European MX pioneer Rolf Tibblin talks about his start in the sport in Sweden, and offers a particularly European view of the need for proper physical fitness in MX.
I attended the Rolf Tibblin MX "School" the week preceeding the 1974 500cc trans-am race @ Saddleback park. Mickey Quade was an alternate instructor, & the Maico boys showed up on thursday.... Ohhhh, YEAH.. Adolph, Willie, & the works mechanic, Selvarage Naryano (spelling?) (I STILL got my diploma hangin on my office wall)... I was out cutting hot-laps with Rolf, Willie, & the rest of the class, when Dad flags me in, & has me pull up to where he's chatting with Frank Cooper. Next thing ya know, Selvar has these 2 gold side-cases for a 250 in his hands... :0!!!! Turns out they were MAGNESIUM castings, (L + R sides) but the works team didn't quite trust them for racing, SO... well, selvar sez he'll SELL them to us for 100$ (They needed some $$$ for dinner..LOL...) But! They wanted us to install them on the bike that I raced the most, & report back to the Amarillo Maico warehouse/office what we thought, & how they held up, & the bike I rode the MOST was my 450... So, I had to convert the whole clutch assy to the "Steel" clutch from a 250 to my 450... (250 clutch pulled twice as hard as a 450 unit) Turns out the clutch cover flexed a little too much for my taste, & I had that clutch set as "EZ" to pull as I could, to the point that it would drag if the starting gate lingered for more than 10 seconds, to where the ft wheel wanted to climb up & impregnate the frkn starting gate, with me having not much ability to stop the whole mess short of killing the engine... But DAMN!!! ONE-OFF FACTORY MAGNESIUM SIDE-CASES!!!! Wish I knew whatever happened to that bike.... It may STILL be out there, & more PRICELESS than ever....
He is such a nice man too! I was riding a long travel CZ as fast as I could go at Carlsbad going down the freeway and he was riding a 4' short travel Husky OLD one and he flew past me so fast it about sucked my gloves off! Dude is FAST!
i have seen Rolf 1964 in Schwerin " Lankower See " ( DDR ) as Rider..... Grand Prix 500ccm = 1. J.Smith ( GB, on BSA ) 2. R.Tibblin 3. Dieter Kley ( DDR, on ESO )
A legend. My brother took his course. I was too young A great man
SPEAKING AND SHARING TRUTH, I TRAINED WITH HIM TWICE, AND KENT HOWERTON HUSQVARNA INTERNATIONAL MOTO CROSS INSTITUTE
I attended the Rolf Tibblin MX "School" the week preceeding the 1974 500cc trans-am race @ Saddleback park. Mickey Quade was an alternate instructor, & the Maico boys showed up on thursday.... Ohhhh, YEAH.. Adolph, Willie, & the works mechanic, Selvarage Naryano (spelling?) (I STILL got my diploma hangin on my office wall)... I was out cutting hot-laps with Rolf, Willie, & the rest of the class, when Dad flags me in, & has me pull up to where he's chatting with Frank Cooper. Next thing ya know, Selvar has these 2 gold side-cases for a 250 in his hands... :0!!!! Turns out they were MAGNESIUM castings, (L + R sides) but the works team didn't quite trust them for racing, SO... well, selvar sez he'll SELL them to us for 100$ (They needed some $$$ for dinner..LOL...) But! They wanted us to install them on the bike that I raced the most, & report back to the Amarillo Maico warehouse/office what we thought, & how they held up, & the bike I rode the MOST was my 450... So, I had to convert the whole clutch assy to the "Steel" clutch from a 250 to my 450... (250 clutch pulled twice as hard as a 450 unit) Turns out the clutch cover flexed a little too much for my taste, & I had that clutch set as "EZ" to pull as I could, to the point that it would drag if the starting gate lingered for more than 10 seconds, to where the ft wheel wanted to climb up & impregnate the frkn starting gate, with me having not much ability to stop the whole mess short of killing the engine... But DAMN!!! ONE-OFF FACTORY MAGNESIUM SIDE-CASES!!!! Wish I knew whatever happened to that bike.... It may STILL be out there, & more PRICELESS than ever....
He is such a nice man too!
I was riding a long travel CZ as fast as I could go at Carlsbad going down the freeway and he was riding a 4' short travel Husky OLD one and he flew past me so fast it about sucked my gloves off! Dude is FAST!
i have seen Rolf 1964 in Schwerin " Lankower See " ( DDR ) as Rider..... Grand Prix 500ccm = 1. J.Smith ( GB, on BSA ) 2. R.Tibblin 3. Dieter Kley ( DDR, on ESO )
Min bror körde som elitförare i 250cc, han hade den första Husqvarnan med titanram
That's my GRANDPA!!!
That's my GRANDPA to!
That my friend grandfather
hej glöm inte att