Dick Klamfoth

DICK KLAMFOTH

National Number Two

ONE of the smoothest, most consistent riders in the business today is Dick Klamfoth, National Number Two. The Groveport, Ohio veteran is always a threat wherever he competes and, being at home on road race courses, half-mile or mile dirt tracks, that means he’s in the thick of things all year long.

Klamfoth, Norton-mounted, won the Daytona Beach classic in 1949, 1951 and 1952, but has failed to cop that elusive fourth win since. He and Brad Andres, now retired, are the only three-time Daytona winners. Dick, whose balding features belie his “youth” on a track, also has four seconds at the famed beach course to his credit, and this year he snagged a seventh spot aboard his BSA.

The Ohio speedster had a reasonably good “National” year in 1961, amassing 12 points with a fourth place in the Heidelberg 15-Miler, a fifth at Laconia’s winding Belknap Area road course, and a second in the 10-Mile Charity Newsies race at Columbus. In 1960, Klamfoth won only two points nationally, so this past year was much more successful.

One of the few riders who tunes his own machine, Dick is hoping that 1962 will find a return to some of the glory that marked his earlier career. 1951 saw him take national wins at the Laconia 100-Miler; the Richmond, Va., 10-Miler; and the Ohio State Championships. (Incidentally, he also won the Ohio State title in 1954, 1956, 1958 and 1959).

The summer of 1955 found Klamfoth in England, studying the manufacture of the BSA. At that time he witnessed the famed Isle of Man TT races, and took in some of the track races on the continent, too. He also made a motorcycle tour of France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium before returning to the U.S.

In 1956, Dick placed second at Daytona and third at Springfield. He won a 10 and a 15-Miler in 1958, as well as placing in the money in most of his other races. In 1959, he made it two in a row for the 10 and 15-Milers and placed sixth at Laconia, second in the Sacramento 25Miler, and fifth in the 8-Miler at Los Angeles, finishing the season as runnerup for the National title.

Dick is married and a motorcycle dealer in Groveport, Ohio. He is one of the nation's most personable competitors, and this year at Daytona was voted the AMA’s most popular male rider in a poll of his colleagues.