Buck Murphy
By Shawn McDonald
Background
Born: Tacoma, Washington
Height: 6’1"
Racing weight: 160 lbs
Sisters: Josie, Carrie, Margaret
Business: Tool & Die Maker Precision Machine Works
Championships: 1970 NMA 200cc Champion, 1970 AMA Western Region 200cc Champion Scrambles & Motocross, 1971 AMA Western Region 200cc & 250cc Champion Motocross, 1972 AMA #2 Washington State Novice Dirt Track, 1972 NMA Open Champion Motocross – 2nd 250cc, 1973 #2 NMA 250cc & Open Motocross, 1974; 2nd Daytona Supercross, Houston Supercross 1st Moto winner, 2nd place Supercross Series, 5th place AMA 250 National Motocross Championships. 1975; Laureritide 250cc & Open Champion (Quebec, Canada), 3rd place Trans-Am 250 Support Class, 2nd place Canadian National Championships, 1980 Qualified 4-stroke at Washougal National.
Major sponsors in your career: Penton (KTM) Motorcycles, Can-Am Motorcycles, Terry Saxlund, University Honda-Bultaco-CZ, Cliffs Cycle Center, Bremerton Yamaha, Highland Honda, NW Yamaha
I could write about how Buck was always knocking on the door with a moto win and another sewed up when something happened to end his chances of ever winning a national event. Instead I will write about the man instead. Buck was just a kid who loved to race motorcycles and have fun doing it. Before the factory team semi rigs and the professional managers he was a racer that traveled the country in his green 1974 Dodge van looking for fun and friends. He found them both. He never set limits on himself by riding only the fastest bikes. He rode the extreme in a Rokon 340, the terrifying Suzuki TM’s and a Honda XL 350 4-stroke in the age of two strokes. If you could twist the throttle on it he would go "Yee hah!" In many ways Buck defined the term extreme in the way he rode and lived. He can’t remember names he says but there isn’t a face that he has forgot over all these years. Talk to anyone from that era and mention his name and he will say, "Did I tell you the story?" In an age that was the crucible of NW racers he was one of the best and he had fun when doing it.
Bench Racer: What got you started in motorcycles in the first place?
Buck Murphy: I was about six or seven when I first started riding. My Dad and his friends used to ride up in Lester, Washington where we lived at the time. I was just itching to ride with them. I got to go and watch a race at Graham Speedway and smelled the addictive scent of Castrol oil and felt the cool air rush by me as the expert riders came by me and I was hooked from then on. My Dad didn’t race but he told me that we didn’t have enough money for both of us to race and that if I didn’t watch my P’s and Q’s he would go out and race instead. It was a good scare tactic to keep me on the straight and narrow. I loved it so much all I wanted to do was ride my bike and go race on Sunday.
BR: What role did your family have in supporting your early riding?
BM: It was a total family effort with four kids, two parents and two dogs in a 1967 Dodge Charger with a trailer and away we went racing every Sunday. My Dad really enjoys coming out to the Dinosaur Days races to meet up with old friends from Graham Speedway and other tracks. My Mom was my staunchest supporter but was always terrified by me racing. Every time I needed a cheerleader she was there. My mom never got a picture of me crashing though. We had this super 8mm camera and every time I was about to crash my mom would turn off the camera. So I never got any motion pictures of me crashing.
BR: Were you successful when you first started?
BM: My very first race was in the fall of 1967 when I was 12 years old on a Hodaka Ace 90 at the Jolly Rogers Racetrack. I was a complete nerd going around the corners with both feet down and my elbows sticking up in the air. I didn’t know what I was doing so I started watching the experts. I made the "C" main and a friend of my dad’s showed me how to get a good start off the line. I holeshot the race and was leading until this one guy went flying by me. Then he crashed and I passed him, and then he passed me again and crashed twice more. I won that race just barely in front of the crasher and got this four-inch trophy that I thought was the coolest thing. For the next four years I worked my way up through the "B" and "A" mains and started finally winning.
BR: When did you first race in Motocross?
BM: They first started what they called back then European Scrambles in 1966 at a track in Enumclaw. There was no practice except for one parade lap and then you went racing. Motocross really started happening in late 1969 and early 1970 as a real race format as it currently is today. Before Motocross there was only flat track, scrambles and the odd European scrambles race for any off-road racing.
BR: Did the film "On Any Sunday" affect you in any way growing up?
BM: Oh my God! That was probably the greatest motorcycle movie ever made. I only watched it maybe 200 times and it was great every time. If you knew nothing about motorcycles and didn’t like motorcycles and you still came out of the movie and didn’t like motorcycles there was something drastically wrong with you.
BR: What was your first race that made you stand out from the rest of the crowd?
BM: I was racing a Suzuki TM 250 in 1972 at a professional race in Boise, Idaho. It was on a Saturday and my practice times were equivalent to the factory Suzuki of Sylvain Geobers and other Trans-Am racers who were racing on Sunday. Suzuki race team manager Paul Garnett came up and started talking to me about getting some support because they liked what they saw of me.
