Jim Hollander Racing Background Click any Photo to enlarge
1975 International Six Day Trial riding a Rokon 340 Automatic. Only 2 Rokon finishers of five on the USA Team. Bronze Medal for Jim Hollander, and Jim Fogle. The Rokon Team suffered from requirement of spark arrest screens fitted inside the muffler. The 2-stroke oil mix in the gas left choking carbon deposits on the screens, dramatically reducing power. By the time the team discovered the problem, and poked a hole in the remaining Rokon spark screens, 3 USA team riders had dropped out. A 6th Rokon rider: Brian Taylor of Canada, retired the 3rd day.	1974 International Six Day Trial on a USA built Rokon 340cc Automatic. Rocky terrain was brutal on the riders with many flat tires and rear knobbies that would wear down in one day. Jim Hollander was the only American to qualify for the USA Team on a Rokon. He had to change a total of 9 tires in the event, 3 at the side of the trail, costing him his Gold at the following time checkpoint by one minute past his late grace period. The other Rokon rider was Dave Mungenast of St. Louis, MO riding on the "Canadian" Trophy Team. An unusual Six Days held in steep and dangerous mountain terrain around Camerino, Italy... there was no rain the entire event.
At the Isle of Man in Great Britain in '75, Jim is loaded has a spare inner-tube on his belt, tool pack on the rear fender, spare belt for the automatic transmission behind the front number plate, rear axle rider's wrench on the front down tube, & checkpoint time-card holder on the tank. The mud at the 6 day endurance event was particularly tough that year, though the Rokon did work well with the automatic transmission under such conditions. The U.S. built Rokon had disc brakes years ahead of the competition. Unfortunately Rokon Mfg. of New Hampshire fell into bankruptcy in 1978.	1973 ISDT was held in the USA for the first time: the Penton USA Team poses for a photo. Back row: Jim Hollander, Paul Danik, Carl Cranke, Billy Uhl, Doug Wilford, Joe Barker. Front row: Dane Leimbach, Tom Penton, John Penton - Manager, Jeff Penton, Jack Penton. Jim was the top scoring Privateer during the qualifiers in the USA in '73 with 5 Gold Medals, and was placed on the 4-man Vase B Team. Riding a 125cc, Jim was the only Penton rider not to finish that year, ending up in the hospital following a crash in the woods. Penton's disappointment that year was compounded by Jeff Penton dropping to a Bronze w/ silicone sealant clogging the carb.
1972 ISDT held in Spindleruv Myln, Czechoslovakia was Jim's first Six-Days competition. Riding a 125cc Penton on a Gold medal pace until 3 hours before the finish on the 6th day, he suffered a mud-packed throttle cable with no spare. Silver Medal was the result. Not able to change a tire in the typical 4 minutes of a seasoned veteran, he rode all 6 days on the same knobbies, making rear traction tricky as shown in photo. Czechoslovakia was behind the Iron Curtain and crossing the border into Czecho was a unique experience. Border guards in look-out towers, no-man's land, barbed wire fences, and soldiers with machine guns.	The mud at the Great Britain ISDT in 1975 took its toll on riders. Heavy rainfall and a course that ran the same trails in two directions every other day made it especially deep. Here you can easily spot the spare reinforced rubber drive belt wrapped around the headlight-number plate. The automatic transmission was fitted with a quick-detach cover and riders practiced to change the belt in several minutes. Fortunately the belts rarely failed, even when notched on the edges with a table saw to act like a rain tire in water-crossings. Rumor was that the Rokons couldn't go thru deep water without difficulty, but wasn't an issue with shielding and notched belts.
Mostly an underwater enduro, this US Qualifer was unbelievably wet. It was continuous riding in deep water mile after mile. Not the best conditions for a Rokon with the exposed snowmobile-type automatic drive belt. Jim's Rokon fiberglas gas tank leaked fuel on his seat and leathers, and while on a road section the abused drive belt disintegrated. The engine over-reved and Jim couldn't bring the revs down, slammed on the super disc brakes to cut down on the speed, aimed it into the ditch at the side of the road and bailed out. Fortunately there was no fire... DNF - a rare 'Did Not Finish'.	International Six Day Trial medals - Silver in Czechoslovakia in 1972 on a 125cc Penton. Bronze, 2nd Silver, and a Gold medal on the Rokon 340cc automatic. At the ISDT riders were required to do all of their own repairs during the 6 days with only the tools and spare parts they carried during each day. Outside assistance would result in instant disqualification, though support in the woods was not unknown. Engines were fitted with a special lead seal wired so you couldn't take it apart. They used special fluorescent paint with your rider number engraved on the paint to prevent changing damaged wheels, fork tubes, shocks, and other critical parts.
6th top U.S.A. rider at the International Six Day Trial in Austria 1976. Was the top scoring US Trophy Team rider on a Rokon 340cc Automatic. The Rokon was not expected to finish, sort of the black sheep of the 6-man squad. Jim managed to break his frame, get it welded during the event on his own initiative at a local garage, and still get to the next checkpoint on schedule. That year the Trophy Team was comprised of 4 different brand motorcycles, an experiment that the AMA - American Motorcyclist Association - had never tried before. Managed to better Malcolm Smith's score by 5 seconds over a period of 6 days. Malcolm Smith was the star of the off-road motorcycle movie classic ON ANY SUNDAY from 1970.	In 1970 on the '58 Cadillac bumper is Jim's first serious Enduro motorcycle...a 125cc Penton. Known as a frame-breather model this early Penton brought engine air in thru holes in the frame's backbone at gas tank level. As long as you kept the engine revs up in deep stream crossings, you could ride with the engine submerged, and exhaust bubbling out the pipe. It handled beautifully in tight New England woods and was especially suited for Six-Days type competition. Early Sachs engines had a shifting weakness that would send you into a false neutral on the 1 to 2 shift if out of adjustment. Unique ability to recover itself from severe tank-slappers. Overall a wonderful tough competition motorcycle in production for 10 years before becoming the KTM brand.
At the Six-Days twice a day there would be a special speed test, where riders are timed to the tenth of a second. The special test boundary ribbon is seen in the background. This '75 photo highlighted a 2-page DIRT BIKE MAGAZINE article on Jim in 1976. Rokon's racing expenses were a burden, and they couldn't afford to continue the program for 1977. Although selected for the prestigious US Trophy Team, Jim was told in the summer of '76 they couldn't send him to Austria. Fortunately a trail riding motorcycle club came thru and paid Jim's way to Europe. The next year Jim was off to UMass Mechanical Engineering study, rather than continue racing. That lead to development of the product line. More photos at: Jim's Racing Photos - 30 of ISDT and Qualifiers.	At the two-day 1976 Rose City, Michigan ISDT Qualifier, Jim took the 340cc Rokon to first overall... whipping up on the Penton kids and National Enduro Champion Dick Burleson. Rokon had decided they could not continue to race, and had announced they needed to drop Jim's support. They were there to put gas in the tank, and at one gas stop their mechanic got distracted and only filled Jim's tank half-way. Fortunately Jim caught the mistake yards away, and returned for a fill-up. The mechanic and Jim had some harsh words, and the adrenaline flowed at the special test right after the checkpoint. Believing in the Rokon, Jim put an extra effort in at that speed test and it paid off. The only time Rokon could claim they won an ISDT Qualifier event overall. In protest of the factory pulling support... in sight of the last time checkpoint Jim removed air out of the tires and rode in with two flats. For more on the Rokon Automatics, go to the link: Vintage Dirt Bikes - A Look at Rokon Automatics