All your stories are good Ralph. Especially when you tie it in with a picture like that.
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All your stories are good Ralph. Especially when you tie it in with a picture like that.
More pictures of Jerry. Something I never noticed until I scanned one of the shots. Most of these have never been printed or scanned before, so I had to laugh when I read what was painted on the floor of the cockpit in one of the pictures. The white paint stood out. Look closer and see what's in black that doesn't stand out. The picture left of that is Jerry and Hoppy looking at the flag while the Star Spangled Banner was being played. I took the picture, then turned to face the flag also.
The pictures were taken at the Grain Belt Pro Nationals at Winona in 1975. The first picture in this series was I believe published in Powerboat in an article I did about the race. I didn't race most of 1975 due to a bad wreck on memorial day, so I wasn't stuck in our pits for the racing. I took a lot of pit pictures all over the country that year. Jerry was one of my favorite subjects.
more Jerry. Who can name the people looking at the strange engine, and what's the engine? Employees of the motor builder are not eligible.
Nobody wants to name names? Well, here are some more of Jerry.
These should have been in order according to the numbers that I had, but swap the first and second pics, and that is the correct order.
Left to right, Walt, C service guy friend of Brinkmanship who won many C service nationals, Joe Rome, Dick O'Dea & Jerry. Motor looks leek air cooled cylinders from a motor cycle, opposed firing maybe a Nicholson creation. The 250 opposed Yamato wasn't air cooled. I don't think.
Sure smells like a Honda. I really think that this is the very first motorcycle cylinder based 250 motor built in the US. 1/2 a Konig crank, Konig Rotary Valve and carb, Walt heads and crankcase and Honda Elsinore 125 cylinders with the cooling fins machined off and a water jacket welded on.
Michael D-1
I was not allowed to comment per Wayne's rule, but, That was one of the Honda motors that was made in the early to mid 70's. That motor was the A motor with a rotary valve. Bill Hosler also made a M motor for Cindy that was a rotary motor as well. Then they came with Reeds. These were Walt's motors, I was working for Walt at the time so that is why I was not allowed to respond. I have the last motor Walt made, A two cylinder 125 Yamaha that is as Walt left it before he died. Rules changed and now only 1 cylinder. jerry was one of my early Hero's, I told him that at Ralph's Old Farts party. I guess we both had mutual respect for one another. Pictures above are of two of my Hero's in sport, Jerry and Bruce. I canot leave out Ralph or Dub either, Steve
All you guys are correct. It is a Honda 250. John, you got all the names correct. The one next to Walt that you didn't call by name is Henry Wagner from California.
Steve, I had forgotten that you worked for Walt too. I put that rule in to poke Charley Bradley's eyes to see if I could get a rise out of him.
We tried that motor in DePue, but it would not plane on it's own. We hitched a tow from a pickup boat to get broke over, and I released the rope. We tried that just to see if the motor put out enough to continue working on it. It didn't and we sent the motor back with Walt. Don't know whatever happened to it after that.
Motor was at Walt's and discovered that as it ran, it would jump time. On one of Deiters visits he said that the belt would not stay because of the two cylinders hitting at same time. he had tried that. He said same about the "Bitch motor" that Bruce made as well and was completely surprised that the belt stayed in time. We did not show Deiter the secret to this. Fun times at Walt's that's for sure. I remember that when I unpacked a motor from Johnny Dortch to let him see it right away. Seems Johnny alway's paid Walt cash, and Johnny put C notes in the exhaust ports for Walt. Between that and all the other stuff going on and motors coming for all over it was a great time for a 20 year old to get introduced to a " Mans World" and the stuff they did to on another, Maybe that is some of the reason I am who I am and of course a serious dose of Ralph and Hosler helped! Steve Od and Add: The Honda stuff was started but mostly done after Charlie left. I worked at Walt's from about 72 till he died, Charlie was before that time I believe.
Great info Steve. I need to call Clayton Elmer to refresh my memory, as he was manager of Emmords at that time, but I can recall the motor Mike mentioned, the Elsinore 250, being bandied around the shop at the time. It was new from Honda, hot...blowing everything else away. I get a little bit confused at this point because I think Honda also had a 350cc motor that one of the riders at Emmords was winning everything on a flat track. I didn't get into the motorcycle part of Baldy's business, but I met one of the riders. I do remember the Elsinore Hondas though and I always thought them to be motorcross rather than flat tracks. I have to ask Clayton about this though, but I always thought the reason we had Walt work up the Honda 250 was to promote Baldy's boat and motorcycle shop.
I might be wrong, but I always thought that Baldy had me ship the powerhead to Walt to see what he could make of it. I have to ask Clayton if he remembers whether it came from our shop or not. Charley was there at the time.
I was always a little bit skeptical about how an air cooled, gasoline fueled motor that had to be a little bit loose could be more powerful than a water cooled engine fueled by methanol. We had the sliding pipes by then, but the Honda bikes had lots of gears. I may have been too predudiced when I tested that motor at DePue, but I think I made the right decision. Baldy spent a lot of money trying new things. Some worked out great, but some experiments cost us dearly. Not in money, but in time spent and lost races. I would not change anything Baldy ever did though, (except for one thing) because we learned not only from good decisions, but also bad ones. And in the end, Baldy figured right.
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