Motorcycles, My early Life with Bikes
Deadmans Point above is where it all began for me some 35 years ago. Motocross was just beginning to take
shape in Southern California, but little did we know it would change some of us kids lives forever. This is when Maico's,
Husky's and CZ's were the bikes of choice. DMP was located outside Apple Valley Calif., a few miles east towards Big
Bear and the open Mojave Desert where desert racing was huge. I grew up just north of this place a couple miles and
rode my Honda 90 scrambler here after school about every day. You see on the weekends campers from L.A., came up
to escape the rat-race and either ride their bikes or drive those dune buggies all over the open desert surrounding
DMP. And more importantly, they brought their cute daughters! Ole' Mike Dressler the owner at this time was a real
estate broker from Hesperia who wanted to make this place a favorite camping spot for travelers looking for a restful
place with food and entertainment. He had great live Western music and dancing, pool tables, a nice restaurant with his
wife Luciel's worlds greatest hamburgers and of course - Motocross.
To tell you how impactful this place was for me, I kissed my first girl here! Anyway, my buddies Eddie Roe, cousin
Bobby Mesquit, Dave Coulter and I hung out here all the time because there wasn't much else to do in the desert but we
knew ole' Mike Dresslar would give us a coke now and then. We played pool all the time, so much so we would hustle
the campers kids and even their parents for games and side bets. But our favorite thing to do was on Friday's after
school, we'd hang out in the pool room or bar (in those days kids at the bar wasn't a problem) waiting for those campers
to roll in to see if any new folks would show up with their cute daughters. One of our favorite families was the Wilsford
family.. They were great people who always invited us into their nice 25' trailer to have dinner and play cards. Frank
Wilsford Sr., was at that time what most considered the elder racer on his famous Hodaka 100 Super Rats. Nobody
could beat Frank in the open desert, in fact he beat most of the 250 class bikes all day long. Those Hodaka's were
incredibly fast and Frank could build and tune them the best. His son Frank Jr., was equally fast. Before Motocross
began here desert races were big and usually attracted some 3-400 riders every weekend. How did this all get started?
Bobby and Kathy Dresslar were the ones who birthed this place into becoming one of Southern California's greatest
race places. My dad Ken Johnson knew Mike and Bobby for years as he would stop by DMP on the way home from work
to have a cool one and shoot some pool. Bobby built homes with Lee Chase and they both decided to build a track
when they heard Edison Dye was bringing over some European riders. Bobby had taken in a kid by the name of Dave
Coulter who was a new kid at school and had good looks with the girls. Bobby wanted to help Dave get involved with
sports so motorcycles was a natural choice. In those days the norm was T-Shirts and Levi's. We never had enough
money to buy those cool leathers and jersey's like the kids from L.A. You had to be tough and willing to get bloody once
in awhile to be out front and Dave was always out front on his Bultaco Sherpa 'S' 125. He was one of us who could have
made the big time. They couldn't keep a bike together underneath him he was so fast. He had a great fluid style that
couldn't be beat. But, I suppose too many other interests kept Dave from going all the way with Motocross. We all had a
lot of fun back then.
Since we hung out at DMP a bunch, Bobby Dresslar asked us if we'd be interested in helping him build the Motocross
track. Being gullible and thinking it would be cool I said yes little knowing how much work had to be done. We got paid
with hamburgers and cokes though, plus we would be around racing! The track was built around the shack you see in
the pic above and out to the cross-roads in the background. Bobby and Lee did all the dirt work and us teenagers
helped to build the massive tin-fence around the track. This infamous fence was built out of Railroad Ties and
washboard tin lengths 3 or 4 high! I'm guessing about 2 or 300 ties had to be installed (12" x 36" deep auger holes) and
thousands of pieces of tin nailed. All this in the hot 110 degree desert heat!
