Cycle World's anniversary issue coming in Dec: http://www.cycleworld.com/2011/12/01/on-any-sunday-40th-anniversary/
I have the full DVD set and it gets watched a lot on the RV television when we are out camping and riding. Always entertaining. Malcolm Smith is a super nice guy. Every time I have gone out to his store I run into him. He always introduces himself and is always helpful and friendly. His personal dirtbike is a KTM 250XC (2-stroke), his supermoto is a Husaberg FE570. And yes, he still rides. His daughter is at the checkstand and his son runs the service department. It is a gorgeous facility, his office is huge and filled with memorabilia. When I told him I bought a brand new Penton 125 ISDT in 1973 and put a plate on it, and a light, and rode it to school, his eyes lit up and he said he had one of those and did I want to see it? Of course, so I got the grand tour. Back in the day he only sold Penton and Husqvarna. That was before the word 'dualsport' had ever been uttered. He was there when my new TE630 was delivered so he autographed it. I should probably get a replacement numberplate and save the signed one for posteriety.
Time really flies by .... I must have been ~14 when the movie came out ... I still remember sitting in the theater and watching it with my brother and the friend who took us to see it ... I remember asking if the Huskies were a good bike and he said yes so I bought one a few yrs later ...
He was an ISDE rider who also had something to do with Hodakas. There are pics with him and McQueen and sme other famous riders....maybe Malcolm too. He lived in Huntington Harbour for quite a while and had a 58 ft powerboat he took to Mexico. http://www.steenstacominibikes.com/STEENS_History.html Guess he died ..... Pretty nice guy but liked his girls young. http://budanddaveekins.com/stories-photos/isdt.cfm Photo there of the ISDE team, Steen, 2nd from left, McQueen in the middle.
Nice links. I remember the Hodakas but I don't think I have heard of John Steen. I recall the TACO mini bikes though. When I was about 12 my Dad bought me my first minibike, like one of those Steen's jobs. Was a 'trailhorse' and had a two speed jackshaft and a lawn mower engine. I think that was like 1968. I also had a Morini 50 that was an Italian copy of the Honda Mini-trail 50 only with a 2-stroke motor. It smoked a lot. I was either riding a mini bike, skateboard, or a unicycle. When On Any Sunday came out we were doing the same thing in the Northwest, so it just seemed like 'riding in California' to us. We had no idea it would gain the notariety that it did. I thought the Penton Six Days was the coolest motorcycle on earth. It was $1200 and the next year Honda came out with the Elsinore for $679. Wow. And they were fast! Either bike could beat the crap out of a Hodaka, so they came out with the Combat Wombat and the Super Rat. Remember those???
Wow ..MS really looks determined here riding the bike! He's still got that stand up wheelie move for sure! I bet he can still out ride most of us at his current age ... I rode a hodoka back in theses days ... Had to be within a year or two of the release of the movie ... maybe the same year ... This guy had a gas station and sold hodakas also.... He had a demo day on his new hodakas way back before demo days were even invented ... He brought out 2-3 brand new hodakas to where we were dirt riding and I rode one ... The bike was not even fit to be unloaded off the truck ... It had a granny low (x2) 1st gear and a 2nd gear so tall you could never shift cleanly between 1st-2nd gear without the bike bogging down ... Once n 2nd, it was like road gear ... Did I change to 3rd gear? Nope. Too afraid ... Just gave it back to him ... I always think about those pathetic gear ratios when I hear people complain about Husky's CR tranny ... Which are perfect! And if not, you are on the wrong piece of earth ...
I had moved on to larger bikes when the Hodakas came out so I missed out on them. When OAS came out I was racing a 250 Maico in the intermediate class and was really taken away by the movie. In the Northwest MX hadn't really gotten very popular yet and of the three tracks I went to, none are still around. There was good flat track racing in Portland and a national at nearby Castle Rock WA. I think if you are an enthusiast, you will never forget where you saw OAS for the first time and how it made you feel. A true measure of a classic. Mert and Malcom both look like they still have a lot of spunk.
