Flying High

MotocrossThe Golden Era is s step back in time, a heartfelt tribute to a magical period when talented and outspoken riders raced the most exciting factory machines ever built. It is my personal thank you to an amazing group of people that welcomed me into their travelling circus for the first six years of the 80's. For a young kid from England it was a dream come true. I was meeting heroes like Hannah, Howerton, LaPorte and Sun. Every weekend we'd get on airplanes and travel to stadiums and rough outdoor tracks across the country.

It was a travelling circus like no other. Mike Goodwin, a successful rock concert promoter, was the circus promoter and Larry Huffman was the ring leader. Riders like Hannah and Johnson were always ready to play the part of clown and Bailey and Glover were always the magicians. Money poured in from big tobacco sponsors and bike sales boomed. Motorcycle factories wanted a big slice of that growing pie and spent millions to ensure they won. 

Exotic hand-built factory bikes went to a growing group of top riders. Howerton and Barnett on Suzukis, Hannah and Bell on Yamahas, Ward and Liles on Kawasaki and Sun and Bailey on Honda. The ultimate factory team was finally assembled in 1985 when O'Mara, Bailey, Hannah and Lechein came together at Honda. It was a magical moment that will never be repeated. The team rorared to victory everywhere they went and the AMA decided that things had to change. The cost of success was getting out of hand and the factory-bike era came to an end. For 1986 exotic one-off factory bikes were banned and a production-based rule was introduced.

A magical era was over but for those who witnessed that glorious time it will never be forgotten. It was a Golden Era and I hope this book helps you relive those amazing memories.