Today in motorcycle history, December 5, 1975

  



                                    

  

                              

  On December 5, 1975, the last of the Triumph T150 Trident's are shipped out,  288 are destined for Australia and another 224 for the USA.

  A last minute management decision at Norton-Villiers/Triumph  (NVT) diverts them from those highly competitive markets to fulfill an order of Tridents for the Saudi Arabian police force (sadly, most police forces in the United Kingdom had already switched to BMW's, but some like the Yorkshire Constabulary still used Tridents).  Five shipments, totaling 450 bikes were sent to Saudi Arabia, but the last 130 were still in Britain when the Saudis cancelled the order - so NVT decided to sell them in the UK as the exciting, new Triumph "Cardinal".
  Much to their chagrin, in 1982, dealers in the UK were told to begin bringing the bikes back from Saudi Arabia. These bikes had low mileages, but were very poorly maintained and were totally encrusted in sand. Then in another great management decision, they were restored and sold as 'stock' T160's.  

 Severe thunderstorms rumbled across England as Edward Turner began rolling in his grave.
                              

Today in motorcycle history, December 4, 1988

 

 

 

  Hollywood actor, Reality TV star, human trainwreck, Gary Busey crashes his celebrity-special Harley-Davidson,  whacking his noggin on the Culver City asphalt.

 

  Gary Busey couldn't wait to "get in the saddle".  The mechanics had finished installing a windscreen on his customized $15,000 Harley-Davidson, and Busey wanted the bike right away.  So even though Bartels' Motorcycle showroom is closed on Sundays, salesman Gene Thomason opened the Culver City, California, shop to let another celebrity wannabe pick up his bike.  The actor hit the starter, waved, then wheeled the custom-painted black-and-cream motorcycle into the traffic on Washington Boulevard.

  Barely 100 feet out of Bartels' door Busey tried to make a turn around a bus, his 625-pound Harley went into a skid.  Instead of laying the bike down in the direction of the slide, as he should, "Gary high-sided," says Thomason. "The momentum threw him off.  He landed on the curb on his back and his head hit."

  After the crash, Thomason ran across the street and cradled the star's bleeding head in his arms (People Magazine look at me!). "He kept saying he wanted to get up," reported the salesman. "He's a tough guy."  He was almost not tough enough.  A CAT scan at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. indicated blood clots between Busey's skull and brain, and that night he underwent 90 minutes of neurosurgery to remove the clots.  According to doctor's, luckily, there was no sign of brain damage.  Really?  Do they still stick to that opinion?

  "Actors go out and buy these bikes because it's become a status symbol," says Marjoe Gortner, a well-known Hollywood Harley rider. "All this macho stuff comes into play. You feel invincible on a bike—you're Marlon Brando.  Because they ride carelessly, I've stopped riding with celebs." Salesman Thomason takes such play-riding philosophically. "We get a lot of celebrities," he shrugs. "They all ride; they all crash."

 

  Did you know that before he was known as "Uncle Lobotomy" he was an actual paid actor who appeared in "Thunderbolt & Lightfoot" and an episode of "Kung-Fu".

Today in motorcycle history, December 3, 2000

 

 

 

 

  On a sunny and cool, 30 degree Sunday morning, approximately 25,000 riders roll up Western Avenue for the 23rd annual Chicagoland Toys for Tots ride. The ride/parade features a Mattel Hot Wheels bike (for the third year), a Santa Fe locomotive car, 12 Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade cable TV shows, and a Harley raffle. Bikers give and give, besides toys, $99,000 is distributed.

 

  But, it all began on...

 

  ....Wednesday, December 13, 1978, Ed "Aminal" Wisniewski, a Viet Nam veteran, organizes the Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade in his southside Chicago motorcycle shop, Fantasy Choppers, which at the time was located at 2532 West 63rd Street. 

 

  There were six people involved in the first run;  Aminal, Puppy, Mark-Off, Princess, Namu, and Thor.  On that Wednesday afternoon, three friends, Aminal, Puppy and Thor left Fantasy Choppers and headed to the Glenview Naval Air Station in Glenview, Illinois, with a van half-filled with toys and "Aminal" riding Puppy's Sportster because his ride wasn't "fit for travel".   They had nearly reached their destination when the chain broke on the Sportster.  So, in order to complete the event, as a motorcycle run, Aminal was towed by Puppy arm-in-arm from the van for about three miles. They made it to the Naval Station and dropped off the toys.  36 years later bikers are still riding and donating regardless of the weather (or the occasional breakdown). 

 

  Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Today in motorcycle history, November 27, 1942

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle, Washington.  Rock 'n' roll guitar is changed forever.

 

 

  What's Hendrix got to do with motorcycles? 

  Go into any biker/motorcycle bar anywhere and I guarantee you there is at least one Hendrix track on the jukebox/playlist.  Walk into any biker's garage and I guarantee you there is a tape/CD/radio station that has a Hendrix track. 

 

  There are 321 websites worldwide that deal with Hendrix music influenced motorcycles.