BR: What was your biggest regret?
BM: That I didn’t work harder. I wasn’t serious enough when I needed to be. I was a young kid and somebody else was paying the bills and going to places I had never been before. I had opportunities to do great things that I let slip away. I was just running amuck and not training as hard as I should have. I was too interested in going to the beach, chasing girls and of course playing golf. I wasn’t doing my job.
BR: When did you retire from racing?
BM: I quit professional racing in 1980. I qualified for the 500 National at Washougal on a 4-stroke Honda that year. I started working after that trying to build a home life so racing took a back seat. I still race as often as I can and do pretty well when I do it. The vintage racing has brought a lot of fun back into it for me. When I first started racing I really wanted to be a dirt tracker so dusting off my Triumph dirt tracker and racing it has been a joy. In my Novice year I finished 2nd in the state but nobody came forth and offered me a Triumph to ride. There was a $600 Yamaha down at Tacoma Motorcycle Sales so we went motocrossing instead.
BR: You were the first successful racer on a 1972 Suzuki TM 400 how was it to ride?
BM: They were exciting! It was like pulling the pin on a hand grenade. You went through a corner and pulled the pin and went as fast as you could and then try to stop for the next corner. If the brakes didn’t lock up and stall the motor you could make another corner. They were twitchy and REAL fast. I weighed about 120 pounds back then and it was real easy to get a holeshot but a brand new world arrived when you hit the first corner.
BR: If you were in your racing prime and riding the same equipment as today’s racers, how do you think you would do?
BM: I think in Supercross I could be in the top five fairly easy. I did real well in Supercross although I didn’t really care for it. I liked natural terrain racetracks like Unadilla with big hills and off camber corners. If I was in top shape for the outdoor nationals I think that I could hang with anybody today. My problem back then was that I was great for the first 30 minutes of a 45-minute moto. It was that extra 15 minutes that killed me.
BR: What attributes make a championship racer?
BM: You have to have confidence in your abilities. You also have to be humble because at any given time you can be beat by anybody. Every dog has its day (I beat Murphy for the win in the 250 Pro class at Straddline ONCE, woof woof). In the beginning days of motocross you could get away without having a training program. We just used to ride and race to stay in shape. Today you have to be in peak physical condition or you are not going to go very far in motocross.
BR: Who do you think was the most talented racer who didn’t make it to the top and why?
BM: Rick Poulin (Also metioned by Chuck Sun and Jim Pomeroy). He came up through the ranks with Myself, Jim Pomeroy, Rick Burgett and he was clearly better and faster than all of us. Ricky had the same problem that I did in that he didn’t train for physical fitness back then and he partied hard. Ricky was blazingly fast and smooth. When Ricky put his mind to it there was nobody faster. The problem was that we all knew it.
BR: Throughout your racing career who was your greatest rival?
BM: My factory Can-Am teammate Jimmy "Cobalt" Ellis and I pushed each other to new heights racing against each other. We were best friends and teammates and I was absolutely not going to lose to him. Jimmy made more money than I did so I wanted whip him and show the executives why I should get a raise in my salary. There was Factory Honda rider Rich Eiderstadt, because he hated mud and I loved it. Billy "Sugar Bear" Grossi was always a kick to race against. You always knew there would be a little contact racing against Grossi. Ron Pomeroy and I raced against each other for many years. I really enjoyed beating Jim Pomeroy; I just didn’t get to do it very often. I still keep in contact with all these guys and we are still friends.
BR: Who was your greatest NW racing rival?
BM: There were quite a few in Rick Poulin, Jim Pomeroy, Rick Burgett and Chuck Sun. There were a lot of good riders out of the Portland area for quite a long time like Mark Gregson. We all raced at the same tracks to race against each other. We weren’t there to chase points and win a local championship; we were there to beat the best.
BR: Who was the best racer you saw or raced against?
BM: Dick "Bugsy" Mann was the man. He was the best all around racer there has probably ever been. People don’t know this but he was the first AMA 250cc National MX Champion from the Inter-Am series in 1970. He was the first racer to win in the five types of racing on the national circuit in roadracing, short track, TT, ½ mile and mile racing. He also won two Grand National Championships in 1962 and 1971 and snapped up some ISDE Gold medals. I don’t know what that man hasn’t won at. I was fortunate enough to beat him in the first moto in Boise, Idaho on my Suzuki 400. I thought to myself that "Wow, I beat Dick Mann." We lined up next to each other for the 2nd moto and I said "Dick do you have one of those 500cc bikes?" and he answered "No. That’s my 250cc 4-stroke BSA." I was seventeen years old and Dick was in his mid to late 30’s and I had to work my ass off to beat him for 30 minutes. That dowsed my fire real quick.
