Today in motorcycle history, May 7, 1963

 
  

  Dubliner Thomas "TomCan" McCabe breaks his right wrist and 3 ribs when he crashes his 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet outside of Creag Lundle during the 1963 Scottish Six Day Trials (SSDT).

  Arthur Lampkin would eventually be the victor on his 250cc BSA, fighting Sammy Miller and his famous 500cc Ariel "Gov 132", day after grueling day.  



  Arthur also competed internationally in enduro events, representing Great Britain (BSA), earning a gold medal in the 1966 International Six Days Trial held in Sweden.

  From a bit of a Yorkshire motorcycling dynasty, Arthur and his younger brothers, Alan and Martin Lampkin, all were kick-ass trials riders. Alan won the 1966 SSDT aboard a BSA while Martin took the Scottish jewel in 1976, '77 and '78 with Bultaco. Martin Lampkin's son, is 7-time SSDT Champion, Dougie Lampkin.

  For those of you not familiar with the system of vehicle registration used in Britain, the registration number stays with each vehicle for its entire life. Sammy Miller's Ariel is registration number "GOV 132".  "GOV 132" won 161 international and national championship trials between 1958 and 1964. I don't know of any other single machine in any type of motor sport with a record like that.

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

Today in motorcycle history, May 6, 1967

  

  

  Seven-time Grand National Champion, Flat-track legend and AMA Hall of Famer Chris Carr is born in Stockton, California.

 Growing up only a few miles from the Lodi Cycle Bowl,  Chris started competing at the age of 6 on a 38cc Moto Villa.  Who would've thought four decades later, he would collect seven Grand National Championships and would be second on the all-time win list behind fellow Hall of Famer Scott Parker.

  Chris Carr won his first Grand National in August 1986 at the legendary Peoria TT. In 1989, he became a member of the Harley-Davidson factory racing team. After finishing second to his H-D teammate, Scott Parker in 1990 and 1991, he finally claimed the Grand National Championship in 1992. He ran the Grand National Series full-time until 1995 where he finished third while winning rookie of the year in the AMA Superbike road racing series.



  In addition to kicking ass on the dirt oval, Carr is one of the world’s leading land-speed racers. In 2006, he became the fastest man on two wheels when he set a motorcycle land speed record of 350.884 mph piloting Denis Manning’s BUB Enterprises streamliner at the AMA/FIM International Motorcycle Speed Trials by BUB on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Although Rocky Robinson and Mike Akatiff surpassed them in 2008, Carr and Manning returned in 2009 to reclaim the record with an eye-poppin' 367.382 mph through the measured mile!

  Chris Carr won the 1992, 1999, and 2001-2005 AMA Grand National Dirt Track (Flat Track) championships, the 2000 Formula USA Dirt Track Championship and the AMA 600cc Dirt Track championship seven times (1988–1993, and 1995).  

  Today in motorcycle history is a proud supporter of the National Association of Bikers with a Disability (NABD). Check 'em out at www.nabd.org.uk

  

Today in motorcycle history, May 2, 1912

    


  

   The first Harley-Davidson Dealer magazine is published.

  Gotta give Harley credit, in the early days of the company, Milwaukee recognized the dealers value.  Believing they brought the attitude of “we're the men who handle the motorcycle". The first 16-page issue included articles on how to enhance photographic skills for publicity images and improve salesmanship through print advertising.

  Later articles ranged from the basics of store layout to the intricacies of piston wear. Most importantly, the Harley-Davidson Dealer stressed that customer loyalty had to be earned.  Do not be an asshole. 

  

  The publication was conceived as a “medium in which you dealers tell your troubles and your joys.” Of course, Harley-Davidson was the clearing house for articles so there were not many articles that contained anything too troubling.  Dealers were seen as the writers and editors of what was considered H-D's central news bureau. The message to the dealers was clear, “It is your paper.”

 The Harley-Davidson Dealer was published from 1912-1916.

Today in motorcycle history, May 1, 1955

  

 

   At Montjuic Circuit, Dubliner Reg Armstrong wins the 500cc Class Spanish Grand Prix aboard a Gilera four-cylinder.






   1955 saw Reg Armstrong have the best campaign of his life.  He would finish on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix (first),  French Grand Prix (third), Isle of Man TT (second), Dutch TT (second) and the Nations Grand Prix (second).

  Unfortunately for Armstrong Geoff Duke was racing that year as well.

  When the Championship smoke would clear Duke would be the 1955 World Champion and Reg Armstrong would finish second.  Sigh.


  Though he always seemed to be a bridesmaid in his racing career, Honda asked him to manage their racing team in 1962 and 1963, and under his guidance they would win five world championships.

Today in motorcycle history, April 29, 1978

 

     



  

  Patriarch of the Indian Motorcycle Company Erle "Red" Armstrong dies at 89, fittingly in Springfield, Massachusetts, the home of his beloved Indian. 

  Erle Armstrong worked for Indian, either directly or indirectly, for most of the 50-year history of the company.  He was also a racer, a rider, a dealer and a Vaudevillian motorcycle stunt rider, building a special "Silodrome" and traveling with various riding partners, including his wife, putting on shows in theaters across the country.

  On July 3, 1915, Harley-Davidson flexed their muscle at the Dodge City 300 and then in August, Hendee flexed right back as Erle "Red" Armstrong rode an 8-valve Indian to victory in the inaugural, 300-mile main event on the boards at the newly-completed Tacoma, Washington, motordrome.

  Armstrong's dramatic victory ahead of H-D's Otto Walker and fellow Indian-rider Don Johns held the capacity crowd at fever pitch for most of the race.  In the closely contested finish, the winning Indian rider crossed the line only a wheel-length ahead of the Dodge City Champion.

  

  Along with his win in this important race, Red captured the world record for the 100, 200, and 300-mile distance for Indian.

  By the end of 1915, Armstrong decided to give up the morgue-visiting board-track racing circuit and began a much safer career as an emergency room-visiting stunt rider.  He built a special "Silodrome," which was basically a large barrel built with wood slats so that spectators could watch from any angle.  Setting up the Silodrome in theaters and calling the show "The Whirl of Death," Armstrong and another rider would ride in the small cylinder doing various stunts. He often rode in the show with his wife on a specially-built tandem Indian. The act became so popular that he was asked to perform the show during the Panama-Pacific Exhibition held in San Francisco in 1915.  

  Red opened an Indian dealership in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1927, and ran it successfully until 1940.  During his shop years, he formed the Armstrong Roamers Motorcycle Club, which put on AMA-sanctioned events including what would be Red's final race in 1931 at the age of 43.  He also was the Captain of a motorcycle polo team in the early 1930's.  One of his teammates was legendary New England racer Raoul "Woodsie" Castonguay.


  After closing his dealership doors in 1940, Armstrong became production manager for Indian.  He remained with the company until its final days.  A fervent Indian loyalist, Armstrong, along with several other Indian enthusiasts, tried in vain to keep Indian alive.

  Erle "Red" Armstrong was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 1998.

Today in motorcycle history, April 28, 1970

    



 

  Norton is granted a US patent for it's Isolastic frame.










  Believing the classic Norton Featherbed frame design went against all engineering principles, former Rolls-Royce engineer Dr. Stefan Bauer designed his "isolastic" frame around a single 2.25 inch top tube.  Bauer, Norton-Villiers Chief Engineer Bernard Hooper and assistant Bob Trigg, all decided (though the patent document gives Hooper credit as the lead inventor) that the engine, gearbox and the swing-arm should be bolted together and isolated from the frame by special rubber mountings in an attempt to reduce the problem of engine vibration being transmitted through the frame.

  As great an idea as it was, though it isolated the rider from vibration very well it left the engine to vibrate like a Home Depot paint can-shaker.  Eventually destroying anything attached to the engine.

Today in motorcycle history, April 25, 1976

"Once you’re on the road, it’s like being in a motorcycle gang"

                 Leonard Cohen, Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 1976.

  I have no idea what the hell that means or why the hell he's wearing that beret.