Randy Skiver
By Shawn McDonald
Background
Born: Chehalis, Washington
Height: 6’ 1 ½"
Racing weight: 200 lbs
Father/Mother: Dan & Verla Skiver
Sisters: Debbie, Sandee
Married: Marcia
Children: Russell, Becky
Business: Solid Waste Management Department-Snohomish County
Championships: Gold Creek Indoor Champion 1968, 1969, Monroe Indoor Champion 1972, AMA Western Regional Champion 1973, 1977, 1978, Castle Rock AMA TT National 1977 Winner, WMRRA Class Champion 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, WMRRA 6-Hour Endurance Champion Team 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
Major sponsors in your career: Evergreen Honda, Triumph Factory, Jim Messler, Dave Vaver, Bellevue Suzuki, Greg Olson, Totem Lake Honda, Clarke-Simpkins Honda, Torco Oils, KRW Helmets, Bassani Exhausts, Norris Cams,
I hate natural racers! You know the type that can swing their leg over any type of bike and win without practicing even once. Where the rest of us have to practice and practice just to see the rear end of these natural racers. Except in the case where these naturals are the nicest of people you could ever meet. Meet Randy Skiver the natural who is the nicest of people. Naturals always make racing look like the easiest of things to do by their inherent grace and style while riding. Randy didn’t fit that mold because of his size. He would throw the bike into a corner and have to wrestle it out through strength and sheer determination. Almost everyone I talked to who saw him ride commented on making the bike do what he wanted by pure force of will. They said he was a bull when he rode. When he wasn’t riding he was more like the good husband and father that he is. Skiver didn’t really have a nickname when he raced so I donned him during the interview with the name "The Bull."
Bench Racer: What got you started in motorcycles in the first place?
Randy Skiver: My Dad bought a Honda Trail 55 to go hunting with when I was 13 years old. I shortly abused the Honda to where it wouldn’t run anymore. He upgraded it quickly to the larger Honda Trail 90. I had a neighbor who lived up the street and raced scrambles when I was in High School. When I was 15 he let me use his Honda Super 90 at Jolly Rogers where I finished third in the "B" main. I was hooked on racing from then on.
BR: What role did your family have in supporting your early riding?
RS: They had everything to do with it. They brought me to the races before I could drive and then bought me a truck to go to the races and school. They have, with the exception of some of the east coast races, been to almost every race I ever entered. When my sisters were young the whole family would go to the Gold Creek indoor flat track races. When my sisters were 10-12 years old they would race in the Powder Puff class at Gold Creek and did very well. My family always followed me and supported me in every way they could.
BR: What will it take to make another NW motorcycle champion?
RS: They have one now in Joe Kopp. The biggest thing the NW lacks to develop champions is a local grass roots racing program. There is really only Hannegan and Castle Rock for big time flat tracking anymore. When I was starting you could ride at Castle Rock, Hannegan, Sidewinders, Enumclaw, Aqua Barn, Maltby, Gold Creek and a dozen other places where you could learn how to race at a young age.
BR: Were you successful when you first started?
RS: I had a lot of early success at the scrambles races. I won a lot of races at Maltby and Gold Creek. In 1968 and 1969 I was the Gold Creek Champion and then I was the Monroe Champion for a couple of years. I had a lot of support and success when I started racing.
BR: What was your first race that made you stand out from the rest of the crowd?
RS: I can’t say what everybody else thought. Being successful right away in my first season helped me get a job and a sponsorship from a little shop called Evergreen Honda in Everett, Washington. I guess I must have shown some talent because they gave me free bikes and a job to work there.
BR: What was your biggest regret?
RS: Not staying in better physical shape. I think I could have had better finishes and lengthened my career if I had been in better shape. When you’re a kid you think your invincible and everything just happens your way. I think if I had been in peak condition I would have a longer career and more wins.
BR: You’re a big guy for racing at 6’1 ½ " and 200 lbs. Did your size hurt you racing against the motorcycle jockeys?
RS: In certain races it was an advantage and at certain races it was a disadvantage. In the early scrambles and in motocross it was an advantage to have the size and the strength. Later on in flat tracking at the larger tracks where horsepower was really a factor it was definitely a disadvantage. If the traction was good on a TT course the size and the talent helped put me up front. I didn’t like it at the larger tracks because I always had a problem having enough horsepower to be competitive. When I started roadracing it was before the full sized fairings they have on production bikes today so I didn’t have any place to hide to stay out of the wind. Hiding behind the handlebars on the mile wasn’t my big problem it was getting the power down out of the corners. I was the size I was so I never worried about it.
BR: Which racers did you look up to?
RS: My idol of all time was Dick Mann. When I was a novice and junior rider I would watch Dick ride at Castle Rock and loved his style. He had a riding style that was the closest to mine of anybody I can remember. Dick loved the fluff on the outside and would charge into the corner and square it off and then get a big hard drive onto the straight. I remember him going into the corners with his feet up on the pegs right next to the fence and throwing dirt spray over the fans, and they went crazy. He was my biggest hero when I was growing up.
BR: As long as it had two wheels be it motocross, flat track or roadracing you were successful. How come?
RS: I don’t know. I think part of the answer is in the time I was racing the bikes were more general and could be used for different types of racing. The bikes today are much more specialized for motocross and roadracing where they don’t even make for good trail bikes or street bikes.
BR: Who was your greatest NW racing rival?
RS: When I first started local flat tracking Emil Ahola was the big name to race against. Down in Oregon it was always Sonny Burres and Chuck Joyner. Pat Marinacci was tough nut at Castle Rock. Up north it was Steve Baker in Bellingham. Then later on it became Mickey Fay. I didn’t know a lot of people in roadracing so I didn’t know whom I was supposed to rival with.
BR: Who was the best racer you saw or raced against?
RS: Looking at it from today because of his longevity in the sport it would be Jay Springsteen. He was a genius when I was in my prime and has continued that for 20 plus years. Kenny Roberts and I never got along after he claimed in 1976 that I knocked him down at Castle Rock and I still claim that he knocked me down. Each racer has their own viewpoint on anything that happens on the track.
BR: What happened at the Castle Rock TT National in 1977 that you won?
RS: The biggest factor that allowed me to win was that it rained all night before the race. When I got to the racetrack that day I knew it would be my best chance at winning a national event. The racetrack was tacky and had good traction all through the night. Everything about the track and the evening suited my style to perfection. I thought I was cool, calm and collected but my family told me later I was looking like a nervous idiot talking and walking at 200 mph all night before the race. Ted Boody finished second and Kenny Roberts finished third that night.
BR: If you were to start motorcycle racing today, what type of racing would you do?
RS: Probably roadracing, it’s the easiest on your body unless you fall down. As long as you don’t hit anything when you fall off a roadracer it’s not to bad. Usually you just try to slide and not tumble too much. You have to rotate body parts so things don’t get too hot and burn through your leathers as you slide along. I got hurt flat tracking way more often than I ever did roadracing. Physically roadracing is easier to do than dirt racing. Roadracing is as much mental as it is physical. As long as you can think ahead of what’s going on the racetrack, and keep your wits about you I think you can be successful.
BR: What’s the problem with flat tracking today?
RS: I think that it is unfortunate that there is not more flat tracking today. It’s a reflection on land values and grass root support. There is not a motorcycle made for flat tracking. You either buy a motocross or roadracing bike. You race where there are motorcycles available. When I started racing you could buy a bike like a Hodaka, Maico, CZ, Honda and go racing. At that time you could take a couple months salary and buy a first class flat tracker or take a couple weeks salary and buy something you could make competitive. Bikes weren’t as sophisticated or developed back then so you could modify the same bike to race in different types of races.
BR: What was or is your favorite track?
RS: There were a lot of tracks that were fun in the scrambles days like Maltby and Jolly Rogers. My favorite flat track racecourse would be the old Castle Rock track, especially at night. Sidewinders and Hannegan were always fun tracks to race on. If it was a track that was slippery and long that took a lot of horsepower I didn’t like it. As long as there was a racetrack that had a lot of traction I had a lot of fun.
BR: What was your motivation in rising through the ranks of professional racing?
RS: I guess it would be my competitive nature. I never liked second place. I always wanted to win and felt capable of winning every event. I never could understand why somebody would want to race and just ride around. I always felt that if you went to a race you should try to win it even if you didn’t have a chance.
BR: Were you a natural rider or did you have to work at riding?