Well the place was a huge success by 1970-72, up to some 400 riders on Sunday. One day while showing off on my
Honda 305 (heavy as a Buick) Frank Wilsford (more on the Wilsford legacy soon) asked me if I would want to race on
Sunday. I said, on this? He said, how about riding Christi's 100 Yamaha MX? I returned a resounding yes! Mind you I
had been riding bikes for 2 or 3 years now and had a lot of experience cow trailing in the mountains. So Saturday during
practice I rode the little Yamaha like it was a feather and got used to it. You would never guess it, but I won all three
moto's sunday! My first race ever and I beat the pants of Donnie Simonian. Not really, he was on my tail all day. We'd
dice it out and catch each other back and forth, but in moto-3, he never caught me. I felt like I could race three more at
the end of the day because that little Yamaha felt like a toy to me. I went on and had more top finishes here and also
rode a Bultaco 100 and an OSSA 250 Stiletto that were owned by Biff Brenn an old friend of my dad's and another local
building contractor. Biff taught me a lot about staying competitive and how to use the front brake. He always used to yell
at me to win the race in the turns and use that damned front brake...Biff sponsored me for awhile riding the 100 and 250
class, and we all had a ball at this legendary but forgotten Motocross venue...
shape in Southern California, but little did we know it would change some of us kids lives forever. This is when Maico's,
Husky's and CZ's were the bikes of choice. DMP was located outside Apple Valley Calif., a few miles east towards Big
Bear and the open Mojave Desert where desert racing was huge. I grew up just north of this place a couple miles and
rode my Honda 90 scrambler here after school about every day. You see on the weekends campers from L.A., came up
to escape the rat-race and either ride their bikes or drive those dune buggies all over the open desert surrounding
DMP. And more importantly, they brought their cute daughters! Ole' Mike Dressler the owner at this time was a real
estate broker from Hesperia who wanted to make this place a favorite camping spot for travelers looking for a restful
place with food and entertainment. He had great live Western music and dancing, pool tables, a nice restaurant with his
wife Luciel's worlds greatest hamburgers and of course - Motocross.
To tell you how impactful this place was for me, I kissed my first girl here! Anyway, my buddies Eddie Roe, cousin
Bobby Mesquit, Dave Coulter and I hung out here all the time because there wasn't much else to do in the desert but we
knew ole' Mike Dresslar would give us a coke now and then. We played pool all the time, so much so we would hustle
the campers kids and even their parents for games and side bets. But our favorite thing to do was on Friday's after
school, we'd hang out in the pool room or bar (in those days kids at the bar wasn't a problem) waiting for those campers
to roll in to see if any new folks would show up with their cute daughters. One of our favorite families was the Wilsford
family.. They were great people who always invited us into their nice 25' trailer to have dinner and play cards. Frank
Wilsford Sr., was at that time what most considered the elder racer on his famous Hodaka 100 Super Rats. Nobody
could beat Frank in the open desert, in fact he beat most of the 250 class bikes all day long. Those Hodaka's were
incredibly fast and Frank could build and tune them the best. His son Frank Jr., was equally fast. Before Motocross
began here desert races were big and usually attracted some 3-400 riders every weekend. How did this all get started?
Bobby and Kathy Dresslar were the ones who birthed this place into becoming one of Southern California's greatest
race places. My dad Ken Johnson knew Mike and Bobby for years as he would stop by DMP on the way home from work
to have a cool one and shoot some pool. Bobby built homes with Lee Chase and they both decided to build a track
when they heard Edison Dye was bringing over some European riders. Bobby had taken in a kid by the name of Dave
Coulter who was a new kid at school and had good looks with the girls. Bobby wanted to help Dave get involved with
sports so motorcycles was a natural choice. In those days the norm was T-Shirts and Levi's. We never had enough
money to buy those cool leathers and jersey's like the kids from L.A. You had to be tough and willing to get bloody once
in awhile to be out front and Dave was always out front on his Bultaco Sherpa 'S' 125. He was one of us who could have
made the big time. They couldn't keep a bike together underneath him he was so fast. He had a great fluid style that
couldn't be beat. But, I suppose too many other interests kept Dave from going all the way with Motocross. We all had a
lot of fun back then.
