On The Pegs June 2020 - Volume 5 - Issue 6 | Page 109

On The Pegs VOL. 4 ISSUE 7 - July 2020 109
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve known Kirk Mayfield since 1974 (back in the good
ole days)! Kirk was a stud on a trials bike and he grabbed the attention of
Yamaha, who was putting together a national trials team to promote their
new TY models. Here’s Kirk’s story in his own words. Take it away, Kirk:
- Shan Moore
I started sailing in 6th grade. The people across the street had a boat and I went
to the lake with them at every opportunity. I especially liked the racing aspect
of the sport. I sailed a couple of seasons with that family until the father passed
away. I then took up shooting Skeet with my fa-ther. We got into it so heavily
that we had Automated Reloaders for two different gages of shotguns. I would
come home from school, do my homework, or not, and load shotgun shells. I
re-member a tournament that we competed in at the gun club. I hit 87 out of
100 clay pigeons. I even had a straight round, 25 out of 25. I was 13 and I was
pumped! My dad shot 90 out of 100. He won his class. They were supposed to
have a kid’s class too. But when the other kids saw me shoot, they decided not to
compete. I got dumped into my dad’s class and got nothing! I soon became disenchanted
with Skeet Shooting and the other kids and moved on to something
else!
I started riding motorcycles at 14. In Oklahoma we could get a motorcycle license
at 14. I rode to school and off-road every chance I got. I remember a friend
had a Suzuki and I thought he was the coolest thing on the planet, until I got my
Kawasaki 90. Of course, stock was not an option so I swapped out the stock muffler
that hung low for an expansion chamber that came up high and would burn
your leg, given the chance. My sister was dating a guy in High School named
Joe Logan. He rode a CZ in Motocross and had a Bultaco Sherpa T that he rode
in something call Trials. He tried to explain it to me, but I didn’t understand. He
invited me to an event locally. I accepted his invitation and rode my trusty Kawasaki
90 to the event and entered. The Kawasaki was not suited for the event. The
foot pegs even bent down with the continuous standing on them. I knew then
that the Kawasaki had to go. Joe had an OSSA Pioneer for sale that soon became
my next ride. I rode a Trial and some enduro’s before replacing it with a new
OSSA Pioneer. All the while still being drawn back to trials. Enough was enough!
The OSSA was out and in it’s place came a new Bultaco Sherpa T…. A local rider
took me under his wing. His name was Mike McCabe. He was the King Daddy
in these parts and the first American to compete in the SSDT in 1972. I started