On the line

 I have spent what seemed like every spare waking moment this month preparing the OW27 that will be displayed at the White Brothers Vet Nationals in Southern California on November 4th, where Bob Hannah will receive the "Edison Dye Lifetime Achievement Award". When Tom White called me and asked if I would loan him one of Bob's bikes for the award, to me the only choice was the OW27. It is Bob's favorite works bike and it only seemed right to have it there when he receives the award. I think Bob's 1976 season really laid down the foundation for his unparalleled motocross career. Even as he matured as a rider and also at the end of his career, he never lost that spectacular Bob "Hurricane" Hannah drive that had all of us on the edge of our seats. Every single time, without exception, I saw him race there was always a remnant of 1976 in his style. It had to be the OW27.

 To get the bike done in time meant that there would have to be 100% cooperation from all parties involved in the restoration. Mark Maier made a brilliant set of polypropylene side panels from the fiberglass ones that were with the bike when I got it. He had to make molds from the fiberglass panels and then find the correct material that was originally used in 1976 for the plastic ones. Bruce Hollingshead did a fantastic job repairing the silencer that was almost beyond repair and did some fabrication on the radiator. My wife Cindy and my son Terry worked many hours along side me to put the bike together and coordinate with the vendors doing the work. Hours upon hours were spent on the phone with Bill Buchka getting advise as to how everything should go together and how he prepped it for the Nationals. I won't bore you with all the details but everybody involved was really determined to get it right and get it done on time. The final result was....Well, when Bill saw the photos of the finished bike, he said, "It looks exactly like it did when I prepared it for a National". It's exactly how I remember it too. Even though Bob knows it will be there, his wife Terri has kept all of the progress info and photos from him. Should be a great moment when he see's it.

If you have never been to the White Brothers Vet Nationals, you should really try to make it. Tom White does a fantastic job hosting this event and paying homage to these past champions. More needs to be done on preserving motocross history. Last year the event honored Joel Robert and after the event, Joel told me that was one of the best times of his life and was surprised to see so many people that remembered him. It wouldn't have happened without Tom White and this year should be great too.

Hope to see you there,

Terry Good    October 29 2007