Vintage Racing in Kalifornia:

[El Extremo]

Dudes,

Can you fill me in on the vintage racing scene in SoCal??? Like, where are some of these events held and how is an event laid out???

I know they have Vintage MX at my local track (Glen Helen) but i can't find any real details, like track layout, jump heights/distances and duration.

Also, is there any vintage desert racing events going on anywhere???

Thanks, Amigos Borachos...

Edited May 23, 2020 by El Extremo

[MartyrRacer368k]

Show up and find out

[El Extremo]

14 minutes ago, Tremendous Trail Rider said:

Show up and find out

My military experience tells me recon first...

[MartyrRacer368k]

5 minutes ago, El Extremo said:

My military experience tells me recon first...

You know what the hardest part of racing is? Showing up

[DroppinDeuces]

1 minute ago, Tremendous Trail Rider said:

You know what the hardest part of racing is? Showing up

That sounds like an old Woody Allen line, "99 percent of life is showing up".  ?

[Jeff aka Bolt]

54 minutes ago, 00boob said:

That sounds like an old Woody Allen line, "99 percent of life is showing up".  ?

I don't even know what to say to a guy that quotes Woody Allen.  

[El Extremo]

1 hour ago, Tremendous Trail Rider said:

You know what the hardest part of racing is? Showing up

Done plenty of "showing up" in my time, Man...for, me, the hardest part was finishing the race, not breaking the machine and keeping it upright.

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by El Extremo

[zig06]

6 minutes ago, Jeff aka Bolt said:

I don't even know what to say to a guy that quotes Woody Allen.  

good point!

[El Extremo]

22 minutes ago, Jeff aka Bolt said:

I don't even know what to say to a guy that quotes Woody Allen.  

Full of shit would likely be an appropriate place to start...?

Edited May 23, 2020 by El Extremo

[MartyrRacer368k]

9 minutes ago, El Extremo said:

Done plenty of "showing up" in my time, Man...for, me, the hardest part was finishing the race, not breaking the machine and keeping it upright.

 

Me too!!

[El Extremo]

8 minutes ago, Tremendous Trail Rider said:

Me too!!

Seriously though...I'm just curious to know more about these events, where they are held, how long the heats are, etc.

I don't own a truck or trailer, so for me to go to something like this will require a lot of planning.

Some advice from more experienced dudes would be really cool...

Edited May 23, 2020 by El Extremo
Spelling

[El Extremo]

1 hour ago, 00boob said:

That sounds like an old Woody Allen line, "99 percent of life is showing up".  ?

I thought that line was "There's a snake in my boot."

[zig06]

5 minutes ago, El Extremo said:

Seriously though...I'm just curious to know more about these events, where they are held, how long the heats are, etc.

I don't own a truck or trailer, so for me to go to something like this will require a lot of planning.

Some advice from more experienced dudes would be really cool...

Honestly, it's a fair question.  But it's also safe to say that you really should spectate one first.  That'll give you the feeling of what they're like, how closely they follow their own rules and even what class you should consider racing in.  And then even taking a few photo's of the bikes in your prospective class to see what they have done modification wise.

Keep in mind that at most vintage races there's 2 classes of participants within each class, the ones that came to "win win win" and the ones that are riding "for the fun of it".  If anything, decide which class your going to be in before you even get there.

But again, you really should spectate an event before racing.  And this is coming from someone that raced vintage bikes in '99, 2000, '01 and '02.

[El Extremo]

9 minutes ago, zig06 said:

Honestly, it's a fair question.  But it's also safe to say that you really should spectate one first.  That'll give you the feeling of what they're like, how closely they follow their own rules and even what class you should consider racing in.  And then even taking a few photo's of the bikes in your prospective class to see what they have done modification wise.

Keep in mind that at most vintage races there's 2 classes of participants within each class, the ones that came to "win win win" and the ones that are riding "for the fun of it".  If anything, decide which class your going to be in before you even get there.

But again, you really should spectate an event before racing.  And this is coming from someone that raced vintage bikes in '99, 2000, '01 and '02.

Awesome! Great advice too...I'm excited, but nervous too. Spectating would be easy to do.

