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Rich Rohrich

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Posted by: 2fun---------------------

Hi! I am new here, so please excuse my ignorance, but what is your technical background on dirtbike/quad maintenance, etc.

I have read some of your posts, and was curious on your Background/knowledge/experience.

Thanks!


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

I've never touched a quad and have no interest in changing that, and to be honest I have no interest in telling my life's story either (it's too dull). If you have a specific question I'll try to answer it though.


Posted by: Jaybird---------------------

Hey, 2fun...
Rich used to assemble lawn furniture for the original Mr. Know It All...
what more do you want?

:think ...


Posted by: Offroadr---------------------

And has a patent for the Ronco room deoderizer. It removes common houshold odors and replaces them with sweet, pleasant aroma of VP MR2


Posted by: 2fun---------------------

Gee. Thanks for all the GREAT info guys...........:think


Posted by: justql---------------------

2fun- There really isn't any named Rich. It's all a DRN illusion. Different people post under that name all the time. Do you actually think one person could kn ow that much??


Posted by: LWilson250---------------------

He isn’t even human! Rich is actually a computer database run by a superior version of Linux with a custom designed AI program. When a fuel question (or one of anyther nature) comes up RICH (Really Intelligent Computer Hardware) scans the post and then looks through the database for the best answer.

Okiewan implemented the RICH system so he would have an easy way of answering the many questions that will no doubt be asked over and over and over again. No human alive could be so tolerant.

Now you know...I better put my tin foil hat back on so RICH can't read my thoughts....

I want to believe!

Lee W.


Posted by: txvintage---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by LWilson250
......Now you know...I better put my tin foil hat back on so RICH can't read my thoughts....

I want to believe!

Lee W.



He, I mean it, can do that:scream: Man, good thing I don't think.......:confused:


Posted by: LWilson250---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by txvintage
He, I mean it, can do that:scream: Man, good thing I don't think.......:confused:


How else would he/it get all the knowledge he/it has acquired throughout the years?!

Lee W. (AKA- the tin foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist)


Posted by: 2fun---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by justql
2fun- There really isn't any named Rich. It's all a DRN illusion. Different people post under that name all the time. Do you actually think one person could kn ow that much??


Thats just it.

Being "new" here, I didn't "know" how much he knows.:silly:

Thats why I was trying to find out some background info.

I guess I was wasting my time trying to find out.:mad:

Good day.


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by 2fun
I guess I was wasting my time trying to find out.:mad:

Good day.


Try the SEARCH function at the top. I think you'll find the answers to a lot of different questions.


Posted by: Chris Orndorff---------------------

2fun,

The problem with resumes (pretend there's an accent over that last 'e'), is that they often don't mean that much. Plus, on the 'net, I can create any sort of "background" I want to.

Personal questions (and your question was personal), are best handled by private email. Not that Rich would have answered you there either, but it's still a better way to address the issue.

Hang around; I think you'll learn a thing or two. I have.


Posted by: Sage---------------------

if Rich is really a computer then who's on page 85?

Come on Rich, give up some info.............. you might get a date from 2fun, maybe he is a she & she's a hottie.

PS. 2fun, I think Rich is just another one of us that likes to take stuff apart and fiddle with it and has also taken the time to research his findings before posting them to the world.


Posted by: justql---------------------

The guy on page 85 is really a guy by the name of Moo Cow.


Posted by: EricGorr---------------------

Hi 2Fun,

Welcome to DRN. I can give you some background on Rich. He's a maniacal truth seeker with an educational background that started in perocial grade school and a Chicago technical high school named Lane Tech. Back then you had to pass a difficult entry exam in order to get into Lane. His best teacher was a guy named Saul who taught machine shop and all the rest of the stuff that most teachers shrug-off. Like technical examination, how to ask questions, where to find correct answers, and how to reason things out for yourself.

