Kenny Zahrt

Mini Elsinore
Posts
1968
Joined
8/17/2006
Location
Huntington Beach, CA US
11/14/2014 11:53am
Prayers sent. When I think KZ, I think about him RAILING the outside line at Saddleback on a blue tank OSSA. Magoo and Moates were the...
Prayers sent. When I think KZ, I think about him RAILING the outside line at Saddleback on a blue tank OSSA. Magoo and Moates were the only other two running the far outside (it wasn't even really a line). If you ever saw him that summer, then you know.... Outstanding racer who did more with less...and he could rip on anything with 2 wheels. Get well soon!
The Rock wrote:
Blue tanked Ossa or Bultaco? I saw Kenny smoke the 250 support class both motos at the Red Bud Trans Am circa 79 on his blue...
Blue tanked Ossa or Bultaco?

I saw Kenny smoke the 250 support class both motos at the Red Bud Trans Am circa 79 on his blue #402 Bultaco. He ran away both motos and it was like a riding clinic.
Ossa in '76. I do recall his taco days. RIP Kenny. Way too young...
olds cool
Posts
3019
Joined
1/17/2010
Location
Claremont, NC US
11/14/2014 11:54am Edited Date/Time 11/14/2014 11:57am
Godspeed Kenny Zahrt. One of the pioneers who helped grow this sport in it's formative period in this country. You will be missed.

Hope him and Magoo are already bench racing.
KMC440
Posts
7764
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
11/14/2014 11:58am
Good lord God's got his hands full now ... Kenny you and Danny try to keep it to a small commotion up there.

Condolences to his friends and family.
HuskyEd
Posts
4946
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Palmdale, CA US
11/14/2014 11:59am
RIP Kenny. Thanks for the memories

The Shop

Wandell
Posts
7563
Joined
12/17/2008
Location
Cairo, GA US
11/14/2014 12:07pm
Prayers for the Zahrt family


tp4
Posts
638
Joined
2/2/2008
Location
KS US
11/14/2014 2:39pm
bummer a great rider ..came to fla winter series in the 70s..great rides all winter long ..great battles with the grossi.don K..etc
he loved moto.
rip
Graybeard
Posts
1073
Joined
11/25/2013
Location
Athens, TX US
Fantasy
2206th
11/14/2014 3:19pm
So sad to hear, just got the news from another childhood friend we all rode with.

RIP Kenny, I'll see you at the starting gate on the other side brother.
Brent
Posts
5305
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Party in Temecula, CA US
11/14/2014 5:05pm


Godspeed KZ

Photo from FTE

DanDunes818
Posts
6946
Joined
10/11/2008
Location
Portland, OR US
11/14/2014 5:55pm
Prayers sent. When I think KZ, I think about him RAILING the outside line at Saddleback on a blue tank OSSA. Magoo and Moates were the...
Prayers sent. When I think KZ, I think about him RAILING the outside line at Saddleback on a blue tank OSSA. Magoo and Moates were the only other two running the far outside (it wasn't even really a line). If you ever saw him that summer, then you know.... Outstanding racer who did more with less...and he could rip on anything with 2 wheels. Get well soon!
The Rock wrote:
Blue tanked Ossa or Bultaco? I saw Kenny smoke the 250 support class both motos at the Red Bud Trans Am circa 79 on his blue...
Blue tanked Ossa or Bultaco?

I saw Kenny smoke the 250 support class both motos at the Red Bud Trans Am circa 79 on his blue #402 Bultaco. He ran away both motos and it was like a riding clinic.
Ossa in '76. I do recall his taco days. RIP Kenny. Way too young...
Didn't Kenny put the Taco on the box at Daytona in '77?
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
11/14/2014 6:06pm
UpTiTe wrote:
Sorry to say, the legend that is KZ passed about 30 minutes ago.

RIP brother.
Oh man!! This totally sucks! Best wishes to all his family and friends. The sport lost a legend today! Damn it!
jeffro503
Posts
27442
Joined
7/22/2007
Location
St Helens, OR US
11/14/2014 6:07pm
Saw this one online....and it seems like a great pic.

MotoRick
Posts
28
Joined
8/26/2007
Location
Jacksonville, OR US
11/14/2014 6:22pm
Kenny & John Desoto were my idles growing up in So Cal. Every week you could see Kenny styling in Cycle News. Lions, Ascot, Dunes, Saddleback he was always so cool. Even taped my Bell full face like his during his Maico days. RIP & Good Speed.
dynohut
Posts
292
Joined
4/10/2014
Location
Denver, CO US
11/14/2014 6:43pm
Godspeed the Dart, Thanks for posting the photos dudes "Mid Valley" may now have one of the best teams in heaven with Zahrt and Moates on Ossa Phantoms....Sound equipment trust me on this one fellas
BigDaddyG
Posts
1213
Joined
10/8/2010
Location
Saint Helens, OR US
11/14/2014 8:37pm
In 1985 my dad bought my brother and I new kx's and we headed racing. I got a new 80 and my bro got a new 60. We joined CRC and started racing every weekend for a few years. Kenny was always there and was normally the fastest dude on any given Sunday. I looked up to him and killer AXO gear and he would make his cr250 just fuggin' rip around the track. I never missed a moto he raced for over 2 years....always standing by the big triple on the infield at LACR. I had the largest crush on his wife Tina and also KO Halfhill both ladies who raced and were hot as hell, lol.....heck I was just 12.

