THE THRILL IS ON

[SQ4MN]

For some of you old guys that were involved in flat track racing like myself back in the sixties and early seventies or just anyone with motorcycles in their blood there is a great movie on YOU TUBE right now called "The Thrill Is On" by Joe Farrell. I know Jack will love this along with LaFong. I'm sure many of you will. Have fun.

phpBB [video]

[Iron Maiden]

I didn't get a chance to watch the whole video but that is incredible how fast they go around that track!! I would love to know how many of the guys have had a left knee replacement.

[SQ4MN]

The fastest guys go over 100 mph on the straights and about 80 into the turns and they don't have brakes.

[Carl La Fong]

I've watched about half of it, so far. Very cool stuff

By the time Dave Aldana came on the scene, I was married, one kid, working as an embalmer and hadn't been to the races since before going to Nam. I still subscribed to several mags and followed the racers.
We used to go to Ascot when I was in high school and after, until we all scattered. Back then it was Sammy Tanner, "The Flying Flea" (he's 5 feet tall), Dick Mann, George Roeder, Swede Savage (he was killed at Indy), Skip Van Leeuwen, Dick Hammer, Gary Nixon, Cal Rayborn and bunch of others. There was Ken Maely, always in the pits, welding up steel shoes for the racers.
Besides the flat track races, they also had the TT steeplechase, which was also very exiting to watch.
We also would go to Whitman Park to watch the Speedway races. Billy Gray from "Father Knows Best" was a pretty big speedway guy back then. The track didn't last long. I don't know if it wasn't popular enough or if lawyers screwed it up.

[V-MAN]

Dave -

Well it took me a couple days to be able to watch the whole video ... GREAT find, thanks!!!!! I always had a blast playing in the dirt, in fact I'm in the process of deciding (always over analyze everything) between a Huskvarna, KTM or Husaberg ... I still have a few bones that haven't been broken

[hogv8]

I'd love to have another Dirt bike but I have a hard time getting used to how High they set . I've ridden my sons bikes a few times and although the performance , suspension , weight and ride is much smoother than what I had when I raced in the dirt it's tough to teach this old dog new tricks . Todays dirt bikes would have run circles around what I thought was fast in my day .

[SQ4MN]

Jack, its hard to believe we rode Triumphs and BSA in the dirt. I used to think 'WOW A SWING ARM SUSPENSION" even if it was only slightly better than a "sprung hub". I rode some early YAMAHA dirt bikes in the seventies and thought they were a MARVEL. In the nineties I bought a HONDA 400 dirt bike which was in yet another league. Its a bunch of more years now and the dirt bikes have once again reached a new plateau but unfortunately my body hasn't. I'm done with dirt bikes but at 71 at least I'm still riding.