Remember JoJo?

[kschilk]

JoJo Keller was a fast privateer from New England, he was a prominent Open MX force in the '80s. I saw him give Bailey and Glover fits, at the '85 High Point Nationals and man...that boy could ride! I did a search, just to see if he's still around and surprisingly, I found this....

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It's nice to see the old gunfighter's still around.

[Keetoman393]

Wow, there is a name I haven't heard in forever! Thanks for posting!

[kschilk]

I came across these photos that I'd taken, back in '85 and got curious as to what he was up to. I watched him run with Glover and Bailey...it was spectacular! He didn't win but you can bet ol' Broc and David, were wishin' he would've stayed home that weekend!



JoJo, chasin' down David Bailey.

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Broc Glover, tryin' to catch JoJo.

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My favorite JoJo pic.

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[MotoMan]

Wow, I am with Keeto, I haven't heard or thought about that name in a LONG time.

Good to see him still on 2 wheels though.

[pragmatic393]

Very impressive, Jojo still has it. Nice to see someone representing for us old guys

[Keetoman393]

Those are some awqesome pictures. Thanks again for sharing!

[kschilk]

This is sweet...a rare photo of JoJo, pullin' off his trademark "scrub".

Image of Vintage JoJo - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[Rumble]

Thanks for the pics, I will share them with Jo Jo. He is an old friend of mine.

[Big Maico 393]

Originally Posted by kschilk

This is sweet...a rare photo of JoJo, pullin' off his trademark "scrub".

Image of Vintage JoJo - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Everyone think that Bubba is the scrub king, not so Jojo is the scrub King!

[kschilk]

Who the heck is Bubba? Back in the day, we didn't call it a "scrub"...you just did a "JoJo".

[VAL]

Back in my day (geeez I am such a coot) Joel Robert and Rodger Decoster did a very similar move and it was called a "cross up". I will try to find the pic of the two of them, maybe four feet off the ground completely parallel. Too cool

[kschilk]

I know what you mean, I'm from the cross-up days....but that was just a precursor to the scrub. With our hi-tech bikes of the day and nearly 3 1/2 full inches of suspension travel...just gettin' enough air to pull-off a cross-up and survive the landing, was a pretty big deal. I was 6 inches taller, before I got into mx.


JoJo was an iconic figure, to alot of us. When he was an up-and-coming rider, things were a whole lot different. Even though MX was gaining popularity nationwide, it wasn't such a big thing here in the northeast. Tracks were few and very far between and all the "big" racing, was pretty much only in the southwest. That was the center of the MX universe and if you weren't racing out there, you didn't have a chance. It was really hard for an eastern racer to make a name for himself and get noticed on a national level.

You also have to remember, these were the days before the production rule. JoJo was a privateer, takin' on the factory pros and their exotic works machines, with basically nothing more than a local shop sponsorship and slightly modified production bikes. He not only mixed it up with the pros, he gave 'em fits and every now and then....took their butts to school. To those of us that ever dreamed of making it to the MX "big time", JoJo was our "working class hero". He paid all his dues, did it all the hard way and though he never really took the big titles, he scared the crap outa' the ones that had 'em. He's been an inspiration to many, he deserves a spot in the MX Hall Of Fame.

[yzernie]

I remember JoJo giving those guys fits in the 500 class. I put him, John Dowd, Rex Staten (even tho he is a freak) and a few others into that working man's catagory. Those are he guys I used to like watching from the fence line.

[kschilk]

The pics I took were at High Point...first time I really got to watch JoJo, up close. I expected a wilder, more Hannah-like performance but he was very DeCoster-like, sooo smooth and precise yet, blinding fast.