Our Norsemen family suffered a great loss with the passing of founding member Dick Bielke January 28, 2025.
Memorial Service will be Saturday, June 7, 2025, at the Washburn-McReavy Edina Chaple 952-920-3996.
Dick is one of the founding members of the Norsemen Motorcycle Club and one of the founding members of the American Motorcycle Association District 23 ARMCA.
Kitty Winn
3/15/2019
Over 40 years ago, there was a Short Track and TT Track in Pease, MN. George Helm ran this particular track. The guys - Dale Greenwald, Barney Larson, Al Mathwig and Dick, just to name a few of the guys hung around and raced. Dick said that there were about 6 or 7 tracks around MN. George had 2 boys that ran around and helped with anything. They must have been in their teens.
We ran into the boys at the Minnesota Mile last summer. After all that time, they could pick Dick out of a crowd! They all started talking bikes and trading stories. Dick sent the following letter to one of the boys. When I read this I guess I was really impressed with my guy. You know after all these years he still amazes me.
Riders often rode their bikes to the races. Raced the same bike and rode the bike home. The result, according to Dick, was not to ride really hard, it was your ride home.
My Stable . . .
B50MX
It took 2 to make 1 (my old motor and a different chassis with motor), both from Tim. My old motor had the better guts, but the one in the frame had the better ccases, so I swapped a bunch of parts between them and replaced a lot of bearings. The ET ignition went away and got replaced with an alternator to run battery/coil ignition and lights. Wheels got 18" BMW rims and street tires. Exhaust is homemade with a Goldstar pattern muffler. Lots of dirt and grime got replaced with paint and polish. Fun to ride if you don't have any loose fillings.
CB34GS Goldstar
Bought from Dale Greenwald for $200. Exhaust pipe is representative of the general condition at purchase. It was a low-mileage, only driven on Sundays hill climber. Frame needed straightening and cracks welded. Crankshaft got a different primary side drive axle and primary case from an alternator model B33. Now it has a magneto for spark and alternator for everything else electrical. Clutch is a cushion-hub unit from Triumph. I found the center-mount oil tank in San Diego while visiting Kitty's Mom. Gas tank is BS Firebird, and exhaust is aftermarket. The finicky GP carb was replaced with a Concentric bored to 34mm. I'll keep the GP for later.
SR500E
Bought it as trade-in while working at Karl's. The exhaust valve head was buried in the piston crown. Fixed that and kept it pretty stock until it got stolen and then torched in it's own gas. Everything plastic got melted, so it got the Street-tracker look. The chassis is stock and the seat is fromOmar's DTR (Phil Little). Pipe is Super Trap. Front brake master cylinder hidden behind headlight. Still sweet to ride. Now I've got all three kinds of Goldstar: non-unit original, unit B50, and Black Gold/Star Red (the original color choices) Yamaha.
A65SA Spitfire MKIII (European Version)
Another Karl's trade-in. Pretty ratty by the time I got it, but pretty complete. Motor got freshened, including a better cast iron oil pump from George. It had Honda 450 carbs when I got it - replaced with 32mm concentrics, and ports matched to carbs. Most mods are period correct, but not original (Koni shocks, K&N filters, better horn, K81's, turn signals).
YamaTaco
My little mongrel. Yamaha DT1 motor in Bultaco Metisse motocrosser chassis. Frame, swingarm and tank are Bultaco. Front wheel Yamaha R5, rear wheel Yamaha AT1. Forks and shocks are Betor, back fender Acerbis, oil tank Yamaha DT400, cylinder head Webco. Exhaust is a Suzuki enduro part from Hooker turned up-side down. Parts kept piling up so this is what I dreamed up to consolidate the pile. It's the only bike I've had with clip-ons.
Yamaha XS650B
Mine for awhile it looked pretty stock, then lived in Chicago for a couple years as my Son's bike but was rarely ridden. Came back to me the victim of corrosion from lake air. Lots of machine work and pretty new parts turned into a semi-cafe bike. Brake master cylinder is behind the headlight like the SR500. Mufflers from a '71 A65 give it that authentic Brit-bike look. It's got the same bore and stroke as an A65, so I'm interested in some day having a side-by-side roll-on comparison with the A65.
The others...
BMW R80/7 with R90S fairing and R100RS ¾ seat. MadAss 125 city bike; traded my Honda 305 scrambler, Kitty's Honda 350, a Yamaha DT400, and a Yamaha DT100 for this. Sold the Ducati Monster 900; it was more maintenance than it was worth.
