This one hurt

I stopped roadracing a while back, just how life goes. I still travel, sometimes at some pretty quick speeds, it’s that right wrist thing I guess.

Motorcycles have been part of my life since I was 15 years old. Riding my dads Honda 160 in the parking lot, to my step dads Yamaha 100 dirt bike all around his parents property. Then on to a Bultaco Matador, racing in the desert. After a pretty nasty get off in the Barstow to Vegas race… desert racing was out of the question. A few years later, 1981 to be exact, the racing bug hit again so roadracing looked like fun. A day at Keith Codes California Superbike School and I was into roadracing. From that day to the third weekend in December 2003 I lived for roadracing. I even got my son into it…poor kid. I think that one got me a one way ticket to the ‘Bad Dad Farm’.

Today I parted with my old roadracer. A 1982 Honda FT500. Yeah, I know there are bikes that are a lot faster and better handling (I have had them) but they aren’t as much fun as this little ‘ol Ascot. Taking a little 22HP motor and pumping it up to 52HP is cool (not cheap, but cool), making it kinda handle (going through turn 2 at Willow Springs side by side with another Ascot racer and watching his front wheel bouncing up and down so much that you can see daylight underneath it and realizing that yours is doing the same thing!!) and as my son put it one day “listening to you guys is like hearing someone farting their way around the track”. Thanks Kelly. Paybacks are a B..ch. I put him on an Ascot too!! Parental revenge.

Anyway, today my old Ascot went to a new home. A friend of mine just got his ticket to ‘The Bad Dad Farm’. He bought his son my old racebike. It was sad to see it go into the back of someone else’s truck and leave my driveway. But, I know it’s going to a good home and I’ll get to hear some good stories and that little ‘ol Ascot will be back on the track where it belongs. Good bye my old friend, take care of Sean like you took care of me.