Today in motorcycle history, March 20, 1887

   

  Indian Hillclimb champion/motorcycle legend Orie Steele is born in Ridgewood, New Jersey.  His father, John Steele, had an Indian dealership in Paterson, New Jersey, where Orie's passion for two-wheels first took hold.

 

  Orie Steele was the leading AMA Hillclimb Champion of the 1920s and early ‘30s, at a time when the sport was at its height of its popularity.  Steele was a factory Indian rider for much of his career and was one of the best known riders of his era. 

  The storied career of Orie's racing began in 1913 where he won the prestigious Crotona (New York) Motorcycle Club Endurance Race.  Steele earned victories in several major endurance runs in and around New York and New Jersey in the 1910's, including winning the 500 mile 1914 Yonkers Endurance Run.

 

  With the onset of World War I he stopped racing and enlisted in the Army, outfitting motorcycles so they would be able to handle the rough terrain they would face and training soldiers on how to ride them.  After the war's end he returned to competition and began winning hillclimb races all over the country.

  In 1922, Steele won his first M&ATA (the predecessor to the AMA) National Hillclimb Championship at the national meet held in Egypt, New York.  The hillclimb was the biggest of its day and featured racers from across the country, including well known stars such as Colorado’s Floyd Clymer, Harley-Davidson’s Oscar Lenz from Michigan, Pennsylvania's Chas. "Peggy" Temple (a one-legged rider who raced an 80" Harley-Davidson), Reggie Pink on a Reading-Standard and Excelsior’s ace, Paul Anderson, from Chicago.  That victory thrust Steele into the national spotlight so much that Indian began heavily advertising Steele’s accomplishments and he became the face of Indian's hillclimb team.  Indian even produced an “Orie Steele Special” hillclimb machine in the late 1920's.

  Steele followed up his 1922 national championship success with a national title in 1923 in the 37-inch class.  In 1926, he swept all three national championship classes.  He also won the Eastern National Hillclimb Championship in 1927.


  Orie Steele was simply, one of the best damn hillclimbers ever.  Ever.  

  Notable was the fact that Steele won all his national titles while he was in his 30s and 40s.

  Steele retired from competition in the mid-1930s. 

 

  Orie Steele was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 2007. 

Today in motorcycle history, March 19, 1916

 

  Pope Motorcycles introduces it's newest innovation, the cylindrical toolbox mounted on the rear fender.

The Pope Manufacturing Company had been building bicycles with small "clip-on" single cylinder engines and then in 1912 introduced their first V-twin, and by 1918, Pope's reputation was well-known for quality construction and innovative engineering and they were suddenly giving Indian and Harley a reason to look over their shoulders.   The V-twin in the 1918 Pope L-18, with it's 3 21/64" bore and 3 1/2" stroke give it a displacement of 61 cubic inches (1000cc) and it's 7.5 horsepower gave it a max speed of between 60 and 65 miles an hour.  Considering a large percentage of the roads at that time were still unpaved that was some dirt-eatin', bug-chewin' speed.   It featured overhead valves, an Armored Magneto ignition, heads containing nickel-steel interchangeable intake and exhaust valves, an oil tank with a capacity of two quarts that was compartmented with a toolbox beneath the seat, but perhaps the most intriguing feature was the presence of a rear suspension (say what?!), a comfort virtually unheard of at that time.   The rear-suspension design of the L-18 was uniquely Pope's.  Pope mounted the rear axle in a carrier that moved up and down between two posts, compressing a pair of springs on impact. Wheel travel was minimal, but, what the hell, something was better than nothing.   Unfortunately, their motorcycle innovations wouldn't last long and the 1918 Pope L-18 represents the last of the line.   With World War I raging in Europe, Pope suspended motorcycle production late in 1918 to concentrate on building machine guns.  After the war, only the bicycle portion of its business was revived.

Today in motorcycle history, March 18, 1961

   

   A production Velocette Venom Clubman (single-cylinder, four-stroke, 499cc) sets the 24-hour endurance world record with an average speed of 100.05 mph.

   It was the first motorcycle of any size to top 100 mph in the 24-hour endurance, and in 52 years and counting no other machine of the same capacity has been able to match or beat this record. The record attempt took place at the Montlhery Speed Bowl, a 2.7 km (1.67 mile) concrete track about 15 miles outside Paris that was well-known to riders as a track to have a very uneven surface and piss-poor lighting.

   A team of six French riders were accompanied by motorcycle journalist Bruce Main Smith, who himself achieved the best lap time of 107 mph despite the track conditions.  After securing the 12 hour record at more than 104 mph, the team then only stopped to change riders and refuel,  and went on to set the 24 hour endurance record.

  The publicity was huge for Velocette, as the success revived sales of the Venom which went on to become, alongside the Thruxton (worthy of a tale itself on another day), one of Velocette's best selling motorcycles.

  However, the records were only set at the track not the cash register and in 1971 poor sales forced the company into voluntarily liquidation, with all the remaining stock and tools being sold off to pay creditors who had been lining up outside their door since the fall of 1969.                         

