Magoo Memorial/Chandler Classic

Riverfront Park August 25, 2013

After attending what may become the first Annual Chandler Classic MX, I came away with a big smile on my face.  The event was held at Riverfront OHV Park in Marysville, Calif. It was centered on vintage bikes but included modern classes as well. The idea was to get anyone with an off road race bike out to have a good time while dedicating a newly constructed Magoo Memorial placed in concrete at the OHV Park. If the chance ever arises to see this memorial I would encourage anyone to take advantage of seeing the partial motorcycle frame with plaque attached. It is a very nice and professionally assembled Maico frame with forks and handlebars that have a beautifully constructed plaque attached where the gas tank would normally be. Hopefully it will endure many years of sitting unmolested as a display and tribute to Danny “Magoo” Chandler.

The plaque has a picture of Danny and a brief overview of his life along with his achievements.  It is worthy of anyone’s time and outlines his life and things he accomplished that may be unknown or forgotten by many.  As I read the plaque it was almost overwhelming having all the things Danny did throughout his life listed. One of the things that I felt was the most impressive was the fact that he won both the 250cc Trophee des Nations and 500cc Motocross des Nations  in the same year and incredibly winning ALL FOUR MOTOS!  That was something that was never done by the greatest riders of all time, including 5 time 500cc World Champion Roger DeCoster and 6 time 250cc World Champion Joel Robert. There was also a replica of the Maico that Danny rode while being photographed for advertisements as well as the cover of a magazine. The Maico was restored and supplied by Gene Anderson of Rio Linda, Calif and sported the #42 that Danny ran when he rode that model. It was an awesome display and reproduction that made you feel like you were looking at Magoo’s bike.

A quick story, around 1980 I remember sitting on the back of a pickup truck tailgate at a track one day with Danny while we were riding. Just talking about dumb stuff that young guys do when Danny looks at a jump on the track and tells me, “I think I can do a flip”.  My first thought was that this guy really is crazy. I dismissed it as a guy with one too many crashes talking and just forgot about it. Now that I look at the freestyle riders and what they are doing today I am even more impressed with Danny’s forward thinking and vision. I look back now and remember him telling me that over 30 years ago, long before Travis Pastrana was even born. Simply incredible.

If you ever get the chance to make it to Riverfront OHV Park in Marysville, Calif. Check out the newly placed memorial and think about what a ride it would have been to look though the goggles that Danny “Magoo” Chandler wore!

Gone but not forgotten, Godspeed Danny.

#33

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”