Motorcycle Classics at Motogiro America – Day 5

Reader Contribution by Richard Backus
Published on July 18, 2008
article image

Our man Dave Miller’s mighty 1966 Moto Guzzi 125 Stornello

The inaugural Motogiro America ended Thursday. Over the course of five days, riders on bikes ranging from tiny, early-Fifties Italian singles to Seventies Italian twins and Japanese multis rode over 900 miles in and around California’s Central Coast. From Sunday’s start in Monterey to yesterday’s final run from Paso Robles back to Monterey, some 120 classic bike enthusiasts flogged their little machines across California’s heartland in the classic rally of the year. Dave Miller gives us his final report …

Dave Miller, our man at the Motogiro America, riding a 1966 Moto Guzzi 125cc Stornello with support from Moto Guzzi, filed his final report from the rally’s end in Monterey. It was, clearly, the experience of a lifetime for Dave. And the element of the event he says he’ll remember most has nothing to do with classic bikes, but the people riding them: “The warmth of the whole thing, you could see there were a lot of bonds created, including for myself, with my running mates John Goldman and David Hills. I was jersey #3 and they were #4 and #5, so we rode together all week,” Dave says.

“There was a lot of emotion at the awards. A few people got placed who didn’t expect it. David Hills ended up in 2nd place for the Vintage 125 Class riding his Motobi Imperiale 125cc single. And one of my students, Ivan Thelin, got 3rd in the 125 Vintage, also riding a Motobi Imperiale 125. I think I would have beat him in overall time if I hadn’t had the two late start days. He had the watches, was doing the math and all that kind of stuff, and I know I did as well as he in a lot of the stages.

“The two top guys were the two top guys the whole week. First place over all was Stephen Flach from Ravena, New York on a Honda CB160. He entered in the Super Sport Class, but he won the overall award. There were a lot of winners who were in combined classes. The #2 overall was Hugh Schink of Montico, Calif., again on a Motobi Imperiale 125! Seeing a trend here? Stephen Flach was very emotional about his win. He’s a big bear of a guy, a regular, soft-spoken kind of guy, and you could tell he was just overwhelmed. We went over 900, and his time penalty over 900 miles was 9.1 seconds — for over five days and 900 miles! That’s the kind of machine this guy is.

Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-880-7567