RS: I would have to say that I was natural. I never practiced at anything I ever did. I went straight from trail riding to racing dirt tracks. I never owned a street motorcycle. The only times I rode on the street was to test ride a bike when I was a mechanic. I went straight from flat tracking into roadracing. The only practice I ever did was the morning of the race.
BR: Best party?
RS: The best party that I enjoyed going to for the whole evening was the year I won the Castle Rock National. I think I was pretty much drunk by the time I finished the champagne on the winners podium. It snowballed from there. That evening was very special to me in winning my only national event with my family and friends around me.
BR: Most memorable moment as a racer?
RS: Standing on the winners’ podium at Castle Rock. I don’t know how big the audience was, but to have your hometown fans’ cheering you and your family right in front of you was something I will never forget.
BR: What is you version on you chasing Mickey Fay around after an indoor short track race?
RS: I don’t remember chasing him but I do remember being mad. I don’t remember why I was mad except that he was this young cocky little kid that I didn’t want to beat me and he did. I don’t know if I tried to run into him after the checkered flag or not. I do think that it is funny after all these years, but it wasn’t at the time. The only person I would get mad at the racetrack would be myself.
BR: You are known, as a bull when it comes to muscling your race bikes around the track why is that?
RS: I was always recognized for that probably because of my large size compared to the rest of the racers. It was more self-survival than anything else. I just took what happened and tried to survive it and if that took muscling the bike that’s what I did.
BR: You have been married for 30 years since you were 18 how has your wife put up with all that time?
RS: I was blessed to meet a wonderful woman. She has been more than patient to put up with me for more than 30 years. She basically raised our two children when I was off racing on weekends. She was the driving force in keeping the family together while I was off playing. I only took her back east racing with me once. Every third race she wanted a hotel because she got tired of the heat and humidity, bugs and the sticky inside of the van and needed a shower and bed. She couldn’t stand the glamorous life of the racer.
BR: What attributes make a championship racer?
RS: I think the main thing is to have the natural ability to begin with. You have to have the competitive spirit to win. You don’t go racing just to have fun. I think that all the true champions go out there on the track to win.
BR: What was your worst crash?
RS: It was in fast right hand turn 8 at Laguna Seca raceway. The suspension compressed so much that the cases hit the ground and lifted the wheels off the ground. The bike and I cleared the haybales and landed in the pitwall fence. It took me 2-3 minutes to find my bike because it was hanging up in another fence. It was scary because of the speed and the disorientation. My bike went through the fence at Sidewinders when my Triumph got stuck with a wide-open throttle. I landed on top of the fence and went down another 50 feet on the fence before I stopped. I didn’t break anything but it was the scariest crash on a flat track bike.
BR: How many bones have you broken racing?
RS: I haven’t broke many bones in my career. The biggest injuries I used to have all the time were breaking my thumbs when I fell off. I broke my ankle in a 1978 race in Boise. I spent the day with my foot in a 10-gallon bucket of ice water to keep my foot from swelling up and I kept my boot on all day. I was able to win that day through all of it. The stupidest thing I ever did was soaking off the cast 10 days after that to race again at the season opener at Castle Rock. I couldn’t do any training for the rest of the season because of the ankle and that ended my flat track career. I made the switch to roadracing at that point.
BR: What was your favorite racing bike?
RS: The Triumph 750 that I won the Castle Rock National on for sure. I had that bike from 1976 till 1978 and it was phenomenal and just a pure joy to ride. Paul Pieroli from Motorcycle Works now owns it.
BR: Describe your riding style?
RS: Somebody else would best describe that. Because of my large size, for racers, it looked awkward at times. To get the bike to lay down the way I wanted to I needed to get my leg to the outside of the handlebar and that was different than everybody else. I never tried to get a style it was just my style because of my size.
BR: What did your children think of their motorcycle-racing Dad?
RS: My kids never looked at me being a big time motorcycle racer they just saw me as being dad. My daughter was the most competitive and aggressive on mini bikes between the two kids growing up. Because she was a girl she didn’t have the opportunities to go racing. My son would have loved to go racing but he was having some school problems at the time and it didn’t work out. He’s now into downhill mountain bike racing and just won the Washington-Idaho-Montana Expert class. I’m really proud of him.
BR: Got any juicy road stories to tell us?
RS: I’m not as exciting as most in that area. I never subscribed to the Gas-n-Dash theme, but I Dined-n-Dashed a couple of times. One year I remember going to a regional half-mile championship in Illinois. I had filled up the gas tank to get to the race and signed up and found out that I only had 35 cents left to my name. Luckily I went away with $600 that night by winning the regional championship. There was always a little fair running someplace in the Midwest where they would have a local race that you could make some money at. I was at a fair somewhere in Kansas walking down the midway when I saw three local racers streaking by me. It wasn’t so much that they were running naked through the midway that was strange, but that I knew them. The weirdest autograph I was asked to sign was on a woman’s breast when I won the national at Castle Rock. I fortunately turned down the request.
BR: Which racer has been the best road trip partner?
RS: My good friend Roger Stanley would be the one. Only in the fact that he was the only one I could ever travel with twice. Just to have someone you could travel six weeks in a van with was very hard to achieve. There was always someone you would get pissed off with or you would just throw somebody out for doing something. Traveling is always a crucible on wheels. It just never seemed to work out to have repeat partners after a couple of seasons.
BR: Who do you think was the most talented Northwest racer who didn’t make it to the top and why?
RS: I would say Mickey Fay. It wasn’t that he didn’t make it to the top. Mickey had as much success or more than any rider from the northwest. Mickey had a huge amount of raw talent and if he had stayed in better shape and taken the sport more seriously he would have had a lot more success than he did.
BR: Your known as a TT specialist. Is that your favorite form of racing?
RS: I think TT racing gives an advantage to racers my size. In a TT you can muscle and finesse a bike around where in half-mile and mile races it comes down to horsepower. My size let me be competitive with an average bike in a TT race. I didn’t mind being called a TT specialist. I liked that they called me a specialist in anything.
BR: Were you a wild child on the National circuit?
RS: I was one of the more tame racers on the circuit. I wouldn’t say I was always tame though. I’ve probably forgotten most of the things I wanted to forget. I was the one who would go to the races and race and go back to my van and go to sleep than to party all night long.
BR: In one word what would you say about your racing career?
RS: Successful!
Background
Born: Chehalis, Washington
Height: 6’ 1 ½"
Racing weight: 200 lbs
Father/Mother: Dan & Verla Skiver
Sisters: Debbie, Sandee
Married: Marcia
Children: Russell, Becky
Business: Solid Waste Management Department-Snohomish County
Championships: Gold Creek Indoor Champion 1968, 1969, Monroe Indoor Champion 1972, AMA Western Regional Champion 1973, 1977, 1978, Castle Rock AMA TT National 1977 Winner, WMRRA Class Champion 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, WMRRA 6-Hour Endurance Champion Team 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
Major sponsors in your career: Evergreen Honda, Triumph Factory, Jim Messler, Dave Vaver, Bellevue Suzuki, Greg Olson, Totem Lake Honda, Clarke-Simpkins Honda, Torco Oils, KRW Helmets, Bassani Exhausts, Norris Cams,
I hate natural racers! You know the type that can swing their leg over any type of bike and win without practicing even once. Where the rest of us have to practice and practice just to see the rear end of these natural racers. Except in the case where these naturals are the nicest of people you could ever meet. Meet Randy Skiver the natural who is the nicest of people. Naturals always make racing look like the easiest of things to do by their inherent grace and style while riding. Randy didn’t fit that mold because of his size. He would throw the bike into a corner and have to wrestle it out through strength and sheer determination. Almost everyone I talked to who saw him ride commented on making the bike do what he wanted by pure force of will. They said he was a bull when he rode. When he wasn’t riding he was more like the good husband and father that he is. Skiver didn’t really have a nickname when he raced so I donned him during the interview with the name "The Bull."
Bench Racer: What got you started in motorcycles in the first place?
Randy Skiver: My Dad bought a Honda Trail 55 to go hunting with when I was 13 years old. I shortly abused the Honda to where it wouldn’t run anymore. He upgraded it quickly to the larger Honda Trail 90. I had a neighbor who lived up the street and raced scrambles when I was in High School. When I was 15 he let me use his Honda Super 90 at Jolly Rogers where I finished third in the "B" main. I was hooked on racing from then on.
BR: What role did your family have in supporting your early riding?
RS: They had everything to do with it. They brought me to the races before I could drive and then bought me a truck to go to the races and school. They have, with the exception of some of the east coast races, been to almost every race I ever entered. When my sisters were young the whole family would go to the Gold Creek indoor flat track races. When my sisters were 10-12 years old they would race in the Powder Puff class at Gold Creek and did very well. My family always followed me and supported me in every way they could.
BR: What will it take to make another NW motorcycle champion?
RS: They have one now in Joe Kopp. The biggest thing the NW lacks to develop champions is a local grass roots racing program. There is really only Hannegan and Castle Rock for big time flat tracking anymore. When I was starting you could ride at Castle Rock, Hannegan, Sidewinders, Enumclaw, Aqua Barn, Maltby, Gold Creek and a dozen other places where you could learn how to race at a young age.
BR: Were you successful when you first started?
RS: I had a lot of early success at the scrambles races. I won a lot of races at Maltby and Gold Creek. In 1968 and 1969 I was the Gold Creek Champion and then I was the Monroe Champion for a couple of years. I had a lot of support and success when I started racing.
BR: What was your first race that made you stand out from the rest of the crowd?
RS: I can’t say what everybody else thought. Being successful right away in my first season helped me get a job and a sponsorship from a little shop called Evergreen Honda in Everett, Washington. I guess I must have shown some talent because they gave me free bikes and a job to work there.
BR: What was your biggest regret?
RS: Not staying in better physical shape. I think I could have had better finishes and lengthened my career if I had been in better shape. When you’re a kid you think your invincible and everything just happens your way. I think if I had been in peak condition I would have a longer career and more wins.
BR: You’re a big guy for racing at 6’1 ½ " and 200 lbs. Did your size hurt you racing against the motorcycle jockeys?
RS: In certain races it was an advantage and at certain races it was a disadvantage. In the early scrambles and in motocross it was an advantage to have the size and the strength. Later on in flat tracking at the larger tracks where horsepower was really a factor it was definitely a disadvantage. If the traction was good on a TT course the size and the talent helped put me up front. I didn’t like it at the larger tracks because I always had a problem having enough horsepower to be competitive. When I started roadracing it was before the full sized fairings they have on production bikes today so I didn’t have any place to hide to stay out of the wind. Hiding behind the handlebars on the mile wasn’t my big problem it was getting the power down out of the corners. I was the size I was so I never worried about it.
BR: Which racers did you look up to?
RS: My idol of all time was Dick Mann. When I was a novice and junior rider I would watch Dick ride at Castle Rock and loved his style. He had a riding style that was the closest to mine of anybody I can remember. Dick loved the fluff on the outside and would charge into the corner and square it off and then get a big hard drive onto the straight. I remember him going into the corners with his feet up on the pegs right next to the fence and throwing dirt spray over the fans, and they went crazy. He was my biggest hero when I was growing up.
BR: As long as it had two wheels be it motocross, flat track or roadracing you were successful. How come?
RS: I don’t know. I think part of the answer is in the time I was racing the bikes were more general and could be used for different types of racing. The bikes today are much more specialized for motocross and roadracing where they don’t even make for good trail bikes or street bikes.
BR: Who was your greatest NW racing rival?
RS: When I first started local flat tracking Emil Ahola was the big name to race against. Down in Oregon it was always Sonny Burres and Chuck Joyner. Pat Marinacci was tough nut at Castle Rock. Up north it was Steve Baker in Bellingham. Then later on it became Mickey Fay. I didn’t know a lot of people in roadracing so I didn’t know whom I was supposed to rival with.
BR: Who was the best racer you saw or raced against?
RS: Looking at it from today because of his longevity in the sport it would be Jay Springsteen. He was a genius when I was in my prime and has continued that for 20 plus years. Kenny Roberts and I never got along after he claimed in 1976 that I knocked him down at Castle Rock and I still claim that he knocked me down. Each racer has their own viewpoint on anything that happens on the track.
BR: What happened at the Castle Rock TT National in 1977 that you won?
