May 2026 35
top, a comfortable seat, quality alloy rims, and
even a factory center stand. Center-stand? Hey,
if you've ever had to work on your bike trailside
or in a Qualifier grace period, such a setup can be
a godsend. Generally speaking, aside from a few
old-school carryover components such as fragile
fiberglass or alloy fenders, the Frontera came
from the factory as a ready-to-go, serious off-
road race bike. Power was excellent, with a focus
on torque; transmission ra os were effec vely
spread to provide low-speed capabili es as well
as an 80mph top end, and chassis & handling
were solid. The bike was a bit heavy, at nearly
250 lbs ready to ride, but that's about the same
as all Enduro bikes from this me period. It was
arguably right on par in terms of overall perfor-
mance with Husky's and Penton's – the best you
could get at the me.
Which brings us to the bike featured in this ar cle.
A couple of years ago, it came to the a en on of
my partner at The Vintage Movement, Bob Went-
zel, and me that George Roeder II was offering it
at the family's historic motorcycle shop in Mon-
roeville, Ohio. For those of you unfamiliar with
the family name, George II is an ac ve and very
accomplished dirt track racer and son of AMA Hall
of Famer, George Roeder Sr, who was one of the
top racers on the AMA Grand Na onal tour in the
1960's. In addi on to George Sr.'s numerous Grand
Na onal wins, he also, in 1965, piloted a Har-
ley-Davidson streamliner to a land-speed record.
That bike, along with a host of other classic race
bikes and vintage machines, is all on display at the
Roeder Racing shop. If you are ever in the area,
stop in and check them out. It's well worth a visit:
h ps://www.roederracing.com/
