MotoFactory Опубликовано 10 августа, 2024 Опубликовано 10 августа, 2024 Eric Crippa was honored earlier this week by a gathering of motorcycle royalty in Granada Hills, California. Eric was on the ground floor of motocross in the U.S. He started with Husqvarna, working with riders such as Gunnar Lindstrom, Brad Lackey, Kent Howerton and Chuck Sun. When Chuck Sun moved to Honda in 1979, he brought Crippa along with the blessing of Lindstrom, who had also moved to Honda by then. He later moved to development and press relations. Crippa did not fit the mold of the modern factory mechanic. He was unconventional, creative and messy. There are stories of him taking a hacksaw to the frame of a factory race bike in order to change the geometry. His tactics were shocking to the elite Japanese engineers, but he got results and they learned to love him. Eric was famous for taking off jogging during breaks in testing at the track–he would wear his signature turtleneck, legion hat and work boots. There was nothing inside the box about Eric. The gathering in Granada Hills attracted celebrities from all corners of the motorcycle world: Brad Lackey, Chuck Sun, Broc Glover, Gunnar Lindstrom, Lars Lindstrom, Dave Arnold, Jon Stillman, Johnny Campbell, Jimmy Lewis, Goat Breker and many, many more. It wasn’t a weepy, sad affair; it was alive with great stories like a giant family reunion. Eric passed away of heart failure last month. He was 74. Dave Arnold, Gunnar Lindstrom and Charlie Keller were the prime movers of the Eric Crippa tribute. Jimmy Lewis, Charles Halcomb, Chuck Miller and Tom Webb. Zapota Espinoza and Chuck Sun. BLAST FROM THE PAST Damon Bradshaw riding his 1991 factory Yamaha. Back in 1991, I got the opportunity to ride Damon Bradshaw’s factory YZ250. It wasn’t really that much fun. I was stopping where I was supposed to be going, turning in the straights and going straight in the turns. Plus, they were all watching me. Brian Lunnis was there, Keith McCarty was there, even Doug Dubach and Jeff Emig were there. They all watched and smiled while I tried to ride Bradshaw’s works 250 around DeAnza Cycle Park’s dry, burnt motocross course. Why was it so hard to ride? The handlebar was wide and tall and the levers were rotated so high that I almost had to take my hand off the grip to use the clutch or front brake. The rear brake was adjusted as high as it would go and also had a little platform welded on top of the pedal to make it higher still. If some kid showed up at the local MX track with his controls like that, the rest of his class would point and laugh. Funny thing, though; nobody points and laughs at Damon Bradshaw. Me, riding Damon Bradshaw’s 1991 factory Yamaha. Poorly. On the track, all that stuff would make any bike hard to manage. I had to lift my foot all the way off the peg to get to the rear brake–it felt like I was trying to step on the side of the engine case. Then, because I’m simply not strong enough to stand on one foot while braking for turns, my heel would invariably drop back down to the footpeg, which would lock up the rear brake. In several turns, I came to a dead stop just because I couldn’t get my foot off the brake. Another time I stalled it because I couldn’t get to the clutch lever in time (I wasn’t looking in the right spot)–not that I could have pulled in the clutch, anyway. Most people lengthen the clutch actuation arm for more leverage to make the clutch pull easier. Damon likes the arm shortened for less leverage. That way, the clutch releases more suddenly, the way Damon likes it. Godzilla would die of terminal arm pump if he had to do a lap on Bradshaw’s bike. There’s a lot more to the story. It’s all published once again in the October print issue of Dirt Bike. Damon Bradshaw rode his bike quite well. I did not. UNADILLA UP NEXT After a short summer break, Pro Motocross is up and running once more this weekend. The riders will visit Unadilla in New Berlin, New York. The racing will be broadcast live domestically on Peacock and Internationally on the SuperMotocross VideoPass beginning with Race Day Live at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET and coverage of all four motos of the 250 Class and 450 Class airing at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, followed by the post-race show at the conclusion of the afternoon. HUNTER LAWRENCE’S NEW BIKE At Media Day for Round 9 of the AMA Pro Motocross series, Team Honda HRC revealed that Hunter Lawrence will campaign the brand-new 2025 CRF450R during tomorrow’s race at Unadilla MX. Typically, teams stick with current model-year machinery throughout the calendar year. However, Hunter has been a big fan of the new platform since he rode an early prototype nearly two years ago. The 2025 CRF450R was developed in close collaboration with Team Honda HRC and the Lawrence brothers, as well as Team HRC in the MXGP Championship. Hunter and his team are confident that the bike will be competitive at the top level early, and making the switch now will give them a head start on gathering data and developing the factory version. Currently, the plan is for Hunter to race the 2025 CRF450R through the remainder of the AMA Pro Motocross series, and for him and Jett to use it for the upcoming SuperMotocross series. BILL WEST William (Bill) Carroll West, 88, a pioneer in the promotion of Supercross and Motocross events, passed away on July 28, 2024, after a lengthy illness. “The motorcycle racing community lost a friend, and another one of its modern era founders, in the passing of Bill West,” said Roy Janson, Commissioner of Motocross. “Bill was a larger-than-life character, who squeezed a lot of living into a single lifetime. He was a simple man who enjoyed great business success over his lifetime. His love of the sport of motorcycle racing left lasting contributions in the world of amateur motocross, professional motocross, and professional supercross. It’s a bit redundant to try to relist all the programs that Bill’s work and efforts influenced, but it’s correct to say that they include every major motorcycle racing program and series existing today.” PLUSH, WELL LIT OFFICES While we were in Granada Hills for the Eric Crippa tribute, we stopped by the previous home of Dirt Bike. It was barely a block away on Sepulveda Blvd. This was the headquarters for Dirt Bike, Motocross Action, Three Wheel Action, Mountain Bike Action, BMX Plus and Dirt Wheels through the ’80s and early ’90s. We moved to Valencia in 1993, then had to move back when the Northridge earthquake leveled our new office in January, 1994. The old office was much closer to the epicenter, but sustained less damage. We moved back to Valencia when the office was rebuilt six months later. The old place still looks pretty good. The neighborhood improved, apparently, when we moved out. See you next week! –Ron Lawson The post HANGING WITH FRIENDS OF ERIC CRIPPA & RIDING BRADSHAW’S 1991 YZ: THE WRAP appeared first on Dirt Bike Magazine. Просмотреть полный текст статьи Цитата
Рекомендуемые сообщения
Присоединяйтесь к обсуждению
Вы можете написать сейчас и зарегистрироваться позже. Если у вас есть аккаунт, авторизуйтесь, чтобы опубликовать от имени своего аккаунта.