Today in motorcycle history, January 19, 1949

Champion motorcycle racer Otello Buscherini is born in Romagna, Italy.   Buscherini could have been mistaken for a horseracing jockey not a motorcycle jockey.  Weighing barely 110lbs, he was well-known for his nerves of steel, though some would call it recklessness, when racing.   His racing career began in 1966 on a Minarelli and then moved to a Malanca to win the Italian Hill Climb title in 1968 and 1969.  By 1972 he'd won the Italian 50cc Championship, but a bad crash in a 125cc race at Brno, Czech Republic, resulted in the need for a lengthy recuperation.   Finally recovered, he returned in 1974 to win the Italian 125cc Championship on a Malanca and moved up to the 350cc class winning at Brno on a Yamaha-Diemme.   The next year at the GP of Nations at Mugello in the 250cc event, his Yamaha crashed at the Arrabiata Uno corner and Otello was struck by his own bike.  On May 16, 1976 Otello Buscherini died from chest injuries suffered in the crash.

Today in motorcycle history, January 18, 1986

   At the 1986 Anaheim Supercross, in front of 71,000 fans at Anaheim Stadium, David Bailey outduels Team-Honda team-mate Rick Johnson in what is considered one the most epic battles in Supercross history.

   He rode his Honda CR500 to the win at the Motocross Des Nations that fall. The performance by the US team, Bailey, Johnson and Johnny O'Mara, is regarded as one of the most dominant in Supercross history.

   Then prior to the start of the 1987 Supercross season, David was injured in a practice crash in Lake Huron, California. He suffered significant spinal cord damage causing him to become a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down. Bailey was forced to withdraw from the industry and sport he loved.

   He would re-emerge in 1994 as a supercross commentator for ESPN.

   The role as a TV broadcaster he continues to this day.  He is also active in many non-profit organizations dedicated to helping others with spinal cord injuries and contributing to finding a cure.

   After years of rehabilitation and with incredible determination, on February 14, 2006, David Bailey rode again. Aboard a new Honda CRF450R, outfitted with nerf bars, hand brakes, and a seat to hold him in place, he completed several laps of the track in Lake Elsinore, California.

   David Bailey was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.

   And what lame-ass excuse did you have for not riding today?

 

...A fool couldn't ride the Vincent Black Shadow more than once, but a fool can ride a Ducati 900 many times, and it will always be a bloodcurdling kind of fun. That is the Curse of Speed which has plagued me all my life. I am a slave to it. On my tombstone they will carve, "IT NEVER GOT FAST ENOUGH FOR ME."

Today in motorcycle history, January 16, 1971

  In Season 3, Episode 15 of 'Adam-12', "Log 26: LEMRAS"-- Reed and Malloy admire the bikes not the "bikers".

  The LAPD introduces the LEMRAS (Law Enforcement Manpower Resource Allocation System) to assist in identifying high-crime streets, including part of Officer Pete Malloy and Officer Jim Reed's patrol area, which was used in stopping a rash of burglaries involving motorcycle-riding suspects.

  "Oh Dear Lord!  It's Hollister all over again!", cries one woman.

Today in motorcycle history, January 15, 1999

  The "British Bulldog", Anthony Barlow, of Merseyside, England, wins his third ICE race in a row. This time he totally dominates at Rapides Coliseum in Alexandria, Louisiana.

   Motorcycle ICE racing is the equivalent of Speedway Racing on ice. Bikes race counter-clockwise around oval tracks between 260 m (0.16 mi) and 425 m (0.264 mi) in length. The tracks and the scoring is also similar to that of Speedway Racing.

   The bikes bear a slight resemblance to those used for Speedway, but have a bit longer wheelbase and a more rigid frame. The sport is divided into classes for full-rubber and studded tires. The studded tire category involves competitors riding on bikes with spikes up to 1.2 inches in length screwed into each tread-less tire, each bike has 90 spikes on the front and 200–500 on the rear. The use of these spikes in this discipline necessitate the addition of special protective guards over the wheels which extend almost to the ice surface. The spiked tires produce an incredible amount of traction and this means two-speed gearboxes are also required.  And as with speedway, the bikes do not have brakes.

   There is no broadsiding around the bends due to the grip produced by the spikes digging into the ice.  Instead, riders lean their bikes into the bends at an angle where the handlebars just skim the track's ice surface.  With speeds approach 80 mph on the straights, and 60 mph on the bends it takes some balls. The safety barrier usually consists of straw bales or banked-up snow and ice around the outer edge of the track.  All make for nice soft landings.  Yeah, you bet.

  The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme sanctioned teams and individual meetings are held in Russia, Sweden and Finland, but events are also held in the Czech Republic, Germany and since 2000 in Hungary.

   By the way, in case you're thinking about building a bike for the next ice race in your neighborhood and your wondering what to use, the Czech-made Jawa 4-strokes have dominated the sport for years.  But, that doesn't mean your H2 won't work, I'm just sayin'.

Today in motorcycle history, January 14, 1983

Tragedy strikes the Dakar Rally as Frenchman Jean-Noël Pineau is killed at Leo, Haute-Volta during the In-Gall-Korhogo stage.
In his fourth rally, Team Yamaha-France rider Pineau was killed on a section of tarmac near Leo when his Yamaha XT 550 collided with a military vehicle.   There have been nearly 60 deaths at Dakar.  The causes can vary as it is a long distance rally, these can range from accidents between vehicles and people to persons being caught up in conflicts between forces, which have happened twice in its history.

"There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc cafe racer is one of them - but I want one anyway..."

                                                                                 HST