Since we hung out at DMP a bunch, Bobby Dresslar asked us if we'd be interested in helping him build the Motocross
track. Being gullible and thinking it would be cool I said yes little knowing how much work had to be done. We got paid
with hamburgers and cokes though, plus we would be around racing! The track was built around the shack you see in
the pic above and out to the cross-roads in the background. Bobby and Lee did all the dirt work and us teenagers
helped to build the massive tin-fence around the track. This infamous fence was built out of Railroad Ties and
washboard tin lengths 3 or 4 high! I'm guessing about 2 or 300 ties had to be installed (12" x 36" deep auger holes) and
thousands of pieces of tin nailed. All this in the hot 110 degree desert heat!
Well the place was a huge success by 1970-72, up to some 400 riders on Sunday. One day while showing off on my
Honda 305 (heavy as a Buick) Frank Wilsford (more on the Wilsford legacy soon) asked me if I would want to race on
Sunday. I said, on this? He said, how about riding Christi's 100 Yamaha MX? I returned a resounding yes! Mind you I
had been riding bikes for 2 or 3 years now and had a lot of experience cow trailing in the mountains. So Saturday during
practice I rode the little Yamaha like it was a feather and got used to it. You would never guess it, but I won all three
moto's sunday! My first race ever and I beat the pants of Donnie Simonian. Not really, he was on my tail all day. We'd
dice it out and catch each other back and forth, but in moto-3, he never caught me. I felt like I could race three more at
the end of the day because that little Yamaha felt like a toy to me. I went on and had more top finishes here and also
rode a Bultaco 100 and an OSSA 250 Stiletto that were owned by Biff Brenn an old friend of my dad's and another local
building contractor. Biff taught me a lot about staying competitive and how to use the front brake. He always used to yell
at me to win the race in the turns and use that damned front brake...Biff sponsored me for awhile riding the 100 and 250
class, and we all had a ball at this legendary but forgotten Motocross venue...
So I continued racing at DMP for a couple years along with racing at the old Saddleback track in Irvine, Corona
Raceway, the great Carlsbad Raceway. Even won a race or two there. Perris Raceway was nice but too unorganized.
Then I got drafted in the Army so I joined the US Navy and ended up in Virgina Beach, VA. But before I go there with that
story, there was a racer at Deadmans I want to share with you a moment. His name is REX STATEN or 'ROCKET REX'
for those of you who remember this Ironman of motocross. He was my age but at least 2 times as fast as me!
I was in the Navy a year or so and decided to take up motocross again. It was 1974 and the hot bike at the time was
either the Honda Elsinore or the Suzuki TM's. I selected a new TM-125 and had it built by FMF (swingarm, engine and
chamber). We didn't have much money ($800.00 month) to play with so for awhile I hauled it on the back of our
Gremlin-X below until we could afford a used single rail trailer!
Raceway, the great Carlsbad Raceway. Even won a race or two there. Perris Raceway was nice but too unorganized.
Then I got drafted in the Army so I joined the US Navy and ended up in Virgina Beach, VA. But before I go there with that
story, there was a racer at Deadmans I want to share with you a moment. His name is REX STATEN or 'ROCKET REX'
for those of you who remember this Ironman of motocross. He was my age but at least 2 times as fast as me!
I was in the Navy a year or so and decided to take up motocross again. It was 1974 and the hot bike at the time was
either the Honda Elsinore or the Suzuki TM's. I selected a new TM-125 and had it built by FMF (swingarm, engine and
chamber). We didn't have much money ($800.00 month) to play with so for awhile I hauled it on the back of our
Gremlin-X below until we could afford a used single rail trailer!
