Report: Willow Springs Corsa Motoclassica 2017

Hey fellow Classic British Spares readers, fans and enthusiasts. Today I would like to share with you a report of last week's Willow Springs Corsa Motoclassica evet held on 4-21-2017 through 4-23-2017. The Corsa Motoclassica event at Willow Springs is only 15 minutes away from C.B.S. head quarters.

Out of all the classic motorcycle events in Southern California (and there are many), Corsa Motoclassica is by far my personal favorite - can't afford to miss it. Overall I was extremely pleased with this year's turnout. Without further delay let's get right to it.

 

The weather

 

Great looking period correct racer 1956 Indian Woodsman Owner: Lucas - Vintage Cycle Trader

 

If you have been to a small town called Rosamond, California or have been to the Antelope Valley then im sure your aware that the wind gusts starts to pick up like a hurricane usually at high noon.

This year at Corsa Motoclassica 2017 the wind was less than 5 mph for most of the weekend - except Sunday. Sunday wind gusts where close to 20 mph which is not surprising.

The weather was the talk of the town. Big blue sky's and thin white clouds. Hazy in the morning but quickly cleared up. Every person that I greeted we quickly talked about how nice the weather was. Despite us waiting for the wind to pick-up as it always does it never did - thanks mother-nature!

 

The show

Ducat's, Bultaco's and vintage Honda's scattered in the Corsa Motoclassica classic motorcycle how


I was a little disappointed of the motorcycle show size this year. Typically where the show is held the entire showing area is usually full of motorcycles - this year it was less than half. Great weather, little wind, great race, low motorcycle show. You can't have everything perfect!

 

What I also found very interesting about the classic motorcycles in the show is that there where a lot of Italian bikes such as Ducatis and Bultacos. There was only one BSA A65 in the show - it also happened to be the only BSA A65 in the park despite another one in pieces at the swap meet.

 

I believe there was only one Triumph 500 twin (1966 T100SC) in the show which was a rare site. None-the-less all motorcycles that were submitted into the show we're beautiful and that's an understatement.

The spectators

The majority of people that I talked to and ran into had smiles on their faces. Everyone I interacted with and stopped by my booth where very friendly. Most folks that ride motorcycles or in the racing industry have always been known to be friendly.

It was also great to meet some of my customers in person for the first time. Many spectators where aware of my company, some never heard of us (not anymore) and some purchased from us! Our booth attracted many folks - most really liked our BSA shirts and C.B.S. shirts. 

The racers

Dave Roper aboard his 1951 Velloecte 500 racer

I got a chance to talk with some of the people that were racing the Willow Springs circuit one person in particular was Dave Roper some of you may be familiar of Dave Roper or know his racing career.

I have read about Dave in many articles from magazines, T.V. programs, and other forms of media. One of the questions I brought up to Dave Roper was "who owns the real BSA Rocket 3 that Dick Mann won the 1970 Daytona on?" With a sigh he quickly responded that "Team Obsolete is confident that they have the 1970 Daytona winning BSA Rocket 3". He also stated that "Team Obsoletes BSA Rocket 3 has the winning engine and wheels".

 

There has been a lot of controversy around of who owns the real Dick Mann Daytona winning BSA Rocket 3. As far as I'm concerned there are 3-4 folks that all claim they have the winning machine. I suppose that conversation could be a future blog post topic.

 

 1969 Triumph TR6R racer known as "Speedy Magoo"

Another friendly racer I spoke to was named "GT". He owns a 1969 Triumph TR6R racer that he calls "Speedy Magoo". I have seen "Speedy Magoo" locally at rides such as the Hansen Dam ride and various other meet-ups. "GT" also rides his 1969 Triumph TR6R racer on the road. "Speedy Magoo" has raced 36 races with only one failure - talk about an excellent reliability record. There will be a post / interview soon on "GT" and his Triumph "Speedy Magoo".  

 

Swap Meet

 

The past few years the swap meet at the Corsa Motoclassica event was a little on the light side. This year there where surprisingly both more vendors and buyers. All makes and models for sale from British, Japanese and Italian - a buyers delight. 

 

One motorcycle that stood out to me was an all original 1969 Honda CB750 sand cast model. A quick chat with the owner and he told me that he was offered $15K that morning but refused to take it!  - insane!

 

Conclusion

 

Overall I was pleased with this years 2017 Corsa Motoclassica at Willow Springs raceway. I look forward to next years race. I hope it will be bigger and better than all of the previous years.

 

I wanted to give a special thanks to AHRMA for allowing these old classic motorcycles to ride and race on the track. Big thanks to Yoshi over at the Garage Company in Inglewood, California for organizing the classic motorcycle show. Last but not least - thanks to Willow Springs for allowing such an event to take place on your premises.

 

Thanks everyone for reading todays post. If you dig the photos you can see a lot more photos that I took at the event below. If you see your motorcycle pictured feel free to contact us and we will be sure to add your credits. Cheers!

 

Photos

Some of the many photos that I captured. Enjoy...