Today in motorcycle history, May 23, 1933

   

  

  

  The Speedway legend known as Ove Fundin is born in Tranas, Sweden. 

  Nicknamed "The Fox" because of his flaming red hair and his hot temperament. A ruthless and fearless rider once he climbed aboard his bike, hell-bent to win every race. Nothing and no one got in his way.

“I hated losing...”

 Ove Fundin stood on the World Final rostrum for ten consecutive years following his first title win in 1956. No other rider in the history of the sport has yet been able to match that.

  Prodded by Australian Speedway Champion Aub Lawson he went to Britain and joined the Norwich Stars, riding for them from 1955 until 1964 when the Firs stadium closed. Then he rode for Long Eaton Archers in 1966, Belle Vue Ace's in '67 and the Wembley Lions in 1970, but he will always be remembered for the glory days riding for the Norwich Stars where he was worshiped by the home fans. 

  Norwich reporter, Derek James, on Fundin, "Thousands of men, women and children would raise the rooftops as Ove raced around The Firs stadium where he ruled the roost – on his day nobody could catch him. He was our very own world champion. Simply the best."


  He made a total of 15 World Final appearances coming runner-up three times and third three times as well as his five wins. He also helped Sweden win the World Team Cup in 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1970 as well as the Speedway World Pairs Championship in 1968. He is considered by many to be the greatest rider of all time.

  One of the greatest sporting idols ever to represent Norwich, he was honored as a Freeman of the City of Norwich in 2006, only the second non-English person to be awarded this honor. The ceremony was held at Norwich City Hall Council chamber by the Lord Mayor of Norwich on October 30, 2006.



  Fundin's combination of tenacity, temperament and talent carried him to the very top of the sport he loved. The Speedway World Cup trophy was renamed the Ove Fundin Trophy. The trophy itself was designed by Asprey and Garrard, House of the Crown Jeweller since 1843, who also created and supplied trophies for the US Masters, Volvo, PGA Golf Championship, Cisco World Matchplay Championships, the Rugby World Cup and the Heineken Cup. The trophy itself stands two feet high and is made from sterling silver and gilt. The design incorporates the traditional with modern elements, the main feature is a gilt globe surrounded by a silver sprocket in authentic speedway style.

   A bronze statue of Ove Fundin by Richard Brixel was unveiled in his hometown of Tranas in the summer of  2012.

  Look at this list...

  World Champion: 1956, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1967

  World Championship Runner-up: 1957, 1958, 1959

  World Championship Third: 1962, 1964, 1965

  World Best Pairs Champion: 1968 (with Torbjorn Harryson),

  International Champion: 1961, 1962, 1963

  Member of Swedish World Team Championship Winning Team:  1960, 1962, 1963, 1964,1967, 1970

  Swedish Champion: Ten times

  European Champion: Five times


  No brakes, no gears, no fears.

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Today in motorcycle history, May 22, 1966

  

  



 

  Driver Fritz Scheidegger and passenger John Robinson defend their 1965 World 500cc Sidecar Championship title with a victory at the West German Grand Prix.

  Swiss sidecar racer, Max Friedrich "Fritz" Scheidegger with Englishman John Robinson as crewman, win the West German Sidecar GP aboard their 500cc BMW RS54.  They would go on to dominate the 1966 Sidecar Grand Prix.

  Starting the season off by winning at Hockenheimring (West German GP), they then wheeled themselves to victory at the French Grand Prix, the Dutch GP, Belgian GP and, finally, capping the 1966 Sidecar GP season off by winning the 500cc World Championship at the Isle of Man TT.

  Sadly, tragedy would strike the team the following season, while leading a sidecar race on March 26, 1967 at Mallory Park, Leicestershire, UK, they crashed heavily at the Hairpin, killing Fritz Scheidegger.  John Robinson would break his leg and suffer severe head trauma, forcing him retire from racing.



  There is an old saying,"once you're in the sidecar family - you can stop racing but you can never, ever leave."

 

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Today in motorcycle history, May 21, 1961

       

    

  Canadian Michael Duff crosses the finish at the 1961 French motorcycle Grand Prix 11th on a 500cc Matchless G50. 

  Michael Duff began his motorcycle racing career in 1955 at Edenvale, Ontario.  As a private rider, or privateer, he was lucky enough to board the likes of a Matchless G50, AJS 7R 350, AJS Porcupine 500, Norton 500, Triumph 500, Royal Enfield 250 and a Bultaco 125.  Then, in 1964, as a Yamaha works rider he rode the now classic RD56 250 and the RA97 125.  He skillfully made a career of riding them to finishes on some of the greatest circuits and in some of the greatest races, including Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Northwest 200, Isle of Man, Imola, Daytona 200, Le Mans, Nurburgring and Thruxton.  And let's not forget his Top-Ten Grand Prix finishes - Ulster GP, Finnish GP, Belgian GP, Swedish GP, Austrian GP, Spanish GP, Daytona USGP, Dutch GP, Czechoslovakian GP and the Italian GP.




