Today in motorcycle history, July 9, 1972

  

  

  Piloting a Maico, Sweden's Borje Jansson wins the 125cc Class East German Grand Prix, marking the first Grand Prix victory for the German motorcycle manufacturer.

  Borje Jansson competed in Grand Prix races for the Maico factory team from 1969-1973 winning three 125cc Grand Prix races including their very first GP victory which just happen to be at Germany's Sachsenring.


  Unlike their road machines, Maico motocross and enduro bikes enjoyed success in both European and American competition throughout the 1970's. While lacking the financial capital and big-bucks race-team backing like that of the Japanese factories of Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha, Maico riders such as Adolf Weil, Åke Jonsson and Willy Bauer produced numerous top three finishes in the Motocross World Championships.

  "Motocross Action" magazine called the 1981 Maico Mega 2 - 490cc the greatest open-class motocross bike of all time.

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Today in motorcycle history, July 8, 1932

  
  



 

  The Berkeley Daily Gazette announces the Berkeley Motorcycle Club will hold their annual hill climb with the best of the Pacific Coast riders in attendance.

  "Roaring motors zoom up the side of Franklin Canyon, near Pinole, tomorrow. Every so often a gasp escapes the thousands of onlookers as a motorcyclist loops the loop, tossing its rider unceremoniously."

  So begins the program for the annual hill climb race sponsored by the Berkeley Motorcycle Club. The race features the "classiest" riders on the Pacific Coast including Walter "Swede" Mattson and Windy Lindstrom from Oakland, Gene Ryan of Seattle, L.A.'s Al Majors and Bob Keller, the San Jose legend Sam Arena plus Bill Rook and Dudley Perkins of San Francisco. Nearly 20,000 people attend.



  The week of July 8, 1932 the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 41.22, it's lowest point of the entire Great Depression.   





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Today in motorcycle history, July 7, 1951

  


  

  Bill Doran wins the 350cc Class Dutch TT on a works AJS.

  With his trademark jutting chin and ready smile, Bill Doran was known as "Shropshire's motorcycling ace". His racing career began as a privateer mostly riding Nortons, Bill became a works AJS rider in 1949. Usually more comfortable as a 350cc racer, but to prove they made the right decision he rode their infamous 500cc horizontal-twin "Porcupine" to victory in the 1949 Belgian Grand Prix. 



  Despite a solid racing career, an injury became his claim to fame after a part of the Isle of Man TT course was named after him. He crashed during a Thursday evening practice for the 1952 Isle of Man TT  resulting in a broken leg. The accident occurred on the left-hand bend after Ballig Bridge and was renamed Doran's Bend.  At the time of dedication, he was the only living recipient with a named section. 





  A 1954 AJS E95 Porcupine was sold post-auction at Bonhams in 2011, for $675,000.






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Today in motorcycle history, July 6, 1964

  



    

  With seemingly dirt in his bones, one of the greatest motocross racers to ever come out of the state of California, Rick Johnson, is born in La Mesa, California.

  Hands down Rick Johnson was one of the great AMA Motocross and Supercross racers of all-time. During the 1980's, he won seven AMA National  Championships and was part of four winning U.S. Motocross des Nations teams. In all, Rick tallied an amazing 61 AMA National wins and was crowned Champion in AMA Supercross and both 250cc and 500cc Motocross.

  When Johnson called it quits in 1991 he was then the all-time AMA Supercross wins leader.  More than likely he would've had even more impressive numbers had injuries not forced him into early retirement at twenty-six.

  Look at these final stats - AMA Motocross Champion in 1984, '86, '87 and '88,  Supercross Champion in 1986, '88, AMA Supercross Champion 1986, '88 and AMA Pro Athlete of the Year in 1986 and 1987.

  Rick Johnson was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 1999.

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

Today in motorcycle history, July 3, 1972

  

  

  Motorcycle record holder Siddhartha Sankar Saikia is born in Jorhat, Assam, India.

  An Indian Evel Knievel?  Jorhat's Indian Larry? Huh? What? Read on..



  After telling his friends (for what seemed like years) that he would get in the Book of Records, Siddhartha Sankar Saikia of Jorhat finally got his name inducted into the Asia Book of Records. Siddharthas oddball feat; "Most Consecutive Yoga Postures on a Motorbike".


