The looptail is the one I rode in '81. AWESOME handling bike with that short rear end.

Kevin

[ October 06, 2005, 12:00 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

Here is a different aspect of D.G. This is a picture of me on my 1976 YZ125 racing at Saddleback Park. (In 1976) The rider directly behind me is CH industries' Dave Williams.




More to follow soon.

Kevin

[ October 06, 2005, 12:57 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

Hardly anything cooler than a gold finned DG head! Nice. Arem you on an TM or RM with that cool down pipe?

1977 YZ100D and Me at PIR in Portland.



[ October 06, 2005, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: BenOr ]

Ben, that was a YZ. We ran down pipes on our YZ's in'76. Squished a lot of 'em!

Kevin

Okay, now for some BMX!

Here I am racing an NBL War of the Stars (National) in Georgia, 1981. The SE rider is Robby Rupe and the MCS rider is Jamie Burrows.

See the guy in the background with the Red/White and Blue BMX Pants on? (White jersey, red/wht/blu helmet) I am 99.9% sure that is the late Charley Litsky.



Here I am goofin' around on a track near the Green Duck facility in '81 on my looptail.



Kevin

[ October 06, 2005, 01:47 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

Okay, more moto. Here I am at (you guessed it, Saddleback Park) on my 1976 YZ 125. This bike was my BABY! Check it out. Besides all the usual trick DG stuff, it had a Titanium frame & swingarm by Pro-Fab, Marzocchi forks with nearly 8" travel (that was HUGE back then) and the rear monoshock was Yamaha factory team issue, it had a little more travel and adjustability than the production shock.

Initally, we had set this bike up as a watercooled bike, and we were going to go into production with aftermarket watercooled kits for them. But that program waas discontinued when we found out that Yamaha was going to build watercooled production bikes within a year or two.



Here I am on my 1975 Honda CR 125 @ (yep Saddleback)



Kevin

[ October 06, 2005, 01:01 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

I talked to Byron Friday on DG Vulcan cruisers, he said they were made in 1979-1980? why the change between loop tail and vulcan weird brace in the rear. Know how many were made? Id like to know more about Vulcans, as I own one.

I'm just digging the vintage cruiser photos... Great shots Kevin!

Empi,

The rear chainstays were shortened substantially on the looptail, and that was the most substantial change made to the geometry. Additionally, when the rear wheel was brought forward, it took weight off of the front end, causing it to plow. To help alleviate this, we steepened the head angle. Additionally, we raised the BB to accomodate 7-1/2" crank arms. I do not know why the asthetic change in the rear triangle occured, (constructability?) or how many vulcans were built. Sorry

Kevin

[ October 06, 2005, 01:17 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

Thanks Kevin, one more thing, Vulcans are built in 79-80?

'79-'80 sounds correct to me EMPI. They preceded the looptail, which came out in '81. And "Green Duck" had riders on them @ the '79 ABA Grands. I'll bet Ben has detailed info for you........ Ben???

Kevin

[ October 06, 2005, 08:35 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

Jimmy - I was just on my Vulcan when Kevin, OM, KOZ and several others including myself raced the 1st Pro Crusier national. That was in Monroe Washington and had to be late 1980 or early 1981. Kevin was still on Powerlite. OM, alwys to hold a race grudge, took me out in the first corner (blowing my front wheel up). A little "Thanks" from Scot for no longer riding SE bikes.

I'm pretty sure I started riding a Vulcun soon as they came out given Bike Gallery was so big on DG.

Another gem. Jeff (in Norwalk I think) early on. Redline forks and still in JT MX pants.

I was thinking as I drove to work about the time frame. 79-80 seems early. I rode a Laguna as I graduated HS (6/80). I remember a demo we did at the Expo center with big jump that I switched left and right pedals forward so I could keep bending my cranks back the proper direction.

Then I went to a Powerlite. At the 1980 or 1981 NW Powerlite National (Clackamas, OR) I won 2nd behind Brent Patterson on a Kos Cruiser. Soon thereafter I switched to the DG because it became available and had a much lower top tube. I raced the first Pro Cruiser race (Monroe Washington on that bike - Jan 1981). 24” bikes, led by the RRS introduction soon happened and I went to a Champion. That was my last race bike and I quit in 1982.

[ October 06, 2005, 02:51 PM: Message edited by: BenOr ]

Mang! This is the best DG thread ever! Thanks y'all! Hey Jody, hurry up with that California Pro, will ya'!

Cheers!

