1986 Transatlantic Challenge

[@genaf6614]

I was there with my (now) husbands brother. Went in a RWD transit with no load so we were stuck into darkness in the car park til towed out, other spectators who had gone by bike had leathers n lids but we thought the journey be safer by work van but nvr occurred to us to get stuck...., oh well, good old beer tent! Weather was so weird, snowing sunny, raining, then sunny again to thaw out. Crazy day, good ode Ron til Guy Martin came along but Ron knows his stuff.

[@progx8679]

+Gena F It was were crazy weather I only saw it on TV back in the States. But we were lucky enough to see I think the best riders in that Era from the late 70s to the early 90s, like i said before its just not the same anymore. I'm 56 now and still do some club and vintage racing and I love when a 19yr old kid comes up to me with his R6 "robot bike" and looks an my classic 1980 GS1000s SBK or my "newer"1986 GSXR750 and say's "How can you ride those things so fast" !!! Lol It always makes me laugh - just as in life kids can't do anything without all that electronic help !!! Lol

[@uhtred7860]

Love that FZ, the FZ never gets the same love as the GSX-R, but it was more advanced design, had a more powerful engine, (but was heavier), and here in the Southern Hemisphere won more of the prestigious long distance production endurance races.

[@bangersnmash4856]

I was there watching this, rode 70 miles on my gp100 was froze when I got there but worth every minute

[@fishbmw]

I had a h100 & the longest journey I did was about 70 miles also but unlike the gp100's the h100 had a balancer shaft so the engine always felt smooth even when thrashing it. I've rode a few gp100's & gp125's the secondary vibes are quite bad,I bet your hands were numb😆. Long journeys on small engined bikes are quite an acheivement & adventures 👍

[@bangersnmash4856]

@@fishbmw yes very vivid memories of that day, was supposed to be a bunch of us going but rest dropped out at last minute so went on my own, had a great day and little gp never missed a beat 60-65 all the way there, sold it not long after😪 for a Suzuki gt250 what a mistake 😭😂

[@fishbmw]

@@bangersnmash4856 Oh wow, my brother had both a gt125 & a gt250,they sure did used to go through alot of pistons.Have you ever thought of getting another gp100 or gp125? I still have my original h100 in a million pieces & have bought another which I'm restoring.

[@bangersnmash4856]

@@fishbmw no, ive still got my fs1e and an fzs 600, I just don't seem to have the Time for either now sadly. I know I should sell them but if I do I won't get another bike. Sad really

[@ianmangham4570]

@@fishbmw My gp100 use to blow h100s away 😃 then i put a 125 head and barrel with an allspeed and it went from 72mph to 85mph laid flat 🙋‍♂️rotary disc valve for those extra rpm's.

[@riccimartino7560]

fantastic race.thank u

[@TheCominghome]

That's hilarious Schwantz the new Wayne Rainy! LOL they hated each others guts!

[@fastjaydub]

You mean the new Kenny Roberts unless I heard wrong?

[@reglennon]

am looking for any film fotage of the 125 class

[@uhtred7860]

"The Americans have complained about the possibility of cheating" wouldnt be the last time that the accusation cheating would rear its head in Brit racing. :-))

[@andrewfox7861]

Good competition that was

[@KEVIN-mb8gc]

KEVIN N° 1

[@progx8679]

"Complete unknowns" the Brits said !!!! About Merkel and Schwantz !! way to go Brits for doing no homework on the riders ! Fred Merkel already 2 time USA Superbike Champ all but unbeatable except for Wes Cooley one time in 1984 and 3 times in 1985 by already "New sensation" for Yoshimura Suzuki Kevin Schwantz !!! And they are also surprised of there riding styles having forgotten that starting with Roberts then Spencer,Mamola,Lawson US. riders at that time start at an early age riding Dirt Track and Motocross so they don't mind sliding and wiggling around and banging each other from time to time !!! Just listen to there comments on the other 6-7 races it's pretty funny. This is USA riders dominated 500 GPs from 1978 to 1993, 13 out or 16 years !!! Merkel would win another US.Superbike title in 1986 beating Wayne Rainey and Schwantz !! also two WSK titles !!! And we all know about Schwantz in 1993 and should have one in 1989 & 1991 but over rode to many times and crashed while leading ! But his wild style was amazing to watch and NOBODY was better on the brakes than Kevin and one of the best riders in the wet that "dirt riding" again !! Now its electronics and elbow dragging ! Only the very best could win on a 500cc 2-Stroke !!!

[@genaf6614]

👍👍👍

[@progx8679]

+Gena F Thank you for reading !!

[@fishbmw]

Brits would've known about as much about who had won the USA superbike championship as much as Americans would've known who had won the British Superbike championship,this was before the age of the internet.There was no media coverage of US superbike championship races in the UK the same as there was no media coverage of Brit superbike championship races in the US.

[@ianmangham4570]

@@fishbmw YUP

[@uhtred7860]

Have met "Flyin" Fred Merkle a few times here in New Zealand, he and his wife moved here to bring up their kids, and his son Travis was racing bikes here. He bought a farm with a trout lake on so he could indulge in his hobby of fishing. :-)

[@pachma405]

Chris Carter commentary?

[@alanrodriguez7341]

Slippery slide for the American racers. Wet and greasy track.