Old MX pics [Archive] - Kiwi Biker forums

Fryin Finn

20th June 2008, 07:24

Ah the 70's
Open face helmets - can't hide that smile
Bell bottom jeans - perfect for catching on kick starters
Bush shirts - universal outdoor wear
Open toe sandals - perfect ventilation to help wounds recover from injuries created by riding with open toe sandals
Honda 50's launched off huge jumps
My first bike Yamaha RT3 - the crossup machine

NordieBoy

20th June 2008, 07:55

Danger

20th June 2008, 08:18

Cool, keep the old pics coming! These days are good but the old days were pretty cool too. This is me on a Kawasaki 250 on Snells beach at age 12 in the 70's. http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=42575&d=1159098055
No one cared about me riding up and down the beach in the evenings without any protective gear. It was freedom man, and it was so cool! No wowsers or fun police around in those days.
Everyone was so laid back in the 70's. A great time to grow up.

marks

20th June 2008, 17:58

This pic of me on my Suzuki TM125L (1974) was taken on Paraparaumu beach a long time ago....... A family member found it at the weekend..

The early 70's were a good time to be riding. Anyone got similar pics they'd like to share.....?

Awesome picture - the black and white adds to the impact

You would be hung drawn and quartered if you tried that on the beach here now.

camchain

21st June 2008, 13:00

Couldn't resist having a play around with your photo clmintie, hope you don't mind. Nice patina of original photo gone but this Photoshop tweak might be a bit closer to the memory. (Took a liberty with the crop)

I don't know you but still glad to hear you're OK after the top end freshen up. (Great pic, but there must be something slightly disturbing about having the rellies dig around for photos while youre having surgery!).

Enjoying these old photos, start digging and keep 'em coming.

NordieBoy

21st June 2008, 17:06

Nicely done.

clmintie

21st June 2008, 17:46

Thanks camchain, it's my new desktop......until Grace changes it back to one of her.... :rolleyes:

marks

21st June 2008, 19:28

Couldn't resist having a play around with your photo clmintie.

That is freaking awesome

That would be a brilliant A3 poster...

tommorth

21st June 2008, 21:54

that is one awasome pic big thumbs up to the rider and who ever took it

clmintie

21st June 2008, 22:09

I think (pretty hazy after 34yrs) the photographer was the brother of the guy who owned "Hi-torque" cycles up by the mall. Alan Francis?? Now days we'd call it a photo shoot, was for Emerald Glen M/Cs in the main street...Back then it was a hoon on the beach.. Trying to look like Roger DeCoster........ :whistle:

theblacksmith

22nd June 2008, 07:40

Cool photo mate! I was 8 yrs old then.
Lot of air beneath ya too. I did a deal with a mate when I was 12 for a Suzuki TS250. Had no clutch or brakes. Used to slow it down by putting my foot on the engine flywheel! By the time I was 15 I d gone through about 8 pairs of gum boots! Wish I had photos of all that.

merv

22nd June 2008, 09:19

Great pics. It was so easy to have fun then so much territory was open to us and no one batted an eye lid at you riding on Paraparaumu beach - now the bylaws prevent it sheesh :crybaby:

I did a bit of MX but was more into trail/adventure riding by the time I was at Uni and I showed you a whole lot of my old pics of that on these threads which if you haven't seen before you might find a bit of a laugh:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=13566

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=13647

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=32133

camchain

22nd June 2008, 19:54

I reckon you were doing a pretty good De Coster impression there clmintie. The great man was on the podium giving out the prizes at at 87 Hawkstone GP (England) I went to (Dave Thorp won). For me, it was was more of a buzz seeing Roger De Coster than watching the racing!

Had a dig around and found some old pics from 1978(?) last year of high school and had an XL175. (I had a TS185 as well, Merv - my first bike at 14) Did some club MX on that thing (no photos of those events - bugger) as well as some long distance road work as well.
Photos possibly demonstrate reason for frame eventually requiring welding, but that bike was a hell of a lot of fun.

camchain

22nd June 2008, 20:04

Getting a little of topic (mx pics) with your thread clmintie, but I'm sure some of you guys would have had a TT500 as well? This one a 76 model.