  The Venom which set the 24 hour world record is now on display at the British National Motorcycle Museum.   If for some reason you're going to be in the Birmingham area on holiday or for business the address is Coventry Rd, Bickenhill, Solihull, West Midlands B92 0EJ.  The museum is open every day from 9:30am-5:30pm and in case you get lost or have a question the lads in the local can't answer just give 'em a call at 01675 443311.

Today in motorcycle history, March 15, 2002

The Triumph motorcycle factory, (in Hinckley, between Leicester and Coventry, England), suffers what many consider to be one of the worse – if not the worst – industrial fires in British peacetime history.  The intense gasoline fuelled fire reduced aluminum engine components to blobs of metal and it took nearly three days to completely extinguish.  Damage was estimated at over $100,000,000.   John Bloor had bought the rights to the Triumph name in 1983 with the intention of making England a world class motorcycle manufacturer again.  And, damn it, he was not about to let this horrific event stand in his way so instead of pissing and moaning he immediately set to work the following week with a strategy committee, and with the full co-operation of his insurance company, plans were put in place to rebuild the factory.  Since  Bloor owns the company outright, there were no government departments, no red-tape bullshit, no partners or investors to account to in his decision making.  Not only did he have the money, but he had the experience to map out exactly what he wanted and how to rebuild quickly.   Fortunately, the Triumph factory was housed on two separate sites and it was only the final assembly plant that was destroyed.  Much of the critical tooling and machinery was salvaged and design, development and engine assembly continued.    It took only four weeks to clear the debris. The heat from the fire had weakened the steel supports holding up the building and it had to be completely torn down.  New steel was soon rising and closed in followed by machinery, tooling and assembly lines by the end of July 2002.  Not a single employee was laid off and many even volunteered their time to assist with the recovery.  This was a wise investment in their own future and typical of the British and their attitude in times of adversity.    By September Triumph's were being produced on a limited scale and full production was reached by December 2002.    The factory is now known as one of the most efficient motorcycle factories in the world, and now produces 46,000 motorcycles per annum.

Today in motorcycle history, March 13, 1919

  I came across this article from the March 13, 1919 issue of the"Motorcycle and Bicycle Illustrated" magazine that detailed the objectives and rules for the Gypsy Tours for New York and New England.  Being the kind sort I am I thought I'd share...

 The objectives were first, "to provide a good time for the riders, and theirs wives, sisters, and sweet-hearts" (say what?); and second, "to create a more favorable public opinion of the motorcycle and motorcycle riders." 

  These early Gypsy Tours were really, really organized, dare I say a precursor to the modern mc's, with a "Tour Master" and two aides leading a large group of riders sectioned into "companies" of 10 riders and a captain; and "pathfinders" scouting out and marking the route up ahead.  The riders wore visible numbers and were supposed to ride in numerical order, with the sidecars taking up the rear of the company.  The riders were also required to carry documentation; these "checking cards" were reviewed each morning by the "Tour Master" or his aides.  This way there was no confusion over who's got the beer.

 

Erwin "Cannonball" Baker in New York with his Indian motorcycle after his 1912 international journey.

 

Today in motorcycle history, March 12, 1882

 

  Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker, the man, the myth, the legend, is born in Dearborn County, Indiana.

  A natural born entertainer, Erwin Baker began his career as a vaudeville performer, but turned to driving, riding and racing after winning a dirt-track motorcycle race in Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1904.

  Baker's road to fame began with his record-setting point-to-point drives, in which he was paid to promote the products of various motorcycle and automobile manufacturers.

  In 1908, with money from his promotional drives/rides,  Baker bought imself an an Indian motorcycle and began entering, and winning, local races.  He actually won the in first race ever held at the then newly built Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909. 

   Bored, Erwin felt he needed a road trip, so in January 1912 he bailed Indianapolis on a two-speed Indian and covered 14,000 miles in three months, traveling through Florida, down to Cuba and Jamaica, and then to Panama (and your buddy is still going on and on about his 507 mile trip).   He then took a steamer up to San Diego where he based himself for a while and from there he competed in several endurance runs in both California and Arizona.  It was during this time that Baker decided he would attempt to break the transcontinental record.  After a record-setting transcontinental drive in 1914, he received his nickname "Cannon Ball" from a New York newspaper writer who compared him to the Cannonball train of the Illinois Central Railroad made famous by Casey Jones.

  His best-remembered drive was in 1933. From New York City to Los Angeles in a Graham-Paige model 57 Blue Streak 8, setting a 53.5 hour record that stood for nearly 40 years.  This drive inspired the later 'Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash', better known as the "Cannonball Run", which itself inspired at least five movies and a really crappy television series.

  The owner of many driving/riding records, his first was set in 1914, riding coast to coast on an Indian motorcycle in 11 days.  Guaranteeing sponsor's "no record, no money".

  When all was said and done, he made 143 cross-country motorcycle speed runs totaling about 550,000 miles.

  Did you know, Erwin later became the first commissioner of NASCAR. Seriously.  Look it up.

  Nearly 40 years after he died (in 1960) Erwin Baker was inducted into the American Motorcycle Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.  That long?  Really? You weren't sure if he qualified?