SIEGE: So you were a Factory Monark Rider?

WALLENBERG: what happened is that my family is from Sweden, my Grandparents came over from Sweden. My Dad learned how to speak Swedish, and so when they had the Elkhorn Inter-Am, near where we're from in Wisconsin, we got to meet TORLIEF HANSEN, TORSTEN HALLMAN, BENGT ABERG, ARNE KRING, -all the guys. sWell- in 1971 at the Inter-Am in the Fall, they had a round in Wisconsin, and the following weekend they went to St Louis. So that week in between, TORLIEF HANSEN, factory Husqvarna Rider, stayed at our house all week. Now I'm this little 14 year old kid that's drooling over having Torlief Hansen stay at my house, just like somebody would if Bubba stayed at their house for a week, or Carmichael. My Dad had heard that Husky was coming out with a 125. I was riding a 100cc DKW at the time. My Dad said to Torlief what do you think? ...and Torlief said Look- I'm a Factory Husqvarna Rider. Don't tell anybody I told you this, but there's this bike in Sweden called the Monark which I think is a much better bike for Scott (than the Husky 125 that was coming out...)

SIEGE: I'll be damned.

WALLENBERG: We remembered that so my Dad tried to find out how he could get one of those Monarks. At that time in the USA They were called MCBs. And
there happened to be an MCB distributor in Rockford, Illinois, called Rockford Motors who also imported Bridgestone motorcycles from Japan. We drove out there to ask him about getting a Monark. He said we don't carry those anymore. They are now being imported by a company in Burbank, California called Inter-trends JOHN OLSSON was his name- another Swede - so my Dad called up information, got his number, and said John I want to buy a Monark. I'm in Illinois. And John said Ve Don' haf aany Deeelers in Illinois! And my dad said how do you become a dealer? Answer: you hav to order foor motorcycles and ten percent in paarts. So my Dad started the wheels turning. If I could find another guy or two to buy a couple of these we could.. but my dad was a TV repairman. We couldn't run a dealership in WILMETTE, Illinois. But he had a friend who was a Swede who was a Volvo Mechanic and he set him up to become the first Monark Dealer in Illinois. And once I raced the first one-

SIEGE: Ah I see-how long did it take you to get one?

WALLENBERG: the bike came in the first week of June in 72 so that's how long it took-

SIEGE: so that's nine months or something like that

WALLENBERG: the first Monark that showed u in a crate- we uncrated it at the Volvo Dealership and pot it together, and I raced it and won both motos with
it. So they took a picture of me holding that trophy - and that was in those Monark Ads that ran in Dirt Bike and Motocross Action forever. An out of the box winner-

SIEGE: how old were you in '71?

WALLENBERG: lets see- I was 14. So then- we realized that these Monarks were really good, and so basically John (Olsson) wanted my Dad to set up other
dealers in the area. So out of the basement of my Dad's TV Shop... John Olsson always thought my Dad quit his TV business to go into the Monark business- so we had a separate phone line and everything for when John would call. And so he set up dealers in Indiana Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio. And so I was racing them, and doing quite well with the bike. So we were just totally involved with the brand. And then they had a World Cup 125 Race and Nils-Arne Nilsson won on a 125 Husky. Monark brought their guy from Sweden over BJARNE BLOM - Marty Smith was the Monark Factory Rider out of California. Marty crashed in the first turn that day so he didn't do that well overall. Later in the fall of 73 Honda was preparing for the introduction of the 125cc Elsinore and made an offer to Marty Smith to be their guy and ride it, so he left Monark. His works bike that had been all prepared from Sweden, special motor and everything came over there with nobody to ride it- and after some negotiations I got to be the rider of that bike.

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