 

  To date, 19 websites that deal with Hendrix-themed motorcycle paint jobs.

 

  2 molded motorcycle fenders with a Hendrix image.  5 air-cleaner covers.

 

  9 known biker films with Hendrix on the soundtrack.  The quintessential biker film Easyrider  has a Hendrix track, "If 6 Were 9".

 

  148 biker-band's (bands that regularly play at swapmeets, biker party's, etc.) worldwide have had at least one Hendrix cover.  The infamous London band The Preacher's (the lead singer rode a 1960 panhead) covered "Hey Joe".

 

  "Purple Haze" has been used as the name of a "motorcycle hang-out" in 74 different books/magazine stories.

Today in motorcycle history, November 26, 1972

 

 

  Honda of Japan makes a last minute decision to enter the Trans-Am Series motocross race at Carnegie Cycle Park in Tracy, California.  The world meets the Elsinore.

 

  Honda hires "All Japan Motocross" National Champion Taichi Yoshimura and two Southern California riders, Jim Wilson and Bruce Baron, to ride Honda's first two-stroke moto race bike.  The two RC250M's were painted the color of the CR250M Elsinore that was to be released to the ever-growing US market in the spring of 1973.

 

  The CR250M weighed in at a wafting light 214 pounds and had 7.1 inches of travel up front, which was state-of-the-art at that time in ancient dirt biking history. The dyno showed that the Elsinore pulled a staggering rear wheel 28 horsepower, about three more than anything else short of a flat-out TT bike. 

 

   Named after the off-road race in Lake Elsinore, California, the best-known off-road race of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The popularity of the CR250M and its derivatives soared after Gary Jones rode a stock machine to win the 1973 AMA 250 national motocross series.

 

 

   Steve McQueen owned a CR250M, what else needs to be said?!

Today in motorcycle history, November 25, 1967

 

 

 

 

 

  At the historic San Francisco Civic Center, Evel Knievel successfully jumps two Triumph T120 Bonneville motorcycles with a 15' Triumph Motorcycle promotional banner tied handlebar to handlebar and two Dodge vans.  The jump was estimated at 91 feet.  On the previous day Evel had jumped four motorcycles and the same two Dodge vans for an estimated leap of 100 feet. 

 

  The weekend jump-a-thon would be capped off on Sunday with Knievel adding a VW bus (for the hippies at the show) for the last jump.  An attempt at a record-setting four motorcycles, two Dodge vans AND a VW bus.  After a long morning spent tracking down a VW bus to be used (with the slight risk of it being damaged), someone in his crew forgot to measure the distance. The final estimate for the record-setting Sunday jump was...an astounding...unknown.  The weekend's final known tally - 191 feet, no broken bones and a job-opening for a crew member. 

 

  Coincidentally, on that Sunday as Evel Knievel was jumping four motorcycles, two Dodge vans and a VW bus, San Francisco police arrested 7 hippies in a VW bus for "drug possession" on Haight Street.

Today in motorcycle history, November 22, 1940

 

 

 

 

  BSA is the target of the Luftwaffe once again.  Still reeling from the attacks on November 19, with barely time to catch their collective breath, BSA workers, the city of Birmingham and the country as a whole dig in.  Production of armaments and military transport were at red-alert levels so manufacturer's of all types were enlisted in the war effort.

 

  Designed by the legendary Val Page the BSA M20 started life as a heavy-framed sidecar model with a simple 500cc single cylinder side-valve engine.  With low compression and plenty of low-end torque through a standard BSA gearbox, it may not have been a speed-model but it could pull a pub off it's foundation.

 

  Brought to the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE) in Chertsey, Surrey, where they were originally shot down for military service, criticized for being heavy and too slow with poor ground clearance.  After debate it was saved by its reliability and ease of maintenance.  As the need for transport quickly gained speed orders were placed for large quantities.  Most M20's were used by the British Army, but soon the Royal Navy and the RAF also commissioned the bikes from BSA. 

 

  Designed as a general-purpose motorcycle for convoy escort and dispatch use, the M20 saw action in almost every theater of war.  Early 1939 models were made from standard civilian parts with the addition of military fittings, such as a large 8-inch Lucas DUl42 headlight fitted with a black out mask, a timing-gear cover with a screw-in plug for access to the magneto drive-pinion nut and special filler caps for the gas and oil tanks. These early models were also fitted with a long spiked kickstand pivoted from a lug brazed on to the rear frame tube that could be used as a weapon if needed.  Factory ledgers show that BSA exported K-M20 models to India, South Africa and Sweden, as well as civilian dealers and distributors.

 

    On a side note - there were eight major air raids оn Birmingham between August 9, 1940-April 23, 1943.  Other than BSA (motorcycles, an array of weapons), SU (carburetor's), GEC (plastics), Rover (engines), Fisher  & Ludlow (shell casings), Austin works (military vehicles) and Reynold's (light alloy tubing) were also targets.  Іn total, 2,241 people were killed, аnd 3,010 seriously injured, 12,391 houses and 302 factories were destroyed.