Terry Good of MXWORKSBIKE.COM

Understanding How It All Works.
Post Reply
User avatar
AlisoBob
"Hoon-father"
Posts: 15404
Joined: May 31st, 2007, 6:39 pm
Location: Aliso Viejo Ca

Terry Good of MXWORKSBIKE.COM

Post by AlisoBob »

In a round - bout way, I have met Terry Good, The collector behind:

www.mxworksbike.com

Image

Perhaps he will join up and share some stories..

From his website:

I first got interested in motocross in 1971. I rode in the trails with my Dad that year on a Yamaha HS1 90cc twin. After reading magazines for a year about Gary Jones, Joel Robert and Roger DeCoster, I finally entered my first motocross race on Memorial day 1972 at Oscoda Michigan. It is the roughest track I have ever ridden on to this day. Mike Hartwig was there, the Wilson's from K&W cycle, it was a dream come true just to race. I got 15th overall in the 250 class on a Yamaha 175 enduro with a webco expansion chamber on it. I was hooked. I then sold the 175 and saved up and bought a Yamaha DT2 MX. Around that same time a guy by the name of Barry Watkins was writing articles in Cycle Guide magazine about making your 250 MX light weight, similar to the factory Yamaha YZ's that the Jones brothers were riding. You could buy a lot of the parts from Jones Motocross in California. I was making a $1.90 an hour as a construction laborer in West Bloomfield Michigan, I saved up every penny I made and bought every item the Jones' sold. From that point on I was enamored with works bikes. I would take my motorcycle magazines to school and read all about the YZ Yamahas and works Suzuki's. My dream was to go to California and ride at Saddleback and all those other places I read about in the magazines. My buddies and I would go to the Inter-ams and Trans-am's in Ohio and see all the Europeans and we would sneak into the pits, get kicked out and sneak in again just to see our hero's and those works bikes. I actually got to meet Hakan Andersson and Roger DeCoster! At the time it was bigger than life. I was now obsessed with all of this. I kept racing and got pretty good and finally turned pro in 1975.

In 1975 I was 18 years old. I had a 1972 Chevy van, a 1975 YZ250B monoshock (painted to look like Hakan Anderssons) and $900.00 to my name. On a whim I loaded the bike up and told my parents I was going to California by myself. I didn't know anybody there. Three days later I arrived at Saddleback park in total awe. It was just like in the magazines. It was a Saddleback Saturday, where they ran 40 min. motos. Tim Hart was there on a works monoshock, Rich Eierstedt on a Bultaco.... it was so cool. I lived in my van at a place called O'Neal park near Saddleback for awhile till one day at Saddleback I met a guy named Glen Apling. Next thing I knew, he invited me to live with him and his family. His son Glen jr. had a bike just like mine and we did all the Saddleback, Carlsbad CMC and OCIR night races.... what a blast. Each Sunday you would see Marty Smith, Pierre Karsmakers and a whole host of factory riders with works bikes at local races! I remember seeing Bob Hannah test the first RM preproduction Suzuki's. He was beating everyone and no one knew who he was. Everyone except me thought he was just a guy that would come and go. I was probably his first fan. I remember hearing the announcer at Saddleback call him "Hurricane Hannah" for the first time. (The story of him getting that name at Hangtown is wrong!) I stayed there for about six months and then went back to Michigan to get ready for the 1976 125 Nationals. My friend Kim Blackseth, (whom I met in California) and I were planning to ride the whole series.

I bought a Yamaha YZ125X model and started training. I missed Hangtown, Kim raced there (he was still in California). He called me up after the race and said "your not going to believe who won".....Bob Hannah!! "He's got this works water-cooled Yamaha with water pumps on it.....You wont believe it!!" I saw the bike for the first time at Red-Bud, that bike was so cool. Hannah and Smith would battle all year. The battles between those two were much closer than history would have you believe. Bob Hannah was fantastic but so was Marty Smith. Marty had a lot of bad luck but Bob probably would have won no matter what. He was unbelievable and his bike was far ahead of the Honda at first. But at Delta Ohio Marty had the brand new Type ll 125. That bike was unbelievable. Kim Blackseth had some family issues and had to go back home to California and I was kind of on my own again. Broc Glover was riding for DG and his Dad, Dick Glover was driving the DG box van. Dick took a liking to me and started helping me out with pipes and parts etc. For me to even qualify was a big deal. I was a mid pack pro. So What! What an experience that year was.

