2012 HBBB to Open with Golden Era Celebration

Jeff Leisk, Charlie Williams, Ivan Mauger and a nigh-unbeatable collection of Honda’s magic machinery will head to Broadford this coming April for the 2012 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza.

The event will kick off with a celebration of the golden era of motorcross – the ’70s and ’80s – and bring together the stars, teams, sponsors, tuners and punters that made the golden era shine.

Honda will have a huge collection of its classic racing bikes on display, including everything from 1973’s ‘Elsinore‘ series to the last of the air-cooled bikes from ’84. Jeff Leisk’s ’89 Honda Factory RC 500 will be present, as will his Aussie title winning bikes.

And much of this magnificent machinery won’t be left resting in a display – the bikes will be fired up and unleashed in events and features celebrating all of the pre-1985 motorcycle disciplines. Sounds good to us!

Read on for the official word from the HBBB team and head to their website here for more.

2012 HBBB to open with Golden Era celebration

The 2012 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza (HBBB) will kick off on Good Friday evening, 6 April, with a celebration of 70’s – 80’s Motocross (the Golden Era).

The evening will take place in the Speedway Shed at the State Motorcycle Sports Complex, Broadford, and is billed to be a once in a lifetime reunion with all your old race rivals, sponsors, tuners, mates and worshippers present.

Event Organiser Peter Drakeford is looking forward to introducing this unique event to the HBBB.

“I know all our lives have changed since we were young, but one thing we all have in common is that Motocross in this golden era was perhaps the biggest and most exciting thing we have ever been involved with,” Drakeford said.

“The proof of that is the way people I’ve contacted to help have put in massive amounts of time and effort at their own cost in creating this ‘never before’ event inside the HBBB.”

The reunion will be a gathering of old bikes, memorabilia, old stories and memories, and a special display of Honda Motocross models from the ground-breaking ‘Elsinore’ series of 1973 to the last of the air cooled models of 1984.

Jeff Leisk, Aussie international Motocross star and pioneer, will be attending the event, and a very special display of Leisk’s 1989 Honda Factory RC 500 and his Aussie title winning Hondas will be ‘eye candy’ for us all.

The evening will start officially at 6pm and will consist of interviews of the old stars of the era including Leisk and legend Ray Owen, films of our old races and racers and the best part – catching up with the old faces you might not have seen for 30 or 40 years!

Unofficial Motocross historian, tragic and illustrator Roger Harvey is compiling a 120-page book of unpublished photos of the stars of the era, which will be on sale at the opening. Limited numbers are available and are sure to be instant collectors’ items.
Bar facilities and a fish and chip dinner will be available, or BYO on the night.

But that’s not all – the HBBB is a celebration of all pre-1985 historic Motorcycle disciplines. You can go and see your favourite old Road Racer, Speedway and Short Circuit riders, Trials and Enduro riders in action on one of the complex’s circuits too, as all disciplines have their own riding area or track with excellent spectator areas. See bikes you haven’t seen or even heard the sound of in years, and re-kindle old friendships. You will probably even see your favourite bike you owned in the era.

For all the latest news and announcements ahead of the 2012 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza be sure to check out the HBBB website at www.ma.org.au/hbbb.