"VERY interesting!  And, Jack could have it right!?

You know, back then it was just a matter of going as fast as we could GENTLY (I think I've always been pretty good at that...gotta FINISH the race to place!).  It always seemed to me that those vintage bikes, ridden hard, were ALWAYS on the verge of breaking; especially those of Italian or Spanish heritage.

From Jack:

"They weren't vintage bikes back then--more like a Catherham 7 is today. But I still have the Bultaco Clutch Reflex, and it's embarrassing to ride a Japanese four-stroke in the 21st Century and STILL yank in the clutch at the first funny noise, such as the yelp of a nearby child at play.

But yes, gentle and smooth was the way to go at a Six Hour, and yet the two Bultaco teams were putting over a second a lap between themselves and the "modern" bikes. 'Twas a glorious day for the Spaniards."

From Bill:

My recollection was pretty much a blur through most of the race.  We didn't really have in mind that we would actually win (you can always hope!), but we wanted to be "up there" somewhere.  With that goal in mind, I do remember that we kept catching and passing lots of 250s and 350s, and it wasn't until about 3/4s of the way through the race that we realized that we and the other Bultaco were pretty much the only 250s that were doing this."

From Jack:

"As for specific memories, mine might be specific fantasies-- it's been more than half a lifetime since that race-- and while it's amazing how it all came back to me (right down to the sting of my foot hitting the ground before I lost it) that's no proof it came back accurately. As those of us who lived the '60s between Monterey Bay and the Haight can attest, vivid doesn't necessarily mean real." 

From Bill:

"Our scoring, which like the official scoring, had to be considered "iffy" also.  We thought, until we saw the official results that we were on the SAME lap as the McPartlands.  Maybe we were, maybe we weren't...in any case it was a fun and in the end, exciting, race!" 

From Jack:

"Oh well, I fell off my bike; I'm sure all the Yam and Suzook riders had reasons they didn't win either. Of course, if I'd stayed on it, and our lap timing was wrong and we (weren't) a lap ahead of you (Bill), then my teammates would have beaten me up worse for not catching you than they did for me falling over.

(Key in Keith Richards on guitar)
Dumpin' Jack Crash, is just a gas,
Dumpin' Jack Crash is a gas gas gas...

Please pass my congratulations to Bill again, and my regrets and condolences to Tip and Tor."

From Bill:

Another, interesting, "aside" is the fact that Eric L. had suggested I "borrow" the bike a couple of weeks before the race to "get the feel" of it.  I did and was out riding it in a very spirited manner on some backcountry roads, when I came into an unfamiliar tight corner at too high a speed and grabbed a handful of front brake.  The front stopper and some very slick, shiny pavement caused the front wheel to stop and I got pitched over the bars!  I ended up sliding along on my frontside, my ungloved hands and brand new suede sportscoat taking the brunt of it.

A pleasant looking gal in a new Porsche 911 Targa had been following back aways and came up on the scene and stopped to help.  The bike was slightly damaged, but I was in worse shape. 

We hid the bike in some bushes and she drove me down to Palo Alto and to my friend Al Coppel III's house.  He'd recently returned from S.E. Asia from a stint in the Special Forces as a Medic.  "Trey" patched me up and I was swathed in gauze and Neosporin.

Fast forward a week and I'm on my way to Vacaville with a friend of mine, Shelley Derham, riding along to go see her first ever motorcycle race.  As we got to the place where we had "one more hill" to go over before arriving at Vacaville, I had Shelley start wrapping both of my hands, the palms of which had NO skin on them, with added gauze padding.  She did a great job, but I had over 1" of padding and couldn't get my gloves zipped up!  Just had to ride like that.

Funny thing, at the end of that long race, my hands almost appeared to be healed when I took the bandages back off!