While several of the devout motocross guys, myself included, spent their weekends out in the dust at WildRat: others ventured out to Lakewood to give some antique dirtbikes all they could handle. Just as with pretty much every other piece of technology, dirtbikes have seen a vast transformation over just the past 15 years, much less the past 40. Many of the bikes that could be seen out at the track on Sunday were at least 30-40 years old. What you have to understand, is these bikes were meant to ride tracks more reminiscent of this:
Photo Credit | Unknown
Than this:
Photo Credit | MX BrothersNonetheless, riders like Shawn Haase and several others threw on their favorite set of overalls (although, it is a little disappointing that there weren’t more half-faced helmets out there) and went out to rip on bikes that were new when Michael Jackson was still black. The classes for the Rocky Mountain Vintage Motocross Club are broken down basically into 6 different bike eras, and then further broken down by displacement, skill level and age group. The 6 bike eras are as follows: Classic Stock (1970 and prior), Vintage (1975 and prior), GP 1 (1975-1977), GP 2-3 (1978-1984), GP 4-5 (1985-1999), Modern (2000 and beyond). Whatever era of bike people decided to dawn on Sunday is kind of irrelevant to the bigger picture here: and that is the effort to preserve the rich heritage of American motocross. So, here’s to you overall-wearing, 2-inches of travel-loving sons of guns, for going out there in the slop and the mud in the name of keeping our sport’s history alive. Enjoy this gallery that Phil Lambert (Vital Imagery) provided for us! More photos can be seen HERE