  In a press release issued by the office of the India Book of Records from its unit in Faridabad, Haryana, it stated, "Siddhartha Sankar Saikia of Jorhat, Assam, performed a total of 62 yoga postures while riding a motorbike (an Indian-built TVS), covering a distance of 800 metres (approx. 2,625 feet) within 55 minutes, on March 31, 2013 on Nimati road, Jorhat, Assam. His attempt has been approved by the India Book of Records and now he has been honored with a title of "Record Holder". India Book of Records has awarded him with a certificate and a trophy for being an extraordinary person."

  Talking to the NorthEast News (NEN), Siddhartha said, "I am very much excited to have got my name inducted as an Asian Book of Record holder, which would not have been possible without the support of my family and well wishers. Now I am going to practice more and see if I can become a Guinness Book of Record Holder too."






   I'm just trying to keep you informed.






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Today in motorcycle history, July 2, 1955

  

  New Zealander Russell Wright sets a new World Land Speed Record of 184.83 mph at Swannanoa, Canterbury, New Zealand, straddled upon his Vincent Black Lightning.

  Stunningly, unlike other more famous Land Speed Records Wright's were achieved not on the Autobahn or the huge expanses of Bonneville but on a narrow Canterbury road, still drying out from rain the night before, a ballsy move in itself. Tram Road at Swannanoa, about 20 miles northwest of Christchurch, was bordered by gravel, wire fences, some people and, partly on one side, a hedge. 

   On Russell's first run a sound like a shotgun blast pierced even the scream of his Vincent's motor. He'd hit a damn bird, unfazed, he continued twisting the throttle. 

  Although the Vincent was handling well, a thought crept into his mind about the Smiths 150 mph mark. 

  "I realized as I was gripping those 15-inch width handlebars, and with the stark knowledge that I had only 2 inches of steering leeway, that I was now completely in the hands of the good Lord above." 

  On the second run, just at the point where the high hedge on his left side stopped, a wind gust hit the side of the Vincent's fish-shaped shell pushing it across the road and towards spectators. An instinctive and delicate correction saved who knows how many lives. This time Wright stepped off his bike with a chalky complexion, to confirmation from an International Motorcycle Federation (IMF) timekeeper that the 187 mph run meant he was now the holder of a new World Land Speed Record.



  Just thirty-one Black Lightnings were built and they were effectively a competition-prepared version of the Black Shadow. Wright's Lightning had been tweaked by the Scottish engineering legend Bob Burns, who also provided the bike's streamlined shell.

 After the speed record was official Burns attached a simple sidecar to the bike and Russell then broke the record for sidecars, his two runs averaging 162 mph.

  Russell Wright died in 2013 at 83, his widow, Elaine, sprinkled the first of his ashes near a memorial set up to commemorate her late husband's feat. The rest were released into the wind from the back of a bike, as he would have loved.

  "Russell and I have come here many times and it's very sad to think this is his last ride here, but this was his last wish, to have his ashes scattered at Tram Road."

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Today in motorcycle history, July 1, 1955

  

  

  Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd is founded.  

  Genichi Kawakami, then president of Nippon Gakki, develops the first Yamaha motorcycle, the YA-1. The  125cc, two-stroke, single is nicknamed 'Aka-tombo', meaning red dragonfly after its maroon and ivory two-tone paint job. 

  The YA-1 goes on sale in February 1955, and on July 1 the new motorcycle division is separated from Nippon Gakki. Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. is born.


   With two wooden, single-story factory buildings and 274 employees, the fledgling company dares to confront the competition. Yamaha almost immediately becomes known for their high-performance bikes by winning the third Mt. Fuji Ascent Race in July 1955, and then sweeping the top places in the Ultra-Light Class of the first Asama Highlands Race of the All Japan Endurance Championships. 

  Although Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd were latecomers to the party, with their success on Japan's racing scene and with the introduction of the YC-1, a deluxe version of the YA-1, in 1956, they were able to prove they belong and at the same time boost the image of Yamaha and draw the attention of motorcycle fans across Japan.




  Also on this date -

 

 1961 - the Hells Angels grant Auckland, New Zealand, a charter making it their first official chapter outside of the United States.




  2000 - The mandatory lid law* is repealed in Florida.

  *Riders over 21 years of age may operate or ride upon a motorcycle without wearing protective headgear securely fastened upon his or her head if such person is covered by an insurance policy providing for at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a crash while operating or riding on a motorcycle.

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