Photo Credit - Lee Wonnacott
About 300 members of the national motorcycle group made their annual swing through the Great Lakes state last weekend to participate in the Grattan National Weekend series of dirt track and road circuit events. This year the venues expanded to include Orleans Raceway near Belding and returned to Mid-Michigan Raceway Park at Fenwick and the 2-mile asphalt road course at Grattan Raceway. The participants travel from all over the nation and the points won here count toward their national ranking at the end of the six-month season.
The veteran riders all remember the earlier days of motorcycle racing, and some are even old enough to have won races on the beach at Daytona, Florida, in the 1940's and 50's. The fact that both rider and machine are still on the track today goes a long way toward proving that attitude, not age, is the best gateway to an exciting lifestyle. To put the organization into proper perspective one only has to imagine a Senior Division in NASCAR® racing where guys like Ned Jarrett would still be making laps in a 1948 Hudson Hornet, or Richard Petty could be pushing his '69 Dodge Daytona 500 Charger along the front stretch of your local 1/2 mile race track. For these riders the thrill has never gone away, despite the increased risk of injuries.
Broken necks and backs, shattered arms, and missing limbs are all part of the process and the community takes it in stride. The bonds between riders and their extended families are tight. At the beginning of the Friday night riders meeting, AHRMA Coordinator Donnie Worf of Tennessee asks if anyone had news about a rider involved in a serious crash during the prior week. The response from one of the group was that he had been able to make a visit to the Critical Care Unit. "The first impression is not good. But he was able to squeeze my hand and he knew I was there," the concerned rider related. A collective sigh ripples through the assembled crowd; their friend faces a very long road ahead.
"Safety is a priority at all AHRMA events," said official flat track Starter Larry Schmid. "They might get a little stupid during a really big race, but the guys do a very good job of keeping a decent perspective and knowing they are here to have fun." There is a palpable mood of anticipation before the practice sessions begin, everyone is eager to make a few laps on the track to see if the surface is ready. Leather suits, gloves, helmets, and metal skid boots are all ready, but not a single motor starts until the ambulance crew arrives at the standby position. "The ambulance crew are your friends," explains Schmid at the riders meeting, "always give them room to do their job."
Once on the track the spectators don't have a clue about the age of the riders or the accumulated miles on the motorcycle. There is a show to put on and these guys are proud to show their well-honed talent. They run mere inches from each other and the outside wall, often at speeds near 100 MPH and some classes have NO brakes. Adrenalin junkies? Possibly, but if you are well past fifty it's an outstanding way to keep your heart pumping!
Although there is no minimum age for the riders, the bikes must have been built before 1974. The manufacturers nameplates seen on the track are a virtual museum of two-wheeled history. The expected racing icons of BSA, Harley-Davidson, Norton, are joined by those of Ducati, Moto Guzzi, Royal Enfield, Bultaco, Indian, JAWA, and CAN AM as well as the new nameplates of Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Some of the bikes seen here this weekend are true collectors items and have an established value near $20,000.
Keeping the hardware running has turned into a career for several AHRMA members. Ed Valiket is owner of E&V Engineering at Howard City and his company is a major co-sponsor of the Grattan National Weekend, along with Wild Boar Harley-Davidson at Hudsonville. The 53-year-old Valiket began racing at age 13 and never really left the sport. After serving with the US Army in Korea he came out of uniform into a racing suit and has enjoyed every minute of it. "It's still a lot of fun, and I see no reason to stop." says Ed, "And the people are great!"
Although everyone in the group shares the common goal of keeping the vintage bikes in running condition, there is a well-defined split between the "Flat Track" and "Road Racer" elements. The flat track crews prepare their bikes to run in the gritty environment of 1/4 and 1/2 mile dirt tracks where the basic riding instruction is "Go fast, turn left." The road racers follow a more polished, less raucous, path over asphalt courses that can be two miles long and test the riders' ability to endure dozens of turns left, right, downhill and uphill for 16 long miles.
Remember, "Ride today - Tommorow you may not be able!"
-LW