Rich became an auto mechanic after high school because it paid way better than the motorcycle industry which is where he would've rather worked. Along the way he met some curious characters including Vic Krause of Krause Racing, the Midwest Mecca for motocross in the 1970s. Rich asked if he could work for free to learn about dirt bikes and Krause qualified his mechanical skills by making him put together lawn furniture which Vic couldn't do because even though he had a master's degree in electrical engineering and was the self proclaimed "Mr. Know-it-All" of dirt biking, he really had no mechanical aptitude whatsoever. So Rich won a job as Vic's lackey and all those super trick Maico motorcycles that were paraded through the magazines in the 70s were actually engineered and built by Rich, and taken credit for by Krause of course.

In 1980 he met me and we started a journey of questioning authority. Being associated with Krause gained us access to the burgeoning off-road motorcycle industry. It was like a sequel to "On Any Sunday", we met everybody and went everywhere. We worked on tons of bikes and experimented with wild abandon. Although the Japanese manufacturers won't give us a lick of credit, we changed the way they engineered motorcycles. In 1981 we modified a Suzuki RM125 with a lower center of gravity, very narrow, and a seat that extended to the steering head. Until that point in time, dirt bikes had radiators mounted to the handlebars and the gas tanks were so wide it felt like you were trying to mount a hippo! That bike became the modern dirt bike as we have today. There were so many innovations on that bike that have evolved into modern day, and back then everybody thought we were dropping acid. Suzuki communicated with us on a weekly basis and in 1983 they copped the design and put Mark Barnett on it for the Supercross series. Having a low center of gravity himself, Barney loved that motorcycle but Suzuki caved into the scrutinization of foolish naysayers and switched back to conventional motorcycles.

By late 1982 we totaly split from Krause and had a serious fall-out with the only off-road motorcycle publication at the time, suffering censorship and black-listing that prevails to this day. The motorcycle business was in a deep recession and personal computers were on the horizon, so Rich attended a 2-year school for programming while working as an auto mechanic. He started a career in the information technology business that has spanned many different job functions including new product development and product benchmarking and testing, most notably for Internet appliances, modems, and PC video products. Rich's interest in engineering and motorcycles was always his primary focus, but I.T. paid the rent. His motorcycling experience encompasses drag racing, roadracing, and motocross.

In 1998 Rich followed a thread on RMD by a father and son looking for a place to ride in nothern Illinois. Rich told Okie and Pokie about a secret riding area in Northern Illinois at our friend OT's house. Okie had experience with UBB code and talked about starting an information network resource for dirt bikers. So DRN was born. Rich and I have always given dirt bikers technical information about dirt bikes, through personal advice, a short-lived newsletter called MotoTECH circa 1992, and RMD before DRN was started. Okie provided the hardware and programming to allow a dedicated group of enthusiasts to create and maintain forums on many different aspects of dirt biking. As you can see Rich moderates many different forums besides this one. Rich and Okie founded a list of standards for posts on DRN and in policing the standards, Rich has developed a reputation that might make people think he's a bit surly and unfriendly but in real life he's the nicest guy you'd ever meet. And he's dam proud that the certain motorcycle magazine motojournalists and naysayers loathe his no-BS truth seeking writings.

Rich's third story Chicago apartment is crowded with motorcycles and a library's worth of SAE tech papers, vintage motorcycle books, and scientific journals, and tools. Rich's collaboration with Jeremy Wilkey of MX Tech on the project of reducing the travel of dirt bikes for people with not so long legs has opened up the world of dirt biking to a myriad of people who otherwise felt alienated by the motorcycle manufacturers. There's a picture of Rich with his modified YZF on page 85 of my book Motocross & Off-Road Performance Handbook. Saul the machine shop teacher would be proud of Rich's influence in the motorcycle industry.

So that's "The Brief History of Rich", a not so boring life afterall


Posted by: VintageDirt---------------------

Now that was worth reading.


Posted by: MACE---------------------

Rich's real name is Ron Jeremy. He is a professional performance artist but must support himself with grants from the Pew Trust.

But he doesn't ride a quad, that would be gross.


Posted by: Jaybird---------------------

I didn't get a chance to talk with Rich at DW'01 since he was busy trying to keep Billy riding.....but he is one of those guys who Always has a smile on his face whenever you see him.


Posted by: RM_guy---------------------

Nice write up Eric. I have always been impressed with Rich's broad knowledge base and after reading where it came form I can appreciated it even more.

Of course his quick witted charm is just icing on the cake


Posted by: CanadianRidr---------------------

WOW is all I can say, that blew my mind (what's left of it)
I don't have anything to say, I am speechless, just wow!
I never knew the history on you guys but
WOW


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

My existance sure seems a whole lot less random when Eric describes it

For the record Eric deserves most of the credit for the low tank gas tank RM125. Eric was going through an incredible period of creativity at that point which netted him two U.S Patents and there could have been more if the funding was available. I was merely his wacky sidekick, metal butcher and the occasional voice of reason when his creativity went spiralling a little to far off center. I knew Eric was on an epic run when we would show up at the races with the bike and the protests would be filed before we had all our gear unloaded. ( See the picture below)
I feel extremely fortunate to have played some small part in that period of time and with any luck the things we have planned for the future will be as fun and compelling as those early years.


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

For those who have never seen it, here's a picture of the mass centralized RM125 code named "The Invader" From right to left Chuck Gordon, rider Troy Andersen, Eric Gorr and me.


Posted by: Jaybird---------------------

Rich was also a stand-in for Ron Howard on Mayberry RFD.


Posted by: Vic---------------------

Very cool.


Posted by: LB400---------------------

Thanks for the history lesson -- you guys are BOTH amazing, dedicated and most of all, helpful!

Our autographed Motocross and Off-Road Handbook is a treasure to our family, and should be REQUIRED reading for all dirtbikers!

While were getting teary-eyed here, thanks too to this forum! I'll shut-up now, but on behalf of all the lurkers, we praise, and thank you all for the education!


Posted by: EricGorr---------------------

125 INVADER: BACK TO THE FUTURE OF DIRT BIKING

Heres some good humor for you guys to ponder. Back in the early 1980s we took a lot of flack for our experiments in new dirt bike designs, but the funniest cracks came from a magazine whose name I won’t mention but its initials are MXA. They featured the only published photo of this bike in an article titled stupidest bikes of all time or ugliest bikes that never made it or something equally moronic. And people wonder why we’re so negative about they’re influence on the engineering side of our sport?

Just for the record, here is a list of some of the things that we experimented with and were first to deploy on two-stroke dirt bikes. Many of these ideas were incorporated into production dirt bikes or exploited by the aftermarket.

1) First example of a mass centralized dirt bike, with the fuel tank relocated to a free space above the right side engine cover. Suzuki and Honda adapted the idea for their supercross factory bikes soon after. Now all modern dirt bikes feature this idea.

2) First use of a fuel pump in order to prevent float bowl foaming and subsequent bogging when landing from big jumps. Honda used a similar set up on Donnie Hansen’s factory supercross bike.

3) First use of louvers on a radiator. We mounted the large single radiator on the left side of the engine and used the plastic body work to form ducting to route the air in and out. The result was a much narrower profile. We copped the idea from Ferrari’s F-1 car. In 1983 Yamaha introduced it on production Yzs.

4) First use of a full length seat that extended up to the steering head. Back then you could’nt slide forward on the seat because the fuel tanks were so wide and high. This bike enabled a new type of riding style which has become the defacto standard in dirt biking.

5) First use of crankcase effects, with a vaned crank and static diffusers positioned in the crankcase. This idea inspired many copy cats who misused the idea for fun and profit.

6) First use of a pulse-charged intake device. The Patent for that item was referenced on a series of Patents by Honda R&D, Toyota, and Yamaha for applications on four-stroke intake manifolds.

7) First use of plastic body work that enabled unobstructed movement of the rider across the motorcycle. The swept-back side number plates nearly got the bike banned from the NMA nationals because tech inspectors thought they were too sharp and a hazard. Back then Kaw had round number plates molded into the rear fender and they used to accumulate weight in mud. Ten years later the idea was revived by UFO and Acerbis but they failed to incorporate our ideas on ducting and the result was a body panel that contained the heat and carb overheating. Now all dirt bikes have swept back number plates and seamless sides.

8) First use of a triple clamp brace. This idea was later incorporated into triple clamp designs by WP and Paoli.

9) First use of a flat top piston on a 2-stroke dirt bike. Rich carved that thing up on the lathe and added gas ports to improve ring sealing. Now companies like Wiseco offer flat top pistons for a premium price.

10) First use of a dual spark plug ignition.

11) First use of thermal barrier coatings on the piston crown and combustion chamber. Rich found some ceramic epoxy that was good up to 3,500F and carefully applied it to the piston crown and head. It all blew off eventually but we thought it was cool. In later years Swain-Tech mastered the process with technology adapted from cookware.

12) First use of an insert in the head pipe to enable an additional reflection point for the compression wave in the mid-rpm range. Now its routine for manufacturers to include this idea into the exhaust manifolds.

13) First use of lightweight shock linkage struts with Heim joints. Back then RM and KXs used heavy steel tubing with dry bushings and funky off-sets. Rich got the bright idea to mount the struts in a straightline to reduce the need for a heavy strut. He threaded the rod with Heim joints to make it like an adjustable tie rod. This enabled quick changes in the attitude and pitch of the bike. Of course we made Rich ride the bike first since he was the heaviest and if it broke it would only hurt him! Later on this idea evolved into shorter or longer pull-rods, marketed by companies like DMC, PC, and White Bros.

14) First use of an air flow bench to aid in balancing the transfer port flow rates. Companies like Superflow now offer two-stroke test adapters for their line of benches.

Overall the bike was a blast to experiment on. Although it didn’t finish a lot of races, it raised a lot of eyebrows and scared the hell out of our competitors. The long term goal was to sell custom built motorcycles of all brands. The company that we worked for eventually went broke because of the impending recession and a massive downturn in off-road motorcycle sales. Efforts to borrow money were squashed. Rich went back to being an auto mechanic and I got a job as a carpenter, keeping my little porting business alive on a part time basis.

In hindsight I think that if we had taken our ideas to England we could’ve overcome the main obstacles like access to publicity in the dirt bike magazines, venture capital for business development, a motorcycle component manufacturing infastructure, and a growing motocross racing market.

When Rich and I were first clued in by the REV! guys about they’re mass customized concept bike we were really excited because that bike has so many features that we’ve been promoting for years. The REV! team has so many more advantages than we had at the time and that’s why we’re such strong supporters of theirs here on DRN. Best of luck to those dirt bike pioneers!


Posted by: Roostmaker---------------------

One word: WOW


Posted by: CanadianRidr---------------------

:scream:
Rich and Eric, This is ALL news to me,
so basically you guys are saying you recieved no credit for how you changed motocross as we know it? I am shocked. The whole MXA thing will NEVER suprise me, Since I have read most of this stuff(months back), I have stopped buying the mag entirely.

Well I may not be a magazine but thank you guys SO MUCH, for making sure the plastic on my new CR is just that, plastic , Thanks for making my seat nice and compact, thank you for making sure my rad was not mounted to the bars lol:confused:

Overall, thanks for changing the sport for the better


Posted by: OldassKDX---------------------

I honestly did not know the history of DRN or most of the history behind many of the features of the Invader. More stories, Eric? Rich? This stuff is awesome!

My addiction grows


Posted by: bud---------------------

That is all news to me too. Thanx for sharing Eric.


Posted by: Okiewan---------------------

Quote:
In 1998 Rich followed a thread on RMD

Editor steps in... slight mod to the story :confused:

Rich heard about DRN from MXTuner (on RMD), started posting here (I thought for sure he was a chemist for Amoco), asked him to moderate a forum, turned-out I am close to OT's.... Rich hooked us up ... a private SX track

We met, we rode. And have at least once a week since then. You should be out there when Eric shows-up... VERY cool stories fly around the pits. These guys have been there, done that. The industry insider/background is pretty amazing.

As far as what Rich is like out in the real world? Think of a person who would do anything for ya AND knows how to do it. You can bet your last dollar, whatever he does or says, he's got a ton of research in it and the reports & real world experience to back it up.

I of course have intentionally demonstrated lousy mechanical skills so Rich would feel compelled to be my mechanic. Needless to say, I've usually got the fastest bike on the block :scream:


Posted by: RM_guy---------------------

Absolutly amazing. DRN is very fortunate


Posted by: TexKDX---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by 2fun
Hi! I am new here, so please excuse my ignorance, but what is your technical background on dirtbike/quad maintenance, etc.

I have read some of your posts, and was curious on your Background/knowledge/experience.

Thanks!


Rich is pretty modest, so let me clue you in on his training.

He worked at KMart for 10 years assembling Huffys with an impact wrench for 1 dollar each. His personal best was 20 in one hour - they had the Huffys on a Blue Light Special that day (instead of men's handkercheifs).


Posted by: Hucker---------------------

Thats insane, to know someone that has actually answered a question for me has had that much impact on the whole MX scene. Wow, just awesome you guys. I'll have a couple pints or 2 of Canada's finest waiting for you at DW'02

So Cooperland allows kegs right?


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by Okiewan

Editor steps in... slight mod to the story :confused:

Rich heard about DRN from MXTuner (on RMD), started posting here (I thought for sure he was a chemist for Amoco


The fumes from plating must have muddied Eric's recall

My first post on DRN was me busting Tuner's chops for posting something inaccurate about fuel. Go figure Tuner took it in the sprit it was intended and we had some fun in the thread. I had been lurking on DRN for a month or so before that first post, and it was obvious DRN had a better signal to noise ratio then any of the other places on the net I was frequenting so I started posting here. I never looked back. Okie and I became fast friends when we started riding together and I've become very protective of DRN since. Some say too protective, but that's just a character flaw I'm stuck with. Okie masterminded the whole thing , I was just a lucky recipient of his hard work just like the rest of the members.


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by Hucker
Thats insane, to know someone that has actually answered a question for me has had that much impact on the whole MX scene.


The impact the bike had wasn't by some grand plan on our part. We were just looking for a better way to do things and it seemed to work out. It's funny how seemingly simple things you do can impact things you never dreamed of. Life sure is funny that way.

Bikes are so good these days that it's much tougher to stumble across the next big thing but it sure as hell hasn't stopped us from trying . Cool things are still happening behind the scenes that hopefully will bear fruit somewhere down the line.


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by TexKDX
He worked at KMart for 10 years assembling Huffys with an impact wrench for 1 dollar each. His personal best was 20 in one hour - they had the Huffys on a Blue Light Special that day (instead of men's handkercheifs).


It's funny that you bring that up. When I started to work for Vic Krause I was a fully certified NIASE (now ASE) auto mechanic having just finished a couple of years working as a Ford line mechanic. I was about 19 at the time. Guys in the auto trade learn to be fast or they learn to be VERY POOR, so air ratchets and other trick speed tools are standard fair but they weren't really widely used in motorcycle shops in the 70's so when I showed up weilding those types of tools I got a lot of cross-eyed looks. At that time LOP was THE hop up shop in MX. They were the Pro Circuit and FMF of the day. LOP was based out of the Chicago suburbs and the owner Lorenz Offner was a close friend of Krause's. Lorenz used to come and hang out at Krause's shop and I would occasionally do some mechanical/assembly work for him . Lorenz was pretty opinionated and considered auto mechanics nothing but hacks. He really enjoyed pulling my chain about my roots. During the course of one of these episodes the hot-headed 19 year old in me came out and I threw down the gauntlet. He had a CR125 test bike there that needed a crank changed. I bet him $20 that I could pull the engine and put the crank in his hand faster than anyone he had ever seen. He said no one could do that in less than 25-30 minutes. The pipe and carb were already off the bike and it was air-cooled so I knew he was TOAST. So I layed a sheet on the shop floor, staged all the necessary tools whipped out my air ratchet and in just over 7 1/2 minutes he had a CR125 crank in his hand. Back then I made about 4 dollars an hour and drove about 60 miles round trip to work so $20 was a ton of money. He was so blown away he gave me $50 and a job offer Lorenz told me later that he had a side bet with Krause for $50 that I could do it but I never knew for sure if that was true. Knowing Vic he probably did bet against me :D I sure miss air-cooled bikes


Posted by: CanadianRidr---------------------

http://209.55.106.35/forum/attachme...s=&postid=20776

Rich here is your seat up to the tank idea on a new bike!!!
WoW, probably not the reason you would like it to be used for but it's still cool


Posted by: Timr---------------------

Rich,

Super Hunky tells a few great LOP/Krause stories in his book, Monkey Butt. Were you around then? Didn't LOP make Marty Smith's YZ? The one that he won Carlsbad on? My memory is a little sketchy on this. I've only read the book about 4 times. The pieces of the stories that I can remember is Krause driving a piece of junk car...maybe a Buick with the front end out of alignment. Ummm...Krause picking up Hunk at the airport in Chicago to hang out for a few days before going to Indy for the trade show. Lorenz meeting them for dinner and talking so loud that they practically get thrown out of the restaraunt. Didn't Hunky race the LOP YZ at the Dave Coomb's promoted race on a former city golf course? I think he mentioned that Krause paid for a meal with his AMA card...telling the waitress that is was a special credit card only for doctors.

Finally, Rich, Did you actaully write the answers for the original MR. KNOW IT ALL? Enquiring minds want to know.


Posted by: TexKDX---------------------

Nice story, Rich. You have definately been in the thick of things for a long time. Say, how about giving me your ship-to address - I have an Ossa motor that needs gaskets, crank seals, and bearings. How's 100 bucks and hour sound - might take you 30 minutes or so? After all, it IS air cooled...


Posted by: yzeater---------------------

Was Lane Tech a magnet school?


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by Timr
. Lorenz meeting them for dinner and talking so loud that they practically get thrown out of the restaraunt. Didn't Hunky race the LOP YZ at the Dave Coomb's promoted race on a former city golf course? I think he mentioned that Krause paid for a meal with his AMA card...telling the waitress that is was a special credit card only for doctors.

Finally, Rich, Did you actaully write the answers for the original MR. KNOW IT ALL? Enquiring minds want to know.



I don't remember if LOP did Marty Smith's bike but they did do Marty Moates bike. In fact Lorenz brought Marty's bike to the first Santa Fe Speedway stadium race and proceeded to crash so hard in practice that he made them bring out the bulldozer and change the jump on the front straight. Any story involving Lorenz, Vic Krause and getting tossed out of someplace is invariably true. They were a dangerous pair, mix in Rick Seiman and you have a veritable crime spree

The best replys in the original Mr. KNow It All column came from the twisted mind of Jimmy McMahon, ex-Triumph factory dirt tracker and Krause counter man/ Store Manager in the 70's. Krause would walk through the shop ask a question and Jimmy would fire off a couple incredibly funny replys . I last heard from Jimmy when I ran into him at my first bicycle criterium race. He owned a BMX shop called Sundance Cycles somewhere in the suburbs of Chicago. He spotted me in the final sprint because I was the only one who didn't look like a bicycle racer


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by CanadianRidr
http://209.55.106.35/forum/attachme...s=&postid=20776

Rich here is your seat up to the tank idea on a new bike!!!
WoW, probably not the reason you would like it to be used for but it's still cool


The funny part is the original incarnation of the Invader bike had wheel covers. We eventually had to take them off because we regularly ran the bike at the Sante Fe Speedway stadium races where they would use the long flat track straight-aways. Tapped out in fifth gear with a cross wind was a little too hairy with the wheel covers. :scream:

When Pete Dennison of A-Loop first unveiled their FMX body kit at Indy a couple of years back Eric and I had a weird acid flash back looking at the bike.


Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by yzeater
Was Lane Tech a magnet school?


It was an Engineering Prep school. The difference was it was a public school. The reason that is significant is in the Chicago Public School system if you live in the same district as a school they can't deny you entrance. Lane was the only public school at the time you had to qualify to attend and your district didn't matter. I was fortunate to have had the chance to attend that school. I came away with a useful swiss army knife style set of skills that enabled me to be fairly employable without any college.


Posted by: VintageDirt---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by Rich Rohrich
...mix in Rick Seiman and you have a veritable crime spree
Now that's what I like to hear. :confused:


Posted by: EricGorr---------------------

Rich and I didn’t build the Invader because we were looking for recognition. We were looking to get people to think differently, to start interesting discussions, kind of like what we do in this forum on DRN.

Our prime motivation for this project came from a conversation with Danny Magoo Chandler. In 1981 he was a privateer riding an RM125 and was half sponsored by Krause and George Quay’s first suspension business Keystone Motocross. I built Danny’s engines that year and he spent the summer living at Krause’s house/shop. In 1980 when the Maico Magnum was introduced, Rick Sieman the editor of Dirt Bike magazine and he had the brilliant idea of getting Magoo to throw the bike around for some photos. To highlight the new frame, Rick rigged a small windshield bottle from a VW in order to remove the fuel tank and expose the new frame. It was a famous photo shoot because Magoo pretty much invented freestyle mx and those photos captured it in print. When we asked Magoo about the shoot, he commented that the bike handled better without the fuel tank because it was so narrow and light feeling, but unfortunately the fuel supply would only last for a few jumps.

In 1982 we built our version of the mass centralized dirt bike and brought it to George Quay’s shop in Beaver Falls prior to the High Point National. Back then everybody used to hang out there, working on bikes, goin’ riding, shootin the bull, and wreaking havoc on Beaver Falls. I showed Magoo our bike for the first time, telling him that our conversation the previous year motivated us to build it. He had a good laugh ripping around George’s shop on the bike. The the number 1 & 2 points leaders in the 250 class dropped by and scoped out the bike; Ricky Johnson and Kenny Keylon. RJ was riding a factory Yamaha with the big high tank and the radiator mounted to the triple clamp. Kenny was riding the factory Honda. We talked about weight bias and riding and such. RJ brought up an interesting point that top heavy bikes were easy to throw down in a turn and it seemed that the greater the displacement the more beneficial it was for the bike to be top heavy. The next year RJ was signed to Honda and Yamaha started shifting down the mass of their bikes except the 490 which retained the “high and wide” look.


Posted by: Timr---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by Rich Rohrich



I don't remember if LOP did Marty Smith's bike but they did do Marty Moates bike.


Sorry...I meant Marty Moates...I realized that I typed the wrong name on my way home from work. Just another end of work day brain fart. :scream:


Posted by: 2fun---------------------

Thanks for the reply Eric.
That was more of the type of answer I was looking for.


Posted by: txvintage---------------------

Have any idea what became of Troy Andersen? Is he by chance in Texas?


Posted by: fastwes---------------------

I wish my camera at the Indy show was digital. The picture hanging in my shop I took of Eric (king of ALL Moto media) and Rich (don't say your fuel burns faster) standing and smiling together says it all.There is less hair and a little more mass than the other picture but it is otherwise EXACTLY the same. Two good friends who have done much together and just love laughing about it all. I've never met a more helpfull, good and honest person( who is a competitor!) in the motorcyce industry than Eric. He isn't jealous or stingy about ideas or advice. Rich I don't know very well but the energy, intellect, enthusiasm, and humor scream whenever you wright. We are indeed lucky to have these two amigos on DRN.
Thanks Okie and all,
Wes Gilbert
Boyesen Precision Porting
PS Rich, What the hell do you think a piston top is??? A golf ball??? just tighten the squish up if you want turbulance!


Posted by: fastwes---------------------

Please excuse my spelling...WRITING tooo fast.



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