BR: What do you think made you different from all the other racers?
BM: I was a pretty nice kid whose parents didn’t let me get out of control. I was polite and always had time for the little kids in helping them out at the track. I always had time for the fans because without them the sport was taken out of racing. I loved racing so much that instead of sitting in the pits and telling everybody how cool I was I would be next to the track and watching the fast guys. I watched racers like Dave Clift, Sonny Burres, Dick Mann and Skip Van Leuwen to see how they rode their bikes. Then I went out and practiced, practiced and practiced and tried to do what they did. My racing style was a combination of 25 to 30 top racers styles that worked for me.
BR: If you were to start motorcycle racing today, what type of racing would you do?
BM: I would probably do some roadracing. I never did roadrace but it has always really intrigued me. Of course I would also do some flat track racing. Motocross tracks have all become Supercross tracks. I like natural terrain courses like Unadilla in New York that test your riding skills instead of the size of your male anatomy. Were losing a lot of riders due to spinal injuries and practice crashes because of the Supercross style jumps. There exciting to watch and has made Supercross a big fan favorite, but if you have to do that triple jump 35 to 40 times a day its only a matter of time until you don’t get it right and miss. You can either crash real hard and not get hurt or crash real hard and get hurt. I’m not sure that I would motocross today the way the tracks are designed for just maximum airtime instead of accelerating, braking and cornering.
BR: What was your favorite track?
BM: My favorite tracks were Unadilla and Ulverton in Quebec with real big uphills and natural terrain. Locally I liked Highside Park in Bremerton. People remember me most from the Puyallup track but I rode there so much that I knew where every hole and pebble was. The main reason I went there was because it was the Trans-Am track and it was where all the fast guys went to race.
BR: What do you miss about professional racing?
BM: The atmosphere and excitement of the fans at the different tracks in the U.S. Traveling to the different races with your racing friends and the fellowship of your competitors.
BR: Define your riding style?
BM: I’m pretty smooth with little wasted effort. I didn’t hang my rear end out if it wasn’t going to make me faster. I always believed that the time for showing off was after the checkered flag fell. If you fell down in the last corner from showing off then you were just stupid. The point in racing is to be the first one to the checkered flag, not the best looking.
BR: Best party?
BM: The party at Gary Semics house after the 1975 Saddleback race in Huntington Beach, California. The Evel Knievel jump at Snake River had a party that lasted a week and was pretty wild.
BR: Most memorable moment as a racer?
BM: Winning the first moto in the Houston Astrodome Supercross in 1974. It was real intense to see my name up on the reader board when I went across the big jump in the center of the track.
BR: How was it to be a factory racer?
BM: It was great in that you didn’t have to worry about fixing your bike every race and that you knew where your next meal would be coming from. It was great to have that responsibility taken off your shoulders, but it was replaced with something else. Riding for a factory team required you to live, eat and breathe for the factory 24 hours a day seven days a week. There were times when I felt I had lost my freedom. I couldn’t go out golfing with my buddies because I had to make an appearance for the company in some hotel banquet room. I understand the reasons for the business to succeed, but I was young and wanted to have some fun with my racing friends like Marty Tripes and Ron Pomeroy. I always thought that racing first and foremost should be fun.
BR: What rider from another era do you wish you had a chance to race against in your top form?
BM: Jeremy McGrath. That’s who all the racers measure themselves against today. Outdoor racers like Jeff Stanton, Mike LaRocco and Mike Kiedrowski who are tougher than the Chinese alphabet. I always tried to be tough at the end of the race when other people might be tired and falter. That was one way to win a race. When I first saw Bob "Hurricane" Hannah in the winter Florida series all he needed was two hands to be hooked on the handlebars to win. I didn’t give him two years in racing because he was such a loose pilot that he would be either dead or gone from racing by then. He was an amazing talent.
BR: What was your biggest disappointment?
BM: Not getting to win the big one. I had so many wins over the years in Inter-Ams, Trans-Ams, Supercrosses and there was always a bolt breaking or shock shaft snapping or the ignition failing that stopped me just short. These problems would only happen once but they always seemed to happen to me. I can’t count how many times I had a big race all wrapped up and the Big Guy upstairs would say it’s not your turn yet. I keep wondering if it will ever be my turn.
BR: Tell us about your infamous Dodge van?
BM: It was the first new vehicle I ever bought in January 1974. I took off to do the Florida Winter Series and two months later my 12,000-mile warranty was expired. I averaged 1,000 miles a week on it for 26 years and I just don’t have the heart to get rid of it. There were too many good times and trips across the U.S. in it and maybe a couple of girls got in there also. It could go 117 mph with a little bit of a tail wind behind it. What more could you ask of anything.
BR: What was your worst crash?
