I’m Rick Sieman, and Sieman says, Don’t Ask!
Go ahead, but if your question is stupid, you’ve been warned…
If you choose to email a question to this forum, then you must conduct yourself accordingly. Therefore, the following rules are in order:
1. Do not write your email to me IN CAPS. If you do so, I will print out your question and do terrible things to it.
2. Do not request a personal e-mail response. Since I get thousands of questions each month, trying to answer them all would cut deeply into my leisure time, which I value more than your current state of confusion.
3. Try to spell at least in a semi-correct fashion. If you choose to mangle the English language, expect no mercy from this quarter. You might be mocked severely.
4. Do not ask for me to send you copies of my many manuals and literature. I am not in the library business, nor do I want to spend the bulk of my day at the copy machine just because you’re too lazy to ask your dealer, or look around a bit.
5. Don’t bother me with truly stupid questions, like how to get 50 more horsepower for a buck and a half
6. Now that you know the rules, think carefully and have at it!
SUBJECT: CARABELA TEST WRONG?
I just found the article on the Carabela motorcycles. All due respect, the article isn’t fully accurate.
I owned a ’74 125 MX Carabela Calente. Yes, it had the rubber foot pegs and U-bolts for handlebar clamps, but that’s where the problems ended. The electronics on my bike were Ducati. The carb was a Mikuni. Never had an issue with the starting or running of the machine. No one could beat me to the first turn. The thing was a rocket. At a national race at Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, 1975/6, my trans did fail. $80.00 later it was repaired.
My brother had their 200 Carrera, which not many 250s outran. The only odd thing about it was it was right-hand shift whereas mine was left-hand. We never had issues with shift levers except breaking one where the peg met the shaft, and I had a welder weld up a hinge and spring system so not to break again. The kick starters were fine as well.
As for them stopping the manufacturing of the dirtbikes in 1975, that is false information. They produced dirtbikes all the way to 1980-ish. They brought out 250cc, 390cc and 410cc MX racers. I have photos and a magazine article showing the 250 and big-bore bikes.
The Port Matilda racetrack was a Carabela dealer, and one of his one son raced the 125cc 1975 and 1976 models to many victories until they received a cylinder that the porting was off and caused the crank sheer key to sheer off. Needless to say they went back to the old cylinder. Carabela had several issues with that cylinder even in their enduro bikes. The engine manufacturer, Moto Morini, had a problem. The rider was known as the “Carabela Kid” because he won so many events in one. He earned the title.
Thanks,
Doug Pannebaker
The big problems with the Carabela was reliability and trying to get parts for the thing. In late 1975, there were precious few people in the United States who wanted to become dealers for those bikes. Yes, you could still get them in Mexico, but who wanted to go through the hassle?–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: PASSING ON THE GOOD STUFF
Dear Rick,
I’m not a big user of e-mail or social media but I felt that I wanted to give you my sincere thanks for your response to my son’s facebook post on his son’s preference for Dirt Bike magazine when in for a “filter” change. He was very pleased to get your message and called me right away to tell me. Since he’s from a generation too young to have seen Dirt Bike in it’s prime you may think he was simply thanking you for starting the magazine. In fact, I have virtually all of the early Dirt Bike magazines, and he has read them all numerous times and has a good memory. We periodically talk about an old shootout or joke about some one liner, ie. “Parts fell off quickly, the horn was first to go,” and he really appreciates your writing.
He still has his first bike, a Kawasaki G4 that he will be teaching his kids to ride on, and he likes to keep up on the new bikes. He prefers two-strokes, and he picked up that issue of DB because it had a write-up on the new fuel-injected KTM 250. It’s about time they did that, and he may have to have one.
Prior to your “Thanks Amigo,” the highlight of his dirt biking was a meet and greet with Dick Burleson at a GNCC at Unadilla. He was lined up in the 250B class and came up to me before the start, pointing out the guy up in the Sportsman’s class with trials tires. When I told him it was Burleson, he just had to go talk to him. He didn’t think there was much that could top talking to King Richard, but a thanks from Super Hunky did.
Thanks again.
Genuine thanks for such a great email.–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: FIRST ISSUE
Hello, Mr. Sieman!
I just wanted to shoot you a quick email after seeing your Facebook post, and tell you “Thank You!” for all the years of service to our dirtbike nation. I’ve enjoyed your articles and stories ever since my dad brought home his first Dirt Bike magazine from Crown Cycle Yamaha in Rosemead, California… and laid it on his ’69 DT 250. And what makes this even better, you live in Arizona! (I’m up in Prescott). So, thanks again, we have many mutual friends (Larry Langley, being just one), and I hope to one day cross paths and shake your throttle hand!
Cheers,
Mike Johns
TearOff Products
Hang on to that first issue. Volume 1, number 1 is going for around $300 at this point. Hope to see you soon; I live in Apache Junction, Arizona.–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: OLD FRIEND OF VIC KRAUSE
Dear Rick,
What a thrill to discover you are still writing and riding! I guess I found Dirt Bike around 1974 when I bought my 125 Elsinore and followed your articles religiously for many many years. Your style and humor must have been what inspired Satch Carlson from some car magazine whose name escapes me now.
Hoping the cancer treatments are working! (I’m in roughly the same boat since September of last year). I read that this is the second time for you and my prayers are with you.
