By Carole Firstman

Meet Sergeant Jeff Robertson of the Visalia Police Department: With twenty-five years of experience, this lawman has seen just about everything. He spent his six years on a patrol motorcycle, another six years in investigations, did a nine-year stint with the SWAT team, and has served as a Youth Safety Officer on school campuses. Since 2007 he’s been back on patrol, this time on four wheels.

Now meet Patrol Officer Jarrett Robertson of the Tulare Police Department: This 24-year-old newlywed has been on the job for not quite a year. After working several years in the motorcycle industry, he decided that while bikes made a great hobby, his true professional calling was law enforcement. So Jarrett quit his job at the motorcycle shop, enrolled in the police academy, and now he drives a squad car not unlike Jeff’s.

Both Jeff and Jarrett have taken an oath to serve and protect. But what else do these law officers have in common? They’re father and son, for start. And when they’re not keeping the peace on the streets of Tulare County, they’re blazing trails on motocross tracks.

Jeff, the father of this duo, started riding when he was only 9 years old. He’d long loved the sport by the time his son Jarrett was born, so it’s no surprise that one of his young family’s first outings was to the Mojave Desert. Jeff and his bride Judy took then 2-month-old Jarrett for a four-day Thanksgiving weekend of dirt biking, an inaugural trip that would become a family tradition. In 1999 Jeff took the sport to the next level and entered his first vintage race, an event that also marked his initiation into the art of vintage motorcycle restoration. In father-like-son fashion, Jarrett began his riding career at the age of 4.

Fast-forward a couple of decades and we find both men with a lifetime of racing expertise, impressive national rankings, and a jaw-dropping cache of meticulously restored vintage machines.

Mad for Motocross

Jarrett wasn’t even a twinkle in his father’s eye when motocross entered the country’s spotlight. Previously known as “scrambling” in Great Britain, the sport caught America’s attention in 1969 when ABC’s “Wild World of Sports” included event coverage for the first time. The sport gained popularity the following decade, and with improved suspension, the riders went faster and jumped higher with each rolling year. Motocross has since evolved with sub-disciplines to include indoor arenas, freestyle events, and Supermoto racing on both tarmac and off-road tracks. Vintage motocross riders compete on bikes usually pre-dating 1975 models.

Both Jeff and Jarrett are members of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association, one of the biggest vintage racing groups in the world. The bikes active in AHRMA events span a full 50 years, from the 1920s to the mid-‘70s, a time period that enthusiasts consider one of the greatest eras of the sport.

The machines that were “raced in that time period were basic transportation-based models with just slight modifications,” Jeff explains. Those motorcycles were raced in farmland-type settings with natural challenges. High speeds, terrain, and sharp turns provided the main challenges on the typical tracks of the early ‘70s. The “vintage” era ended with the advent of specially designed bikes on specially prepared tracks. Consistent within the natural tracks of the period was the amount of suspension travel on the machines. “My vintage bikes, for example, have minimal suspension,” Jeff says, pointing to the distance between the rear wheel and the seat. In contrast, his post-vintage bikes have more suspension.

Vintage enthusiasts like Jeff are dedicated to preserving the elements of a bygone era: the sights and sounds of their machines, the racetracks, the riding techniques, and the racing strategies. “Our rules are carefully crafted to make sure each motorcycle fits the guidelines,” Jeff says of the AHRMA handbook, a lengthy document that details specific regulations. Qualified vintage bikes were manufactured up through 1975, he explains, and must remain essentially unchanged from their original technology.

National AHRMA racing events take place at some of the finest and most historic venues, including Daytona, Glen Helen, and Chehalis. “Jarrett and I have been all over in the last eight years. From here to New Mexico, Arizona, and as far east as Colorado” says Jeff.

Through the Gate

It’s not the boxes of trophies that motivate the Robertson men to race, nor the plaques that line the walls of Jeff’s shop. Rather, it’s the friendships they cherish, the camaraderie they’ve developed with fellow riders over the years. Since that first outing to the Mojave Desert with Jarrett in tow, the Robertson family has attended countless events, which included four major trips almost every year.

Now with more than 300 races under his belt, Jeff has an appreciation for the old-time sportsmanship, the gentlemanly rules of conduct that permeate motocross philosophy on and off the track. “It’s respectful,” he says, even in the heat of the race. “You’re not trying to knock the other guy into the corner. When the race is on and you’re out of the gate, you pick your areas and pass safely.”

Make no mistake, though, when Jeff is on the starting line, his razor sharp focus leaves little to chance. His secret? “Watch the starter,” he says. “Learn his timing so you can anticipate the gate going down. If you go too soon, you get hung up on the gate. If you go too late, you miss the ‘hole shot,’ and you need that to clear the first turn.” The average race runs twelve to fifteen minutes, and includes five to seven laps.

Jeff has owned more than forty motorcycles over the years, and there are currently seventeen two-wheeled machines in his shop, each in various stages of assembly. “I have four that are race-ready,” he says, “two vintage and two post-vintage.” When pressed to name his favorite, he points to a 1974 Maico 400, a vintage machine he built in 1990. It’s spotless and shiny, with white fenders and a silver tank. “It’s my most dependable bike,” he says, one that he’s ridden in over 200 races. One of his other favorites is on public display at the Visalia Police Department, a vintage three-wheeler he restored in 1988.

Across the Finish Line

Times have changed since the Robertson family’s first trip to Mojave some twenty-seven years ago. Jarrett followed in his father’s footsteps and took the oath to serve and protect. But with a new bride, a new profession to conquer, and a couple of shoulder surgeries due to racing injuries, Jarrett has taken a break from racing for a while. He still practices with his father, and they attend their share of races, but for the time being, Jarrett is content to cheer from the sidelines.

Jarrett’s ability to concentrate on the race track has garnished him an “Expert” ranking in national motocross racing, the kind of focus that police patrol demands. When asked what the best part of his profession is, he says, “Nothing is the same every day. It’s always different, you never know what to expect. You’re always adapting.”

As for the elder member of this dynamic duo, Jeff has a slightly different take when naming the most rewarding facet of his job. “As a supervisor, I get to work with lots of new, young officers. It’s exciting to help them develop as professionals. Every officer draws on past experiences for each situation, and I like watching them grow.”

Peace officers, motocross enthusiasts, family men. Jeff and Jarrett Robertson are out of the gate, past the first turn, and headed for the finish line.