My new pal Jim

[Ouiji Veck]

If you live in New England or take a trip here be sure to stop by and visit

our new buddy Jim Hoellerich in Cheshire Ma.In 1973 Jim was a front running ISDTer

and ran the only ISDT ever in N. America (wait till you see the "checkers)

 

9 of us went up and drooled on his 100 plus vintage racers in absolute new condition.

Afterward Jim invited us up to his deck overlooking his 400 acre farm, served us a couple of rounds of beer and argued with us to make burgers rather than go someplace to eat.

We won the argument so Jim came with us. We were in our usual boogie mode of + 20mph the speed limit and the 70 something JH split us like the Red Sea to show us a short cut to our secret hide away, We had one of the best lunches and day of the year and when we were done we rounded up to exit the parking lot onto the road as Jim pulled a wheelie up through the middle of the woods for his 20 mile ride home.

At one point during lunch a Jim told the story of his Alaska trip 3 yrs. previous..he was 70 something then...his guide was in his 80s !! and told Jim he didn't need a map because he'd done the trip 7 times. !!! Johnny C. chimed in "I guess we've got a few years of riding left in us"

Jim turned to me and asked "How long do I have?" I said "I dunno. What time is it?"

After telling Jim about our exploits to Canada and as far west as the Mississippi he says he's hangin' with us from now on. Stop up and see him. Friggin' great guy. Loved the LeMans,

knew I must be a nut.

 

Now... I hope I can load some pics. Jims got the gotee thats grayer than mine.

[Ouiji Veck]

A few more pics.

Check out the "checkers" @ Jims 1973 N. America ISDT.......Legendary!!

[Ouiji Veck]

Ooops....the "checkers"

[FalcoLion]

Ooops....the "checkers"

 

 

Awesome pics and especially the one above . I am just hoping I will be able to ride until I am that old

[mark.gilmore]

Awesome pics and especially the one above . I am just hoping I will be able to ride until I am that old

 

 

 

yes,we have an 82year old on a Fireblade,sometimes he turns up on a VFR400 or a two stroke suzuki 500,he cleans most of the blokes round here up.Hope I'm half as good when I'm his age.

[Orson]

Ossas had to have been some of the most beautiful bikes ever made

[Ouiji Veck]

Ossas had to have been some of the most beautiful bikes ever made

 

Yea...He's got 'em lined up like a factory. Spotless. Little sweeties.

Over 100 of them in mint condition..........and 400 acres of pasture right outside the door.

I was twitching like a junkie.

[Guest ratchethack]

Ah, those were the days. . . Ossa, Penton, ISDT bikes, enduros, The Jack Pine, and . . . naked female checkers?! This must've been way before my time?!

 

Thanks for some of the memories I never had, Weej!

[Ryland3210]

yes,we have an 82year old on a Fireblade,sometimes he turns up on a VFR400 or a two stroke suzuki 500,he cleans most of the blokes round here up.Hope I'm half as good when I'm his age.

 

Had a great ride today with Leon, age 92. Rides with skill and remembers everything. Great stories about riding in the 1930's (13.9 cents a gallon for gas) and last year, too. It's inspiring to be with guys like this that continue to enjoy something that's given them such joy for decades. Leon made the Polar Bear Club run to Lewes, Delaware all the way from Paramus, NJ, in really cold weather a couple weeks ago. No big deal for Leon.

 

I'll have to get up to Cheshire when I get the chance.

[Tom M]

That's very cool Ouiji. I love those old Ossas. It looks like Jim has cornered the market on MAR trials bikes. Some very nice Pioneers there too. Does he have any old Montessas in his collection?

 

IIRC that ISDT was in Dalton MA and I think king Richard (Burleson) won?

[JackBoots]

Hey I've met Jim and seen his musuem! I was around the corner at a pub called Swistaks which is a piece of history in itself. (Prohibition bar, 53 Wurlitzer etc etc) Anyway Jim comes in and starts talking to us and he says "do you want to see my museum?" I was a little hesitant but the bartender says to us, oh no you want to see it.

So we head up to his farm and he opens up his garage door. There's like 6 bikes there. We spend some time oohing and ahhhing for a while and then we start to say goodbye. At this point he opens the door to the barn!! WTF he totally set us up!! The garage was about 5% of the the actual collection!! and he knew that we thought that was it!! I particularily liked all the framed magazine covers from the 70's with him on the cover.

Beautiful area out there. Nice camping over in Charlemont, and great roads all around.

[Ouiji Veck]

Jackboot...yea...he's a sly old dog and he'll gladly take you down the middle

of a stream where only he knows the shallow parts.. I think. He's got an evil twinkle in his

eye. I'd be real careful zapping corners with him. Trail or paved.

 

Tom..yea..there we're a few Montesas..of course.

I don't know the specifics but I do remember @#$$#! Burleson form Wayyy back...but I'm only a hundred years old.

 

Hope you all go out and say howdy. He'd love it.

[Tom M]

Jackboot...yea...he's a sly old dog and he'll gladly take you down the middle

of a stream where only he knows the shallow parts.. I think. He's got an evil twinkle in his

eye. I'd be real careful zapping corners with him. Trail or paved.

 

Tom..yea..there we're a few Montesas..of course.

I don't know the specifics but I do remember @#$$#! Burleson form Wayyy back...but I'm only a hundred years old.

 

Hope you all go out and say howdy. He'd love it.

 

I asked about the Montessas because a buddy of mine has a VR250 back about '74. It was a very fast bike in it's day. I don't think I've seen one since then.

 

I'd love to visit that museum some day. I'm a geek for the dirtbikes from my early teens.

 

FWIW here's the 1973 ISDT results: http://rokonron.50megs.com/isdt/1973.html

 

ISDT trivia: Steve McQueen rode a Triumph 650 in the 1964 ISDT in East Germany. DNF

[Orson]

ISDT trivia: Steve McQueen rode a Triumph 650 in the 1964 ISDT in East Germany. DNF

Here are some of my dirt bike pics from the British National Motorcycle Museum:

 

A Triumph ISDT bike similar to the one ridden by Steve McQueen at the 1964 ISDT. A thump-thump-thump

 

BSA 500cc Scrambler

 

 

Rickman Metisse

 

 

Another Rickman Metisse with a parallel twin engine

 

[waspp]

Great musem! Its definately is worth the time to check it out, and yes he has some Montesa's there as well. Here is my 360 H6 for the Montesa fans out there.