The reason for this contact:
I lent my original copy of Monkey Butt to a good friend of my youngest son. He was taking very good care of it until his cat decided to knock a cup of coffee over on it! He felt terrible and scoured the interwebs for a replacement. What he brought me was an autographed copy from Baja 2004! I was thrilled, so I sat down to re-read this classic. Seriously, this is only the second book I have ever read twice! (the first was Don’t Stand Too Close To A Naked Man by Tim Allen) Pretty high marks for the Super Hunky, as I hold Mr. Allen in pretty high regard! I enjoyed the reading maybe more than I did the first time some 30 years ago.
Google helped me find you to thank you for all those years of fantastic writing and fabulously funny articles and the great advice too. I still use some of your classic descriptions in everyday conversations and get the weirdest looks! (handles like a shopping cart full of bowling balls going down an escalator)
I miss being young but wouldn’t trade being in my sixties for anything. I hope you like the pictures my friend.
Thank You!
Thank You!
Thank You!
Jeff Christensen
Celina, Texas
P.S. I actually knew Vic Krause cuz I’m originally from Illinois and raced Byron for years.
It’s been a few years since I had the last radiation treatment, and so far I’ve been lucky enough to not have the cancer come back. Glad you got another copy of the book. Speaking of Krause, the original Mr. know it all, he’s going to be out to visit me in a few weeks. I’ll tell him you said hello … and thanks for the photo of the Lady Monkey Butt powder.–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: ROCKET REX AND THE CZ
Hello Rick,
I will keep this as brief as possible, I do not want to sound like the same ole old timer with a MX comeback, but I recently acquired a ’73 CZ 400. As I always do after the fact of the purchase, I do my research on the bike. Always wanted either a CZ or a Maico in the mid 70’s as a kid/MX racer/dreamer. I finally have my first CZ in 2017. I don’t know what took so long or? I am just getting older, or bored, or?
After reading your story with Rex Staten in ’75 at the USGP Carlsbad, I was in tears. That was an experience I could never have comprehended back in that day. I always thought you guys were the coolest and had it all. Boy, was I wrong, but as a now more mature understanding man of MX, I am intrigued and now want to build this CZ 400 up, but want to thank you for sharing a story not many from this world will understand nor read unless you’re a diehard MX racer/fan of the past such as I. Anyway, thank you for yet another Super Hunky story. I loved to read! God Bless!
John Knight
LACR Local
At that race in Carlsbad, Rex was in another world. He had one of those days where everything seemed right, he felt strong, and the bike was working great. Luckily, I was there and got a chance to talk to him about the entire experience. It was truly amazing.–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: KEEP THOSE OLD MAGAZINES
Hey, Rick,
I keep starting a letter to you that I have not finished…and feel you deserve for the tremendous influence and passion you fueled for me so many years ago. If I close my eyes tight enough I can still smell the old farm’s barn premix-soaked walls as my best friend and I sat on our bikes passing around stacks of worn out Dirt Bike magazines, re-reading over and over them as if they were our favorite comic books. Close my eyes tight enough and it doesn’t seem all that long ago. Thanks pal. I’ll keep working on that letter.
Aaron Coons
Alaska
Yep, don’t throw those old magazines away. They bring back a tremendous wealth of memories. For example, the decades of the ’70s ’80s and ’90s were truly memorable, and those old mags keep the memories alive.–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: WHAT’S THE NAME OF THIS WEBSITE?
Hello,
I have a Honda Gold Wing Aspencade 1989 1500 GL, and looking to put a used trike rear axle with diveshaft. I have had some medical trouble and want to continue riding. Three wheels will let me do that.
Thanks,
Mike Roberts
Fort Myers, Florida
Just in case you haven’t looked, the name of this website is Dirtbikes.com, not Streetbikes.com. I can understand you wanting to keep riding in some fashion, but why not make some sort of three-wheeled dirtbike? If you decide to go that direction, we’d be more than willing to help you.–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: ENGINE SWAP ON 1986 SUZUKI 125
Hey, my name’s Dave. I was wondering if it would be possible without doing much bodywork to replace an 1986 engine on a bike with a newer engine because I do not have the money to buy a new bike but don’t feel the bike’s old engine can put the power out of a new 125 engine.
Dave Brian
The key thing you want to look out for is if the entire lower end is the same shape as the older motor. In other words, if the front motor mount plates are the same, and the rear is the same, chances are the swap would be very easy. Naturally you’re going to have to do some minor modifications such as pipe mounting and such. But it shouldn’t be such a difficult swap.–Rick Sieman
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SUBJECT: OLD STUFF FROM MODERN CYCLE
Rick,
You should run the old article: “Desert Daze” from page 28 of Modern Cycle magazine, April, 1976, pictures and all in Don’t Ask!
Let those kids of today learn what real riding was!
I’m going through all the Mod Psycho discs (again) and just love them! I’m almost to the 1976 Yamaha TT500 test issue. Imagine, a “thumper” with a lifespan of decades instead of 30 to 40 hours!
Take it easy, Bro.
David “TT500” Fruhling
Fair enough. Next month, we’ll have enough room to run the entire article, so look forward to it.–Rick Sieman
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SHAMELESS PLUG
When Rick Sieman left Dirt Bike magazine in late 1974, he took charge of Modern Cycle. Those magazines were some of the wildest issues ever produced. The mags were scanned to eight CD discs, and are in pdf format, which means you can not only access every page, but you can print out the entire magazine, or a single page. Nearly 3000 pages were scanned! Cost for the entire eight-CD set is $50 and that includes postage anywhere in the U.S.
Lotsa good stuff in there!
Just send a check or money order to:
Rick Sieman
684 N. Pinal Dr.
Apache Junction, AZ 85120
Or if you use Paypal, that address is: superhunky@gmail.com
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