
Trolling Laguna’s Lots
Story by Buck Manning
Photos by Jack Cofano
I love motorcycle racing. Doesn’t matter what type of racing ― flat track, motocross, speedway, road racing, hill climbs, supercross, desert racing, scrambles, TT racing, drag racing, enduros, trials, you name it, I like it. As a kid in the ‘50s, I got to watch real Old School guys ride their British vertical twins and big singles around what was an impossibly small scrambles track by today’s standards put on by the Capeway Rovers in the woods of Middleboro, Massachusetts. Watching grownups noisily battle and basically elbow each other around the tight track was my gateway drug to racing. Being able to stand as close as one dared to the track (common sense prevailed then, not lawyers) covered me with clumps of dirt, the occasional spit rock, and the intoxicating smell of burned castor oil. It didn’t get much better than that except when I discovered the joys of walking around the parking area where the clubs who came to root on their riders had their bikes parked (hey it was the ‘50s and a young kid could safely wander off as much as and where they wanted as long as they were back in time to leave). Looking at the parked bikes from an under four-foot vantage point gives you a different perspective that I sometimes wish I still had today. Beautiful alloy castings, deep chrome, thick enamel paint, delicate pinstriping, and company decals never looked better.
Today I still get excited about motorcycle racing and the same goes for parking lot trolling. Finding that one parked bike that blows my mind is still a thrill and I’m never disappointed. At this year’s MotoGP, Barnett’s expert lensman and all-around bon vivant, Jack Cofano and I had a blast searching Laguna Seca’s parking lots and the streets of lovely downtown Monterey for cool rides so you wouldn’t have to. Funny thing is I just might run into something I saw over fifty years ago restored in the lots of today.