Best Mechanic of all Time

Harry_Gray
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Harry_Gray 1/22/2013 5:35pm
1/22/2013 5:35pm
Wyatt was working w/ Ryno at the time when he was hired by Suzuki to work on MC's bike over there. From what I remember about the Suzuki that MC rode, he needed a miracle worker not a mechanic...
mx317
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mx317 1/22/2013 5:35pm
1/22/2013 5:35pm
AzTrooper wrote:
I know its an old school choice but I think Don Jones is right up there.He was an innovator and extremely skilled. I think it was...
I know its an old school choice but I think Don Jones is right up there.He was an innovator and extremely skilled. I think it was 1971, but anyway his one off work on the Gary's DT-1/RT-1 led to the production of the first YZ.
John
I forgot about Don, he was sharp for sure. I hung out with him, Gary, and Dewayne at Mid-Ohio in 2008. He told some great stories.
pete24
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pete24 1/22/2013 5:40pm
1/22/2013 5:40pm
my dad Ed Longacre
1
UpTiTe 1/22/2013 5:47pm
1/22/2013 5:47pm
mauidex wrote:
back at ya uptite..........BS........many many many behind the scenes confrontations.............that added to the burnout he had.......but hey.........opinions are like assholes, and everybody has one.........a classic line...
back at ya uptite..........BS........many many many behind the scenes confrontations.............that added to the burnout he had.......but hey.........opinions are like assholes, and everybody has one.........a classic line from the beast in an interview........
I will concede as you must know more about it then me. I know there was some confrontations, that just Lunnis, but I didn't know it contributed to the breakdown. I got to know Lunnis pretty good when he was working with Donnie and found him intense, but likeable.

The Shop

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newmann
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newmann 1/22/2013 6:17pm
1/22/2013 6:17pm
pete24 wrote:
my dad Ed Longacre
Now there is a name that could use a little Warren Reid type write-up. How about it?
Sully
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Sully 1/22/2013 6:32pm
1/22/2013 6:32pm
Skip and Goose for sure.

Or Cooter...
UpTiTe 1/22/2013 6:35pm
1/22/2013 6:35pm
Sully wrote:
Skip and Goose for sure.

Or Cooter...
Skip and Goose are good, but they were both lucky with who they got assigned to.

Before Goose was with RC, his rider got beat by RC, and one of the loses came from a DNF.
newmann
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newmann 1/22/2013 6:38pm
1/22/2013 6:38pm
As the sport has evolved (devolved in some cases to us two stroke fantards) it appears to me that everything has become more specialized and more people are focusing on specific areas of the bike. Engines get rotated out and sent back to the race shop to the engine builder. Suspension gets rotated out and sent back to the suspension guy, etc. And then you have the riders mechanic who makes it all come together ...and work. I'm sure some mechanics are probably deeply involved in the "total package", some more than others. But I do recall seeing Gosselar when tuning for RC washing off some camshafts and cylinder head components early in the day at the Houston SX. He looked pretty damned focused like he was putting an engine back together himself possibly. Regardless of who does what and how much of it they do themselves it is a very hectic pace come raceday and all of those guys deserve a pat on the back.

Watching the young crew of Eleven 10 Mods going at it at the Freestone National after driving that packed to the roof box van halfway across the country was impressive. They busted their ass late into the night Friday and all day Saturday only to load up and head back out on the road as soon as the race was done. Like I said, I was impressed at the effort they put out. Wishing good things for that team this year.
Tbteam
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Tbteam 1/22/2013 7:19pm
1/22/2013 7:19pm
I'm going with Cliff White.
TWFBR1
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TWFBR1 1/22/2013 7:46pm
1/22/2013 7:46pm


How about Kenny G!!!!!!!!!!!
backinthesaddleagain 1/22/2013 8:53pm
1/22/2013 8:53pm
mauidex wrote:
x30000000 camp..................ruined what Bradshaw should have - could have been, IMO................totally lucked out with RJ and rode that to the bank and then fucked up everyone...
x30000000 camp..................ruined what Bradshaw should have - could have been, IMO................totally lucked out with RJ and rode that to the bank and then fucked up everyone else he ever worked with after..............
UpTiTe wrote:
BS, Donnie Hansen had him for three years and said he was one of the contributing factors that made him win. Hannah loved him too and...
BS, Donnie Hansen had him for three years and said he was one of the contributing factors that made him win. Hannah loved him too and would have won titles with him if he didn't destroy his wrist.


Bradshaw's breakdown had nothing to do with Lunnis and everything to do with burnout.
Didn't Hannah buy Luniss a Ferrari ?
chuckie108
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chuckie108 1/22/2013 10:55pm
1/22/2013 10:55pm
I'm going Dick Mann. The guy built his own race bikes, chassis, motors, the whole deal, and then goes out and wins the AMA grand slam on them. That's one bad dude.

Or Jon Brittian(sp?), any guy who builds his own revolutionary design in his garage from scratch, and then wins a class at Daytona is a seriously bad dude.

Strictly Moto, Jon R., Cliff White, Ed Shceidler, ........
g0rd057
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g0rd057 1/22/2013 11:11pm
1/22/2013 11:11pm
For the early minis thru 125's - EC Birt
Sunhouse
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Sunhouse 1/23/2013 3:38am
1/23/2013 3:38am
I don`t know who the best would be, but the funniest has to Brent Myron - so he gets my vote
JineTC
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JineTC 1/23/2013 3:55am
1/23/2013 3:55am
Harry_Gray wrote:
Suprised no one has mentioned Keith McCarty...
Yeah Harry, that was my thought til I scrolled to your mentioning. I have to say Newmann's also made a case for Mr. Rosenstiel.

Great posting, Newmann. I enjoyed that reflection on a good man and a different time.
inmate5200
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inmate5200 1/23/2013 5:32am
1/23/2013 5:32am
I pick Barry Carstens mechanic. All those great starts over the years always running a stock pipe.
ga_pike
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ga_pike 1/23/2013 8:03am
1/23/2013 8:03am
George Quay

Pit Row

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BDOG
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BDOG 1/23/2013 8:24am
1/23/2013 8:24am Edited Date/Time 1/23/2013 8:28am
Best Mechanic of all time is the one luckiest enough to have the best riders.... prob Mike Gosselar.

I can identify the two biggest dicks based on how unapproachable they were. - Tony Berluti and Brian Luniss. I remember trying to talk to both those guys in the late 80's at Lake Sugartree and both blowing me off. Laroccos Dad was a dickface too(and mike) if memory serves me correctly
JOHN CHOATE
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JOHN CHOATE 1/23/2013 12:51pm
1/23/2013 12:51pm
UpTiTe wrote:
Some mechanics sre overrated because they got lucky with a certain rider, while a good mechanic goes unknown because he never had a big name rider...
Some mechanics sre overrated because they got lucky with a certain rider, while a good mechanic goes unknown because he never had a big name rider but yet his bikes never break and they're always sano. I would take Berlutti over any mechanic in the pits today.
x 2 on the first sentence. The best mechanic (if there is such a person) is likely someone most of us have never heard of. I've known several great mechanics over the decades. E.C. Birt and Bob Whitney come to mind.
Regis
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Regis 1/23/2013 1:58pm
1/23/2013 1:58pm Edited Date/Time 1/23/2013 1:59pm
mauidex wrote:
x30000000 camp..................ruined what Bradshaw should have - could have been, IMO................totally lucked out with RJ and rode that to the bank and then fucked up everyone...
x30000000 camp..................ruined what Bradshaw should have - could have been, IMO................totally lucked out with RJ and rode that to the bank and then fucked up everyone else he ever worked with after..............
UpTiTe wrote:
BS, Donnie Hansen had him for three years and said he was one of the contributing factors that made him win. Hannah loved him too and...
BS, Donnie Hansen had him for three years and said he was one of the contributing factors that made him win. Hannah loved him too and would have won titles with him if he didn't destroy his wrist.


Bradshaw's breakdown had nothing to do with Lunnis and everything to do with burnout.
Uptite,

I don't think that is entirely true.

I spent a lot of time around Mike Craig (as a teenager) and was around when he stepped into Bradshaw's ride when he departed.

Lunnis was gnarly, he put a lot of pressure on his riders at this time. Not saying that was bad, but if you were not mentally strong and had the additional stress and pressure form your mechanic, I think it would definetely contribute to a breakdown.

There is a huge difference between being a motivator and being a grumpy mechanic when you aren't winning.
BobbyM
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BobbyM 1/23/2013 2:08pm
1/23/2013 2:08pm
chuckie108 wrote:
I'm going Dick Mann. The guy built his own race bikes, chassis, motors, the whole deal, and then goes out and wins the AMA grand slam...
I'm going Dick Mann. The guy built his own race bikes, chassis, motors, the whole deal, and then goes out and wins the AMA grand slam on them. That's one bad dude.

