1979 Bernie Schreiber Does It - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1979 Bernie Schreiber Does It - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
An American
Rider Finally Wins the
American Round
of the World Trials
Championship
My trials riding began in 1969. in
Colorado. Wiltz Wagner and I
used to meet at Coal Creek Race-
way and practice. I envied Wiltz because
he had a real honest-to-God trials bike. I
didn't. By 1971 we had lots of trials bikes in
the Rocky Mountain Trials Association
and we had a nationally known trial, the
Ute Cup. Young California riders like
Marland Whaley, George Smith 111. Lane
Leavitt and Mark Eggar came to ride.
They blew our doors off.
A few of the European riders like Miller.
Edwards and Rathmell came over. They
were much better than even the California
whiz kids. A few years back some of us
who followed the trials scene, like Len
Weed and myself, started cautiously
dreaming in print that we might eventually
see an American rider as World Cham-
pion. I'm not sure any of us believed it. but
maybe we wanted those kids to believe it.
They must have believed it. Five years
ago Bernie Schreiber was about four years
loo young for an FIM competition license
so he rode the American round of the
world championship in a bib with the
numbers crossed out. For those of us who
saw him for the first time, it was a revela-
tion. Little beggar was good.
Well, by God. at the U.S. round of the
FIM world championship in Beulah.
Colo.. June 17. 1979. 1 watched Bernie
Schreiber do a number on the best trials
riders in the world.
Al the Beulah event the F1M class riders
had three loops to do. and left on the early
numbers. The American Championship
class, also run the same day. covered only
two loops. Many of the spectators trooped
off to Sections 5 through 9. which were
close to the start. After a long wait, several
championship class (non-FIM) riders
came through, followed close behind by
Clerk of the Course Wiltz Wagner and his
swealhogs. Wagner's mission was soon ap-
parent: toughening up the sections. Setting
a trial in a mountainous area is always
chancey. and the sections had apparently
been laid out on the assumption that run-
offwaler would make many of the sections
wet and slick. The water wasn't there and
Wagner, riding just ahead of lhe world
class riders on Sections 1 through 4, was
unhappy with the number of clean rides
they were turning in. He and his crew set to
lustily, taking out “helper" rocks which
had been jammed strategically in place to
ease the impact at the more severe steps
and ledges. This procedure had the desired
result, as there were few cleans on any of
the sections I got to watch.
The dry terrain probably favored the
American entries. Growing up on a motor-
cycle in Southern California means that
you’re going to be more familiar with rocks
and sand and hills than with Yorkshire-
style bogs and slick rocks. Christmas
Ranch is a beautiful wooded area, replete
with canyons and steep, rocky climbs, but
it is in an arid area and unless heavy rain or
snow melt runoff materializes. it is strongly
reminiscent of trials areas in Los Angeles
or San Diego.
At the end of the first lap. Bernie came
in with 19 points, tied with Rob Shepard,
who is riding the only factory RTL-300
Honda still active in world competition.
Their nearest competition was Sweden's
LUf Karlson, on 23 points. Following them
were Malcolm Rathmell and Eddie Le-
Jeune (24) and Martin Lampkin (25). Ed-
die's big brother Jean Marie was in at 27.
and Charles Coutard at 29. U.S. No. 3.
Marland Whaley, tied with three-time
World Champion Urjo Vesterinen at 30.
Eddie LeJeune is a newcomer to Ameri-
can F1M competition, who rides what
appears to be a stock framed TL-125
Honda, which has been bored and stroked
to 200cc. Having played with a similar
project (Cycle World, July. 1977) 1 was
more than a little interested in Eddie and
his bike. After watching him on a very...
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