RS: The biggest factor that allowed me to win was that it rained all night before the race. When I got to the racetrack that day I knew it would be my best chance at winning a national event. The racetrack was tacky and had good traction all through the night. Everything about the track and the evening suited my style to perfection. I thought I was cool, calm and collected but my family told me later I was looking like a nervous idiot talking and walking at 200 mph all night before the race. Ted Boody finished second and Kenny Roberts finished third that night.
BR: If you were to start motorcycle racing today, what type of racing would you do?
RS: Probably roadracing, it’s the easiest on your body unless you fall down. As long as you don’t hit anything when you fall off a roadracer it’s not to bad. Usually you just try to slide and not tumble too much. You have to rotate body parts so things don’t get too hot and burn through your leathers as you slide along. I got hurt flat tracking way more often than I ever did roadracing. Physically roadracing is easier to do than dirt racing. Roadracing is as much mental as it is physical. As long as you can think ahead of what’s going on the racetrack, and keep your wits about you I think you can be successful.
BR: What’s the problem with flat tracking today?
RS: I think that it is unfortunate that there is not more flat tracking today. It’s a reflection on land values and grass root support. There is not a motorcycle made for flat tracking. You either buy a motocross or roadracing bike. You race where there are motorcycles available. When I started racing you could buy a bike like a Hodaka, Maico, CZ, Honda and go racing. At that time you could take a couple months salary and buy a first class flat tracker or take a couple weeks salary and buy something you could make competitive. Bikes weren’t as sophisticated or developed back then so you could modify the same bike to race in different types of races.
BR: What was or is your favorite track?
RS: There were a lot of tracks that were fun in the scrambles days like Maltby and Jolly Rogers. My favorite flat track racecourse would be the old Castle Rock track, especially at night. Sidewinders and Hannegan were always fun tracks to race on. If it was a track that was slippery and long that took a lot of horsepower I didn’t like it. As long as there was a racetrack that had a lot of traction I had a lot of fun.
BR: What was your motivation in rising through the ranks of professional racing?
RS: I guess it would be my competitive nature. I never liked second place. I always wanted to win and felt capable of winning every event. I never could understand why somebody would want to race and just ride around. I always felt that if you went to a race you should try to win it even if you didn’t have a chance.
BR: Were you a natural rider or did you have to work at riding?
RS: I would have to say that I was natural. I never practiced at anything I ever did. I went straight from trail riding to racing dirt tracks. I never owned a street motorcycle. The only times I rode on the street was to test ride a bike when I was a mechanic. I went straight from flat tracking into roadracing. The only practice I ever did was the morning of the race.
BR: Best party?
RS: The best party that I enjoyed going to for the whole evening was the year I won the Castle Rock National. I think I was pretty much drunk by the time I finished the champagne on the winners podium. It snowballed from there. That evening was very special to me in winning my only national event with my family and friends around me.
BR: Most memorable moment as a racer?
RS: Standing on the winners’ podium at Castle Rock. I don’t know how big the audience was, but to have your hometown fans’ cheering you and your family right in front of you was something I will never forget.
BR: What is you version on you chasing Mickey Fay around after an indoor short track race?
RS: I don’t remember chasing him but I do remember being mad. I don’t remember why I was mad except that he was this young cocky little kid that I didn’t want to beat me and he did. I don’t know if I tried to run into him after the checkered flag or not. I do think that it is funny after all these years, but it wasn’t at the time. The only person I would get mad at the racetrack would be myself.
BR: You are known, as a bull when it comes to muscling your race bikes around the track why is that?
RS: I was always recognized for that probably because of my large size compared to the rest of the racers. It was more self-survival than anything else. I just took what happened and tried to survive it and if that took muscling the bike that’s what I did.
BR: You have been married for 30 years since you were 18 how has your wife put up with all that time?
RS: I was blessed to meet a wonderful woman. She has been more than patient to put up with me for more than 30 years. She basically raised our two children when I was off racing on weekends. She was the driving force in keeping the family together while I was off playing. I only took her back east racing with me once. Every third race she wanted a hotel because she got tired of the heat and humidity, bugs and the sticky inside of the van and needed a shower and bed. She couldn’t stand the glamorous life of the racer.
BR: What attributes make a championship racer?
RS: I think the main thing is to have the natural ability to begin with. You have to have the competitive spirit to win. You don’t go racing just to have fun. I think that all the true champions go out there on the track to win.
BR: What was your worst crash?
