My father Larry Bergquist had a very interesting and successful motorcycling life. He raced for over 25 years and was one of the fastest men in the world in cross country desert racing while in his prime. This is a portion of his motorcycling life in pictures and text from various motorcycling magazines and newspapers, ranging from very early in his career to the end of it. Imagine being a kid and being able to go motorcycle riding with the great movie legend Clark Gable or one of the famous Milne brothers! Or having the chance to race against the great Parnelli Jones, racing legend Malcolm Smith, Bud and Dave Ekins, Mike Patrick, Gary Preston, James Martino, Steve Hurd, Tom Poteet, Rich Thorwaldson, Ronnie Nelson, Larry Phutzenruter and of course the Greatest of them all J.N. Roberts!!There were so so many more great riders dad had the chance to race with that I have not mentioned! Just so many more, like , the great Mitch Mayes, Gary Griffin, The great Doyle Fields, J.D. Williams, Don Surplus, Neil Fergus, Jack Froelich, Tom Muto, Al Rogers, The Dempsey Brothers, His good friend Al Baker, Art Knapp, Bill Silverthorn, Max Switzer, The great Gary Conrad, Gary Cole, Don Bohannan, Steve Kirk, school teacher Phil Bowers , dairy Man Kenny Knudsen, I could go on and on and on and as you all know I left a ton of racers off this list......so many great riders of the desert. Or maybe having Steve Mcqueen offer the full use of his pits during the Baja 1000 if Larry or his teammate Gary Preston needed anything at all! ( Thats how nice of a guy Steve Mcqueen was, and my Dad never forgot his generosity ) It was so much fun to sit and listen to dads racing stories. Or maybe he'd tell us about the time in the 1st Baja 1000 he almost got beaten to death out on Chappala dry lake by 3 drunken thugs after breaking down with a 45 minute lead.If not for a small gun Dad carried down there during the race, I might have lost him that night in Baja. They beat The Honda to a pulp with lead pipes that night as dad stood by the fire watching. After they were done they all turned on him. I still have the gun too. He had to pull it on them, get them into they're truck and get them to leave, and they were not happy at all about it...... so, they drove out onto the dry lake and they turned their lights out...afraid they would return and run him over if he slept, dad stayed on the move most of the night ( it was cold ) untill finally settling in on the side of a rocky hill for the night. Or maybe he'd tell us about the time dad was leading a race down So Cal Hill when the great Ronnie Nelson came by him like he as standing still, off to the side of the trail freewheeling and just FLYING!!! Then, Ronnie hit a ditch and did a horrific endo and did not stop untill he and his bike were nearly at the bottom of the hill!!. Dad said "it was just destroyed" lol! I may have the name of the rider wrong but I'm pretty sure it was Ronnie.Or maybe the time near the end of dads racing career an airplane almost hit him while landing on a dirt road during a desert race! If not for an alert road crossing guard,( and dads sliding ability ) I may have lost him that day too. So what did Dad say to the road crossing guard after he saved his life?? He yelled at him for letting the plane land LOL!!. ( He did not mean it of course, and after the race we had a good laugh when I made him realize the guard could never have stopped the plane.) It was a really funny moment when I said "How's was he supposed to stop the plane from landing??" We just looked at each other and cracked up!! I'm very thankful to that road crossing guard. He saved my dads life!Or there was the time dad and his friend Wes Kellogg of the Buzzards MC. blew up a toilet in they're room in Mexico 2 hours before the start of the baja 1000 with a gun they were loading that went off by accident!!. They patched the toilet up piece by piece and rebuilt it so you could hardly tell there was anything wrong with it lol then high tailed it out of there to start the race!. Or the Time Jim Wismer ( head Mechanic for Southern Cali. Harley Dealerships ) came into dads room before the start of the Baja 1000 and told him he could not blow up the Harley and to run it "as hard as you want".
Then dad turned to him and told him "They've never built a motorcycle I could'nt blow up" and Jim said "We have, and you can run it as hard as you want" then walked out the door as dad was smiling at him lol .