I really feel like my XR500R is proably the wrong bike for a "conventional" MX style race, like big jumps, whoops, etc...more of a desert machine.

A guy i met out at Husky Monument a while back told me some dudes had been organizing an "unofficial" desert race that ran between California and crossed over into Nevada through the open desert, but i lost the scrap of paper i wrote his contact information down on.

I appreciate your suggestions and experience...

[zig06]

1 minute ago, El Extremo said:

Awesome! Great advice too...I'm excited, but nervous too. Spectating would be easy to do.

I really feel like my XR500R is probably the wrong bike for a "conventional" MX style race, like big jumps, whoops, etc...more of a desert machine.

A guy i met out at Husky Monument a while back told me some dudes had been organizing an "unofficial" desert race that ran between California and crossed over into Nevada through the open desert, but i lost the scrap of paper i wrote his contact information down on.

I appreciate your suggestions and experience...

No problem, as a general rule it does seem like vintage racers like to network more and this is how you could make that initial contact.  It also helps in finding parts but also when "unofficial" events pop up or even where practice or unofficial test and tunes happen.  So showing up just to spectate initially might seem like a lost weekend, but it will pay big dividends if you do decide to race.  

This is also when you will find out if your XR500R would be a good vintage racer in your area.  I personally can't say if it will or won't, but just showing blind isn't recommended, especially if you find out that they are running a full modern MX track on vintage bikes.  That gets expensive on vintage bikes and bodies...

For the fun of it, here's a couple shots of my vintage racers back when I ran AHRMA's vintage series.  The Can-Am was a '74 MX-250 and the Suzuki was a '81 RM-250, it was good times and I really did have fun!

 

[Jeff aka Bolt]

20 minutes ago, zig06 said:

Honestly, it's a fair question.  But it's also safe to say that you really should spectate one first.  That'll give you the feeling of what they're like, how closely they follow their own rules and even what class you should consider racing in.  And then even taking a few photo's of the bikes in your prospective class to see what they have done modification wise.

Keep in mind that at most vintage races there's 2 classes of participants within each class, the ones that came to "win win win" and the ones that are riding "for the fun of it".  If anything, decide which class your going to be in before you even get there.

But again, you really should spectate an event before racing.  And this is coming from someone that raced vintage bikes in '99, 2000, '01 and '02.

But is it really racing if you are in "Michigan" ?  

[Jeff aka Bolt]

13 minutes ago, El Extremo said:

Awesome! Great advice too...I'm excited, but nervous too. Spectating would be easy to do.

I really feel like my XR500R is proably the wrong bike for a "conventional" MX style race, like big jumps, whoops, etc...more of a desert machine.

A guy i met out at Husky Monument a while back told me some dudes had been organizing an "unofficial" desert race that ran between California and crossed over into Nevada through the open desert, but i lost the scrap of paper i wrote his contact information down on.

I appreciate your suggestions and experience...

You talking about LAB2V ?  Not a race really but well organized.

[El Extremo]

6 minutes ago, Jeff aka Bolt said:

You talking about LAB2V ?  Not a race really but well organized.

I'm not sure exactly, but it didn't sound like it was official in any way, more like kind of underground.

One thing i recall was the route used no paved roads.

[El Extremo]

11 minutes ago, zig06 said:

No problem, as a general rule it does seem like vintage racers like to network more and this is how you could make that initial contact.  It also helps in finding parts but also when "unofficial" events pop up or even where practice or unofficial test and tunes happen.  So showing up just to spectate initially might seem like a lost weekend, but it will pay big dividends if you do decide to race.  

This is also when you will find out if your XR500R would be a good vintage racer in your area.  I personally can't say if it will or won't, but just showing blind isn't recommended, especially if you find out that they are running a full modern MX track on vintage bikes.  That gets expensive on vintage bikes and bodies...

For the fun of it, here's a couple shots of my vintage racers back when I ran AHRMA's vintage series.  The Can-Am was a '74 MX-250 and the Suzuki was a '81 RM-250, it was good times and I really did have fun!

 

Man, that's a nice pair right there!!!!

[zig06]

2 minutes ago, El Extremo said:

Man, that's a nice pair right there!!!!

Thank you!, but it wouldn't be the first time that I've heard that...   ?