Today in motorcycle history, September 10, 1936

 

  

  

  In a Match Race for the ages, Australian Lionel Van Praag wins the inaugural Speedway World Championship at London's Wembley Stadium over England's Eric Langton.

  The 1936 Speedway Championship was decided by a run-off when bonus points accumulated in previous rounds by Van Praag and Langton tied them atop the standings.


  As they lined up at the tapes to decide the champion, Langton broke them which would ordinarily lead to automatic disqualification. However, Van Praag stated there's no way he was going to win the title by default and insisted that a race should take place. At the restart Langton made it to the first bend in front and led until the final bend on the last lap when Van Praag somehow darted through a pinhole of a gap to win by less than a wheel length.




  In 2008, Lionel Maurice Van Praag was inducted into the Australian Speedway Hall of Fame.





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Today in motorcycle history, September 9, 1956

  

  

   At Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Britain's Geoff Duke outrides Italy's Libero Liberati to win the 1956 500cc Class Nations Grand Prix by 0.1 seconds.

  In one of the most nail-biting races in the history of the Nations GP, Gilera team-mates Geoff Duke and Libero Liberati battled each other at every turn, at every straight away. So evenly matched on this Sunday that they even tied for the fastest lap at 1:50.4.

  Libero Liberati would win the 1957 500cc World Championship (Gilera).  Geoff Duke would win the 500cc World Championship in 1951 (Norton), 1953 (Gilera), 1954 (Gilera) and 1955 (Gilera).






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Today in motorcycle history, September 8, 1971

 




  

  Buyers line up outside Suzuki dealers across Japan as the much anticipated GT750 arrives on the showroom floor.

  The prototype Suzuki GT750 was shown at the 17th Tokyo Motor Show in October of 1970 and after almost a year of fine tweeking it's launched in Japan. Billed as a sports touring bike (GT = Grand Tourismo), it was developed from the highly popular T500 with an extra cylinder and liquid cooling thrown in to quell the rider's hunger pangs.  

  The 739cc two-stroke three-cylinder engine was marketed as the Le Mans in the United States and Canada. A heavy bastard, it tipped the scales at 550 lbs, it was rumored to be nicknamed the "Kettle" in Britain and the "Water Buffalo" in the United States. It had it's pluses though, a five-speed tranny, three-into-four exhaust, 32 mm Mikuni's, 67 bhp with a top-speed of 110 mph.  It also featured Suzuki's SRIS (Suzuki Recycle Injection System) which was a method for lowering the visible exhaust smoke by collecting and burning residual oil/gas lying in the bottom of the crank chambers. This was a first for any two-stroke. A point of pride for Suzuki engineers.

  In 1973 Suzuki  announced that two 295 mm discs were replacing the drum front brake. Making Suzuki the only manufacturer that was offering dual front disc brakes at the time. By 1974 it had increased the top-speed to 120 mph but, as with all the late 1970's big two strokes the GT750 succumbed to stricter emission regulations and competition from technical developments of the invading four-strokes. Suzuki GT750 production finally ended in 1977. 

  The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, includes the 1971 Suzuki GT750 as one of their 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology.

  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).  www.nabd.org.uk

Today in motorcycle history, September 6, 1901

   

  




  I know, technically, September 6 was yesterday but, I wasn't home. 

  Leon Czolgosz shoots President William McKinley in Buffalo, New York, with an Iver Johnson .32 caliber Safety Automatic revolver.

  Did Czolgosz escape on a motorcycle?  Did President McKinley ride bikes?  No and no.  So, what the hell does this have to do with bikes you ask? Well...

  ...Iver Johnson, a trained gunsmith, emigrated from Norway to Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1863.  Starting his own arms company, Iver Johnson & Company, in Worcester in 1883.  Iver began producing bicycles as well  and in 1891, he changed the company name to Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works and relocated to Fitchburg, Massachusetts. After fabricating bicycles for 15 or so years they decided a motor would make them much cooler and in 1907 the Iver Johnson Company motorcycle division was born.