| #1 First day out! 1st place x3, 100 Junior on a '70 Yamaha 100mx The trophy girl is Tammy Brown - 1970 - |
To make this east-coast racing story short all I have to say is "MUD BOGGS". I remember we take off from the starting
line in the woods, suddenly a downpour would come down on us by the time we hit the first turn! Coming from Southern
California made it tough on me and I never got a good handle on it. So I picked and chose certain club races based
upon the weather report but always had to deal with mud and more mud. Came home in 1977 and layed off the bike until
after my son Gerrit was born. We named him after my all time favorite pro rider, Gerrit Wolsink, and in 1981 I bought a
brand new Yamaha YZ-250H seen below. The pic below is the day I brought it home. I believe I paid $1375 for it at El
Monte Yamaha.
line in the woods, suddenly a downpour would come down on us by the time we hit the first turn! Coming from Southern
California made it tough on me and I never got a good handle on it. So I picked and chose certain club races based
upon the weather report but always had to deal with mud and more mud. Came home in 1977 and layed off the bike until
after my son Gerrit was born. We named him after my all time favorite pro rider, Gerrit Wolsink, and in 1981 I bought a
brand new Yamaha YZ-250H seen below. The pic below is the day I brought it home. I believe I paid $1375 for it at El
Monte Yamaha.
This was the first new 250 bike purchase and was it a great
choice. The monoshock suspension was just fantastic.
Up to this point I had never known what great "power to the
ground" was. It handled great in the air also. I eventually had
the engine done by FMF and minor suspension work. Rode it
mainly in the desert and a few grand prix races at DeAnza
Cycle Park. My motocross days were over especially after I
literally broke my face open on this bike not mentioning the
front-end and wheels.
Rebuilt the bike like new and sold it to my brother Mark who
enjoyed it a ton. These are now favorite Vintage Racing bikes
today and are always a threat to win
choice. The monoshock suspension was just fantastic.
Up to this point I had never known what great "power to the
ground" was. It handled great in the air also. I eventually had
the engine done by FMF and minor suspension work. Rode it
mainly in the desert and a few grand prix races at DeAnza
Cycle Park. My motocross days were over especially after I
literally broke my face open on this bike not mentioning the
front-end and wheels.
Rebuilt the bike like new and sold it to my brother Mark who
enjoyed it a ton. These are now favorite Vintage Racing bikes
today and are always a threat to win
| First DMP Tee |
Fast forward 15 years. I got a bug for an Open-Class bike of which I had never raced or play rode in my life. I was
reading the review article in 1983 on the Maico 490 Sand Spider vs the KTM-495mxc by DIRT BIKE magazine which
revealed the KTM as the fastest box-stock Air-Cooled dirt bike ever in 1981! It also revealed that this models engine was
an absolute monster. I had to have one but couldn't afford the $3000 ticket. So I found one in the Recycler of all places,
called the guy up and met him out in Lucern Valley at the desert races to test ride it. That was the best $1500 I ever
spent on a 6 month old bike. The guy kept falling off it as he was only 5' 8" and wanted to get rid of it for a Husky 400.
Never figured that idea out. Too bad for him and great for me because to this day I still love this bike.
The FASTEST & MEANEST Dirtbike of them ALL, the KTM-495 Great White!
reading the review article in 1983 on the Maico 490 Sand Spider vs the KTM-495mxc by DIRT BIKE magazine which
revealed the KTM as the fastest box-stock Air-Cooled dirt bike ever in 1981! It also revealed that this models engine was
an absolute monster. I had to have one but couldn't afford the $3000 ticket. So I found one in the Recycler of all places,
called the guy up and met him out in Lucern Valley at the desert races to test ride it. That was the best $1500 I ever
spent on a 6 month old bike. The guy kept falling off it as he was only 5' 8" and wanted to get rid of it for a Husky 400.
Never figured that idea out. Too bad for him and great for me because to this day I still love this bike.
The FASTEST & MEANEST Dirtbike of them ALL, the KTM-495 Great White!
| This is one of the bikes that I purchased from Barry Higgins for a modest price like new. 5 speeds of shear eye-popping power! If you ever decide to keep the wick up on these bikes, you had better be in good physical condition and paying attention! Unfortunately i wasn't and didn't, I finally broke my leg on this one, May 2007! |
| Thanks for stopping by |