Posts
1250
Joined
7/19/2018
Location
Wildomar, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
12/7/2018 8:27am
Short video of the race at Perris today for those that might not have never seen the track but would like to. The track was pretty sticky so traction was xlnt. Tons of jumps. Rode my 1980 GERITOL YZ250 against newer 450's and one newer 2 stroke. The roost from those 4 strokes is...unpleasant.
It was around 62 degrees with no wind or clouds. Gotta just hate this horrible winter weather here in So Cal.
https://youtu.be/leqEuldn3xE
It was around 62 degrees with no wind or clouds. Gotta just hate this horrible winter weather here in So Cal.
https://youtu.be/leqEuldn3xE
Whats a GERITOL? Tuning company or something?
Thanks for the post!
Since you don't know what GERITOL is, you are obviously much younger than I am, which is definitely not a bad thing. In short, back in the "old days" GERITOL was marketed as a vitamin supplement that would restore ones energy and was targeted at "older" people, and back later it became a word to use to make good natured fun of oneself or others. Below is one of the early commercials for it that will give you a good idea but you have to watch it closely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pni9ZePXR-w
Since I'm now "old" I thought it would be amusing to put GERITOL on my bike, and since I did I have had several people at the races get a good laugh out of it. This photo was taken immediately after I finished this years Lake Elsinore GP. The white thing on my face is not a vintage Jofa mouth guard, it is a dust mask from Home Depot, lol.
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What does "IG" mean?
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The Shop
Reminds me of old times when riders would wear rugby and football shirts and even knitted woolen jumpers, think I have seen in pictures. Wellington/ gum boots also instead of proper mx boots have also heard some people wore.hahah.
Yesterday the OTHG club owner told me he watched both my races because he likes seeing my bike out there running against the newer bikes for a change of scenery, lol.
The riders in the video were in the expert class and much younger than I am. I'm quite a bit older and slower than they are, however, I did do decent in my class and got 2nd overall beating 3rd by 10 seconds and the other guys by even more. I also beat all but one of the younger guys that were in our race too but that were in a different class because of their age. I got a second place start in the second race this Sunday and a couple guys came up to me afterwards and said my bike hauls ass. I told them it was because I mixed GERITOL with the gas. lol.
These photos were from the previous OTHG race at Perris that I raced at around 2 months ago. The race photographer took them.
I'm the 3rd one from the right. Just follow the smoke screen and you will find me, lol. I think these were all 450's and the guy to the far left in the photo had a 2018 Husky. I beat him in this race.
I'm on the far left and just passed all 3 of the these guys on the same lap. The 450 Husky is on the far right.
I raced the 125, 250, and open expert class PLUS the over 40 expert class at AHRMA races all in the same day, lol. The last bike I bought during that time was a 74 Bultaco 250. I also found a complete 74 YZ125 on my road near my house, but I never built either of those bikes. I broke my hip in the first race of the new season and had a steel plate put in and that was it. I have not been on any bike since then until around 4 months ago when I bought the YZ. It's a ton of work to ride because it has the power band of a built 74 CR125, so you have to pull the clutch in every corner and slip the bejesus out of it when exiting most of them.
older.
It's past 6 pm here now so I think I better ask my nurse to get my bed ready for my nap.
Geritol is like a PED for old geezers.
expect it works better also than drinking a load of sugary syrup stuff!
Riding that old bike against the modern bikes does sound alot of fun.
Much more satisfying winning or doing good on an old thing that a modern thing and better bragging rights! bet some of those dudes with 2018 450's are abit pissed also!
And it goes with the old guy riding it too!
"Dust mask from home depot has to be cool, who needs this new fangled expensive junk!"
I wanted to get goggles with a face mask like the old scotts had so my teeth wouldn't get knocked out from the roost of these 450's, but nobody makes them, and the vintage scott stuff was over $150.00, so i had an epiphany and thought of the dust mask and it works great, plus i'm not breathing in any dust. A couple people have commented on it and thought it was funny, so that's fun too.
"Reminds me of old times when riders would wear rugby and football shirts and even knitted woolen jumpers, think I have seen in pictures. Wellington/ gum boots also instead of proper mx boots have also heard some people wore.hahah."
Yeah, that's back when men were men, and a few of the vintage class guys still wear jeans and waffel stomper boots etc but at my age and condition, I want all the protection I can get, and since I started racing again around 4 months ago, my boots have saved me from severely spraining my ankle twice, and the knee pads and shoulder pads saved me from serious injury on two occasions when out of control riders rammed into me in a turn and set me flying, although my back was sprained so bad after the last guy hit me that i couldn't hardly move for an entire week and it still isn't 100% better yet and that was around 2 months ago now.
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Pit Row
Is it possible to post the link to where you got that or tell me how to find it on the internet? I know absolutely zero about instagram and other similar sites and I can barely use email, lol. I would greatly appreciate the help.
