Racerhead
MILITARY TRIBUTE BIKE'S WRONG TURN
The problem was, I made an assumption. I assumed, like in all the years previously, the Military Appreciation round of Monster Energy Supercross would be at San Diego. We were never informed of anything differently, so I, apparently along with a couple other riders and teams, planned to do something to honor the race. I had a set of Acerbis plastics painted by a buddy of ours who does automotive painting, and he mixed up a Husqvarna blue to match a color swatch our graphics company, MotoPro Graphics, provided him. There were shipping issues where the package was refused and sent back; after they were painted, we were in California, so we had to send them to the campground where we were staying. The office there refused them because they were addressed to Jared Lesher, but my name was on the parking spot—they didn’t see anyone with the name Jared Lesher staying there. We finally had the graphics delivered at A1. A seat cover was made up, and we picked that up when we visited MotoSeat.
We got the bike built on Friday at the stadium in San Diego, and we were going to take photos before dinner. Later that night, Jared’s girlfriend found an article that said the Military Appreciation race would be in Tampa this year. I was bummed, but I’d already gotten the photos, and it was worth it to get them at the location we lined up (more on that shortly). Like Mike Emery said, “You are the earliest one ready for that race.” I took everything off the bike and went back to the 1987 Keith Bowen graphics overnight, and it was like nothing ever happened.
Now, about the location. I had seen some photos from the past at the aircraft carriers, so I knew I wanted to do something different. As a photographer, and also the mechanic (and the one running Jared’s social media), I always have the goal to make sure a bike catches people’s eyes and gets seen by the largest amount of people possible. I had never been to San Diego, so I was researching military and marine history in San Diego, and eventually found a picture of a cemetery on the coast with the water in the background, an awesome West Coast sunset, and beautiful grounds. I just imagined the bike sitting there in the photo, and I knew I had to make it happen.
Thirty minutes from the stadium is Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on the Point Loma Peninsula, about 10 miles west of downtown San Diego. With views of the city in the distance, the bay with warships, and the Pacific Ocean, it’s a unique location, and the addition of the vast cemetery makes it a powerful sight. San Diego is home to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, which has a population of 42,000 active-duty marines and sailors.
The graphics were designed as a tribute to the U.S. Marine Corps’ dress blues: navy blue, a red pinstripe around the perimeter, a white frame for the belt, white seat for the hat, and gold accents in the wheels and cylinder head as a nod to their buttons and buckles.
It was an honor to build, design, and photograph this bike. Anthony from Dunlop and Motion Pro mentioned a retired marine named Tyler to me, who works for Motion Pro, and his story and how he’s dealing with life after active-duty overseas time. The weekend after Tampa, in Arlington, we gave Anthony a shroud and side number plate signed by Jared to give to Tyler. Anthony said he was at a loss for words, and when he showed his son, he said, “Daddy, that looks like your uniform.” He lost it. That’s one of the greatest things I’ve heard in a long time, and it means a lot that something we did could impact someone in that way. The other half of the plastics, as well as the front number plate, will be put into the St. Jude auction later this year, so keep an eye out for that if you’re looking to help out.
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