Today in motorcycle history, August 18, 1956

    

  

    From the August 18, 1956, Glasgow (Scotland) Bulletin...

    'Geoff Duke Must Finish Six Months Suspension'. The International Motor-Cycling Federation refused to let British champion Geoff Duke ride in any Grand Prix races before a six month suspension against him ends. This means he will not be able to defend his Senior TT title at the Isle of Man this year.

 The Federation, however, granted permission for the ban to be lifted in connection with smaller races. The ruling would also apply to 13 other riders suspended at the same time as Duke. The suspensions were imposed after a threatened strike by riders over starting money in the Dutch Grand Prix.

  Duke said after the verdict - "I am disappointed by the decision, as my comrades and I had asked for a non-conditional lifting of the suspension.  But I accept the F.M.I. decision.
  "It will allow us to do some public training and not be absolutely handicapped when we resume running in normal conditions."




  After winning three World Championships for Norton, Geoff Duke moved abroad to race for Gilera in 1953. With Gilera, he had a string of three consecutive 500cc World Championships. His unwavering support for a riders' strike demanding more start money led to Duke being suspended for six months, dashing any hopes for a fourth consecutive title.

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Today in motorcycle history, August 15, 1973

  

  

  Edward Turner dies in his sleep at his home in Dorking, Surrey.

   In July 1937, the motorcycle world was changed when Edward Turner introduced the 500cc Triumph Speed Twin.

  Turner's designs, flair and intuitions seeded a generation of motorcycles not only from Triumph but from rival manufacturers including Ariel, BSA, Norton and AMC. Edward Turner's legendary 500cc 5T Speed Twin of 1937 was, hands down, the most exciting motorcycle of its age, a bike that metamorphosed into the 650cc Triumph twin that set the world alight in 1956 when, piloted by the "Texan Tornado" Johnny Allen, it hit 214mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

  Then came the 1959 650cc T120 Triumph Bonneville, one of the most famous motorcycles of all time. Be still my heart.

  In his time Edward Turner made more progress than anyone else in the British motorcycle industry. In recognition of this, in 2008, the house where Turner lived and worked at 8 Philip Walk in Peckham, South-East London was awarded a prestigious Blue Plaque by the Southwark London Borough Council. The Blue Plaque was unveiled on October 25, 2009.

 

  When the Royal Mail issued six postage stamps on July 19, 2005 featuring classic British motorcycles, Turner was the only designer cited by name in the accompanying presentation packet liner notes. This was in relation to the stamp featuring his 1938 Triumph Speed Twin.

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Today in motorcycle history, August 14, 1988

  

  

  Enzo Anselmo Ferrari dies in Maranello, Italy, at the age of 90.

  The name Ferrari is synonymous with racing, speed, and performance of the four-wheel variety. But, Enzo Ferrari was a confirmed bike nut, riding motorcycles until fairly late in life. Surprisingly, he was not an Italian bike guy, but he rode a beautifully restored Rudge similar to the one he had as a young man.



  Ferrari chose several motorcycle racers to drive his cars, believing that racing on two-wheels was good exercise for racing on four-wheels. Two of the more noticeable names being Tazio Nuvolari and John Surtees. Nuvolari, who was the 1925 350cc European Motorcycling Champion and four-time Nations Grand Prix winner, became the first great Ferrari driver, winning Ferrari's first race after switching from Bianchi permanently in the early 1930's. Surtees is the only man to take both bike and car world titles. He was a four-time 500cc motorcycle World Champion with titles in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960 and then winning the 1964 World Championship for Ferrari.

  The Italian Grand Prix was held just weeks after Ferrari's death, and, fittingly, the result was a 1–2 finish for Ferrari. 

  In 1994, Enzo Ferrari was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.


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Today in motorcycle history, August 13, 1972

 



 

  After years of complaints over safety concerns, Prievidza, Cigelsky Okruh, is closed down. 

  Prievidza, Cigelsky Okruh (Cigel circuit), is shut down after years of criticism and safety complaints.

  Probably one of the most exciting of the Slovak tracks, reminiscent of Spa, with trees, 220 ft (67m) elevation and super-fast corners. Unfortunately, it was built in a mining town and what it had in addition was a railway crossing going from the mine. A portion of the track going through the village was a rough mixture of tarmac, brick and concrete leading up to a bridge where in 1972 there was a fatal racing accident. The accident brought criticism of the tracks surfaces and safety concerns of the riders, but what really finally stopped racing was there was mining machinery along the track. Just a small concern.

  Built in a mining area, between Prievidza and Cigel, it was originally organized in 1964 to give some entertainment to the miners. What started as a local event quickly attracted international motorcycle racing and the CzechoSlovak F3 (Czechoslavokian Championship) in 1968. