“In 1962, clean-cut Eddie Mulder turned pro. The Triumph team sponsored him. Everyone knew he would be an instant winner, and of course he was. As a Novice he went undefeated at Ascot Park, and came to know the bone-breaking dirt steeplechase track better than anyone else: other riders marveled at the way Mulder shot over the top of the 10-ft. jump, and at the way he heaved his big Triumph into the hairpins so hard that the footpegs occasionally dug into the ground.” Hello, When we were in the throes of drag racing and it came to a sudden end, we saw and read many magazines and newspapers about motorcycle racing. From those long distance races out in the desert to the short enclosed courses in motorcycle parks or laid out in open areas of the So Cal locations. It seemed to be a new direction for us. But, as usual, my brother took the lead. We were reading about this kid our age that was ripping up the whole motorcycle racing scene. If there was a motorcycle race, he was usually winning his class and leaving others way behind. We saw him riding a triumph set up to look and go fast around the Gardena Ascot circular track. The race had jumps and turns on the dirt surface. As usual, young, Eddie Mulder, was the trophy winner. So, my brother decided to get a 250 Greeves Scrambler for his first desert racing bike. To us , the enclosed ascot TT racing was very exciting, but not for us. But, the Greeves allowed us to go to a neighborhood empty lot and practice doing our acceleration, cornering in dirt paths and learning to slide around hard pack dirt surfaces. But the fun part was setting up a small hill and jumping over the top. Our Greeves had an unusual front fork set up called a “leading link” fork or named, “earles” fork set up. European Scrambles with Dave Bickers on an early Greeves Scrambler and an early version of a “blooey pipe.” 1963 Greeves Scrambler Chromed "blooey" pipe exhaust for some unusual sounds... 1966 Greeves Challenger Greeves challenger with an extended swing arm for desert racing. My 66 Challenger had dual spark plug heads and a custom switch to make the electrical connection go from one spark plug to another. When the dirt and debris got caught in the air filter and some got through, the main plug fouled. So, before, we had to stop to change the fouled plug with a new one and off we went, now 30 places farther down the finishers. With the new 1966 Challenger, the new motor had more power, so that was good. But, now, with the second custom spark plug in the head, when one started to fizzle out, I clicked the custom switch and instantly, the motor revived itself and took off for another 20 miles or so. Then, when that one started it fizzling out, a flick of the switch made the original one come to life. During the 20 or so miles of the motor running, it cleaned the old plug of any fouling materials and was sitting there waiting to be called up. That was good for two 40-50 mile courses for the day’s races. Next week, new dual plugs were put in place. Jnaki As for Eddie Mulder, he started out as a novice, but with his skills and victories in all sorts of racing, he earned his expert class designation quickly and was a powerhouse rider. As he was flying around in the Expert desert races we could see him blast past us, as we still were trying to get ahead, in the Novice Class. Note: The Novice Desert Class was big, but as the new kids on the block, were given a start about 3o minutes before the Expert Class Riders took off from the same starting line. Within the first 45 mile leg, (One of two similar but different courses marked for each lap) most Expert Class riders, including Eddie Mulder, left all of us Novice Racers “in the dirt…” Actually, it was a cloud of dust so thick that it was hard to see others. My colorful Wynn’s Friction Proofing jacket was a life saver in more ways than one. Note 2: We always wondered where those stunt riders on motorcycles came from in the movies. As we continued the desert racing, we found out that they were in an exclusive club called “The Viewfinders.” So, any time we saw motorcycle stunts in movies, we tried to see if it was Eddie Mulder or one of our other favorite racers, J.N. Roberts.
Thanks for the first hand stories! Very cool and always a joy to read what you have to say. My brother drives an El Camino and we love the desert racing bikes & history, so your story a while back about stuffing Greeves &Triumphs into an Elco was really fun.
The Jalopy Journal
