Today in motorcycle history, June 26, 1998

 
  


   

  The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit opens at the Solomon R.Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

  The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition presented 114 bikes chosen for their historic significance and/or design excellence. The exhibition attracted the Guggenheim's largest crowds ever. Rock star crowds. It was reported that some people waited in line for over three hours. The exhibit received mixed but positive reviews in the art world, with the exception of some snobby art critics who turned their noses at the very thought of such a show desecrating the hallowed halls of the Guggenheim. Please.


  The thought of turning the Guggenheim into a three month long bike show came from the gas and oil-stained mind of then director Thomas Krens, an admitted lover of two-wheeled art himself, and supported by a novel corporate tie-in with BMW. The motorcycles were selected by both motorcycle and art historians, plus the help of Guggenheim advisers. The exhibition was described by historian Jeremy Packer, "... as representing the end of a cycle of demonization and social rejection of motorcyclists, followed by acceptance and reintegration that had begun with the mythologized Hollister riot of 1947 and ended with the high-end marketing of motorcycles and the newly fashionable biker image of the 1980's and 1990's. A long-overdue celebration of the sport, the machines and the pioneers they love."


  A few mouth-watering samples in case you missed it...The 1894 German built two cylinder, water cooled, four-stroke, 1,489cc Hildebrand & Wolfmüller, the 1907 air cooled, F-head Curtiss V8 that set the unofficial land speed record of 136.36 mph, a 1926 Brough Superior SS100 Alpine Grand Sport, 1915 1000cc Indian 8-valve board track racer, 1923 1000cc Harley-Davidson 8-valve board track racer, 1937 500cc Triumph Speed Twin, 1974 Ducati 750SS, 1969 Norton 750 Commando Fastback, 1930 740cc Excelsior Super X, 1931 497cc Ariel Square Four and a 1924 498cc Moto Guzzi C4V. My palms are sweating and there were 103 more I haven't even mentioned.


  With over 2 million visitors in New York, Chicago, Bilbao, Spain and the Guggenheim Las Vegas, it became the most successful exhibition of industrial design ever assembled, and one of the most attended museum exhibitions of any kind, ever. In the words of Billy "Flint" Williams, "Fuckin' A, brother. Fuckin' A."

  The mind blowing exhibition ran until September 20, 1998, giving motorcycle geeks, such as Flint and myself, plenty of time to gawk, drool and quiver. 

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

Today in motorcycle history, June 25, 1941

               

    

  The BSA Club of Perth, Australia, votes to suspend club activities due to the shortage of available fuel. The club will remain idle until 1946.

  The inaugural meeting of Perth's BSA Club was held on Monday, March 15, 1937 at Mortlock Bros Ltd.,  914 Hay Street (the address was the Mortlock Brothers BSA/Harley-Davidson shop).

   35 BSA riders decided to form the club, draw up a constitution and elect officers. It was decided that membership was open only to owners and riders of BSA motorcycles.

  The BSA Club was very active in organizing road races, rally's and various social events from the get-go. Then came 'The War'.  At the clubs 100th meeting, (held on June 25, 1941), it was decided that they would put the kickstands down until fuel conditions improve, or for "the duration of the war" whichever comes first.

  The first post-war meeting was held on the February 27, 1946, it was at this meeting when the constitution was, begrudgingly, altered to open membership to riders of other makes of motorcycles.

  The club is still going strong, but today they're known as the BSA & Harley-Davidson Club.

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

Today in motorcycle history, June 24, 1972

  Evel Knievel, still feeling the results of a compressed vertebrae and broken knuckles suffered at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia two weeks earlier, straps on a doctor-ordered back brace and jumps ten cars in East St. Louis, Illinois. 

  Evel Knievel successfully jumps ten assorted vehicles at St. Louis International Raceway in East St. Louis, Illinois. On June 11, Knievel crashed his Harley-Davidson XR during a practice jump in Atlanta causing him to do the unthinkable - cancel the Atlanta show.  

  Fast forward 13 days - Evel gets help adjusting his fitted back brace and does wheelies back and forth for the crowd to see. After the jump he feels 'minor discomfort' and actually sees a doctor only to find what the Atlanta hospital missed - four broken ribs.   

  Broken ribs or not, he would repeat the performance the next day.

  "The people don't come to see me die. They come to see me defy death." - Evel Knievel






  In 2008, Six Flags St. Louis introduced their $7-million Evel Knievel wooden roller coaster. Passengers ride in 24-passenger red, white and blue trains that fly along 2,700-feet of track with features like high banked turns, fan curves, camelbacks, a double down drop, and sixteen hills. During the ride the twisted maze of wood track crosses over itself 14 times.

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

Today in motorcycle history, June 23, 1973

  

  




  

  A German, a Swiss and the Dutch...aboard an ever-trusty Kreidler, Switzerland's Bruno Kneubühler wins the 50cc Class Dutch TT in Assens, Netherlands.

  During his career, Bruno Kneubühler was one of just a handful of riders to have competed in every Grand Prix Class from 50cc to 500cc. Racing professionally from 1972-1989, while a championship always alluded him, Bruno finished second three times, winning 5 Grand Prix races and sharing the podium 33 times with GP riders from Giacomo Agostini to Mick Doohan.