BM: I was racing for Can-Am in 1975 at a racetrack near Quebec and my shocks had blown out. I went through a big berm and the rear end sprung the bike up and I wrapped the bike and myself around a dead snag on the side of the course. It bent the forks and wheel back into the frame. I ended up hitting a tree and had some internal injuries and I thought I broke my face. That was pretty scary.
BR: Which racers did you hang with in your career?
BM: On the national circuit it would be Ron Pomeroy, Billy Grossi, Tom Rapp, Gaylon Mosier and most of the Honda team. Locally it was Rick Poulin, Doug Raines, Dan Brown, Bobby Boock and Billy Joyce. We would all travel together and see different parts of the country. We were all friends who would work together and for each other except for an hour and a half on Sundays when we were all enemies.
BR: Tell us about one of the most weirdest MX bikes ever the Rokon 340?
BM: If my career wasn’t over then I think that finished it. I was planning on riding a University Honda XL 350 4-stroke at the Puyallup Trans-Am in 1974 when the gearbox broke two weeks before. We searched everywhere we could to find a 3rd gear but the dirt trackers had taken them all. Two days before the race Red Lumsden from Bremerton Yamaha offered me the Rokon to ride. I called Terry Saxlund at University Honda and asked him if he would be upset if I rode the Rokon and he told me that they couldn’t get me a bike so it was OK by him. I rode that thing and it was terrible! It was the worst motorcycle I ever put my leg across. It was a snowmobile engine with a torque converter on it with cases that would make you bowlegged. That Trans-Am race was super muddy and in the last race I was in 11th place out of 13 survivors. The clutch was so full of mud that the Rokon was stuck in high gear so I rode it through a water hole to clean off the rubber belt drive to make it up the finish hill. On the last lap it ran out of gas a few feet away from the checkered flag. You can’t push a Rokon on a flat floor and after two 45-minute motos I was out of steam and couldn’t push it any farther up the hill in the knee-deep mud. A spectator helped me get it across the line and then the AMA disqualified me for outside help. To think I almost finished in the top ten on a Rokon.
BR: Will there be another national class MX racer from the northwest?
BM: At the present moment it doesn’t look like it, but the way things change a guy could pop up at a local race and start-putting people away. Motocross is so different today with all the double and triple jumps. I have lost touch with the young racers in that I would rather race than be a spectator. If I am at a track I have to do something to keep me occupied because racing is where it’s at.
BR: You are a member of the Tacoma M/C that puts on Dyno Daze. Do you like old bikes?
BM: You go to motocross race today and there are no trophy presentations. You just go and pick up your trophy when you feel like it. Everybody loads up there motor homes and goes home. We used to sit around after a race and bullshit about "I would have beaten you if only" and have a great camaraderie. Those were the moments among friends that I really cherish. That is what vintage racing is still about. I enjoy vintage racing because of the people in it.
BR: Best musical group to listen to on the road?
BM: If the sun is coming up in the morning and you’ve been driving all night the Eagles hit the spot. If you’re trying to stay awake at night I like "Terrible" Ted Nugent to keep the blood flying. Pink Floyd was a great group to listen to at all times of the day.
BR: Was it more fun to race in the 70’s professionally than today?
BM: It was more fun because we weren’t cluttered up with big contracts and big money. I finished 3rd in the Supercross series in 1974 and there were no year-end bonuses. It was just a race and a championship. Today if you get 3rd in the Supercross championship you get around $40,000. We did it because we loved to race and not because there was a lot of money involved. We did it because it was cool and it was fun.
BR: Widest racer off the track?
BM: There were a lot of racers who could win that prize. I hate to do this to these guys they were my friends but Billy "Sugar Bear" Grossi comes to mind first. The motocrossers weren’t as crazy as the dirt trackers as to what they did off the track. We got into competitions when we were training as to who could jump the farthest off the hotel roof into the swimming pool.
BR: What do you ride better in mud or dust?
BM: Mud! If I go into a cloud of dust and I can’t see my throttle just goes off. If you can’t see, you can’t punch it. The mud always slowed down the fast guys to my pace and then they had to deal with me. Unless something broke I was going to do pretty well in the mud. Mud is the great equalizer in racing. You have to float above it with the throttle or sink like the Titanic. I think there are still a couple of bikes buried deep into the earth at some old tracks.
BR: Corners, jumps or bumps where were you the fastest?
BM: I tried to be good over the entire track. You can look spectacular off a jump or a corner but it may not help you lower your lap time. You have to use a corner to set up for the jump. Then you have to use the jump to set up for the next corner. All the pieces have to fit into a whole lap after lap.
BR: What advice would you give a 15-year-old racer?
BM: To be dedicated and serious about your sport, and try to enjoy it while you can. If you are not enjoying what you are doing then you won’t be successful. Even when you are training you can make it fun. I’m going to sound old here but the tattoos, nose rings and haircuts that look like a raccoon on the side of your head don’t do it for me. If you want to be extreme, be extreme by winning.
BR: In one word what would you say about your racing career?