Or Jon Brittian(sp?), any guy who builds his own revolutionary design in his garage from scratch, and then wins a class at Daytona is a seriously bad dude.

Strictly Moto, Jon R., Cliff White, Ed Shceidler, ........
And hauled ass well into his 60's
iro
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iro 1/23/2013 2:16pm
1/23/2013 2:16pm
Shawn ulikowski.
dv12.com
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dv12.com 1/23/2013 3:23pm
1/23/2013 3:23pm
qtrracer wrote:
Jon R
I had the honor to work with Jon R, Bob Oliver, Keith McCarty, those guys weren't parts changers like today's mechanics. Comparing parts/graphics changers of the 90s and 2000s to guys like Jon R, Oliver, McCarty, White etc... is disrespecting them. They are in another league
1
avidchimp
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avidchimp 1/23/2013 3:27pm
1/23/2013 3:27pm
qtrracer wrote:
Jon R
dv12.com wrote:
I had the honor to work with Jon R, Bob Oliver, Keith McCarty, those guys weren't parts changers like today's mechanics. Comparing parts/graphics changers of the...
I had the honor to work with Jon R, Bob Oliver, Keith McCarty, those guys weren't parts changers like today's mechanics. Comparing parts/graphics changers of the 90s and 2000s to guys like Jon R, Oliver, McCarty, White etc... is disrespecting them. They are in another league
What David said.
Braaap14
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Braaap14 1/23/2013 3:28pm
1/23/2013 3:28pm
learned a lot in this thread Smile
newmann
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newmann 1/23/2013 3:43pm
1/23/2013 3:43pm
qtrracer wrote:
Jon R
dv12.com wrote:
I had the honor to work with Jon R, Bob Oliver, Keith McCarty, those guys weren't parts changers like today's mechanics. Comparing parts/graphics changers of the...
I had the honor to work with Jon R, Bob Oliver, Keith McCarty, those guys weren't parts changers like today's mechanics. Comparing parts/graphics changers of the 90s and 2000s to guys like Jon R, Oliver, McCarty, White etc... is disrespecting them. They are in another league
That's exactly what I was getting at. Just glad that someone who is "in another league" came in here to put a stamp on it.Wink

Imagine a factory team giving a rider a bike off the showroom floor, a box van and a mechanic and then telling them to "go win the championship". And then going and doing it. If anyone here thinks it was easier to do back in 1976 than it is today, you might want to ask Eric Crippa and Kent Howerton what it was like going up against the big red machine of unlimited budget win at all cost full on works unobtanium of Honda back in the day. The Husqvarna of Kents looked like a dinosaur compared to what Honda rolled up to the gate with. It would be like rolling up to a gate today on a 2003 model bike at best.

Like I said, today things are so specialized and everyone has their part. Kind of like comparing RV to Hannah. The comparisons just don't match up from different eras.
dboivin
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dboivin 1/23/2013 4:09pm
1/23/2013 4:09pm
BDOG wrote:
Best Mechanic of all time is the one luckiest enough to have the best riders.... prob Mike Gosselar. I can identify the two biggest dicks based...
Best Mechanic of all time is the one luckiest enough to have the best riders.... prob Mike Gosselar.

I can identify the two biggest dicks based on how unapproachable they were. - Tony Berluti and Brian Luniss. I remember trying to talk to both those guys in the late 80's at Lake Sugartree and both blowing me off. Laroccos Dad was a dickface too(and mike) if memory serves me correctly
i guess if you judge people by approaching them at a national while they are working...i'd be a dick too.

i grew up with the larocco family. mike was the most quietest, nice and polite guy you could meet. mom and dad were no different.

hate how people accuse others of being assholes because they won't take time to sign shit or give them free stuff. very annoying. i've seen it happen first hand and i feel for the riders of today that get bombarded by douchebags who immediately turn around and slam them for it.

its exactly where these autograph sessions developed from. gives a rider 1hr to be good pr so he can ignore it the rest of the weekend and concentrate on racing.
FastEddy
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FastEddy 1/23/2013 4:26pm
1/23/2013 4:26pm Edited Date/Time 1/23/2013 4:30pm
Count me in on a vote for Brian Lunniss. Wink
Brian was pretty much the first in the best of best MX/SX wrenches to ever become popular.

COWBOYMX
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COWBOYMX 1/23/2013 4:53pm
1/23/2013 4:53pm
Anthony DiBasilio....Team KTM off road factory mechanic for Kurt Caselli...

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