Random 1980s racing pictures

[onformula1]

@onformula1- thanks, can also get some wiggle room by going back to rubber lines if it is overly stiff.

Got some new rear tires for it today but having a struggle with myself over removing the old RAs since it will likely destroy them doing so (one has really bad cracking on its sidewall) so not sure what im gonna do yet as im not really keen on spending another $180 on some Douglas wheels just so my RAs can hang out and rott more.

woes me and my first world problems

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having Myler's leave the radiators bare aluminum instead of repainting black so still sticking with not a drop of repainting done

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John how do you think those tires would work on a Fairly loose MX track on a 2 stroke, 300cc with 58 HP?

Where did you get the tires?

[ironchop]

I feel blessed for getting to witness all this.

What a killer thread. Vintage race coverage pics taken in an official manner and then sprinkle a fist full of Frank's resto racer rebuild in there like it needed to be.

I would be tempted to buy new wheels. At least it will take longer to deteriorate still on the wheels on a shelf on display.

Badass ride, Mr. Neary




Sent from my Z998 using Tapatalk

[onformula1]

^ Well, John get my vote for the world's greatest living room!

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

We never raced much on tracks that required knobbies or chunky knobs, normally wheel spin was an important part of handling so that you could break the rear end loose and throw it sideways into a corner even on the most tacky surface on the race track. If you where just "driving" around the track with total traction you would be lapped in short order as you can not ride a three wheeler quickly in that manner, at least i couldn't.

But on the west coast we mostly raced on groomed surfaces like TT tracks that had a clean, buffed groove that you would keep the tires spinning as you drift around the track.



When i ever get around to posting my 200cc main from San Jose 85 where I passed both Stevie and Marty (and beat Jimmy and everyone else but Mendenhall because he got the holeshot and gapped us early) you will see what im on about with the low traction = fast lap times riding style.

George on the #77 Honda at Carnegie OHV in 1981



got the tires from Amazon straight from the lawn mower section, im not so proud that i would buy the wrong tires just to try and fit other peoples mold

[onformula1]

The track looks like this, most guys are running very aggressive quad tires.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

i can assure you that next to a Marty Hart or a Jimmy White those guys are moving in slow motion

[onformula1]

i can assure you that next to a Marty Hart or a Jimmy White those guys are moving in slow motion

No comment,
I know some guys that race out there which is why I am collecting MX trike parts,,,to have some fun against them.

These are popular at that track.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

Saddleback says hi





it all comes down to corner speed, as you know anyone can go fast in a straight line but what makes a good rider great is how he manages corners. This is true for cars, bikes and ATVs and if you are driving around the turns on a three wheeler you are having to give up way, way to much corner entrance speed unless the track you are on is sand or has freakishly huge berms.

[onformula1]

When the time is right I am going to totally & blatantly rip off your choice of tires. (Hope you don't mind)

Unless We can get the Cheetah tire guys to repop the R/A's (Now that would be cool)

I did try a set of Carlisle Turf Saver's back in the old days, they had zero forward bite compared to cut Turf Tamers on a loomy MX track.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

I never liked the Turf Savers, no traction in any direction. In a few of the pics of our KTM495 you can see a set of turf savers on 10 inch wheels and we only used them because RAs did not work well on that bike (it ate them up) and Hoosiers had not yet caught on.



This is a good looking tire and likely the closest thing to a RA that is still in production



i only did not buy them because i wanted to stay loyal to Carlisle as they where a very generous sponsor to us for years and i feel bad about jumping on the Hoosier bandwagon even though it was the right choice.

[phantomtracer]

John, i have been thinking the same thing when I see some of the tires that people are currently running. Way too much side grip. I ran super turf tires, and Hoosier most of the time. I did have a set of knobby tires but that was just for the real loose stuff.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

if you think about it most people who learned to ride on a quad and a dirt bike are not used to having the machine pivot in two directions at once as a natural motion but with a three wheeler that is exactly what you do as you throw the rear sideways and counter steer with the front so knobbies are gonna feel normal to them

i bet the same guys who happily ride with super grippy knobs in the back also never complain about the lack of steering lock with stock fuel tanks, not a knock against them as everyone has their own style and setup needs...some are just slower than others

tring this with knobbies and stock steering stops would be a one way ticket to the emergency room

[bkm]

We never raced much on tracks that required knobbies or chunky knobs, normally wheel spin was an important part of handling so that you could break the rear end loose and throw it sideways into a corner even on the most tacky surface on the race track. If you where just "driving" around the track with total traction you would be lapped in short order as you can not ride a three wheeler quickly in that manner, at least i couldn't.

But on the west coast we mostly raced on groomed surfaces like TT tracks that had a clean, buffed groove that you would keep the tires spinning as you drift around the track.



When i ever get around to posting my 200cc main from San Jose 85 where I passed both Stevie and Marty (and beat Jimmy and everyone else but Mendenhall because he got the holeshot and gapped us early) you will see what im on about with the low traction = fast lap times riding style.

George on the #77 Honda at Carnegie OHV in 1981



got the tires from Amazon straight from the lawn mower section, im not so proud that i would buy the wrong tires just to try and fit other peoples mold

Notice anything cool about that '84 Tecate Jackie Meadows is riding?

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

@bkm - besides the low radiators?


couple shots of the new tires, they are 18x9.50-8, next to some 18x8.50-8 RAs

[bkm]

@bkm - besides the low radiators?


couple shots of the new tires, they are 18x9.50-8, next to some 18x8.50-8 RAs

That is his first gen 125 Tecate with KX gas tank and radiator. You don't happen to have any more pics of that bike by chance?