Gary Conrad: 2015 Trailblazers Hall of Fame Inductee

The 71st annual Trailblazers banquet is now less than 60 days away. On Saturday, April 11th the sold-out event will begin at 3:00 p.m. with pre-banquet activities in the courtyard of the Carson Center featuring the Tom Cates Memorial Bike Show presented by The Early Years of Motocross Museum and Hagerty Insurance. Some call it the best part of the annual gathering with the chance to catch up with old friends and re-tell those many great bench-racing stories. As we always do, when go inside for dinner we will also be honoring some great motorcycling legends, both living and others who have passed on. One of our posthumous honorees will be Gary Conrad.

Gary Lee Conrad was born in Los Angeles in 1943. His family moved to Palmdale when he was 12 and he lived there for 58 years. In 1960, he graduated from Palmdale High School where he met the love of his life, Linda.  Gary served in the National Guard for eight years and worked most of his life as a New Construction Plumber. But, his greatest passion was motorcycle riding.  

He started riding at the age of 12 on a stripped-down 165cc Harley-Davidson. He soon moved on to a 200cc Dot. Gary couldn’t wait to race and in 1957 he entered his first Hare & Hound in the 200cc class. Gary was hooked and eventually entered 35 desert races, and four TT Scrambles, in 1957. He took 9 first place class finishes, 2 second place finishes, and 7 thirds. Nick Nicholson was importing Greeves motorcycles into the Western USA and offered Gary a ride. His first race on the new 250cc Greeves in 1959 foreshadowed what was to come. He took third place at the Orange County Little Bear Run. He was almost always on the podium whenever he raced for the next decade. Gary compiled an amazing record in the 1960’s riding Hare & Hounds and Hare Scrambles events. He won the 250cc class an astounding 123 times! He also won 16 events on the 360cc Greeves in the 500cc class, as well as 13 class wins on the Dot and the early Greeves 200cc.

Gary reached the top of his sport by winning the District 37 overall #1 plate, the fabled 1X in 1965. 1965 was a great year for Gary, in addition to his class wins; he won the overall at the Antelope Ramblers Hare Scrambles in September, as well as the Checkers Hare & Hound in October. He took those overall victories on his 250cc Greeves at a time when Open class bikes ruled the desert.

When Suzuki decided to market their first motocross bike in the USA, they created the TM250. This model was the first production Japanese motocrosser and only 200 were produced worldwide, with the USA getting 65 in early 1968. To prove it’s off-road worth, the American Suzuki distributor hired Preston Petty, Walt Axthelm, as well as Gary Conrad as riders to showcase the new machine.

Gary was a great ambassador for off-road riding. He rode his dirt bikes to work on trails he’d map out to each job site and encouraged all his friends and family to ride and helped many get their start in the sport. He retired from racing in 1970, however he continued to love riding with his family and friends and continued to compete in Dual Sport and Trials events.

Gary passed away Monday, February 4, 2013 in Lancaster, California at the age of 69. The Trailblazers fondly remember Gary Conrad and welcome him to the 2015 Hall of Fame.

Neil Fergus: 2015 Trailblazers Hall of Fame Inductee

Preparations continue for the 71^st annual Trailblazers banquet. As expected, the banquet is now sold out, although the club encourages emails to get into the waiting list in the event of cancellations – which we do always get. To get on the list, send a note to: mctrailblazers01@gmail.com.

Continuing with our previews of this year’s honorees at the banquet, here is a profile on off-road legend Neil Fergus.

Neil Fergus was born in San Francisco, California in 1931. His family soon moved to Sierra Madre, California and it was there that Neil began his love of motorcycling.

Neil bought his first motorcycle at age 16. He rode mostly off road in any vacant lot he could find. Soon he was taking the bike out to the Mojave Desert to ride, and began entering desert races.

Neil was drafted into the Army in the early 50’s. Since he was an accomplished motorcycle rider, he became a motorcycle “MP” in charge of Convoy Escorts. He loved this type of duty because it gave him the opportunity to ride every day.

Upon his discharge, he took a job as a Pasadena motorcycle police officer. Although he rode a motorcycle five days a week, he still wanted more saddle time. So every weekend he went to the Mojave Desert and raced his beautifully prepped 200cc Dot in District 37 desert races and Enduros.

In 1960, Neil partnered with Jack Gray to open Honda of Pasadena. This was an era when “Made in Japan” meant the product was probably junk. Neil began to race a Honda 250cc scrambler in desert races to help prove the quality of the motorcycles he was selling. To improve his chances, Neil continually modified the Honda.  It took some time, but he made it a winner in the desert.

In 1963, he earned the #2 plate in AMA District 37. Then in 1964, Neil was the first person in AMA District 37 history to win "High Point Man of the Year" on a 250cc bike and was awarded the #1 plate.

In 1965 Neil partnered with Gary Griffin to open the Fergus & Griffin Motorcycle Service Center in Monrovia. Neil continued to race, defending his #1 plate riding a Bultaco. He was becoming legendary as not only a rider, but also a tuner, frame and suspension expert.

In 1967 Yamaha asked Neil to help create a street legal dirt bike, the concept we now know as Enduro or Dual Sport. The first prototypes were brought to Neil because he was known as a guy who could make a bike work off road. The bike Neil helped create was the Yamaha DT-1.

In 1968 Neil offered a fast young rider named Larry Bergquist a Bultaco sponsorship. Bergquist promptly went out and grabbed the District 37 desert 250cc #1 plate. This began a collaboration between Neil and Larry that would last for several more years. With Fergus as the builder/tuner and Bergquist as the rider, the team had many wins in District 37 desert racing as well as major events like Baja and the Mint 400.

In the early 1970’s Neil secured a position as head of R & D with Mike Harper’s Victor Products. Neil’s job was to develop new accessories for Yamahas just before they were introduced. If you had a Yamaha in the 70’s, and purchased any Genuine Yamaha Accessories such as a compression release, fork brace, high mount front fender, skid plate, or GYT kit, chances are that Neil designed and developed it.

Neil retired from the motorcycle industry in 1980, but still rides and travels 20,000-30,000 miles annually on two wheels. He maintains a fleet of street and dirt bikes, and can usually be found out in the garage getting an old Matchless or Panther ready for a vintage road rally.

The Trailblazers proudly welcomes Neil Fergus to the 2015 Hall of Fame!