THE WEEKLY FEED: AKE JONSSON THROUGH THE YEARS • EPIC ENDURO VIDEO • BILLY BOLT-CAPTURED

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Ake Jonsson through the years

Åke Jonsson was a top GP athlete in the Motocross World Championships during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Jonsson was in the hunt three times to win the World Championship title- 1968, 1970 and in 1971. He rode for the Husqvarna factory but he was the third man behind World Champions Bengt Aberg and Torsten Hallman, though he finished in third place in the 1968 500cc World Championship. The next year he switched to Maico, taking third place in the 1970 500cc World Championship and then winning the Inter-AM series in America.

Photo courtesy of MXA, Ake in his Husqvarna days.

Racing his square barrel Maico in the U.S., this was at Ascot Park.

1971 was Ake’s best racing year. He held a tiny lead over Roger DeCoster going into the last GP of the year. DeCoster passed him when his spark plug came out of the head and ended up winning the World Championship.

1972 wasn’t a great year until the USA’s Trans AMA Motocross series where Ake dominated winning 9 races in a row at one point. Yamaha hired Ake for the 1973 season and his mount was the new single shock “monoshock” machine. Ake had issues dealing with the fork, especially coming off of a Maico, which had the best front suspension in motocross. Ake fit a Maico front end onto his Yamaha much to the chagrin of his bosses, but felt that he was at too much of deficit with the stock fork. Ake never could overcome injuries and the handling quirks of the Yamaha. He retired at the end of the 1976 season.

Ake had issues switching to the Yamaha machine. He tested both the new Monoshock, and in this photo standard Thermal Flow dampers with a Maico front end.

His big-bore Works Yamaha, Maico forked and rear Monoshock suspension had the handling closer to what he liked. His big issue was with the power character of the machine. Unlike the tractable power of the Maico, the Yamaha hit hard and violently.

This Ake rendition must have driven the Yamaha factory nuts. He fit his factory motor and tank onto a modified Maico frame, fork and rear suspension and fit it with a downpipe.

Back on the single shock Yamaha in 1975, Ake fit it with a downpipe exhaust in an attempt to smooth out the power.

Ake’s last year racing GPs was in 1976, and he was back on a Maico.

SOCIAL DISTORTION

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VIDEO JUKEBOX

Tennessee Knockout Hard Enduro Recap: This is a fun look at the event featuring a number of classes.

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This is a Mario Roman highlights vid from the hairball Red Bull Outliers. Good stuff!

SHOT OF THE WEEK

Husqvarna’s Billy Bolt attacking one of the giant climbs at the Red Bull Outliers Hard Enduro in Canada. Photo: Future7Media

GEAR BAG

This is a very useful and helpful kit for anyone with a modern fuel pump style motorcycle. The Nihilo Concepts Fuel Transfer Kit provides everything you need to completely drain your fuel system when changing fuel types or just wanting to empty all fuel for storage. The kit is also small and compact and can transfer fuel from one bike to another on the trail or in emergencies. Gone are the days of simply pulling off the fuel line and letting the fuel run out. Fuel pump systems must be activated with the Fuel Transfer Kit to remove or drain fuel. Price: $89.99

nihiloconcepts

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BENEFITS

Compatible with Kreft Moto ReValve Control, OEM XPLOR forks, and symmetrically converted XPLOR OC forks
Plush and predictable bottoming response
- Absorbs twice the impact energy vs OEM
- 66% Peak Force (“harshness”) vs OEM
Allows for a plush main damping response while maintaining bottoming control for high-velocity impacts
Reduces “stinkbug” effect on deep travel impacts

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WOLF: BACK IN THE DAY

Valley Cycle Park, 1974. My 1972 CZ400. Horizons Unlimited had moved up the shocks (this was huge!) but I struggled with getting shocks that were stiff enough, and had enough rebound damping to take on the increased leverage ratio. After blowing up Arnaco’s and Boge Mullhollands, I finally got some Koni’s with Poppy bodies that were excellent. I had put on a Valerian’s Mikuni kit, Motoplat ignition and ran a Mid Valley CZ chamber. This baby was a tank, but never broke down.