(I don't want to max out KB server space but pics are well compressed JPEGs and all these together are well under 512kb limit for one photo)

clmintie

1st July 2008, 11:06

An old friend sent me these pics from '73/ '74. I took them with a Kodak Instamatic

1/ Start line at QE2 park, Paekakariki. l to r.. 2 Morley Shiriffs, 58 Geoff Trudgen, 84 Greg Brinck

2/ Ivan Miller and Peter Ploen both on either RH250 or RN 370 Suzukis at QE2

3/ Start line at QE2 125s. Probably '73, most of the bikes were TM125ks, within a short time that changed to Honda Elsinores.....

4/ Otaihanga Sand track start line, this was very cool as it was just across the road from where I lived.....

5/ Peter Boyle, TM125L. I remember him and Morley having some fantastic battles, with Morley usually winning. Peter was very spectacular, but it often ended in tears.......

camchain

1st July 2008, 19:01

Beautiful old photos and some great names there too clmintie. saved pics to hard drive. It'd be good if some keen VMXer out there gathered up these old photos and recorded the info as well. Would like to see a book of NZ dirt history. In a hundred years or so they will be very rare and even more fascinating (looking back on the quaint internal combustion engine).

Love that shot of Ploen and Miller. Greg Brink got into car racing and lately into those big offshore powerboats. I saw Lester Yates's name on an enduro result last year - still going strong.

BTW. There was an RH for sale on Trademe recently reputed to be ex Ivan Miller. Guy wanted 20k for it! Bike looked right (sand cast engine cases) and in real good original condition.

Like you, where I grew up there was a 'scramble' practice track over the creek behind my house. Every time I heard a bike I'd be out there watching. One guy I remember well had a TM400. I'll never forget the growl that thing made when he throttled off.

I bought my first motorcycle magazine in '74 (Aussie 2 wheels). I remember being fixated by an ad for the new Elsinores. (CR250 out in '73 - CR125 came in '74 I think??)

Pic below: I Found and took pity on a very battle scarred example (Paid $150 for it in 1980?). Tidied it up a bit and discovered the reason it didn't run right when doing top end. Some hairless primate had attacked the barrel with a porting tool so vigorously that I'm surprised the piston didn't fall out the ports.
Pic on right is at a motocross in Ohakune. I still have the program somewhere. There was actually prize money on offer - $200 in total for the day! I didn't win any.

Staying away from oblivion since 1963...

clmintie

1st July 2008, 21:01

clmintie... It was originally a spelling mistake and it just kinda stuck. Was supposed to be calamity, as in "oh dear, it's all gone wrong again".. you could try saying "climinty"...

Nice Elsinore by the way... I did something similar with an old TM125 about 1990, spent a lot of time and money on it, but after riding it a few times, realised why we have modern water cooled, well suspended bikes now. I sold it to Mike Jolly, don't know if he's still got it..... I'll try to find a pic of it ....

camchain

2nd July 2008, 13:15

Climintie was what I was going with. Has a nice ring to it.

Saw a mint tm 125 on trade a month ago. Didn't sit for long (maybe yours). Know what you mean about the old bikes, but I still like the old raw simple look of the 70s mxers though. Like the idea of getting an old twin shock air cooled job for some VMX paddock bashing - one day maybe.

I got a real kick out of all those old photos. Very nice.

vifferman

2nd July 2008, 13:40

D'Oh!
I have virtually no photos from the '70s - was too busy riding, and the (borrowed) camera I had wasn't very portable anyway.
Those pix (and names) take me back a bit - used to be a regular attendee of motocross events around Rotorua, as one of my classmates raced.

I had an MT250 from '76 to '77 - mostly just tooled around on it, but did the odd "strip all the road gear off and go for a bush ride" thing.

short shins

10th July 2008, 15:42

Hey I was there somewhere!

I was always to poor to actually own a bike but I did have the parents car and a camera (started with a fixed lens jobbie).
Some of my ex classmates raced, most notably Gary Whittaker (No 19)

Most weekends you would find me at one of the local tracks (QE2, Jacksons, plus others long lost to the memory.)

Eventually I joined the sadly now defunct Hutt Valley Motorcycle Club :weep:and got to get into meetings for Free!
All I had to do was bash in some pegs, wave a flag and get dusty/cold/wet!

