1960s Scramble - The Sounds of Motorcycles at Speed

Cross-Country Motorcycle Races at Andre's Farm. Great motorcycle collectible from the 1960's. Great to listen to or frame the cover art and display.

Tracks include: Side 1: Harley-Davidson 165, Honda 125, Zundapp 250, Harley-Davidson 250, BMW 500, Triumph 500, Norton 56, Triumph 650, Bantamweight Race 125cc, Lightweight Race 175cc; Side 2: Mediumweight Race 350cc, Heavyweight Race 500cc, Mixed Class Race - 125 to 650cc

On irregular Sundays from April until October, the New York Berkshire hills are host to the assortment of sounds you will hear on this record. These are the "scrambles" - cross-country motorcycle races at Andre's Farm in East Fishkill, one of the finest circuits of its type on the east coast.

Scrambling, in the United States, is a unique form of motorcycle competition. While it is unlike the more familiar hill-climbs and black-top road races, it has elements of both. The circuit at Andre's Farm consists of .85 miles of trail, hacked out of the side of a mountain. The starting grid, which accommodates up to fifteen side-by-side bikes, leads immediately into a three-bike-wide straightaway. It is a terrifying thing to watch everyone trying to be among the first three out: tires against mud-encrusted tires, they leap into the first 50 feet, jockeying for position, engines screaming at fantastic revs, drivers leaning backwards to help spinning rear wheels...then leaning forward to keep front wheels from coming up and spilling bikes end over end. Somehow they sort themselves out, and barrel down the 300-foot straightaway. Midway, as the riders hit the "broad jump," bikes sail four feet into the air, and come down hard...

Scrambling is a development of European grass-track racing and T.T. road racing. Continental motorcyclists who were bored with the circular routes used for grasstrack races stretched their courses out into irregular shapes, and included whatever the terrain had to offer. Almost immediately, scrambling superceded grass-track racing; it is now one of the most popular forms of international motorcycling competition, with world championship events boasting entries from a dozen countries.

The scrambles at Andre's Farm are sponsored by the Crotona Motorcycle Club, a 49-year old organization carefully limited to about forty very active members. Their activity is under the guidance of veteran motorcyclist Reggie Pink, who is also a member of the Competition Committee and the Technical Committee of the American Motorcycling Association, the American sanctioning organization. He is in charge of technical inspection at Andre's Farm, and provides colorful commentary over the circuit's public address system...

Vintage 1960s Scramble - The Sounds of Motorcycles at Speed - LP Record Album available at www.DadsVintageAds.com in the "Motorcycle Gifts & Collectibles" category

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