   Mike Duff moved to California in 1968 to take up a position with Cycle World magazine as an Associate Editor.  Duff would continue to race in both Canada and the United States with mixed success, finishing third at the Daytona 200 in 1968.  He won the Eastern Canadian Championship in 1969 before calling it quits to open his own Yamaha dealership.


  In 1978, predicting a great slump in the motorcycle industry in Canada, he gave up the dealership and began a machine-shop business doing specialized machine-work on motorcycle engines, many for the dealers in the Greater Toronto area.



  In early 1984, following many years of emotional pain and frustration, he closed the machine-shop business and made the decision to "...set up house-keeping as a woman...", changing her name to Michelle Ann Duff.


  In 1996 she published, "Make Haste, Slowly", the Mike Duff Story by Michelle Duff.  A 330 page race by race saga set on the Continental circuits of European racing from 1960 to 1967.  An insiders view of a glorious era of racing, legendary riders and legendary bikes.  

  A must read for all motorcycle racing fans.

  Today in motorcycle history is a proud supporter of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).

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Today in motorcycle history, May 20, 1999

  


    

  

  "Kaptain" Robbie Knievel clears a sliver of the Grand Canyon traveling 228 feet to break his own world record by 5 feet.  Fireworks erupt and the crowd of several hundred cheer wildly as he soars over the 200-foot-wide gorge at 90 mph.

  OK, so he really didn't jump over the Grand Canyon.



  Some people on the Hualapai Indian Reservation said it was considered more like a really big hole between two ramps, not even important enough to be given a name on local topographical maps.



  "This is barely a wash in this country," chuckled Hualapai tribal member Allan Smith.


  And Robbie Knievel wouldn't have plunged 2,500 feet to his death, splattered on the canyon floor as Fox network broadcasters dramatically told a live nationwide audience as Knievel revved his bike's motor for the big moment. Maybe 75 feet and change.


  None-the-less, Knievel showed he did have his old man's balls of steel as he broke 80 mph down the takeoff ramp, soared 40 feet in the air, flew well over 200 feet and came down hard, losing control of the bike and sliding into cacti and bales of hay before coming to a stop.

  After the dust cleared (literally) emergency personnel, with the help of Dan Haggerty, helped Knievel up. As he attempted to limp back to the ramp, he gave a weak thumbs-up to cheering supporters.

  "I'm a little dingy in the head," he told reporters as Fox television cameras rolled. 

  

  

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Today in motorcycle history, May 19, 1969

  

  

  New York State Trooper Lenny Bauer sets out to break the motorcycle cross-country record of Tibor Sarossy.

  Tibor Sarossy set the world record for traveling on a motorcycle from New York to Los Angeles in an incredible 45 hours, 41 minutes in 1968.  Riding a BMW R69/S, Tibor made only four fuel stops, carried extra gas on his back, took food handed to him by passing motorists, never slept but, fainted twice in covering 2,687 miles.  The previous record was set by John Penton, who, in 1959, made it across the United States in 52 hours and 11 minutes, also riding a BMW R69/S.

  

  Lenny Bauer, a New York State Trooper from New Windsor, New York, enlisted a local machine shop to to cut an aluminum beer keg in half, insert some baffles to keep the gasoline from splashing around, and welded it back together.  He then mounted it on the back of his 1966 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide to make the need for stopping to refuel less frequent.  He gets his departure time certified at Western Union in NYC.  A hair after 6:00 AM Lenny and his shovel head west.  L.A., here we come...



  Sadly, the beer keg didn't help, due to construction delays on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpikes, Bauer ends up missing the record by 28 minutes.  

  

Today in motorcycle history, May 16, 1903

  








     


   

 George Wyman leaves San Francisco on his journey to cross the U.S. aboard his California motorized bike.

 George Wyman had already become the first American to circumnavigate the continent of Australia on a bicycle. In 1902, he returned to California as a top-ranked cyclist, pedaling his way to stardom for various Bay Area bicycle clubs. It was during this time that he discovered motorized bicycles.  "What the hell?" he muttered, staring down at his oft swollen feet.  

  Back at his home in Oakland, while rubbing his feet, an idea came to him...ride a motorized bike across the United States. After a long conversation with a fellow cyclist, George purchased a 1902 California machine for his 3500+ mile journey. 

  The California had a 200cc, 1.5 hp four-stroke engine bolted to a standard steel bicycle frame. Equipped with 28" x 1.5" tires, wooden rims, a leading-link front suspension fork, a springed seat, a Duck Brake Company front roller brake and an Atherton rear coaster brake. A leather belt-drive with a spring-loaded idler pulley directly connected the engine output shaft to the rear wheel. The California weighed roughly 70–80 pounds (without the rider), and was capable of approximately 25 mph. Keep in mind this 1903, the throttle control was not yet perfected, engine revolutions were mainly controlled by means of a spark timing mechanism. The wick-type carburetor consisted of a metal box with internal baffles stuffed with cotton batting. With no float chamber, the rider had to open the gasoline tap periodically to admit fuel into the carburetor.

