A few weeks ago, the motorcycle industry lost a great friend in Barry Chinen. Known primarily for his work at Honda in the Research and Development department, Barry was a fun-loving guy with a passion for motorcycles and great skills on a surfboard, not to mention an ever-present grin. In order to honor Barry and also to raise money for his family, the crew at Racetown 395 opened their doors and held a memorial ride day, complete with an auction and a ‘moment of thunder’ in Barry’s memory. The response was excellent and numerous friends of Barry’s as well as fellow enthusiasts were on hand to share in Barry’s memory and enjoy the epic track. Following are a few shots from the day.
If you’d like to make a donation to the Chinen family, please feel free to contact Scott Haydis at 909/ 648-0025 or racetown395@verizon.net.
Riders completed a ‘moment of thunder’ for Barry, taking a lap around the Racetown 395 course single-file. Pictured is the #216 of Barry’s bike.
The Honda crew turned out in full force to support their buddy and help raise money for the Chinen family. As you can imagine, there were plenty of red bikes out on the track!
Fox Racing’s Warren Johnson returned to Racetown exactly two months to the day after hitting the dirt hard in one of the faster sections of the track. Fortunately, Dub-J is now almost totally healed and even hopped on a bike for the moment of thunder. Expect to see this dude scootin’ around a SoCal track sometime very soon!
Both a silent auction and a raffle were held, and a number of cool prizes were handed out to several lucky riders.
Super enthusiasts and Honda addicts Lori and Ray Conway rode all the way from their house (on dirt bikes!) to enjoy the day at the track.
If this man looks tired, that’s because he is: DR test rider Kris Keefer takes a small break from a long day of testing on the delicious Racetown soil.
DR Associate Editor Pete Peterson switches his 32nd footpeg of the day. Did we mention that we’re working on a footpeg comparison? Pete doesn’t exactly want to talk about it right now!
The moment of thunder was an impressive instant indeed. Over a full gate of riders took to the track and revved their bikes in support of their buddy.
Big thanks to Racetown 395 for opening up the track for everyone, as well as thanks to all those who put up prizes for the auction or donated for the cause. Remember, if you’d like to make a donation to the Chinen family, please feel free to contact Scott Haydis at 909/ 648-0025 or racetown395@verizon.net.
