cool pics from the 70s

[Grampa]

https://picasaweb.google.com/oldsport500/MotorcycleRoadracingHistory1970s#

[zarn02]

Neato.

[mitt]

It really seems like a simpler time and it would have been more fun to be a fan in attendance than today's age of untouchable riders and corporate sponsors.


mitt

[pennyrobber]

Good stuff.

"....back when men were men, and mustaches and two strokes reigned supreme...."


Thanks for sharing. 

[Grampa]

I think it's still like that at the WERA level. I remember wandering around the pits at Willow Springs in the late 80's in awe that I got to be close to other guys race bike.

[yamifixer]

Thanks for sharing.

[Oldfisti]

Pic #59 my fave

[Boog]

The last three photo's on the page are Johnny Kokinos in Bakersfield. I was in the shop one day when the mechanic fired  up #83 and rode it up and down 19th street at about a buck ten. It was so loud that coke bottles started falling off pallets at the bottling plant across the street from the shop. A guy in Ojai, I think his name was Ron Neff but not positive, bought the bike from Johnny for $10k. I read he sold it to a German motorcycle museum for $100k a few years ago. 

[ducpainter]

Pic #59 my fave

Some of the names associated with that pic bring back memories.

[KRJ]

  Diggin the Yoshi Kawasaki pics, Like to think I could go back and hang a bit, Oh well fun while it lasted...

[Kopfjager]

If you get a chance to go to the Vintage Race at Barber, you'll see all types of these bikes being raced.

[Drunken Monkey]

Damn, I think my head just exploded from a nostalgia overload.

Thanks for sharing 

[Speedbag]

Sweet.

On a semi-related note, I was leafing through a catalog the other day and noticed that Bell has several open-face helmets with metalflake and such. If I can find a bubble shield I am so there....

UPDATE: http://www.thebellstore.com/Helmets/custom500.html

And bubble shields are there. 

[fastwin]

Mmmm... bubble shields. Cool. Bet if I dug around in some boxes in the attic I'd find a couple!

Thanks BP for the pic link! Those were super groovy. Looking through all those I felt like I was being carbon dated. I knew 90% of those race bikes. I drooled over pics and race stories of all those bikes back in the day in Cycle News, Cycle, etc. Kick ass trip down memory lane. I LOVED that era of superbike racing. After all, it was basically invented and born here in the states. That sbk racing era took rules "cheating" and "bending" to an early NASCAR level!!! Great stuff for sure.