What Ever Happened to Mr. Know It All?

If you read Dirt Bike magazine between 1972 and 1986, then you probably remember the technical how-to stories by "Mr. Know It All." The real person behind those informative and entertaining tales was a gentleman named Vic Krause. He also owned Krause Racing, best known for dominating the market for sprockets and chains that carried the Sidewinder brand name. During a recent visit to Krause Racing, sales representative Damian Ercole and I got the surprise of a lifetime.

Krause wanted to update us on his new products, but he had something else in mind for this beautiful summer day in rural country about 30 miles west of Chicago. After backing off from active riding and racing in the mid-80's, Krause bought a 1944 military fighter plane (SNJ-5B, which is the Navy equivalent of an AT6). After a year of restoration and reassembly, he began taking flying lessons and has since become a very accomplished pilot. Flying became his passion for the next 20 years but Krause recently rediscovered the joy of off-road riding by getting his son a bike, which led to bikes for himself and his daughter. The Krause family is now taking regular trips to the tracks and trails. But on this day, Damian and I got separate opportunities to ride behind "Mr. Know It All" as co-pilots and enjoy western Illinois aboard his beautiful plane.

Krause Racing is still in business, and may just have the product to bring the company to the head of the market yet again: it's a new sprocket design that combines an aluminum center section with a steel outer ring to create a light, durable sprocket. For more information about the new Sidewinder Tri-Metal sprockets, check out:

www.sidewindersprockets.com
630/513-5000