BOISE Hammer & Tongs Round 2

Return to? – One man’s story about a 29 year hiatus...

It was a long road back to racing motorcycles for the author of this story... twenty-nine years as a matter of fact, since I gave up the notion that I could enjoy myself in the saddle of a motorcycle, flying over jumps and roosting out of corners. But that’s precisely what I recaptured in last weekend’s Hammer & Tongs event at Boise, Idaho.

When it comes down to it, the desire to race really never left me. It was just covered over with a thin layer of dirt like a temporary grave for a part of my motorcycling dreams. My last motocross was in 1978, aboard a 1978 YZ 400. At that time, I had come back to racing after giving up my AMA dirt track “career” in my early teens, with some prodding from my father and an offer to “help me buy a street machine if I’d quit racing.” Well. What’s a 17 year old teenager filled with wanderlust to do? ...Enter the 1973 TX750. Monterey, California – here we come.

I didn’t exactly give up dirt riding back then, as I had several bikes for my Trailriding/Enduro/Poker Run fun. So, it’s not that I am returning to riding per se, as I ride every day to work. I am fortunate to own several street bikes and a dualsport, each built for a specific purpose.

But... that’s not the crux of this story. It seems the more I’ve aged, the more I’ve experienced the longing to return to my roots as it were. That’s where the story goes back to where it all began in terms of a motorcycle with a clutch and larger than ten inch wheels; It goes back to my “Hodaka history.” I still own one of my original Hodakas, a 1970 Super Rat. In my recent restoration of this little red machine, I not only peeled back the layers of time and grime and uncovered the original shine of paint and chrome, but uncovered some deeply seated emotions as well. The more I worked on that machine, the more layers of motorcycling soul were exposed as well.

OK – So I spent a ton of dosh restoring the Rat, to the extent that now it’s just “too pretty” to race...what to do? Attending Hodaka Days in Athena, Oregon in 2007, I was totally obsessed with building a Hodaka I could thrash around with the rest of the gang. Thanks to a very loving wife and a few more dollars, I now own a 1974 Hodaka Super Combat 125. Remembering the great benefits of a plush five inches of fork travel, I decided a suspension facelift was in order.

For two months prior to the Boise event, I toiled over the Super Combat, slogging my way through the R&D of retrofitting DT2MX forks, recalling skills of days gone by to lace a new rim to the DT2 hub, installing a new longer aluminum swing arm, and adding some spiffy Progressive shocks. While this greatly helped the handling characteristics, it certainly didn’t address the mechanical gremlins lurking inside the engine.

With a 560 mile trek from my home to the track, we arrived in Boise around 9 P.M. with the wind howling and the rain pelting down on our efforts to set up the 5 th Wheel for the night. This part of the story leads me to talk about the “Return to...” title of my story. I cannot recall from my early years of racing, the kind of allfor-one and one-for-all attitude that I experienced from the modern day vintage clan gathered at Boise. You see, without hooking up to external power, one should really A) Start the generator or B) Turn off all the external sources of power draw – such as the illuminate-the-darkness outside lights found on the trailer. You’ve probably guessed that didn’t happen – and it didn’t. The trailer batteries along with the truck batteries were completely drained. No problem. Just call on your 70-some year old vintage-racer neighbor who slept in his van all night to give you a jump start. Ossa Kid, I can’t thank you enough!

About that engine... Aside from popping in and out of gear at very inopportune times and zinging that little Hodie motor to a billion-six RPM, there were a few other problems. Initially, I began to think it was just arm-pump or perhaps packing the clutch arm with sand that made the clutch lever pull quite impossible. After half a moto without a clutch, rolling into the pits I soon came to understand that my right foot was covered with oil and that the side case had sprung a leak. Removal of the side case revealed a clutch nut completely backed off and screws that were slowly un-threading their way out of the clutch basket. Oh well- I didn’t think I had the strength for those extra two 50+ motos anyway!

Reading this story, you’re probably thinking it’s too long, too “wordy,” and doesn’t focus enough on the racing. You could be right. I did some racing, yes. It was liberating, to finally be back on the track attempting to extract the motorcycling skills from bygone time, only falling over once, breaking the Hodaka in the first moto and repairing it again for another go. Receiving help and encouragement from numerous folks, are all a much bigger part of the experience for me than just the racing. It was a return to my youth. It was a return to the joys of which I had partially forgotten and instantly remembered. It was a return to the camaraderie that is vintage racing – to a band of brothers that share a common love... making old machines young again. In truth, it was a return to... LIFE!

How’d I do? Well – Race results-wise, I received a first place in the 125 amateur class. Many thanks go out to my friends Stu Osborn and Jeff Embring for the technical help, advice, and moral support. Thanks go to Siege as well for the convincing words that led me back to something I love. In terms of self-fulfillment, the sense of accomplishment, going through a few trials and tribulations and coming away with the idea that great people still do this great sport... I couldn’t have done better.

Don Daugherty Graham, Wa W96