In between Nationals that year I met the girl of my dreams in Michigan and in March 1977 we got married. We moved to California and I still planed to race the Nationals in 1977 but that fell apart as I could barely afford to pay rent. I worked as a Framer, moved up to superintendent and eventually started my own successful Framing company. One day I was invited by Glen Apling to Riverside Raceway to watch Kenny Roberts race. On the way home we stopped at a guy named Ron Crandall's house (he worked for the AMA). While there I noticed a works Yamaha in his back yard. I asked him about it and he said that it was Pierre Karsmakers' and that Bob Hannah raced it for a while when he first signed with Yamaha. I believed the Karsmakers part but since Bob was the big star at the time I thought he was just making that part up. It took me about a year to talk him out of it. One year and $650.00 later it was mine. In 1978 I owned my first works bike. This was the bike that started this collection. Years later I brought this up while talking to Bob. It was true....It was his. Yamaha gave him Bruce McDougal's 125 and Pierre's 250. We were both comparing little details that only he or myself would know about that bike. Amazing!

I eventually changed careers, had six kids and moved to Chicago. As a hobby I started a mail order company that imported Tecnosel seats into the US. I also sold other trick parts for awhile and became the US Mugen importer. To promote all this I built a super trick aluminum framed CR250 Honda and Motocross Action magazine did an article on it. It was a cool bike ( I still have it). I also sponsored Ty Davis in 1990 and 1991 and we won the AMA 125 Supercross title in 1990. Our main rival at the time was Jeremy McGrath. I met a lot of people that year. Dave Arnold, Roger DeCoster (who were at Honda) and I became good friends. At the same time I was also getting a lot of leads through the mail order business on works bikes. People were associating me with works bikes because of the bike in Motocross Action. Other than the Mugen that I bought in 1980, I didn't get the next one until 1991. From there it just snowballed into what it is today. I have really been driven to preserve what has been so special to me and many others all these years. I have also met some real nice people and have established some great friendships. Many, whom were great Champions of the "Golden era" of motocross.

Terry Good, August 2005
User avatar
sabreguy
Posts: 2915
Joined: June 1st, 2007, 5:07 pm
Location: Middle of the Freakin Mojave Desert!

Post by sabreguy »

I hope this guy joins up!! He should have lots of good stories and info to share!!
Cool website by the way!
88CR500
ROOST ON PEOPLE!!!
User avatar
teemtrubble
Posts: 2269
Joined: October 11th, 2007, 2:15 pm
Location: simi valley, ca

Post by teemtrubble »

I've been an admirer of that site for a long time it's really friggin cool.
Mike

teem trubble works CR500
(Gen 3 125+CR500 motor)
If I wanted a Yamaha I would have bought a piano!
User avatar
asteroid500
Posts: 1047
Joined: January 5th, 2009, 1:29 am
Location: Australia Melbourne

Post by asteroid500 »

he looks like John denver and Steve Millers love child. :roll:
"not speeding officer".....qualifying

CR250 97
CR500 AF 99 (in progress)
CR500 AF CR G-4
CR500 1985 true legend
RGV250 96 X2
GSXR600 07 TRACK BIKE
VH Commadore cup car (race)
User avatar
xtremeslide
Posts: 766
Joined: December 14th, 2008, 10:25 am
Location: Mediterranean coast

Post by xtremeslide »

He could share good info with us :cool: :cool:

That's why we are here
User avatar
xtremeslide
Posts: 766
Joined: December 14th, 2008, 10:25 am
Location: Mediterranean coast

Post by xtremeslide »

So what's happened with this guy.......he'll comes or what?
CR500R
V-MAX 1200
Post Reply