After turning a faster time than Parnelli Jones down the first 100 miles of pavement, dad blew the Harley up lol. There were so many stories. Maybe some day I can get more down on paper if I can ever find the time.....I hope you enjoy his pictures. After his racing days were over Larry continued
to ride the desert often untill the age of 69. Some Of Larry's Highlights: 1968 Received AMA's Regional Sportsman of the year Award. ( A very rare honor for a desert racer back then. ) 1968 Honored as National Offroad Racing Association's ( NORRA ) Racing Team Of The Year. ( Larry Bergquist, Gary Preston ) 1968 Baja 1000 - 1st Overall ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON ) 1968 Stardust 7/11 - 1st Overall ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON } 1968 Mint 400 - 2nd Overall Motorcycle ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON ) 1969 Baja 1000 - 2nd Overall motorcycle ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON ) 1968 Earned AMA's District 37 Desert #1 Plate 250 Expert on Bultaco Pursang. 1968 Invited to International 6 day trials Team. (A VERY rare honor for a desert racer back then) 1972-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, February 13, -- Desert MC Hare & Hound -- 250 Bultaco Pursang 1972-4th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Dusters Hare and Hound -Bultaco Pursang 1972-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert -Orange County MC Hare Scrambles. Feb, 250 Bultaco Pursang 1972-4th Overall, 2nd 250 Expert, Check Chase River Run Oct 7th, Bultaco Pursang 1972 5th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Cactus Cats Hare Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang 1971-4th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Adelanto 200, July, With Teammate Gary Griffin, Bultaco Pursang 1971-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert - So Cal Turkey Run, Nov 21st, - Red Rock Canyon, 250 Bultaco Pursang 1971-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, October 10, -- Desert Turtles Hare & Hound -- 250 Bultaco Pursang 1970-1st 500 Expert, Jackrabbits European Scrambles, 360 Bultaco Bandit 8-30-70 1970-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, July 19th, -- Lost Angels Hare Scrambles -- 360 Bultaco El Bandido 1970-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Jun 21st, -- 100s MC -- 360 Bultaco Bandit 1970- 2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert Jan. 11th, Pasadena MC. Hare Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang 1970-2nd Overall, 1st 500 Expert, Foothill Hawks, Stoddard Wells, Ca. Bultaco 360 El Bandido 1969-2 Overalls Before Simi Valley's Hare Scrambles -- both on a 360 Bultaco Bandido for 3 Overalls in a row. 1969-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, April 27, -- Simi Valley Hare Scrambles -- 360 Bultaco El Bandido 1969 1st 500 Expert, Coachella Valley European Scrambles ( Pioneer Town ) 360 Bultaco El Bandido 1969-1st 500 Expert Lost Coyotes European Scrambles August 24th, Rosemond, Calif. 360 Bultaco El Bandido 1969-1st 500 Expert, Four Aces European Scrambles, Bultaco 360 El Bandido 1969-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Victors Hare & Hound -- 360 Bultaco El Bandido 1968-1st 250 Expert, Crestline MC. European Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st 250 Expert- European Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang - San Gabrial Valley Al Vanderpool Benefit, Jan 7th. 1968-1st 250 Expert- European Scrambles, San Bernadino MC. July, Mojave, Ca. 250 Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st 250 Expert - Rams European Scrambles, June, Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st 250 Expert, Spokebenders European Scrambles. Bultaco Pursang 8-25 1968-1st 250 Expert, Coachella Valley MC. Pioneer Town, European Scrambles, September, 250 Bultaco Pursang 1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert - Shamrocks California State Championship, September 8th, Mojave, Ca. Bultaco Pursang 1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Sandblasters MC. Hare Scrambles, March 10th, Bultaco Pursang 1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Pasadena Motorcycle club Hare Scrambles, Jan. 14th, Bultaco Pursang 1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Barstow MC Hare And hound, Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Orange County Hare Scrambles -- Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Simi Valley Hare Scrambles -- Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Sidewinders Hare Scrambles -- Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Four Aces Moose Run -- Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Lost Coyotes Hare Scrambles -- 250 Bultaco Pursang 1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, 100'S MC Hare Scrambles 9-22-68 Bultaco Pursang 1967-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Coachella Valley Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA 1967-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Jackrabbits Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA 1967-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Pasadena MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA 1966-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Feb 27th -- Coachella Valley MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA 1966-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, June 26th -- Vegas Valley MC Calif/Nevada State Championship -- 650 BSA 1966-1st Overall- 1st Open Expert, Sep 18th -- Dusters MC Sissy Run -- 650 BSA 1966-1st Overall- 1st Open Expert, Sep 25th -- Shamrocks State Championship Hare & Hound -- 650 BSA 1966-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Dec 18th -- Imperial Valley MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA 1966-2nd Overall, 2nd Open Expert - Lost Angels MC. Hare Scrambles, March 20th 650 BSA 1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, April 11th Simi Valley Hare Scrambles 650 BSA 1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, May 9th -- Sandblasters MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA 1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, September 19th -- Vegas Valley MC Cal/Nev State Championship Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA 1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Nov ??th -- Rams MC Hare & Hound -- 650 BSA 1965-2nd Overall, 1st Open Expert –Antelope Ramblers National Hare Scrambles, Red Rock Canyon, 650 BSA 1964-1st Overall-1st 500 Expert, -- Prospectors MC Hare Scrambles -- 500 BSA beezer 1964-3rd Overall, 3rd Open Expert- Check Chase 500 BSA beezer 1963-5th Overall, 1st 500 Expert, The Holiday Hop Hare and Hound, BSA beezer 1963- 2nd Overall, 1st 500 Expert, Prospectors MC. Pacific Southwest Championship, Victorville, Calif. BSA beezer 1963-2nd Overall, 1st 500 Expert Sunland Shamrocks California State Championship Hare & Hound BSA beezer 1963- 3rd Overall, 2nd 500 Expert - Lost Angels MC. Hare Scrambles, April 21st BSA beezer 1962-5th Overall, 1st 500 Amateur BSA Shamrocks State Championship Hare And Hound. 1962 Check Chase National Hare & Hound - 1st 500 AM. 1962-3rd Overall,1st 500 Amateur - So Cal Turkey Run, Hare and Hound. The World's Biggest Dirtbike. Having his friend Malcolm say his name in "On Any Sunday" and many other District 37 Desert Overall and Class Wins. |
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