Articles
Trail Rider, Party Night
“For many years afterwards we had to shoulder the infamy of the restaurant owner with the samurai sword who dictated that one trip through the buffet line was in fact, ‘all you could eat’!”
Back in the days of the enduro wars and yes, in our minds it was war, Husqvarna vs. Can Am. I of course was firmly planted in the Husqvarna camp as both a rider and a part time dealer. Husqvarna was the underdog in terms of sheer numbers as the Canadian built Can-Am had many more dealers and much more presence being somewhat buoyed up by a large mother company, Bombardier.
Being the underdog, we, The Husqvarna Faithful fought back as best we could. Though there were only about a half-dozen Husqvarna dealers in Ontario at any one time, we were somewhat united in our advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. The product was good and the riders were quite loyal so at year end the Swedish marquee was always well represented on the win list for enduro and hare scramble events.
Back about 1983 The Ontario dealers decided to host a year-end party to acknowledge those successful Husky riders and honour our loyal customers. This event aptly dubbed, Husky Riders Night”. The first of these recognition nights was held in Armstrong’s Small Engines local of Georgetown at a Chinese restaurant. Dave Armstrong and I had negotiated a price ahead of time which we assumed was for an ‘all you can eat’ buffet. For many years afterwards, we had to shoulder the infamy of the restaurant owner with the samurai sword who dictated that one trip through the buffet line was in fact, ‘all you could eat!’ Luckily there was a McDonalds across the street and many of the riders finished the evening over there with a Big Mac and fries.
In following years these rider nights were in turn hosted by the other dealers including Willis Marr of Marr Husqvarna in the Delhi area, Jamie Stevens of Stevens Auto in Grimsby and of course in the Oshawa area by Lorna’s and my business, Warren’s Sports.
Interestingly, though I cannot remember the exact years of each rider night I vividly remember the invited guest speakers and most of their subjects. Bert Irwin of Irwin’s Supply in Cornwall spoke about the present cost of motorcycles in relation to the number of days work required to pay for one. Bert based his math on a local Cornwall industry over a period of thirty years. Interestingly it took many less days of work to purchase the motorcycle in the mid-eighties than in any of the previous thirty years.
Ron Keys, one of our more successful Canadian riders, spoke of his racing career riding CZ, Husqvarna and Can-Am motorcycles and of his being employed by Bombardier and then Durham Regional Police. Jim Kelly spoke of his favourite topic, Canadian ISDE involvement and probably his favourite club, Steel City Riders. Carl Bastedo spoke of his involvement in Canadian Motocross while brother Larry Bastedo told amusing stories, some of which practically had the audience rolling on the floor with his reminisces.
In addition to interesting guest speakers each year we awarded some product to those riders who had won High Points or Championships at club, provincial or a national level. The product awarded was Husqvarna branded and consisted of apparel such as jackets and sweatshirts. One year the award was a personalized gear-bag with the rider’s name, class and championship prominently embroidered. Occasionally while at a motorcycle ride somewhere I see items from a rider night and it always gives me a warm feeling.
After the sale of the Husqvarna Motorcycle Division to Cagiva in 1986 and the decline of the brand in North America, Husky Rider Night ended. Nonetheless I continued the theme as Warrens Sports Rider Night, with a KTM accent, for a few more years. The sale of our Warrens Sports business 1992 brought an end to those rider parties but the idea was replicated occasionally.
Meg Thorborn and Lorenz Calcagno hosted an offroad rider evening at their home in Guelph for a couple of years with a tremendous turnout of people on both years. After forming the Blair Sharpless Trail Tour business in 1994 we hosted a similar party night for all of our staff, sponsors and some of the better customers. In 1998 that business was sold and so ended the Rider Appreciation Night idea. I don’t believe this idea has been replicated in the last ten years or so and if it has, I haven’t been invited.
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Warren Thaxter