Milwaukee Midget

[Freud]

An RD like this one that was at Barber Motorsports Museum several weeks ago?

FREUD

[Milwaukee Midget]

Mine was a pre-Star Wars model - found this pic on the Motorcyclespecs.com site.



I tried taking it from Milwaukee to Cedar Rapids, Iowa over the Labor Day weekend in 1987.  I got as far as Madison when I holed a piston.  Turned it around and drove it back on one piston, smoke blowing out of the right side exhaust. 

Got about 10 miles west of Waukesha when it threw a rod, locking up the tire and bringing me to a rather abrupt stop.

I kicked it into the ditch on highway 18, and walked home from there.

6 months later, I'm driving my MGB in a snowstorm.  As an aside, I have found the MGB to be a perfectly acceptable winter car, and provided you don't get it hung up, it will go through snow like few other rear wheel drive cars.

But not this time.  I slid into a ditch, and had to call a tow truck to pull me out.

I settled up with the guy at his shop, and he said, "Chris Conrad . . . Chris Conrad . . . You didn't own a Yamaha 400 at some point, did you?"

I said, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Seems the guy had a contract with the state to pick up abandoned vehicles, and that I owed him some money for storage. 

We chatted about it, and he was satisfied with me simply handing over the title to him.

[Freud]

Kenny Roberts found out how far one of the yellow ones would run in the ocean when we were in Hawaii.

It reared up and tossed him over the handle bars.

After the hotel manager helped get it out of the lagoon we stood it on the back tire and

watched two streams of water run out of the catalytic mufflers.  WOW !!

It never ran well after learning to drink sea water.

FREUD

[Milwaukee Midget]

This Kenny Roberts?!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k8hJWKIVNs

Glenn, you've got to write your biography.  

Tach is in, and YAY! it works! 

[55chevr]

Glen- I agree ...

[Freud]

That's the guy !! 

When the bike was restored they couldn't get any info about the rear brake set up.

I don't remember the fellows name and I have eaten dinner with him but he

called me to see if I had any fotos of the bike. It also ran at the San Jose mile and

I did the fotos for that story. I think Gordon Jennings wrote the piece. When the bike was

in the pits on the stand I documented it very well.  On the third sheet of negatives I

had the entire rear assembly covered. In focus and dead nuts on for the exposure.

I was asked to send him fotos of the assembly and I didn't want to. I was in no mood

to make prints so I called him and asked if he would safeguard those negs. I knew he would

so I sent all of the negs that were involving that bike. The brake was from a street bike of

some size, like maybe a 600 cc, and he found exactly what he needed. Resto complete.

But I received another call and he asked me if he could print another image of a race shot.

He found a marvelous action shot from turn 4 and had 16 x 20 prints made. Then he contacted

everyone involved with building the bike and had them sign the prints. He sent those prints

to me and I took them to Kenny's house and asked him to sign them. I let him sign EVERY

print. When he was done I handed him a print and he exploded. He didn't want his own

print signed.  I got him again.

Jay Springsteen rode that bike at Del Mar  quite a while ago. I think he may have been the

first to ride it after it was restored.

I went to Kenny's house for about 8 years in a row for his birthday. December 31 is the day

and it rolled right into New Years eve. Morning came awfully early and our heads were pounding.

Same Kenny. Same go for it guy. He's been there and done that and I did some of it with him.

I think he will still talk to me, especially if he wants something.

The little puke.

FREUD

[jdincau]

     I watched Springsteen ride it at Del Mar, what a brutal noise! I made the hair on your neck stand up just like Al Teague shifting into high in the last mile. Unbelievable!

[Milwaukee Midget]

That's the guy !! 

. . .

The little puke.

FREUD

ROTFLMAO! 

[bvillercr]

Got "chicken skin" just watching that!!!  Thanks for the video.

[Peter Jack]

Awesome video Chris. I especially liked the expression on Valentino Rossi's face about the 3:05 mark.

Pete

[Kiwi Paul]

Wow, Just Wow.....

[Bob Drury]

  I'll seond Kiwi Paul's comments.  Although I admit to knowing virtually nothing about two wheeled vehicles, I always followed the big names in bikes, including Kenny Robert's and watching that video sends the same chills up my spine as watching the likes of A.J. Foyt (in Watson Indy cars), the Unser's at Pikes Peak, Carl Heap at Bonneville, and everyone else who pushed the limit while pursuing their dream's.             Bob

[Tman]

Bob said it^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Milwaukee Midget]

More to follow - here's a taste . . .

Click on the pic - it's a video link to my photobucket.

[Dr Goggles]

HFS! that sounds MAD!