MAMA Returns to Pagoda MC

A hot and sunny weekend brought the Mid Atlantic Motocross Association back to Pennsylvania as their season resumes after a mid summer break. This would be round 7 of the 12 round series and their second trip to Pagoda in 2016.

The Unlimited divisions kicked the program off on Saturday with Send It Films

Kyle Miller (736) taking the O/A in the C/D class.

Next up came the Senior Open class with long time D-6 racer Jim Mclvaine winning this

and Super Senior Open.

The 25 Plus division was also on the Saturday card with PMR's own Stephen Plank

racing to the win. Find PMR providing trackside support at all MAMA events.

Sunday brought the novice divisions to the track with Michael Stewart (134)

battling to win both 125 and 250 C.

In both days of racing we saw this guy, Maxwell Sanford return to the track after breaking both wrists earlier this season. Who would have known as Sanford raced to the wins in all 

four of his divisions.

Next up find the folks from MAMA returning to Pa and the Sleepy Hollow Motocross Park on the weekend of Sept. 10-11, 2016. I believe this is their first trip to this venue so it should be an interesting weekend. We'll see you all there.

Find out more info on MAMA by: Clicking Here

See full results from the above event by: Clicking Here

See over 1500 pictures from the days event by: Clicking Here

Mountaineer Vintage Enduro

The 1^st Mountaineer Vintage Enduro 7/23/16, Terra Alta, WV

By -Richard Colahan and Glenn Hershey

Its a few minutes before the 9:00 am Start (key) time for the enduro and the first bikes are starting to queue up. The usual collection of enduro bikes…Husqvarna’s, Penton’s, Yamaha IT’s, Ossa’s, Suzuki PE’s, some BSA singles and even two Triumph twins. But wait … this isn’t an enduro in the 70’s or 80’s … its 2016! That’s right … the AHRMA (American Historic Racing Motorcycle Assn.) Penton Products LLC Cross Country Series has added a traditional time-keeping enduro to its schedule and 92 Vintage and Post-Vintage entries are set to hit the trail at McKee’s Sky Ranch in Terra Alta, WV. 

Set in the scenic northern end of WV, Terra Alta is practically a stone’s throw from MD and PA. The enduro is a wish that land owner Tom McKee had for years and after working with Dave Kutskel’s Mid Atlantic XC Series trail crew…and some experienced enduro hands from the Valley Forge Trail Riders (of PA) … the enduro became a reality on July 23^rd.

Leading the field on row 1-A was 4 time National Enduro Champion Terry Cunningham (TC), the Grand Marshall for the event. The first section was 4.4 miles long using most of the wooded XC course, with a section of the famed McKee’s grass track added. Approaching the first checkpoint the course dipped out of the woods for another short grass track section providing the spectators with some great action then back into the woods before hitting the check. Most riders dropped from 5 to 12 minutes at the first check but 4 riders blasted in dropping only 2: Cunningham, Fred Hoess, Josh Miller, and Tim Shephard.

After a mileage reset that got most riders back on time they departed north on a series of Preston County paved, gravel, and rough jeep trails. With modern enduro computers not allowed good timekeeping skills using a clock, route sheet and odometer were needed to zero the next 2 checks. Check # 3 was tucked behind a house and served as a check-in to a tough, rocky, muddy 3.6 mile long jeep trail. At 24 mph only 6 riders were able to maintain the pace and zero the check-out.

After a 30 minute gas stop / break at a tiny country store next to nowhere, the riders resumed their ride on a mix of gravel and farm roads. Another secret check-in led to another 3.6 mile long muddy jeep trail, but this one eased up a bit towards the end and as a result more than one rider made up a bit too much time before hitting the check-out a minute early! Ouch! The final reset on the course was not to get riders back on time, but to give them a few minutes to enjoy the view north from Gregg’s Knob, the highest point on the ride at 3,200’ feet.

A change to 30 mph for a gravel and paved road section brought them to the final secret check-in just 3 miles from the finish. Back into the woods on some tight single-track trail with 2-track connectors and at the finish check TC, Hoess and Miller are the only 3 riders to drop only 3 points … giving them all 5 late points for the day. However, first time enduro rider Miller had the misfortune to burn the final check-in by about 4 seconds … his only burned check of the day … bumping his score up to 7 and resulting in 3^rd place overall.

The tie between Fast Freddie and TC was broken by seconds recorded at the 2 emergency checks with the Grand Champion trophy going to 19 time ISDE Gold Medalist Fred Hoess. ISDT Veteran Drew Smith had mechanical issues early on and dropped 9 points for 4^th overall. Tim Shephard and Perry Hodges each dropped 10 points to round out the top 6 scores. Ted Atkinson rode his 1973 Honda Elsinore to a 12 point score and was awarded the Vintage Class Champion trophy (for bikes up to 1974).

Drew Smith and WER Support Vintage Racing - Click Here

The trail crew was very pleased to take a few points from the fast guys, yet provide a course with a 90% finish rate, including both of the Triumph twins. Perhaps the most impressive ride of the day was by Mark Williams who dropped only 40 points on his 1971 Triumph T100C. As Bill Baird proved back in the day, a 1960’s era Triumph 500 can certainly be set up as a very competent woods bike. However by 1971 the T100C had evolved to basically a street bike with some high mufflers…which is what Mark rode with the only change to some knobby tires. Mark’s comment at the finish line? ... “Never again…on THIS bike!” On the other hand, Joe Zito’s finish on his 1972 Triumph 750 was no surprise…Joe has been riding “the beast” to much success in this year’s Mid Atlantic XC series. But 66 early/burn points didn’t do his score any favors! I’m sure he will brush up on time-keeping for next year.

At the awards ceremony TC was gracious enough to autograph all of the award plaques and also spent close to an hour sharing some stories of his days as a factory Husqvarna racer and employee. Plenty of questions from the gathered riders and some secrets revealed … such as Dick Burleson’s belief that leaking fork seals were simply an indication of a properly working fork … and just how TC REALLY got those parts he urgently needed to fix his Husky Auto just minutes before a big race!

Get More Info By Clicking Here

Special thanks go to the small army of volunteers that worked to make the 1^st AHRMA Vintage Enduro a success and especially to Tom and Debbie McKee for not only making their property available but for also persuading the folks of Preston County to share their back roads with some old dirt bikes! For more information look for us on Facebook at AHRMA Mid Atlantic Vintage Racing.

Jim Bull Photo is a division of Brapp Magazine

Barbed Wire Enduro Breaks More Records!

Barbed Wire Enduro Breaks More Records!

ECEA Jr. Enduro Series Round #2

By: Aaron Kalisher

History continues to be made with the inaugural running of the Southern Tier Enduro Riders (STER) Barbed Wire Jr. Enduro on July 9th.  Adding to the rousing success of last month’s Ridge Run, an additional 25 kids signed up for Barbed Wire making for nearly 70 competitors.  In fact, the 50cc class more than doubled in size with nearly 20 racers.  In addition, Sunday’s senior enduro had record setting attendance with over 200 adults, proving that Jr. Enduros make good business sense. 

 The stage was set for some really exciting racing, as the core ECEA faithful met stiff competition from the WYONA and AMA D4 series’.

The 50’s were treated to a 2-mile course that was comprised of woods, grass track and even some MX that made for great spectating.  The junior-youth course was 4 miles and incorporated the 50 course, as well as the club’s signature “shuffle” adult enduro trail .  As trail boss and club president Brian Williams put it, “We don’t have big hills here, but the ground is never flat.”  Add to that, the kids negotiated a seemingly endless sea of roots that were hand painted by STER to keep things safe for the kids.

The weather was spectacular. A threatening rain shower before the main event missed the course by less than 2 miles.  While the start/finish area was a little dusty, the trail in the woods was excellent. 

Like the Ridge Run, STER chose to ride consecutive laps, with the start control and the checkout within 50 feet of each other.  This allowed kids to talk with their parents, eat, hang with friends, pit for fuel, etc.  All told, the 50’s had 1.5 hours to complete their required laps pre-determined by STER and the juniors-youth had 2 hours to complete their event.  Most kids had plenty of time, some even going back out after their scorecards were removed to do additional “hot laps”.

Click Here For Complete ECEA Schedule

The Barbed Wire Jr. Enduro was a complete success, adding to the momentum of the five-event series.  The parents were delighted with how well everything was organized. There were over a dozen hand-held radios worn by the course workers, so everyone was in constant communication. Parking was plentiful, the food vendor was great and “DJ Beastie” played a wide variety of music throughout the day.  

In the end, the day was won by 11-14 Super-mini Kevin Messina.  The top competitors were all lightning fast, but ultimately it was Kevin who emerged the Victor.

Class winners included the following:

50cc 7-8 LC:                Max Williams

50cc 7-8 AC:                Hunter Gardner

50cc 4-6 AC:                Mason Tsakanikas

14-16 Super Mini:        Kevin Messina

12-13 Super Mini:        Max Fernandez

12-15 85cc:                   Ian Weisman

12-16 Senior Girls:       Mackenzy Robbins

7-11 85:                        Kyle Grenewicz

10-11 65cc:                   Ryan Gribbin

7-9 65cc:                      Caleb Baltimore

9-11 Junior Girls:         Morgan Tsakanikas

11-15 4stk AC:             Andrew Waterman

7-10 Trail:                    Ryder Sigety

You can get more details at: ECEA Jr. Enduro Face Book Page

Sonic Offroad - Used Side by Side Dealer in Pa

Sonic Offroad - Used Side by Side Dealer

4 x 4’s - Sales, Parts and Service

Easton, Pa

www.sonicoffroadllc.com

The side by side craze has been sweeping the country and the world over the last couple of years as many off road riders from both the past and present look for ways to go out on the weekend and have a fun but safe riding experience. Not only motorcyclists from days gone by but ATV riders and even off road truck and jeep enthusiasts are finding their ways to this incredibly awesome way to get out and get the lead out so to speak. Not only are they a great form of off road enjoyment, they also offer basic transportation at off road and entertainment events and many are used as work vehicles on farms, ranches and construction sites.

Find your next machine at Sonic Offroad.

Enter Sonic Offroad, a used equipment powersports dealer located in Easton, Pa that specializes these days in finding late model side by sides for their customers at a fraction of the cost of new. In talking with owner Matt Ciasulli recently, he saves his customers between 20-25% off the cost of a new machine and prides himself in offering the best selection and price available in the entire country.

Sonic Offroad is a full service facility.

Who is Sonic you ask? Matt and his brother Andrew first got hooked on riding off road when they were just young boys. One day their dad brought home an old beat up 50cc dirt bike and with a few tools and a little bit of ingenuity and hard work they were off on the trail so to speak. They were hooked immediately and through the years they kept tearing things apart and putting them back together.

The two brothers were actually ahead of their time when back in the mid 2000’s they created what was in reality one of the first side by sides with their release of a dune buggy race car and a bolt on independent rear suspension kits for ATV’s that was featured in major magazines that put the Sonic Offroad name on the map. 

Sonic led the way in off road machine development.

At some point the brothers went on their separate business journeys with Andrew founding Sonic Solar Energy with Matt sticking to his roots and building up Sonic Offroad LLC which has become the premier offroad dealer we visited today.

Sonic sells around 15 used side by sides every month and if they don’t have the machine you are looking for they will go out and find it. Sonic also stocks a large selection of parts that you won’t find elsewhere for both 4 x 4 ATV’s and side by sides. They also are one of the only dealers around that can do frame work and total rebuilds of side by sides without the need to replace entire frames and cages. They specialize in what Matt calls the internal core of the machine: motor, tranny, frame and suspension. Sonic also offers dealer services to those who may need to sub contract this type of work.

Call Matt today to see what he has in stock.

Sonic is found easily in Easton, Pa just 50 miles from both Philadelphia and New York City and they also ship worldwide, both parts and machines.

The largest selection of used equipment with the best prices around.

You can check them out online or give them a call at: (610) 730-6396. They are a full motor vehicle and powersport Pennsylvania Licensed Dealer. So give them a call to see what they have in stock today and please tell them that Jim Bull sent you.

Just Getting Started

Hey all and welcome to my new blog.

I wanted to separate my outdoor and motorsports activities from my main blog over at:

Jim Bull Talks

Here you'll find access to everything we do outdoors which includes motorcycle, side by side and ATV events and promotion.

Plus we are hunting, hiking and outdoor enthusiasts and may share some of those adventures here with you too. So we thank you for checking us out and we ask you to share us around. Growth may be slow at first because we have a lot of hats hanging on our pegs but we ask you to hang in there because we believe it will be worth it.

View lots of off road racing and action photos from events past at: Jim Bull Photo