 800 Block Fort Street and Reg began working full time at the shop. Motorcycles became his business and his pleasure.

The Victoria Motorcycle Club had become dormant during WW1 but with the help of the Shanks was soon revitalized. Many competitive events were started – hillclimbs, dirt track races, trials, enduros, cross country and precision riding. They were often called upon to lead major parades and perform at rodeos. Bob introduced stunt riding and convinced the Kinsmen Club to sponsor and support the group.

The family provided the additional funding for the club to purchase a 160 acre property for riding near Victoria which was called Cycle Park.

Reg was the most successful competitor although even Pop was involved taking firsts in Reliability Trials in 1932 and 1933. Bob’s favourite was hillclimbing garnering 5 top finishes between 1931 and 1947, as well as winning Trials and Enduros. There was always a serious but friendly rivalry between the brothers.

Reg won his Expert status in Reliability Trials in 1933 and in Observed Trials in 1937. In 1948, he won Expert status in the Hillclimbs on a 1942 Army Harley 45. During the fifties, he was still very present in competition using lightweight motorcycles such as a Francis-Barnett in Observed Trials and an Ariel 500HS in scrambles. His first motorcycle love, the Harley was still being used in sidecar scrambles, trials and cross country events.

Reg recalls while competing in a sidecar cross country trial in the late 1950’s, the frame of his 1300cc Stroker broke, forcing he and passenger Tom Richardson to return to Victoria. As they motored down the highway, an explosion brought them to an immediate halt. Upon inspecting the engine, they found the rear cylinder completely missing! The head was still suspended from a frame strut. So forceful was the explosion that it destroyed the windshield of a car going in the opposite direction yet inflicting no injury to the two on the Harley or the passengers in the car.

In the sixties, Reg could be found racing his 250 Greeves Challenger out on the Metchosm track at the age of59! The last event he won was the 1965 All Day Enduro riding a Harley Sportster. His favourite bike was his beloved 1948 HD 45 which he named “Blue Boy.”

Reg was also awarded the Matson Award for “contributing the most to motorcycling” in 1965, 1967 and 1986. In 1995, he was presented with the Spirit of the Eagle Award. Privately funded and administered by Canadian Biker it is presented annually to the – deserving individuals in Canada who have given generously of their time and effort to the betterment of the sport. You would wonder where he found the time but Reg was also editor for a number of years of the VMC newsletter and wrote a column for 15 years for Canadian biker.

Pop passed away in 1963, Bob in 1991 and Reg in 1998. The Shanks had a deep love for the sport and had the ability to make things happen. Bob and Reg were married but had no children – the club became their family. They provided support and encouragement as well as guidance and maintained the highest moral standards for themselves and the club. They were loved by many and will not be forgotten.