I know this is off topic but I know there are many members that are motorcycle enthusiasts. Motorcycle racing legend and one of the stars of the movie "On Any Sunday:, Dick "Bugsy" Mann has passed away on Monday. If you were ever any kind of motorcycle enthusiast I'm sure you have heard of Bugsy. He was most know for his dirt flat track racing record with two AMA Grand National Championships to his credit And I think he was second in all time number of Grand National wins. Dick was a champion in the days of lest than perfect tracks and small purses and was highly instrumental in the advancement of the sport in almost every way. B
But Dick Mann wasn't a one dimensional talent. He was also highly skilled in racing motocross also. I got to observe that while attending the Trans-AMA Inter-Am MX event here in St. Louis area back in 1971, I think it was at the old Mid-America Motocross track in St. Charles, MO. Many of the top European riders were invited to race and expose the USA to the sport of Motocross and while riding what some would consider an inferior machine (a BSA 441 Victor I think) Bugsy showed very well for himself.
Dick was also an accomplished road racer also. If you saw the movie "On Any Sunday" you know that back in that time period, in order to win the National Championship, you had to compete in road racing also. He didn't just compete, Dick was a force to be reckoned with. Dick won the prestigious Daytona 200 twice, and many of his Grand National wins were on road race courses.
Dick was also an accomplished off road racer and competed in the ISDT (International Six Day Trials) and other national enduro type events. It was many years later that Dick was one of the people that instituted the ISDT Reunion Ride evets and it was while competing at these events that I was able to meet Bugsy and get some items autographed. he was such a nice, down to earth and soft spoken man, but when he had something to say, it was like an EF Hutton commercial and everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to him. He could often be found out at the grass track MX race that was part of the event, cheering all the riders on. If you remember seeing him in "On Any Sunday", you will remember that he had broken his foot before the big final race at the end, and you see him limping around his bike in the pits and such. Well, he still walked that way the rest of his life, but it didn't prevent him from throwing a leg over some 500cc four stroke beast, kicking it to life, and heading out on the track or trail to show us all how it was done. And this was after fighting and beating throat cancer. he was also an most excellent fabricator, mechanic, and builder of custom vintage off road motorcycles.
There have been more flamboyant motorcycle racers that were more main stream media friendly, but many people knowledgeable in the sport of motorcycle racing of any kind consider him possibly the greatest of all time given the length of his career and the different disciplines that he was a master of. And he did most of it at an age where some had hung up their helmet. I feel very lucky to have met and talked with him.
God Speed Dick "Bugsy" Mann
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee