Perry King Takes the Racing Challenge at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days

Actor will join fellow AMA Board Member Charles Goman on track at this summer's AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Long-time motorcyclist and American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Board Member Perry King has battled injustice as Cody Allen in the NBC series "Riptide," global warming as President Blake in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow," and societal norms as Chico in "The Lords of Flatbush." But the accomplished actor has faced few challenges that stack up to the one he'll tackle this July 24-26 at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio: racing a vintage off-road bike.

"Vintage racing seems fitting to me," said King, who has raced cars but never competed on a motorcycle despite decades of riding experience. "I'm pretty vintage myself now. I feel like a vintage guy, and I love motorcycles, so it seems like a perfect fit."

Accepting the invitation of fellow AMA Board member and vintage motorcycle racer Charles Goman, King will line up with Goman to race in the vintage hare scrambles and motocross programs at the event, which are part of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, a three-day celebration of motorcycling heritage that includes bike shows, seminars, North America's largest motorcycle swap meet and vintage and post-vintage competition.

Goman said that King showed particular enthusiasm in vintage racing at a recent AMA Board of Directors meeting. Goman was happy to oblige King's interest.

"Perry and I just hit it off, and I let him know about coming out and vintage riding," Goman said. "I offered him a ride on one of my bikes, and he was very interested in doing it. I told him I normally ride the hare scrambles and then vintage motocross, and he was game."

While King said he's thrilled and excited to compete at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships, he doesn't intend to ride on the edge in either the woods during the hare scrambles or on the track during motocross.

"There are just three rules: don't crash, don't crash, don't crash," King said. "You just can't heal the way you can when you're young. I do tend, certainly in cars, to find it hard not to go for it. But I want to make sure I have many years left of fun. I'm not looking for the red mist to descend over my eyes."

Goman is an Ossa aficionado, and will likely loan King a 1974 Ossa Phantom 250 to ride at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships.

"I don't know much about it, but I love everything with two wheels, so I know I'll love it," King said. "If I were Charles, though, and I had more than one race bike, I'd give the other guy the more difficult one to ride."

King said that the vintage racing program isn't the only activity he's looking forward to at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days.

"I'm a motorcycle addict. If it's motorcycles, it fascinates me. I'll be in heaven there," King said. "I have 26 bikes now, and half of them are vintage. I like them all in different ways. Certainly one favorite is a '68 Bonneville that I built from a basket case in 1977, then used up and rebuilt again. Another is a '71 BMW R60. It had been sitting in the corner of some guy's shop, and he just wanted it to go away. I got it for 600 bucks. It took me two hours to clean the carbs and put a battery in it, and it was running. I just love old bikes."

Goman added that the people are an equally big attraction of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days.

"Just seeing everybody and meeting all these old and new friends is great," Goman said. "It's a fair thing to say that in the vintage racing world, if it wasn't for the people I've been meeting, I'm not sure I'd still be doing it. When it comes to AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, the motorcycles are great, but it's really the people -- in the pits, in the swap meet or on the track -- who do it for me."

King and Goman will race in the inaugural AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships. The AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships will crown AMA National Champions in road racing, motocross, hare scrambles, dirt track and trials. Winners of select classes will earn AMA National No. 1 plates to defend at the 2010 AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships.

In addition, the rider with the highest cumulative point total in select dirt-track and road-racing classes will be honored as the AMA Track Racing Vintage Grand National Champion, and the rider with the highest cumulative point total in select motocross, hare scrambles and trials will be the AMA Off-Road Racing Vintage Grand National Champion.

More information and online entry forms are at AMARacing.com and AMAVintageMotorcycleDays.com.

 
About AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days

AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days includes vintage racing, North America's largest motorcycle swap meet, bike shows, demo rides of current production bikes, motorcycling seminars, stunt shows, the new product Manufacturers' Midway and club corrals featuring marque and regional clubs. The Marque of the Year for 2009 is BSA, whose bikes became synonymous with racing in the United States when the brand swept the top five positions at the Daytona 200 in 1954. The Classic Clubs this year will be the Sandcast Only Owner's Club (SOOC), and the International CBX Owners Association.

This year will be particularly special because it commemorates the 85th anniversary of the AMA and will feature a parade of classic motorcycles representing the past 85 years. Volunteers are encouraged to contact the Museum about participating in the parade. Information is at MotorcycleMuseum.org.