It was AHRMA I was thinking of - not AMA. When historic racing began in Australia, that is when I walked away and did not go back for 25 years. When I raced, it was always in an open class, even though I always raced an old motorcycle. With historic racing, the approach is always negative. The first thing the rule-makers do is think about what the DO NOT want competing in historic events. It is never about trying to get full race grids. So the costs of racing are always higher.
I am never a purist about racing, highly developed motorcycles always interest me, especially when a privateer does it. If we are going to do historic racing, there should be no bullshit - I thing Goodwood Revival is good like that. But my preference is always to race in an open class based on engine capacity and machine type. If I race a two-stroke, it needs to be in a two-stroke class. And a four-stroke in a four-stroke class. Mixing the two is a waste of good race machinery. Any other rules are pretty much superfluous. I don't care if the guys run nitro.