Point/Counterpoint by Ed Sorbo and Michael Gougis
(Eds. Note: Racers Ed Sorbo and Michael Gougis talk incessantly about motorcycle road racing on the phone and in podcasts. Apparently, that’s not enough, because they also exchange emails on the subject. We’ll publish some of their exchanges.)
What do you mean by “Why?”
Ed Sorbo:
At a recent AHRMA event we shared pit space with Stacie B London. She races an old CB160 and got to the track in an old Ford pick up. Lots of her follow racers also have old pit bikes. I asked if she has something against vehicles that start, idle and have air conditioning. She looked at me like she had never thought of it that way and we got to talking about why we race.
I had been thinking/wondering about racing for a long time but did not do anything about it till the universe gave me a push. Once I was racing the fun captured me till the challenge took over. Part of it is that I can’t quit and it’s a great way to learn useful stuff. Being good at it helps me keep doing it and it long ago became a way to make a living.
Stacie B London;
My 4 wheeled vehicle is a red 1970 Ford F100 Custom, I sold my teal 1992 Ford Ranger XLT to purchase it. My mom couldn’t understand why I went from a perfectly fine 1992 vehicle to an older more “unreliable” version, until she saw it. “Wow that’s cool” were her exact words. Owning my dream truck has not been a bed of roses, but it is fun for all its analogue qualities.
My first car at 16 was a 1970 Plymouth 340-V8 Duster, so I’m used to, and expect, a certain kind of feedback from a vehicle. I’ve driven new cars and I like them just fine, but for me they lack a certain personality. Sure my truck takes a little longer to get places, doesn’t have AC, or a stereo, but those are things I can live with or have adapted to. When it does break, which is not as often as you might think, I can pop the hood and pretty much see everything and diagnose it and within a couple phone calls figure out what is wrong and how to fix it. Its a fun truck to have as it gets attention wherever it goes.
It’s also a conversation starter, which is a pretty great thing in this device-crazed society where everyone is staring into a screen rather than a face having a conversation.
I got into racing a 1968 CB160 because I was invited to the vintage races because my daily rider is a 1969 BMW R60US. I bought this first bike completely by accident or by good fortune and it was the first domino in a series of experiences in the vintage community. When I decided to start riding and looking for my first bike even though I knew nothing about bikes I had a picture of a bike in my head of what I wanted, and I found it in Craigslist add. Because I didn’t know about motorcycles, I also didn’t know about the different communities or sub-cultures and I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I was just following a gut feeling.
As an industrial designer with a Master of Science in Industrial Design, I’ve spent a lot of time and money developing and trusting my instincts, so when I went to see this barely running bike all I saw was a diamond in the rough and there was nothing anyone could say to convince me otherwise. I’ve had it now for six years and its been nothing short of an incredible and wonderful journey that I am so grateful for. This choice has affected and changed everything.
Once I got into racing my 160 its become a project that I can’t let go of until it’s completed. People ask me all the time when I’m going to start racing a bigger bike or a newer bike, and the truth is, I would love to, I just can’t afford to prep and race more than one bike and I’m not done with the 160. It’s like a relationship and I know we have more to do and I have more to learn from it. Sure I could put my time and money into another bike that is newer or larger displacement. But why when I enjoy this one so much? Just like my truck and BMW, the 160 has not only taught me a lot but has also inspired many creative collaborations and to honoring these experiences and education I need to see the project to the end.
Michael Gougis:
Hi Stacie! Always good to hear from you. Your contribution to the SoCal racing scene is far greater than you will ever know.
But let’s talk about me.
My current race bike is that 2002 Yamaha YZF-R1. Race bodywork, windshield from Hong Kong, race tires. That’s it. A slip-on pipe with a Power Commander that may or may not be doing anything. Not just stock suspension, but stock unrebuilt-by-Sorbo suspension. (P.S. The muffler is held on by a bolt that is an inch too long. I leave it there because it makes Ed absolutely crazy every time he sees it.)
Why?
The bike looks spectacular. And it is fast enough and handles well enough to keep me entertained on the racetrack. And I get a great deal of joy from maintaining it, looking at it in the garage, washing it. And I enjoy most of all the fact that it has a tech sticker on it and my racing numbers.
People race for a million reasons. I struggle to get some people to understand that not everyone wants to go racing to become World Champion. I’ve been through that phase where only winning mattered. Now I have a racebike because that makes me a racer. Being a racer forces me to maintain my fitness and organize a race program. And chasing someone else makes me try harder, push my personal barriers, and gives me a reason to enjoy the thrill of twisting the throttle on a machine that makes a Ferrari look Pinto-slow.
In one of my classrooms, there’s a saying on the wall that’s attributed to hockey great Wayne Gretzky – you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. By showing up, I beat everyone who’s sitting on a couch or barstool or posting on the ‘net about how bad-ass they would be if only …
Ed Sorbo:
Better not leave that bike near me unattended again, I have a hacksaw in my tool box, that bolt won’t last long…
I have long known that we all have our own reasons for racing. Sure, there are common threads to each story. I’m sure you, Dear Reader, each related to some part of all these reasons. What I’m learning now is how much and how often our reasons change.
I use to run radio ads promoting the next road race at Hawaii Raceway Park on Radio Free Hawaii. One of the tag lines was, “If it was easy, it would be a video game.” That event was a 4 Hour. I’m not sure what the gamers though of that line but to me it spoke to the challenge of racing that I hope never fades. “See you on Sunday.”