JP

Help .... June 1979 BMXA has the article on the DG Cal Pro , of course its one of the only BMXA's i do not have .... i need a real high resolution scan of the article/picture, if i am going to put it back together i need to make this nice, any help appreciated

JOdyC jody@jmcracing.net

Byron was on a DG Vulcan cruiser at the 1980 NBA Grandnationals at the Long Beach Veterans Memorial Stadium.
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He got a small pic in BMX Plus with a group of females (at least one in a cowgirl hat).
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My dad took another pic of him a few seconds later. If I find that pic, I'll post it.

Does anybody remember Joey Garcia that raced for DG in Cal 8 bitd ? I remember him at Hellyer park, Wastonville, Gilroy, and some of the other northern california tracks.

Anybody have any pics of Bubba Hayes when he raced for DG ? That guy was wickedly fast for a skinny rider.

[ October 06, 2005, 08:47 PM: Message edited by: R. Serafin ]

JJ - Grands late in 1980 would jive with my racing it in Jan 1981. Only thing I'm confused on is I raced the Power lite pre Vulcan. Was the Powerlite National at Clackamas Fall 1980?

Hey JP, is that looptail ya got pictured a 26' ? seems to have a very steep head tube.nice collection of DG's ya got Bro

The DG Vulcan Cruisers made their debut at the 1979 ABA Grandnationals in Las Vegas. There were only a handful of them there. I remember this distinctly, since there were a great deal of "firsts" that weekend. It was the first ABA Grands to have a cruiser class. It was my first race as a Factory Powerlite rider, and I took first in the cruiser main. Ed from "Green Duck" brought a vulcan to me at the beginning of the weekend and suggested that I choose to ride that instead of the Powerlite. Of course, that finally happened in '81. But.......................no question, Vulcans debuted in November of 1979. Hope this helps.

Kevin

Ben,

Here is a picture of the "Last Turn" of the Cruiser Main @ Monroe that you are referring to. I always wondered why Scot went straight when we got to the first turn, now I know! I have to apologize, but that is hilarious!

Kevin

Sorry, I kinda drifted off there. Now.............back to the topic at hand...............D.G! How 'bout some D.G. / Bob Hannah adds.






Kevin

Pistol Pete @ the 1979 NBA Grands. Check out the DG sticker on his helmet, even Pete was a DG fan.




[ October 08, 2005, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

Okay, now back to the aforementioned 1979 ABA Grandnationals:

Here I am leading my cruiser semi,




Here are a pair of DG Teammates on Vulcan cruisers,



Here is a DG rider on the older "Laguna" style frame.


Woo Hoo! my mother in law shoulda' never given me a scanner!




Kevin

[ October 06, 2005, 11:46 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

thank god she did cause this thread OWNS!!!!

[ October 08, 2005, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

AWESOME. Please post some more MX shots.

Any chance you had a totally trick DG Daytona Special 400 Yamaha too?

BTW - Why did you ride Powerlite instead of Dad's brand? Was Steve Rink still involved in Powerlite when you rode for them?

Image borrowed from Ken Pliska's stash. Jay Graves, President of IBDA in second. Ken was still riding 20" bikes then (thank god).

Note Jay's Electro Helmet. I wore that for awhile. I liked to always be changing uniforms and Bike Gallery paid for it. BG paid for everything for me. It was like being Factory sponsored. They told me stop riding SE - and I did. Even this late, I tried copying Dave Clinton by putting "text" on my helmet and wearing Stan Smiths.



[ October 07, 2005, 12:56 AM: Message edited by: BenOr ]

No cafe racers for me Ben. waaaaay too scary! I did a little r&d on some street bikes and decided I wouldn't live too long at that!

Steve Rink was the one who asked me to ride for Powerlite. By the time I was racing BMX, my Dad had sold the BMX Division to Ed Smith (Green Duck.) I didn't know Ed, but I knew Steve, so I decided on Powerlite. However, my dad talked me into switching to DG in 1981. They were both great rides.

Kevin

P.S. Ben, are you sure you want more moto pics???

Bring the MX on! We only were copying Decoster!

It's the ALL things DG. If you have skate board shot for EMPI, it would be apprecaited. That is his holy grail.

Ben

[ October 07, 2005, 12:52 AM: Message edited by: BenOr ]

Nice style Ben!

At the risk of this being a BLOG, what a blast having Kevin chime in. DG at his roots and to "chat" with a guy I raced against 25 years ago is really cool. OM pipes in from time to time, TimL is around, where is Kos?

Senior moment - If the Pro race was in the magazine in Oct 1980 and the Powerlite National was 1981, I must had the DG BEFORE the Powerlite.

Powerlite National at Clackamas. Date please?

Vegas , i raced there ...Desert Surf ... 78 - till it closed .... that was a Killer Race , I stopped by Ken,s today ... picked up a couple of BMXA issues i was missing , of course ... the ones i needed to see again ....May and June 79 .... Killer pics of the DG Cal Pro .... once again ,, Super Killer bike !! Definetly Gold Prism stickers, caint wait to show you ...

