MOTORCYCLE Thoughts
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When I was a kid British motorcycles and sports cars were on every boat from England. The big war (WW II)was just over and people were starting to looking ahead. The plug on restraint was removed. The pent up demand for manufactured goods took over in a rush. There was a sense that a future was possible after all.
When I was a kid British motorcycles and sports cars were on every boat from England. The big war (WW II)was just over and people were starting to looking ahead. The plug on restraint was removed. The pent up demand for manufactured goods took over in a rush. There was a sense that a future was possible after all.
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By this time Americans had discovered that British stuff was both interesting and different. Instead of big cars for great and wide highways, the British made small and economical cars for their narrow country lanes. British engines tended to be of small displacement and had to work hard to extract performance. Longivity was not their strong suit but they were made well, priced low, and fun to drive. British automobiles and motorcycles sold very well in America from about 1948 through 1968.
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The big motorcycle sales went to BSA, Triumph, Norton, Vincent, Ariel, and Royal Enfield. All made in Great Britain. There were a few bikes from continental Europe like Moto-Guzzi, Jawa, and Husquavara. they were good bikes but not as popular at the time.
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The cars that made a hit in America were the MG, Austin Healy, Triumph, Jaquar, Singer and Rover. All of these were sport-cars and quite unlike anything made at the time in America.
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The cars that made a hit in America were the MG, Austin Healy, Triumph, Jaquar, Singer and Rover. All of these were sport-cars and quite unlike anything made at the time in America.
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In high school I used to look out the window. It's a wonder I passed. I would sit there and dream about motorcycles and cars. In 1949 I bought a Whizzer Motor-Bike. I rode that thing to death. It was basically a crudely engineered effort. It always had a mechanical problems and leaked oil as fast as you could put it in. On a good day, with the wind at my back and going down a steep hill I could hit about 50 mph. Since the brakes (New Departure or Bendix) overheated and burned out, they were completely ineffective. I managed to survive, but with a number of wounds. From the old Whizzer I graduated to real motorcycles. I can't remember the order but at various times I owned several.
In high school I used to look out the window. It's a wonder I passed. I would sit there and dream about motorcycles and cars. In 1949 I bought a Whizzer Motor-Bike. I rode that thing to death. It was basically a crudely engineered effort. It always had a mechanical problems and leaked oil as fast as you could put it in. On a good day, with the wind at my back and going down a steep hill I could hit about 50 mph. Since the brakes (New Departure or Bendix) overheated and burned out, they were completely ineffective. I managed to survive, but with a number of wounds. From the old Whizzer I graduated to real motorcycles. I can't remember the order but at various times I owned several.
- I was 14 when I bought a motorcycle that isn't often remembered today, an Indian Scout Verticle Twin 350cc metallic purple beauty. This was a great looking machine that really didn't have much ooomph but it both loud and reliable. I rode it nearly every day, rain or shine, to high school at John Muir Jr. College in Pasadena. The reverberations when crossing the old Devils Gate Dam Bridge were awesome.
- Somewhere along the line I acquired a Harley Davidson flat head, big bore, twin of 80 cubic inches and enough torque to climb trees. It had a tricky "dead man clutch" that was in or out and no inbetween. This monster was loud, wild and heavy. It leaked even more oil than the tiny Whizzer. I raced this thing at the Saugus Air Strip Drags several times and usually hit about 72 mph. I was obviously underage but had a great Drivers License I.D. (Name: Dudley Malcom SpitlerAge: 22) which got me past the entrants committee. Side note: There was a guy named Lou Baney who promoted the Saugus Drags and helped me go racing there. I'm afraid I don't remember much beyond his name. Wonder what happened to him?
- My next purchase was a thundering Ariel Square Four. This bike was an awkward pairing of two 500 cc vertical twins joined together with a common crankcase. It had been pretty well thrashed by the time I got it, but it was still a terrific ride. It was smooth as silk and sounded just like a 4 cylinder Offenhauser Indy engine. And it was fairly fast too. Full bore was about 90 mph as I recall. I remember doing about that going down Foothill Blvd. in La Canada in front of the Presbyterian Church at midnight. Ah, thoses were the days.
- Then for a brief time just before I went into the Air Force I owned a Triumph Bonneville 650cc Twin. This was an impressive motorcycle in it's day (around 1952-54) and was the easily the fastest and best I ever owned. They made a million of these and today they are very desireable classics. Wish sure wish I had kept mine.
All of my motorcycles were gone by the time I joined the Air Force in 1954. I returned (officially a Korean War Vet) in 1958 and went back to school on the Korean G.I. Bill at Glendale College and PCC at night. I worked at several jobs during that period including Seeley's Texaco Station, CEC Datatape Division, and Signature Marking Devices. Then in 1960 I got married. The die was cast. No more motorcycles for a while. And I never did get the MG TF or the Austin Healy I had wanted for so many years.
Until recently I rode only in my dreams. On turning 70 I (finally) bought a small Suzuki Thumper to horse around with. I quickly found out what I have been missing for over 50 years. What terrific fun . . . .
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Drat.
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