  George A.Wyman departs from Lotta's Fountain at the corner of Market and Kearny Street in San Francisco at 2:30 in the afternoon on May 16, 1903. He agreed to keep a diary of his journey for later publication in The Motorcycle magazine, kind of a turn-of-the-century version of Easyriders.  Not wanting a lot of excess to weigh him down, George only packed a change of clothing, a water bottle, various small tools, 1 can for spare oil, 1 can for reserve gas, a Kodak Vest Pocket camera, a cyclometer and a .38 Smith & Wesson. 

  The first leg of his trip took him across the spectacular Sierra Nevada, through the Nevada desert, he drifted across the High Plains, then on through the Corn Belt of the Midwest.

  As the dirt trails and wagon tracks of the day were often impassible, George rode the railroad tracks for over half of his journey. During the first part of his trip, he frequently slept in railroad company housing or at hobo camps. The California's engine suffered several breakdowns along the way, forcing Wyman to bring out his "internal MacGyver" to make improvised repairs until he could get to a larger town to obtain new parts. As he neared Aurora, Illinois, the motor's crankshaft snapped, and after pedaling his way to Chicago,  was forced to wait there five days for a new crank to arrive by train.

  After leaving Chicago, Wyman cruised through Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania before entering New York state. Outside of Albany the bike's engine shit the bed, requiring him to pedal the remaining 150 miles to New York City.

  On July 6, 1903, a battered and bandaged George A.Wyman arrived in New York City, completing his transcontinental crossing and becoming the first person to cross the North American continent aboard a motor vehicle. His journey took a total of 51 days to cover some 3,800 miles. Afterwards, Wyman's bike was placed on display at the New York Motorcycle Club while George recovered from his grueling journey with a pint or two at McSorley's.

 George would later return to San Francisco by train. His bike was put on display in San Francisco at Golden Gate Park for a special exhibition commemorating the trip.





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Today in motorcycle history, May 15, 2011

  




  

  Heralded as the "fasted Filippino on two-wheels", four-time National Superbike Champion, Maico Buncio is killed during a Superbike qualifying race at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga, Philippines.

 While passing a semi-straight right hand sweeper on the speedway, Maico Buncio's Suzuki GSX-R 600 hit a patch of sand causing him to crash into the run-off section.  Buncio was thrown from his bike and impaled on a piece of protruding rebar that was on an unfinished barrier on the Clark Speedway Circuit. 

  The rebar punctured his body and damaged his kidney and liver, but instead of cutting the steel bar to free Maico, the AeroMed emergency staffers decided to pull him free causing massive internal damage. According to his death certificate, "...the rider suffered multiple organ failure and severe blood loss due to trauma of the abdomen secondary to the motorcycle accident." The gross negligence of the medics and the unfinished safety barriers left a lot of questions regarding the well-being of riders at Clark International.



  Philippine Party-list Rep. Mark Aeron Sambar of the Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta  filed a resolution directing the House Committee on Youth and Sports to look into the tragic accident.

  Rep. Sambar said the resolution would try to determine whether safety standards in Philippine motorsports circuits and race tracks were enough, and whether race organizers at the Clark Speedway used international safety yardsticks.

  “Maico Buncio contributed greatly to the development of local racing, providing inspiration to a lot of young potential riders to get into motorports, and bringing back excitement to and interest in Superbike racing,” said Sambar.  “He is a big loss to motorcycle racing and to Philippine motorsports in general.”

  A funeral motorcade of more than a thousand motorcycles rode from Mandaluyong to Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.







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Today in motorcycle history, May 14, 1968

  


  

  While riding on the back, Syd Barrett records his friend's 1966 BSA Lightning with a handheld cassette recorder.  Tripping on acid.  The recordings will eventually be used on the "Rhamadan" demo track.  





  Looking through at some bits of paper with Rhamadan down Malcolm Jones (producer) recalled the 3 hours that they tried to put overdubs of a motorcycle onto the Rhamadan track.  The song would last nearly 18 minutes with no apparent direction what-so-ever.

  Malcolm Jones: "Oh it's a good idea, the motor bike, it's just that the thing he had was this terrible little cassette player, I mean you know what cassette players were like in those days."




  Sure, Malcom, blame the cassette recorder not the guy on acid hanging off the bike trying to record it.


  The 1966 BSA A65L Lightning was the successor to the A65 Royal Star which was discontinued in 1965.  Roger Waters became Pink Floyd's primary lyricist after Syd Barrett was discontinued in 1968. 

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