BM: Wonderful!
Background
Born: Tacoma, Washington
Height: 6’1"
Racing weight: 160 lbs
Sisters: Josie, Carrie, Margaret
Business: Tool & Die Maker Precision Machine Works
Championships: 1970 NMA 200cc Champion, 1970 AMA Western Region 200cc Champion Scrambles & Motocross, 1971 AMA Western Region 200cc & 250cc Champion Motocross, 1972 AMA #2 Washington State Novice Dirt Track, 1972 NMA Open Champion Motocross – 2nd 250cc, 1973 #2 NMA 250cc & Open Motocross, 1974; 2nd Daytona Supercross, Houston Supercross 1st Moto winner, 2nd place Supercross Series, 5th place AMA 250 National Motocross Championships. 1975; Laureritide 250cc & Open Champion (Quebec, Canada), 3rd place Trans-Am 250 Support Class, 2nd place Canadian National Championships, 1980 Qualified 4-stroke at Washougal National.
Major sponsors in your career: Penton (KTM) Motorcycles, Can-Am Motorcycles, Terry Saxlund, University Honda-Bultaco-CZ, Cliffs Cycle Center, Bremerton Yamaha, Highland Honda, NW Yamaha
I could write about how Buck was always knocking on the door with a moto win and another sewed up when something happened to end his chances of ever winning a national event. Instead I will write about the man instead. Buck was just a kid who loved to race motorcycles and have fun doing it. Before the factory team semi rigs and the professional managers he was a racer that traveled the country in his green 1974 Dodge van looking for fun and friends. He found them both. He never set limits on himself by riding only the fastest bikes. He rode the extreme in a Rokon 340, the terrifying Suzuki TM’s and a Honda XL 350 4-stroke in the age of two strokes. If you could twist the throttle on it he would go "Yee hah!" In many ways Buck defined the term extreme in the way he rode and lived. He can’t remember names he says but there isn’t a face that he has forgot over all these years. Talk to anyone from that era and mention his name and he will say, "Did I tell you the story?" In an age that was the crucible of NW racers he was one of the best and he had fun when doing it.
Bench Racer: What got you started in motorcycles in the first place?
Buck Murphy: I was about six or seven when I first started riding. My Dad and his friends used to ride up in Lester, Washington where we lived at the time. I was just itching to ride with them. I got to go and watch a race at Graham Speedway and smelled the addictive scent of Castrol oil and felt the cool air rush by me as the expert riders came by me and I was hooked from then on. My Dad didn’t race but he told me that we didn’t have enough money for both of us to race and that if I didn’t watch my P’s and Q’s he would go out and race instead. It was a good scare tactic to keep me on the straight and narrow. I loved it so much all I wanted to do was ride my bike and go race on Sunday.
BR: What role did your family have in supporting your early riding?
BM: It was a total family effort with four kids, two parents and two dogs in a 1967 Dodge Charger with a trailer and away we went racing every Sunday. My Dad really enjoys coming out to the Dinosaur Days races to meet up with old friends from Graham Speedway and other tracks. My Mom was my staunchest supporter but was always terrified by me racing. Every time I needed a cheerleader she was there. My mom never got a picture of me crashing though. We had this super 8mm camera and every time I was about to crash my mom would turn off the camera. So I never got any motion pictures of me crashing.
BR: Were you successful when you first started?
BM: My very first race was in the fall of 1967 when I was 12 years old on a Hodaka Ace 90 at the Jolly Rogers Racetrack. I was a complete nerd going around the corners with both feet down and my elbows sticking up in the air. I didn’t know what I was doing so I started watching the experts. I made the "C" main and a friend of my dad’s showed me how to get a good start off the line. I holeshot the race and was leading until this one guy went flying by me. Then he crashed and I passed him, and then he passed me again and crashed twice more. I won that race just barely in front of the crasher and got this four-inch trophy that I thought was the coolest thing. For the next four years I worked my way up through the "B" and "A" mains and started finally winning.
BR: When did you first race in Motocross?
BM: They first started what they called back then European Scrambles in 1966 at a track in Enumclaw. There was no practice except for one parade lap and then you went racing. Motocross really started happening in late 1969 and early 1970 as a real race format as it currently is today. Before Motocross there was only flat track, scrambles and the odd European scrambles race for any off-road racing.
BR: Did the film "On Any Sunday" affect you in any way growing up?
BM: Oh my God! That was probably the greatest motorcycle movie ever made. I only watched it maybe 200 times and it was great every time. If you knew nothing about motorcycles and didn’t like motorcycles and you still came out of the movie and didn’t like motorcycles there was something drastically wrong with you.
BR: What was your first race that made you stand out from the rest of the crowd?
BM: I was racing a Suzuki TM 250 in 1972 at a professional race in Boise, Idaho. It was on a Saturday and my practice times were equivalent to the factory Suzuki of Sylvain Geobers and other Trans-Am racers who were racing on Sunday. Suzuki race team manager Paul Garnett came up and started talking to me about getting some support because they liked what they saw of me.
