Vintage Dirt Bike Discussion Part 2

One suggestion we received was to emulate Off-Road Ontario where they subdivide the class depending on air-cooled, liquid-cooled, single shock or twin shock. While this makes perfect sense from a “fairness” standpoint, it’s worth noting that Ontario gets more “Vintage class” entries alone than we get total entries for all classes. So each subclass has good support. A turnout of five vintage bikes here in Nova Scotia would be a record! Now factor in the age spread of the bikes, which would likely have to be accommodated in the one class. For example: one rider on a 1975 machine, another on a 1993.  Subdividing is not practical in these circumstances.

Another rider suggested the “V” class formula, again emulating Off-Road Ontario. But again, due to the large number of “Vintage” racers, Ontario is able to provide more categories tailored for older riders on newer machines.

The primary objective of the Vintage class is to get Vintage bikes back out racing, not necessarily vintage riders! The first vintage event I (Nigel) took part in was back in 1992. I was 25 years old. The class should not be seen as the reserve for older riders. My son, who turned thirteen this year, would love to have a vintage bike to race in the class. But I haven’t come across the particular bike he wants for me to restore for him, yet. Which brings up the subject of suitable bikes and their availability.

This year, I’ve seen local advertisements on Kijiji and Marketplace for numerous XR’s, five Yamaha IT’s (two 175’s, one 200 and one 250), two Suzuki PE’s, and a couple of Cam Am’s that I can remember. All of these bikes meet the current regulations, so there are a few out there. Yes, they all needed work, but that goes with the territory and for some, this is half the fun. One thing you can take for granted is that getting these old bikes fit for competition again takes a lot longer that you might think. So if you do have aspirations of having a dabble in the Vintage class, the sooner you get started, the better.

I will endeavour to post any relevant ads on “Atlantic Vintage Dirt Bike Racers.”

Please keep the comments and suggestions flowing to nigebrooks@yahoo.com.