I then discovered Club officialdom/Politics and all round fun times!
I had done trail rides and some beach racing but I was into Road Racing so it wasn’t until 1998 that I actually entered a real Moto Cross!

I had a 1972 TM125 sitting in the shed doing nothing so a quick freshen up and I was away!
So it was fitting that I had discovered VMX!

Thanks to Macca and the Mr Vintage MotoCross team:clap:

I'll Start with some rare colour shots From QE2 park

Enjoy the pics If anybody recognises themselves or a buddy feel free to let us know

NordieBoy

10th July 2008, 16:31

That last shot is sweet and looks like a cool track :D

camchain

11th July 2008, 14:24

Shit hot shots Short Shins.

short shins

11th July 2008, 16:53

Here are some more for your entertainment

racing a TY.... why not it was the 70's:2thumbsup

Danger

11th July 2008, 17:49

I like these old pics, much more interesting than the same ole same ole that we see these days. Keep em coming!

clmintie

11th July 2008, 18:28

short shins

15th July 2008, 08:29

Clmintie

Could be me in the photo, doesn't look short or round enough tho…

I do believe you are correct!
Those shots are at Otiahanga.
Your first post had me thinking that some of my photos looked like they might be in the same place, but for some reason (I blame the Mad Cow for the temporary memory loss!) I thought mine were taken at QE2. :confused:

So how often was QE2 park used? I saw Gaston Rahier there and the Mr MotoCross series plus the Nth Vs Sth
Was it used much for club racing?

I am now remembering the blackberry bushes and the long trek to the back of the track, and also hearing a call for the owner of car rego number CK **** to come and shift it as it was in the way.. Then realising it was my car! Being too far away to do much about it I watched the first couple of races and then made my way back to where I had left the car. It was with some relief I saw it had been unlocked and pushed out of the way. No one hassled me about it when I left.
You couldn't do that these days!

Any ideas who the Bultaco rider is?

I'll scan some more and post them up. The photo quality does get better… along with the equipment

Here are some I know are at QE2:laugh:

Pic 2 Ivan Millar on a Suz 370 with c forks
Pic 3 #54 Pete Daniels & #21 Reg Dixon on a CCM

NordieBoy

15th July 2008, 09:33

So how often was QE2 park used? I saw Gaston Rahier there and the Mr MotoCross series plus the Nth Vs Sth

The Nth Vs South is in Blenheim this year :)

clmintie

15th July 2008, 19:38

3 more from the old album I was given back recently. Most are very hard to see, but at least I thought to write details on the back....

1/ Greg Brinck in probably his first race, TS185

2/ Mark Boyle TM125

3/ Start of a Harescramble somewhere near Ashurst, April 1980. 'Black Bear' maybe?

short shins

30th December 2008, 14:09

Quiet day at work...
Some from QE II park

Who is "BRUCE"?
Who is the stylish dude on the TM?

Also in the Reg Dixon shot is Peter Ploen

FlangMasterJ

30th December 2008, 22:38

Great pics guys keep them coming.

Makes me feel soft looking at you guys manhandling those machines.

bpoulter

4th February 2012, 09:01

Hey short shins, we were there at the same time, but that was the sand track at Otaihanga,do you remember the track was carved out of a huge blackberry patch? You must have been standing next to me when you took the middle pic above.....

pic1/ Dave Murray in the stripped shirt.

pic 2/ Brad Poulter DT360 (I think).... and maybe short shins standing with his mates......

Hi Brad Poulter here, yep that was the DT360 and Dave Murray was my flat mate a little later on. We used to work together at McKenzies at Coastlands where we first met. Sadly I lost all of my photos of the era when Dave and my flat burned down.

In the other photo yes that was Greg Brinks first mx at Otihanga on the TS185. We used to Terrorise Paraparaumu beach at lunchtime from Kapiti College. I had a TS125 at the time that I used to ride down to QE2 park race meetings run mostly by the Ixion Club, strip the lights off and go racing, then put them back on and ride home. Great fun for a 16 year old.

merv

4th February 2012, 10:08

Last month I scanned up an old 70's album I had of photos other people took and gave to me. It had just a couple of MX pics in it, both of Gary Goodfellow.

This first one is from 1976 when he was doing the right thing and was riding the Honda.
256578

Then this one is from 1977 when the bugger was on a Suzuki. Can't remember the venues - looks way too green for Teddington which is where I regularly saw MX in those days.
256579

Great days for sure.

merv

4th February 2012, 10:22

Here's a few from my old slides. All of a meeting, think it was the North vs South, at Teddington in March 1973. I only had a cheapie Kodak Instamatic in those days so the pics aren't professional quality lol.

256593 256594 256595 256596 256597

merv

4th February 2012, 10:25

Here's a few more from that same meeting in March 1973.

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Crasherfromwayback

4th February 2012, 10:57

5/ Peter Boyle, TM125L. I remember him and Morley having some fantastic battles, with Morley usually winning. Peter was very spectacular, but it often ended in tears.......

2/ Mark Boyle TM125

Great pics. I've worked with both Peter and Mark Boyle. Both GC's and still handy on a bike.

merv

4th February 2012, 11:15

It was cool in those days you could race anything and it was fun that something like an XL175 could be used at club level reasonably competitively and I see in the pics above there was that number 94. I used to race under number 777 on mine, but then we spent more time just racing our mates at the tracks down by the river and the like too. Here's a couple of me on my XL175, July 1975, at the Waimak near McLean's Island just straight off the road lights still on etc..

256615 256616

NordieBoy

4th February 2012, 15:33

merv

4th February 2012, 15:41

No sorry Nordie, don't know Alan. I went to Canterbury Uni so had a few years on volunteer service abroad in the South Island hence my time in ChCh, now back in the North Island. Loved ChCh, bit sad to see what's happened to it.

NordieBoy

4th February 2012, 16:38

merv

4th February 2012, 16:42

Cool pics Nordie. Hey thought it was about time I sent you a FB friend request. Hope I got the right adventurer.

oldguy

4th February 2012, 20:58

oldguy

4th February 2012, 21:05

looks like VMX but these bike were new or reasonably new haha

first 2 pics, Hare Scramble event just out of Okaihau

second 2 another event, towards KeriKeri

Ktmboy

5th February 2012, 20:44

my early photography days, taking and processing in good old black and white.

first 2 pics I think:shutup: were taken Auckland Champs early 80,s I never marked or dated any pics back then, hell I still don't:facepalm:.

second 2, more sure where these were taken Kaikohe/Ngawha Springs mid 80,s

Oh dear that brings back a few memories. I grew up riding that terrain at the back of the family farm at Ngawha and did a few races up Okaihau (at the far north). Unfortunately all the pics have been lost but I'll look for the negs soon.

In the background on pic #3 is a guy called Roger Wilkins our mechanic and all round engine guru. He could make RD350's sing. Think he hailed from Wellington.
We paid him with casks of Velluto Rosso red wine and we had to help him drink the aweful shit as part of the deal. Turns out red wine tends to grow on you.

cheese

6th February 2012, 06:49

LOL is that an old IT in that 3rd photo? Weird set up they were with the chain on the wrong side!!

Did you have a RD350 Tony? My mate had one at school and I remember it was insanely quick and fucking scary. We went 160kmph along the marine parade in Napier while I had a box of beer on my back. I think that they still sell those bikes as new in India!!

camchain

6th February 2012, 12:21

Really liked Merv's 2 Gary Goodfellow pics (nice 'ol RM370?), and Old guys superb black & whites.

Couple here from Taupo circa 1981. Who remembers 'flying jock-strap' start line? (or this maybe just something from my district?) Note 3 flash new Spanish Montesa 414s getting roasted on the start in second pic.

3rd pair of Pics of a young schoolboy Mark Delatour (on right) and his older bro Paul at Ohakune. Mark now v handy vet rider who did Red Bull Romaniacs recently. Both on brand spanking new first model water-cooled YZ125s. Remembering I used to ride with another well known vet rider Paul Burgess (and skilled son Reece) came from Turangi too. (Self = From Turangi but unskilled vet and nobody in particular. What went wrong?)