RS: It was in fast right hand turn 8 at Laguna Seca raceway. The suspension compressed so much that the cases hit the ground and lifted the wheels off the ground. The bike and I cleared the haybales and landed in the pitwall fence. It took me 2-3 minutes to find my bike because it was hanging up in another fence. It was scary because of the speed and the disorientation. My bike went through the fence at Sidewinders when my Triumph got stuck with a wide-open throttle. I landed on top of the fence and went down another 50 feet on the fence before I stopped. I didn’t break anything but it was the scariest crash on a flat track bike.
BR: How many bones have you broken racing?
RS: I haven’t broke many bones in my career. The biggest injuries I used to have all the time were breaking my thumbs when I fell off. I broke my ankle in a 1978 race in Boise. I spent the day with my foot in a 10-gallon bucket of ice water to keep my foot from swelling up and I kept my boot on all day. I was able to win that day through all of it. The stupidest thing I ever did was soaking off the cast 10 days after that to race again at the season opener at Castle Rock. I couldn’t do any training for the rest of the season because of the ankle and that ended my flat track career. I made the switch to roadracing at that point.
BR: What was your favorite racing bike?
RS: The Triumph 750 that I won the Castle Rock National on for sure. I had that bike from 1976 till 1978 and it was phenomenal and just a pure joy to ride. Paul Pieroli from Motorcycle Works now owns it.
BR: Describe your riding style?
RS: Somebody else would best describe that. Because of my large size, for racers, it looked awkward at times. To get the bike to lay down the way I wanted to I needed to get my leg to the outside of the handlebar and that was different than everybody else. I never tried to get a style it was just my style because of my size.
BR: What did your children think of their motorcycle-racing Dad?
RS: My kids never looked at me being a big time motorcycle racer they just saw me as being dad. My daughter was the most competitive and aggressive on mini bikes between the two kids growing up. Because she was a girl she didn’t have the opportunities to go racing. My son would have loved to go racing but he was having some school problems at the time and it didn’t work out. He’s now into downhill mountain bike racing and just won the Washington-Idaho-Montana Expert class. I’m really proud of him.
BR: Got any juicy road stories to tell us?
RS: I’m not as exciting as most in that area. I never subscribed to the Gas-n-Dash theme, but I Dined-n-Dashed a couple of times. One year I remember going to a regional half-mile championship in Illinois. I had filled up the gas tank to get to the race and signed up and found out that I only had 35 cents left to my name. Luckily I went away with $600 that night by winning the regional championship. There was always a little fair running someplace in the Midwest where they would have a local race that you could make some money at. I was at a fair somewhere in Kansas walking down the midway when I saw three local racers streaking by me. It wasn’t so much that they were running naked through the midway that was strange, but that I knew them. The weirdest autograph I was asked to sign was on a woman’s breast when I won the national at Castle Rock. I fortunately turned down the request.
BR: Which racer has been the best road trip partner?
RS: My good friend Roger Stanley would be the one. Only in the fact that he was the only one I could ever travel with twice. Just to have someone you could travel six weeks in a van with was very hard to achieve. There was always someone you would get pissed off with or you would just throw somebody out for doing something. Traveling is always a crucible on wheels. It just never seemed to work out to have repeat partners after a couple of seasons.
BR: Who do you think was the most talented Northwest racer who didn’t make it to the top and why?
RS: I would say Mickey Fay. It wasn’t that he didn’t make it to the top. Mickey had as much success or more than any rider from the northwest. Mickey had a huge amount of raw talent and if he had stayed in better shape and taken the sport more seriously he would have had a lot more success than he did.
BR: Your known as a TT specialist. Is that your favorite form of racing?
RS: I think TT racing gives an advantage to racers my size. In a TT you can muscle and finesse a bike around where in half-mile and mile races it comes down to horsepower. My size let me be competitive with an average bike in a TT race. I didn’t mind being called a TT specialist. I liked that they called me a specialist in anything.
BR: Were you a wild child on the National circuit?
RS: I was one of the more tame racers on the circuit. I wouldn’t say I was always tame though. I’ve probably forgotten most of the things I wanted to forget. I was the one who would go to the races and race and go back to my van and go to sleep than to party all night long.
BR: In one word what would you say about your racing career?
RS: Successful!