BMX-ON
JOdyC

Those vintage cruiser photos rock! I'm digging all this big wheel action! Keep 'em coming!

Man, I really really liked the 26" cruisers. And I still do

Kevin,
Absolutely no disrespect to you at all.... But that head shot is not of Bubba Hayes. It does look like him. But it's not. Yes BMX Action made a mistake! Gasp! Oh the horror! I told Oz about this months ago.
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That's co- factory DG rider Eric Braegger from San Diego (later co or support Robinson and CW).
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Kiyomi Waller and I raced him for years locally. He was a half a year older than Yo-Yo and I. So he raced Bubba Hayes, McDougal, and the Avalanche the other half of the year. Geez was Braegger COCKY! He was a lot like Gary Ellis... not a lot of flash but strength to get the job done.
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In that BMX Action/ Grass Valley race coverage where you got that pic from, there is another pic of Bubba going down the first straight away with a mattress tied around a tree. If I remember correctly, his DG jersey is different than the one Braegger is wearing in the head shot.
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That shot of Loncarevich is from the 79' NBA Grands at Devonshire. Not the 80' NBA Grands at the Long Beach Veterans Memorial Stadium. At the 80' Grands, Pete was on Diamond Back runng a Wizard numberplate.
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Sorry Kev. You are the man, a true champion, and the epitome of the original cruiser/ pro cruiser class. I kinda feel like a d- bag correcting you.
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The two DG teammates going around the turn... I believe the guy in first was a San Diego rider called "The Hulk" (he used to wear green) Chris Foster. He and Reilley1 were toe to toe about to fight at some race years ago. Foster was about a foot taller and about 100 lbs bigger than Reilley1.
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Ben,
I have no idea about the date of the Powerlite national. Sorry.

[ October 07, 2005, 08:31 AM: Message edited by: JohnnyJohnson OMAS DirtSlinger ]

this thread needs to be saved forever. is it possible?

coaster brake on Kevins powerlite and round Haro plate on Ben's ride to cool!! Kevin, did DG ever try a 26/24 combo ?

Good eye. I missed Kevin's coaster brake. I always like black centers on round plates. It was just like YZ...

I distinctly recall the first time I flipped the page and saw this photo -- my heart skipped a beat -- what a work of art!

OMG! I remember that photo too. That is a work of art.

Though I always admired the brand, this is as close as I ever got to a DG BITD. I'm #134, And that's Bubba Hayes #9. Photo was shot in Tulsa, OK, 1980. We diced it up all day, and in the end we both got one of those cool belt buckles they used for trophies that summer, class and open:


Though the shot is grainy, if ya look closely to the right of the starting hill, you'll see Stu, Brent and Denny Davidow.

Johnny J. NO WORRIES on the corrections Bro!

Johnny, you are correct on Chris Foster's name. We travelled to a couple of nats. together when I was on DG.

Ben, the Cruizer class at the 1980 Monroe Wash. ABA national was still an amateur class. The first ABA pro cruiser class at a national was Monroe in 1981. I was on DG, Tim L. was on Powerlite. I think Tim won that race, and he has a picture of that main on his website. Hope this help resolve your "senior moment."

OC Dave, good catch on the coaster! That was the last time I ran one. I never tried the 24 / 26 combo, but I'll bet that made a good handling bike.

Kevin

[ October 08, 2005, 01:37 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]

That's Chris "The Hulk" Foster for sure. Johnny is right. I got really close to getting pounded by him at Rancho after a sidehack race. All three motos were a slamfest with 30+ MPH crashes in all three.
The topper being the third moto when we went deep into the second berm and all four hacks crashed. (I have a picture somewhere of us with Foster in close pursuit--not to win but to catch us and kill us)
At the end, Foster's hack , my hack, and another hack were tied on points and we won because of our higher placing in the last moto.

That's why i know for sure that is Chris in the DG pic, when you are about to die, the face of your executioner is the last thing you see. Lucky for me i was stupid enough to go toe to toe with him. It confused him long enough for people to come up to "break up" the fight..

By the way, check out the crankset on the Pam Koble DG picture. Sweet exotica!

[ October 08, 2005, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: reilley1 ]

what kind of crankset did she use? and did you have a crush on her? =P

1st gen flights...?

doesnt look like it TIM, that bike rocks!!! I think reilley1 had a crush on Pam's DG.

[ October 08, 2005, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: EMPI ]

Hey can someone post a pic for me of my DG cruiser? Thanks.

check out the Bultaco jersey on the girl next to Pam