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And I think we have much more in common than you may think and we definitely agree on a couple more things---1) its absolutely a blast to race the vintage bikes against younger dudes on their state of the art equipment , ESPECIALLY if you can beat half the field or more ..way to go. 2) You're exactly right on that 80 YZ250G being a wheelie machine !! Mine can be a real handful on a tacky track. A couple things I did to help alleviate that issue was to use an swinger from an 81 (1"longer) and went to a gripper seat to help keep my ass as close to the front as possible. Didn't eliminate it completely but certainly improved it immensely.
And isn't it nice when we can all get along ,lol ???
I want to get an old bike and race it against new bikes- not sure it will happen though with onething and another. Maybe oneday though- think it is great. I bet people love watching the old dude on the old bike also!
I would get an Aspes 125 or a Sachs, -- maybe not though as spares could be an issue! Yea an old YZ or CR is probably the hot ticket.
The dust mask actually has a little strength to it because it is a formed piece, plus the material acts like a cushion so it reduces the severity of the impact from dirt clods and even rocks. I also got the type that has the plastic nose in front of it that lets air out so that plastic piece also adds some protection. Of course it won't protect against everything that a 450 can throw at it, but so far I haven't hardly felt any impact on it from the roost of one of those, and believe me, I have been roosted by many of them in the last few months, lol. I actually intentionally try not to follow directly behind a 450 when exiting a corner if at all possible. That may cost me a tiny bit of time in some instances but I'd rather loose a little time then a little part of my face, lol. Also, oddly enough, in some ways it offers more protection than the old school Jofa mouth guards because the Jofa's are fairly open.
If you want to race again bad enough you should try to do it but we all know how life and other obligations can seem to keep getting in the way. I would also do what you are thinking and get into a more common bike because of parts availability and costs.
Also, unless you want to get up to the vintage expert class or do big jumps etc, you don't need a $1200.00 rear shock and blue, purple, or gold colored valves in your forks etc. My suspension was modified back in the day but those were minor mods compared to what is available now. I have Scotts Performance modified damper rods and I put in dual rate front springs from a YT250, and it also came with a White Brothers rear shock mod which was basically just slightly different valving.
Also remember these odd facemasks that Grass track riders used here back in the early days- they looked great- not sure what brand they were possibly jofas or something similar. Also remember Gecel goggles- they were before Scotts I think- my first race was 1979 and I had these Gecel goggles then got Scotts and mask after.
Yes - very true about life getting in the way of racing again BUT if I did ever get he chAnce to race then modding the bike wouldn't be such a concern, there again bet it would be tempting to at least polish the ports and head up abit and probably skim it also!... bang goes the piston probably!
You look very lean and fit for an 'old guy' and the bike looks ace.
Thanks, maybe I could get some custom made in different colors with some graphics on them and market them to the MX guys, lol.
"...if I did ever get he chAnce to race then modding the bike wouldn't be such a concern, there again bet it would be tempting to at least polish the ports and head up abit and probably skim it also!... bang goes the piston probably!"
Yeah, I just can't leave anything stock either, even if I don't need the extra power. When I started racing the vintage class in the 90's I widened the top of my exhaust port on my 74 Maico 400 by around 10 mm and raised it by around .5 mm before I had ever even ridden it, lol. There was only one other open class bike that could occasionally beat me to the first turn and he had a Maico 400 or 440.
"You look very lean and fit for an 'old guy' and the bike looks ace."
Believe me, it's just the MX gear that makes me look fit. I am 63 and 5' 9 1/2" and weigh around 153. I had some health issues a few years back and I lost the majority of my muscles in my legs, back, and arms. At the moment I can only walk around 1/4 mile without having to stop, and carrying a gallon of milk in each hand from the car to the house is about the most I can lift. I probably couldn't do a one arm curl with a 16 lb weight if my life depended on it. Because of these things, I have to to ride in a way that takes as little effort as possible, otherwise I will crash or yank something out of place which I kinda did around 2 1/2 months ago but I have recuperated from that now. Anyway, I couldn't be happier that I am somehow able to do this and I truly really have no idea how I am able to, and I'm just happy everyday to be alive at this point in time.
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Yea- agreed about the health, my Mum was as fit as a fiddle but had recent heart attack aged 70 but she looks about 45 and has never smoked or drinked. Its funny some people may live to be 80 when they are unfit but others who are very fit also suffer problems when its unexpected. Health is everything and enables us to live life as we should like. Being able to race sure is a great thing as you say as we get older. Takes years off you I reckon!
Go get 'em on the GERITOL next time! hahjah - especially the 450's.
Thanks, but there is not much going on for around 6 weeks now but I live by lake elsinore raceway so I may go there a few times to practice just so I don't loose what I have gained over the last couple months. My plan is to do all the local calvmx, transworld, and othg races in the new year and ride 2 different classes at each one if my body holds up, which i am cautiously optimistic about, then I think I should be a lot more comfortable with the bike and practiced up fairly well by april that i will be able to ride significantly more aggressively and hopefully spank even more of them pesky 450's, lol.
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