(I had a sweet RD too, a '77 400. brief flirtation with road bikes. 2-stroke road bikes a great invention. Front tires never wear out):devil2:

scott411

6th February 2012, 18:48

elastic band starts are still in use, alot eaiser to transport than gates

peadub

6th February 2012, 20:19

I'm not sure this has ever been posted but this is from Paekakariki in 1984? (Greg was on our shop demo) Worth a look!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI9VyobubyM&feature=related

Blagger

7th February 2012, 00:04

Peadub, that was feckin great

nzspokes

7th February 2012, 06:58

Love the kid doing a wheelie in the back ground.

camchain

7th February 2012, 14:44

elastic band starts are still in use, alot eaiser to transport than gates
Oops. Showing my ignorance, guess it'd stand to reason they would still be used. I 'fondly' remember how the metal clip on the end of elastic can sting like buggery if you collect it on the arm though.

Thinking about the old-tech makes me wonder what the 'next big thing' will be on dirt bike design. eg the single-shock systems were a big improvement on twin shocks (even though they needed refining with different linkages). Maybe telescopic fork will eventually be binned? A few design compromises in those.

(Liked chrome tank husky on one of those clips. Good innovation. KXs were finished in sparkly disco metallic green paint briefly in mid(?) seventies)

NordieBoy

7th February 2012, 15:25

I'd like a classic like this one...
256970

Crasherfromwayback

7th February 2012, 15:48

Nice mock up...

scott411

7th February 2012, 16:38

Oops. Showing my ignorance, guess it'd stand to reason they would still be used. I 'fondly' remember how the metal clip on the end of elastic can sting like buggery if you collect it on the arm though.

Thinking about the old-tech makes me wonder what the 'next big thing' will be on dirt bike design. eg the single-shock systems were a big improvement on twin shocks (even though they needed refining with different linkages). Maybe telescopic fork will eventually be binned? A few design compromises in those.

(Liked chrome tank husky on one of those clips. Good innovation. KXs were finished in sparkly disco metallic green paint briefly in mid(?) seventies)

when i am the starter i still use the turn around method to stop people jumping, some old ways still work the best, but i have had a few rubber burns on me from trying to get an advantage as well

NordieBoy

7th February 2012, 18:37

Bungy starts are cool if you don't jump early...
256989

oldguy

7th February 2012, 20:15

Oh dear that brings back a few memories. I grew up riding that terrain at the back of the family farm at Ngawha and did a few races up Okaihau (at the far north). Unfortunately all the pics have been lost but I'll look for the negs soon.

Back in the day when I worked for Carter Holt Foresty, I had access to all that land, use to go to work some days on my TT250 just to blast around the fire breaks, or one of the contractors would bring his YZ400, that was fun blasting the fire breaks on that:woohoo:

Me and a couple of mates would ride all over the north on our TT250, now access to land is so hard.

Macontour

7th February 2012, 20:40

Pic on right is at a motocross in Ohakune. I still have the program somewhere. There was actually prize money on offer - $200 in total for the day! I didn't win any.

Geez, an old orange P76!!!!!!!!!!!

flyingcr250

7th February 2012, 21:32

Best thread ever in the history of KB :first:

Bender

8th February 2012, 06:50

As far as I know this was the first time a CR250 raced in Auckland, it blew everything away, this silver vision of speed. The thing was just so capable. Note on the photo says its Colin Fullerton riding.

257002

The mighty Yamaha SC500, nice try Yamaha but all you did was scare the bejasis out of everyone who rode one. I knew this guy and his biggest complaint was that with so much compression and no flywheel, the engine would stop and lock the rear wheel during jumps if he didn't keep revving it. He had some monumental get-offs until he conquered that "issue."

257003

Here's a couple more, most from a track next to the Woodhill forest - I have heaps more and will dig a few out over the next few days.

257004

257005

257006

camchain

9th February 2012, 22:12

Yeah Scott, an outside 'gate' not the best place with those things. For flag starts I don't look at flag, watch for that body twitch before the flag moves (Not that it really makes a diff for me being a mid-pack guy but need every advantage that can be got!). Pic of guy on Husky is a laugh NordieBoy.

That P76, Macontour. My father had a bit of a thing for them, had a blue first then orange one, a 'flasher' model.

A real tidy yellow USA import SC500 beast sold on TradeMe last week.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/classic-vintage/auction-442388800.htm