  Their bikes were categorized by engine type, either 'V-Twin' or 'Single Cylinder' configurations. The Iver Johnson, or I-J in biker lingo, basic model specs were:


  For the V-Twin: transversely mounted side-valve 1020cc V-twin, 7 to 8 hp with a top-speed of 65 mph, 58 inch wheelbase and a dry weight of 265 lbs.


  For the Single Cylinder: vertically mounted 500cc single, 4 hp with the throttle twisted and a strong wind at your back 37-40 mph, 46 inch wheelbase and dry weight of 248 lbs.


  According to Jeffry L'H. Tank's "History of the Motorcycle", "...Iver Johnson advertised their machines as "Mechanical Perfection," a boast that was not entirely unbelievable given the number of advanced design features in especially their later models, such as dual crankshafts, nickel-alloy machined parts, chain drive, and a hand-operated three-speed gearbox. Models such as the 1915 I-J Model 15-7 are the finest period examples of motorcycle engineering of the day, along with a very select few others, such as Scotts."



  In 1916 the market for weapons began to seriously outweigh the prospect of motorcycle sales, so Iver Johnson turned its attention to firearms and said 'farvel' to the production of bikes, dropping "Cycle Works" from their name.

  Coincidentally, Sirhan Sirhan shot Presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, California on June 5, 1968 with an eight-shot Iver Johnson .22 caliber Cadet 55-A revolver.

  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).  www.nabd.org.uk

Today in motorcycle history, September 5, 1899

  
  

  
  

  


  I came across this bit of motorcycle history and being the kind sort that I am I thought I'd share it with you.

     San Francisco Call, Volume 86, Number 97, 5 September 1899

                                   Fast Time on Motorcycle.

  NEW YORK. Sept. 4.— The cycle race meet of the Atlantic Athletic Association at Manhattan Beach today drew 3000 people. The main event was a twenty-five mile *motorcycle tandem race. First money was won by J. W. Judge and Charles W. Miller, the six-day champion rider, and their time of 39 minutes 58 seconds beat the world's record on any class of machine. J. Stinson and I. Stafford were second; time, 41 minutes 2.5 seconds. Harry Caldwell and H. Ragen were third; time, 42 minutes 30 3.5 seconds.

  *The bikes were all fitted with small, lightweight four-cycle De Dion-Bouton engines. The French motor was popular among turn-of-the-century builders of moto-bicycles, with a bore and stroke of 50 mm x 70 mm they were capable of nearly 1.5 hp.

  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).  www.nabd.org.uk

Today in motorcycle history, September 3, 1949

  















  In order to keep up with the competition, Whizzer unveils the Model "300" Motor. This new engine had 7/8 inch valves, a more efficient combustion chamber and a higher compression ratio. These changes resulted in a 3 hp engine that could reach leg-wettin' speeds of nearly 40 mph.  

  For the even more daring customer, Whizzer also releases it's "Sportsman" model, which was much more like a real motorcycle. The "Sportsman" abandoned pedals altogether and uses a kickstarter.

  In 1949-1950, Whizzer sold about 15,000 Model "300" motors at $109.97 each.  The "Sportsman" cost $224.50 for the Standard edition, which had a clutch transmission, and $239.50 for the Deluxe edition, which sported the Bi-Matic automatic transmission.

 

    Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).  www.nabd.org.uk

Today in motorcycle history, August 29, 1962

  




  

  

  One of the most successful racers in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history, Jorge "Aspar" Martínez, is born in beautiful Valencia, Spain. 

  Jorge "Aspar" Martínez became the 80cc World Champion in 1986, '87 and '88 while a works rider for Derbi.  A double-champion in 1988, Martinez owned the 125cc Class, claiming the World Championship also aboard a Derbi.  


  Aspar quit twisting the throttle competitively in 1997 after 22 Grand Prix victories to his name in the 80cc Class and another 15 in the 125cc Class. In a GP career that began in 1982 he would have 196 starts, 37 wins, 61 podiums and 1599 points.




  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk