The life of a privateer is rarely glamorous, but it’s not comprised completely of empty pockets, long nights, and endless toil, either. Need proof? Look to Gared Steinke, whose 125 two-stroke can be heard screaming at select Nationals this summer. The Northern California native makes it his business to have fun using motorcycles, in his words as a means to try “not to grow old so fast.” We caught up with the two-stroke desperado to see how his summer has been playing out so far.
Racer X: Gared, what’s up man, how goes the summer so far for you?
Steinke: It’s been going good. Hangtown was super good, I qualified straight in. In the motos I went 30-27 and got better throughout the day. Colorado was pretty good too. I had to do the LCQ, but I felt like I rode really well in it. I got to put on a show for the fans by doing that big jump they just built.
Yeah, I saw you doing that big uphill triple on the 125!
Yeah, I don’t know how big it was, but it was everything the 125 had with every bit of stretch I could put on it. I was still coming up short and I even put a big flat spot on my rim jumping it. Other than that, it’s been a solid summer. I had a solid winter in supercross, I made a main event on the 125 in Oakland. Everything has been going smooth so far this year.
Everyone loves seeing a two-stroke out there, so that part has to be fun for you, but are there times when you get frustrated with being underpowered?
Yes, it’s very frustrating being at a power disadvantage. It’s also very frustrating when I’m in the middle of the moto working my butt off and I come up on some of the other privateers. When I get behind them they kick into another gear. It’s frustrating, but it makes me happy at the same time because they don’t want to get beat by a 125 and they’re trying their hardest. It makes me smile. That’s what our sport needs, is for everyone to try hard.
Is there any track where the 125 is at the least disadvantage?
I think High Point is a really good track for the 125. It’s kind of hilly and off-camber, but it’s not the fastest track on the circuit—we’re not banging out long straightaways. It gets rough and rutted, the ruts are really long, and it’s a very technical track. In 2016, that’s where I scored my point on the 125. It’s a pretty even track between a 125 and a 250F, other than that uphill start. Racing that track on a 125 and a 250F, it’s very similar.
[Note: Due to the current price of fuel Steinke was unable to race High Point over the weekend.]
Going back to Thunder Valley, you were in A practice. Does that make a difference in how your day shapes up, or does it even matter?
That’s a good question. I do think it matters. In Colorado they had the 450s go first, so it was 450B, 450A, then 250A and 250B went last. Being the third practice on the track is better than being the fourth, and in Colorado it was super deep and kind of sloppy in practice. Not having to hit all those deep ruts and slow the bike down was an advantage.
I saw on your Instagram a clip of Mitch Payton doing some tuning on your bike. What was that all about?
Mitch is a pretty good friend of mine, believe it or not, we’ve known each other for some years now. We were having some problems and I didn’t know what it was, whether it was jetting or what. I still haven’t figured it out, but he has that special ear and feel so I took it over to him and asked if he could give it a quick little rev and a feel, and that’s what he did. Mitch said it sounded really good and the jetting sounded spot-on. I think the value of the bike went up a little bit with Mitch’s blessing.
Whether you’re riding pit bikes at Pastranaland or racing the nationals, it seems like you’re having a lot of fun out there. Do you have specific plans or are you just out there living it?
Right now we’re just living it. National racing, supercross racing, a lot of pit bike racing, all of it. We just got back from a pit bike event at Pastranaland and we’re trying to do another one. I can’t share the results because it hasn’t been televised yet, but I did pretty well and made some good cash. Hopefully we get another one in this year. I’ve also been doing a lot of stunt work. I did a TV show for HBO, The Righteous Gemstones, and some dirt bike stunt work for a TV show that hasn’t been sold yet. Just trying to live life, keep the two wheels going, and trying not to grow old so fast.
How many top ends do you keep in the van at all times?
Believe it or not, I don’t even have any top ends in the van. I have two bikes. Jim Haeseker does some special cutting of the piston and cylinder head, and Luke from Phatheads is involved in that too. If I’m at a race I’ll just switch a motor. A top end is something I can easily do, but on my bike it’s not normally the top end that goes out. It’s pretty much everything that goes out together, which is something I can’t do so I just ship the motor in a cooler straight back to Haeseker Racing and he puts his magic touch on it. So zero top ends in the van. If you were to ask me clutches, there’s about ten in there.
What’s the plan for the rest of the summer? Will you race more nationals?
Yeah, we’ll be hitting a few more. I really wanted to do RedBud, but it’s looking like it’s not in the cards. I’ve been driving the Lonesome Camel CBD Sprinter van and this was my last year with the contract. I have to give the van back so we’re getting the big classic Stank Bus back in action. The next few weekends I’ll be working on that and I’ll hit the PIR Anniversary race before Washougal. I’ll race Washougal, and Pala of course, and start getting ready for supercross again. I’ll just be riding that two-stroke WFO!
