MOTOCROSS MEMORIES

As luck would have it, the Cycle World office is only 20 minutes from one of the best collections of vintage motocross machines in the country. Tucked up in the hills of Villa Park, Tom White's Early Years of Motocross Museum celebrates the formative years of the sport in the US, which took off in 1966 when San Diego Husqvarna dealer M. Edison Dye invited the likes of Roger DeCoster, Joel Robert, and Torsten Hallman to race against Americans in the inaugural nine-race Inter-Am series. This was a time when many bikes were essentially converted scrambles machines, and the riders (often in Carrera goggles, Jofa mouthguards, and long-sleeve T-shirts) raced long 40-minute motos on natural-terrain tracks lined by wood-slatted hurricane fencing.

As impressive as it is, with 171 total bikes ranging from Aermacchi-engine Harleys to Zundapps, White’s museum isn’t open to the public. While White—an AMA Hall of Famer and former National No. 80 dirt tracker—does host special events at his museum (he feeds Marines and their families each Thanksgiving and holds a once-a-year Bikes & Burgers fund-raiser for the High Hopes Head Injury Program), the collection in the barn next to his house is private.

What to do? We decided to bring White's museum to life by featuring some of our favorite bikes from his collection. So, on each Monday for the next few months, we will present a bike from White's collection on our site. In "Vintage Moto Monday," you'll will be treated to classic MXers from the likes of Husqvarna, Yamaha, CZ, Bultaco, Penton, Greeves, Suzuki, and others. Remember, check back with us on Monday to see these classic motocrossers, which take us back to a simpler time that was also a period of rapid change and innovation.