BR: What was your biggest regret?
BM: That I didn’t work harder. I wasn’t serious enough when I needed to be. I was a young kid and somebody else was paying the bills and going to places I had never been before. I had opportunities to do great things that I let slip away. I was just running amuck and not training as hard as I should have. I was too interested in going to the beach, chasing girls and of course playing golf. I wasn’t doing my job.
BR: When did you retire from racing?
BM: I quit professional racing in 1980. I qualified for the 500 National at Washougal on a 4-stroke Honda that year. I started working after that trying to build a home life so racing took a back seat. I still race as often as I can and do pretty well when I do it. The vintage racing has brought a lot of fun back into it for me. When I first started racing I really wanted to be a dirt tracker so dusting off my Triumph dirt tracker and racing it has been a joy. In my Novice year I finished 2nd in the state but nobody came forth and offered me a Triumph to ride. There was a $600 Yamaha down at Tacoma Motorcycle Sales so we went motocrossing instead.
BR: You were the first successful racer on a 1972 Suzuki TM 400 how was it to ride?
BM: They were exciting! It was like pulling the pin on a hand grenade. You went through a corner and pulled the pin and went as fast as you could and then try to stop for the next corner. If the brakes didn’t lock up and stall the motor you could make another corner. They were twitchy and REAL fast. I weighed about 120 pounds back then and it was real easy to get a holeshot but a brand new world arrived when you hit the first corner.
BR: If you were in your racing prime and riding the same equipment as today’s racers, how do you think you would do?
BM: I think in Supercross I could be in the top five fairly easy. I did real well in Supercross although I didn’t really care for it. I liked natural terrain racetracks like Unadilla with big hills and off camber corners. If I was in top shape for the outdoor nationals I think that I could hang with anybody today. My problem back then was that I was great for the first 30 minutes of a 45-minute moto. It was that extra 15 minutes that killed me.
BR: What attributes make a championship racer?
BM: You have to have confidence in your abilities. You also have to be humble because at any given time you can be beat by anybody. Every dog has its day (I beat Murphy for the win in the 250 Pro class at Straddline ONCE, woof woof). In the beginning days of motocross you could get away without having a training program. We just used to ride and race to stay in shape. Today you have to be in peak physical condition or you are not going to go very far in motocross.
BR: Who do you think was the most talented racer who didn’t make it to the top and why?
BM: Rick Poulin (Also metioned by Chuck Sun and Jim Pomeroy). He came up through the ranks with Myself, Jim Pomeroy, Rick Burgett and he was clearly better and faster than all of us. Ricky had the same problem that I did in that he didn’t train for physical fitness back then and he partied hard. Ricky was blazingly fast and smooth. When Ricky put his mind to it there was nobody faster. The problem was that we all knew it.
BR: Throughout your racing career who was your greatest rival?
BM: My factory Can-Am teammate Jimmy "Cobalt" Ellis and I pushed each other to new heights racing against each other. We were best friends and teammates and I was absolutely not going to lose to him. Jimmy made more money than I did so I wanted whip him and show the executives why I should get a raise in my salary. There was Factory Honda rider Rich Eiderstadt, because he hated mud and I loved it. Billy "Sugar Bear" Grossi was always a kick to race against. You always knew there would be a little contact racing against Grossi. Ron Pomeroy and I raced against each other for many years. I really enjoyed beating Jim Pomeroy; I just didn’t get to do it very often. I still keep in contact with all these guys and we are still friends.
BR: Who was your greatest NW racing rival?
BM: There were quite a few in Rick Poulin, Jim Pomeroy, Rick Burgett and Chuck Sun. There were a lot of good riders out of the Portland area for quite a long time like Mark Gregson. We all raced at the same tracks to race against each other. We weren’t there to chase points and win a local championship; we were there to beat the best.
BR: Who was the best racer you saw or raced against?
BM: Dick "Bugsy" Mann was the man. He was the best all around racer there has probably ever been. People don’t know this but he was the first AMA 250cc National MX Champion from the Inter-Am series in 1970. He was the first racer to win in the five types of racing on the national circuit in roadracing, short track, TT, ½ mile and mile racing. He also won two Grand National Championships in 1962 and 1971 and snapped up some ISDE Gold medals. I don’t know what that man hasn’t won at. I was fortunate enough to beat him in the first moto in Boise, Idaho on my Suzuki 400. I thought to myself that "Wow, I beat Dick Mann." We lined up next to each other for the 2nd moto and I said "Dick do you have one of those 500cc bikes?" and he answered "No. That’s my 250cc 4-stroke BSA." I was seventeen years old and Dick was in his mid to late 30’s and I had to work my ass off to beat him for 30 minutes. That dowsed my fire real quick.