Back in the mid 80's it was very common for the big names of supercross to show up at LACR Sunday morning to race. I have seen many of the big names back in the day show up and boy would ol' Zahrt give em hell. Most of the times you could find Kenny whooping up on some pretty big names and if he wasn't beating them he sure was making it hard on them. Loved watching him ride and hauling ass on my bmx bike to his pits after a moto to congratulate him on win. He was a great guy.

In 2010 I went down to LACR for the last race and was able to catch up with all the regulars from those days. One of them was Kenny, it was good to say hi and chat with him for a bit. Good dude and a large loss for the moto world.

Roostin' in Paradise, KZ402
CR250Rider
Posts
6706
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Moses Lake, WA US
11/14/2014 9:16pm Edited Date/Time 11/14/2014 9:23pm
RIP KZ
He was in almost every DirtBike magazine
Sprew
Posts
387
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
11/14/2014 9:58pm Edited Date/Time 11/14/2014 9:58pm
Rest in Peace
Vet57
Posts
1793
Joined
12/13/2010
Location
White House, DC US
11/15/2014 3:06am
jeffro503 wrote:
Saw this one online....and it seems like a great pic. [img]http://www2.thefasthouse.com/static/media/articles/kenny-zahrt_main.jpg[/img]
Saw this one online....and it seems like a great pic.

Awesome Pic...Godspeed Kenny.
Tumblin
Posts
1208
Joined
7/27/2011
Location
Jacksonville, OR US
11/15/2014 11:37am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2014 9:50pm
Another that wore the King of Cool crown...God Speed to our Dart.
Bultaco
Posts
1729
Joined
1/20/2014
Location
Planet, VT US
11/15/2014 11:47am
Godspeed and Rest in Peace fellow Bultaco rider.
BobbyM
Posts
21449
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
AZ US
11/15/2014 12:46pm
UpTiTe wrote:
Sorry to say, the legend that is KZ passed about 30 minutes ago.

RIP brother.
Godspeed Kenny Zahrt.....
sclark309d
Posts
520
Joined
5/5/2010
Location
US
Fantasy
1944th
11/15/2014 4:32pm

"I couldn't imagine a better life!
Back then, CMC racing was super competitive.
I started racing CMC in 1969, then went and did the nationals, and then came back.
Motorcycle racing teaches you about life.
If you have a bad day, you just deal with it.
I know there is always a chance to make it better.
There is always a second moto, there is always a second chance."

Kenny Zahrt
RacerX interview
November 23, 2012

http://racerxonline.com/2012/11/23/where-are-they-now-kenny-zahrt
11/15/2014 4:58pm
Sad and terrible news. When I was a kid reading MXA and DIRT BIKE, I used to think to myself that he had the best job of anyone in the world, and must have been "living the dream".
imissrc
Posts
77
Joined
1/26/2010
Location
PA US
11/15/2014 8:31pm
Godspeed Kenny Zahrt,

remember him ripping at bay mare like it was yesterday.
drmarkr
Posts
3211
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Tucson, AZ US
11/15/2014 9:02pm
My introduction to Kenny Zhart was at the 1973 125cc Grand Prix in St Louis, MO. Stepped off the elevator on the 6th floor of the race headquarters hotel, and he almost nailed us as he rode down the hallway doing a wheelie on a Honda Z-50......

RIP brother....
7I3N
Posts
1558
Joined
10/22/2009
Location
Moto Paradise, UT US
11/15/2014 10:29pm
By the time I started racing at Indian Dunes in ’72, Kenny Zahrt was already the established king of the place. And all of the other local tracks as well, like Baymare and Muntz. He would show up at the races with two bikes, a 125 and a 250 and win all three pro classes, riding the 250 in the 500 class. The guy was bad ass. I learned a lot by just watching him ride.

My favorite KZ story was during the big Snake River race held in support of Evil’s jump, they had a jump contest for the racers with a big cash prize for whoever could jump the farthest. Kenny didn’t even bother to put his gear on. He goes out in jeans, a tee shirt and a pair of Hush Puppies and wins the cash. Classic Kenny Zahrt!

He is gone way too soon. With great respect and gratitude, RIP Kenny.

Photo courtesy of Scott Heidbrink.



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