  In the 1973 Grand Prix 50cc Class final standings nine out of ten were riding a Kreidler. The one "nomad" was on a Dutch-built Jamathi.




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

Today in motorcycle history, June 22, 1952

  

   

  Riding for the Indian racing team, Bill Tuman, wins the AMA Grand National Mile on a rough one-mile dirt oval track in San Mateo, California.

  Bill Tuman was part of Indian Motorcycle's famous racing team, along with Bobby Hill and Ernie Beckman, known as the "Indian Wrecking Crew".


  Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, racing outside of the midwest was a rarity for Tuman. With four children to raise, he tried to race as much as possible near his home often missing the AMA Grand Nationals in order to race, and usually win, local and regional races. Not only did racing locally keep Tuman closer to his home and his family, but it turned out to be profitable as well.

  "I was making too much money racing the local events to worry about racing in all the Nationals," Tuman recalled in a 1979 interview with 'Indian Racers' magazine. "I can remember during county fair times I would race six and seven races a week."

  Bill Tuman was the last single-day winner of the AMA Grand National Championship crown, the result of his victory at the Springfield Mile in August of 1953. It's interesting to note that Bill won Springfield racing with a motor he borrowed from a fellow Indian rider. His own motor had shit the bed due to dozens of local races he had competed in that summer. Sadly, it would be the last time that an Indian rider would win the prestigious AMA Grand National No. 1 plate.

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

Today in motorcycle history, June 19, 1959

 

  

  Entering just his fourth year as a professional rider, two-time Peoria TT winner George Everett crashes hard at Ascot Park in Gardenia, California. Sadly, three days later he would die from his injuries.

  George Everett was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On his 21st birthday he shocked his family and friends by announcing he was moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in motorcycle racing.

  Settling  in Pasadena he quickly began making a name for himself at the local scrambles tracks. By 1955, he had high-pointed in the amateur class and made some great showings against the pros. In the 1955 Pacific Coast TT Championship, aboard a BSA he finished second to San Diego legend Brad Andres riding an H-D.

  Getting his expert license in 1956, he made a bee-line to Daytona Beach and finished an amazing third in the Daytona 200, his very first AMA National race. Everett’s name was now known in motorcycle circuits throughout the country.

  For the rest of the 1956 season, Everett stayed close to his adopted home in southern California to ride in the money-making local races, but he did venture cross-country once again to race in the famous Peoria TT Nationals. At Peoria, he was every bit as impressive as he’d been at Daytona, taking second and third in the two Nationals at Peoria’s Clubgrounds. Racing in just three Nationals, he would finish tied for fourth in the final 1956 AMA Grand National point standings.

  Everett came back in 1957 to win at Peoria riding a BSA and earn his first AMA National victory. Again, he finished ranked in the Top-Ten in the National Championships despite racing in only half of the events.

  In 1958, George would stamp his name on Peoria TT history by winning for a second straight year. He would ride to victory in the Dodge City Grand Prix Road Race and earn another Top-Ten result in the Daytona 200. Back home in Los Angeles, Everett won the Pacific Coast TT title and was the high-point rider at Ascot Park.

  He seemed to be on the verge of making even a bigger impact on the national scene when he was sadly struck down in a multiple-bike accident during the weekly Friday night program at Ascot Park. Everett lingered for three days before succumbing to his injuries. He was 28. Everett’s death struck the racing community, especially in Southern California, very hard. A fine, humble, soft-spoken and humorous man, Everett was described by many as the best-liked rider by both fans and fellow competitors.


  His old friend, Bob Shafer, wrote a fitting eulogy to Everett in his newspaper column.

  "It is not easy to say goodbye to a friend. The only measure of solace is found in the notion that George went out doing what he liked best; living life, as he saw it, to its fullest. He is beyond hurt. It is those he leaves behind who suffer the deep ache now. His was an occupation whose dangers he fully realized and oft-times freely discussed. Were it to be done over again he undoubtedly would chose the same kind of life."




  If you can, go see some live racing. Whatever is near you, be it hillclimbing, TT, trials, scrambles, flat track, drag racing, Speedway, etc. Have a blast.









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

Today in motorcycle history, June 18, 1978

  

  








  Mike Bell wins his first AMA National Motocross race in the 500cc Class in St. Peters, Missouri. Just a week later, he would score what would arguably be his biggest win ever at the Superbowl of Motocross in the LA Coliseum. The 20 year-old Bell would pull off one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport with a thrilling win over Bob Hannah, the hottest rider in all of motocross at the time. 

  Mike "Too Tall" Bell was one of America’s leading motocross and Supercross racers of the late 1970's and early '80's. His biggest claim to fame was winning the 1980 AMA Supercross Championship. 1980 would prove to be Bell’s career year as Mike would ride his Yamaha to a record seven AMA Supercross wins enroute to that year’s Championship. 

 

  After seven seasons on the circuit Bell had tallied an impressive 20 National wins. He was third on the all-time AMA Supercross and fourth on the all-time AMA 500cc Motocross wins list and in the Top-Ten in career Trans-AMA victories. Bell’s Supercross record of seven wins in a single season would not be bettered for eleven years.

  Mike Bell was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 2001. 

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