BR: What do you think made you different from all the other racers?
BM: I was a pretty nice kid whose parents didn’t let me get out of control. I was polite and always had time for the little kids in helping them out at the track. I always had time for the fans because without them the sport was taken out of racing. I loved racing so much that instead of sitting in the pits and telling everybody how cool I was I would be next to the track and watching the fast guys. I watched racers like Dave Clift, Sonny Burres, Dick Mann and Skip Van Leuwen to see how they rode their bikes. Then I went out and practiced, practiced and practiced and tried to do what they did. My racing style was a combination of 25 to 30 top racers styles that worked for me.
BR: If you were to start motorcycle racing today, what type of racing would you do?
BM: I would probably do some roadracing. I never did roadrace but it has always really intrigued me. Of course I would also do some flat track racing. Motocross tracks have all become Supercross tracks. I like natural terrain courses like Unadilla in New York that test your riding skills instead of the size of your male anatomy. Were losing a lot of riders due to spinal injuries and practice crashes because of the Supercross style jumps. There exciting to watch and has made Supercross a big fan favorite, but if you have to do that triple jump 35 to 40 times a day its only a matter of time until you don’t get it right and miss. You can either crash real hard and not get hurt or crash real hard and get hurt. I’m not sure that I would motocross today the way the tracks are designed for just maximum airtime instead of accelerating, braking and cornering.
BR: What was your favorite track?
BM: My favorite tracks were Unadilla and Ulverton in Quebec with real big uphills and natural terrain. Locally I liked Highside Park in Bremerton. People remember me most from the Puyallup track but I rode there so much that I knew where every hole and pebble was. The main reason I went there was because it was the Trans-Am track and it was where all the fast guys went to race.
BR: What do you miss about professional racing?
BM: The atmosphere and excitement of the fans at the different tracks in the U.S. Traveling to the different races with your racing friends and the fellowship of your competitors.
BR: Define your riding style?
BM: I’m pretty smooth with little wasted effort. I didn’t hang my rear end out if it wasn’t going to make me faster. I always believed that the time for showing off was after the checkered flag fell. If you fell down in the last corner from showing off then you were just stupid. The point in racing is to be the first one to the checkered flag, not the best looking.
BR: Best party?
BM: The party at Gary Semics house after the 1975 Saddleback race in Huntington Beach, California. The Evel Knievel jump at Snake River had a party that lasted a week and was pretty wild.
BR: Most memorable moment as a racer?
BM: Winning the first moto in the Houston Astrodome Supercross in 1974. It was real intense to see my name up on the reader board when I went across the big jump in the center of the track.
BR: How was it to be a factory racer?
BM: It was great in that you didn’t have to worry about fixing your bike every race and that you knew where your next meal would be coming from. It was great to have that responsibility taken off your shoulders, but it was replaced with something else. Riding for a factory team required you to live, eat and breathe for the factory 24 hours a day seven days a week. There were times when I felt I had lost my freedom. I couldn’t go out golfing with my buddies because I had to make an appearance for the company in some hotel banquet room. I understand the reasons for the business to succeed, but I was young and wanted to have some fun with my racing friends like Marty Tripes and Ron Pomeroy. I always thought that racing first and foremost should be fun.
BR: What rider from another era do you wish you had a chance to race against in your top form?
BM: Jeremy McGrath. That’s who all the racers measure themselves against today. Outdoor racers like Jeff Stanton, Mike LaRocco and Mike Kiedrowski who are tougher than the Chinese alphabet. I always tried to be tough at the end of the race when other people might be tired and falter. That was one way to win a race. When I first saw Bob "Hurricane" Hannah in the winter Florida series all he needed was two hands to be hooked on the handlebars to win. I didn’t give him two years in racing because he was such a loose pilot that he would be either dead or gone from racing by then. He was an amazing talent.
BR: What was your biggest disappointment?
BM: Not getting to win the big one. I had so many wins over the years in Inter-Ams, Trans-Ams, Supercrosses and there was always a bolt breaking or shock shaft snapping or the ignition failing that stopped me just short. These problems would only happen once but they always seemed to happen to me. I can’t count how many times I had a big race all wrapped up and the Big Guy upstairs would say it’s not your turn yet. I keep wondering if it will ever be my turn.
BR: Tell us about your infamous Dodge van?
BM: It was the first new vehicle I ever bought in January 1974. I took off to do the Florida Winter Series and two months later my 12,000-mile warranty was expired. I averaged 1,000 miles a week on it for 26 years and I just don’t have the heart to get rid of it. There were too many good times and trips across the U.S. in it and maybe a couple of girls got in there also. It could go 117 mph with a little bit of a tail wind behind it. What more could you ask of anything.
BR: What was your worst crash?
BM: I was racing for Can-Am in 1975 at a racetrack near Quebec and my shocks had blown out. I went through a big berm and the rear end sprung the bike up and I wrapped the bike and myself around a dead snag on the side of the course. It bent the forks and wheel back into the frame. I ended up hitting a tree and had some internal injuries and I thought I broke my face. That was pretty scary.
BR: Which racers did you hang with in your career?
BM: On the national circuit it would be Ron Pomeroy, Billy Grossi, Tom Rapp, Gaylon Mosier and most of the Honda team. Locally it was Rick Poulin, Doug Raines, Dan Brown, Bobby Boock and Billy Joyce. We would all travel together and see different parts of the country. We were all friends who would work together and for each other except for an hour and a half on Sundays when we were all enemies.
BR: Tell us about one of the most weirdest MX bikes ever the Rokon 340?
BM: If my career wasn’t over then I think that finished it. I was planning on riding a University Honda XL 350 4-stroke at the Puyallup Trans-Am in 1974 when the gearbox broke two weeks before. We searched everywhere we could to find a 3rd gear but the dirt trackers had taken them all. Two days before the race Red Lumsden from Bremerton Yamaha offered me the Rokon to ride. I called Terry Saxlund at University Honda and asked him if he would be upset if I rode the Rokon and he told me that they couldn’t get me a bike so it was OK by him. I rode that thing and it was terrible! It was the worst motorcycle I ever put my leg across. It was a snowmobile engine with a torque converter on it with cases that would make you bowlegged. That Trans-Am race was super muddy and in the last race I was in 11th place out of 13 survivors. The clutch was so full of mud that the Rokon was stuck in high gear so I rode it through a water hole to clean off the rubber belt drive to make it up the finish hill. On the last lap it ran out of gas a few feet away from the checkered flag. You can’t push a Rokon on a flat floor and after two 45-minute motos I was out of steam and couldn’t push it any farther up the hill in the knee-deep mud. A spectator helped me get it across the line and then the AMA disqualified me for outside help. To think I almost finished in the top ten on a Rokon.
BR: Will there be another national class MX racer from the northwest?
BM: At the present moment it doesn’t look like it, but the way things change a guy could pop up at a local race and start-putting people away. Motocross is so different today with all the double and triple jumps. I have lost touch with the young racers in that I would rather race than be a spectator. If I am at a track I have to do something to keep me occupied because racing is where it’s at.
BR: You are a member of the Tacoma M/C that puts on Dyno Daze. Do you like old bikes?
BM: You go to motocross race today and there are no trophy presentations. You just go and pick up your trophy when you feel like it. Everybody loads up there motor homes and goes home. We used to sit around after a race and bullshit about "I would have beaten you if only" and have a great camaraderie. Those were the moments among friends that I really cherish. That is what vintage racing is still about. I enjoy vintage racing because of the people in it.
BR: Best musical group to listen to on the road?
BM: If the sun is coming up in the morning and you’ve been driving all night the Eagles hit the spot. If you’re trying to stay awake at night I like "Terrible" Ted Nugent to keep the blood flying. Pink Floyd was a great group to listen to at all times of the day.
BR: Was it more fun to race in the 70’s professionally than today?
BM: It was more fun because we weren’t cluttered up with big contracts and big money. I finished 3rd in the Supercross series in 1974 and there were no year-end bonuses. It was just a race and a championship. Today if you get 3rd in the Supercross championship you get around $40,000. We did it because we loved to race and not because there was a lot of money involved. We did it because it was cool and it was fun.
BR: Widest racer off the track?
BM: There were a lot of racers who could win that prize. I hate to do this to these guys they were my friends but Billy "Sugar Bear" Grossi comes to mind first. The motocrossers weren’t as crazy as the dirt trackers as to what they did off the track. We got into competitions when we were training as to who could jump the farthest off the hotel roof into the swimming pool.
BR: What do you ride better in mud or dust?
BM: Mud! If I go into a cloud of dust and I can’t see my throttle just goes off. If you can’t see, you can’t punch it. The mud always slowed down the fast guys to my pace and then they had to deal with me. Unless something broke I was going to do pretty well in the mud. Mud is the great equalizer in racing. You have to float above it with the throttle or sink like the Titanic. I think there are still a couple of bikes buried deep into the earth at some old tracks.
BR: Corners, jumps or bumps where were you the fastest?
BM: I tried to be good over the entire track. You can look spectacular off a jump or a corner but it may not help you lower your lap time. You have to use a corner to set up for the jump. Then you have to use the jump to set up for the next corner. All the pieces have to fit into a whole lap after lap.
BR: What advice would you give a 15-year-old racer?
BM: To be dedicated and serious about your sport, and try to enjoy it while you can. If you are not enjoying what you are doing then you won’t be successful. Even when you are training you can make it fun. I’m going to sound old here but the tattoos, nose rings and haircuts that look like a raccoon on the side of your head don’t do it for me. If you want to be extreme, be extreme by winning.
BR: In one word what would you say about your racing career?
BM: Wonderful!
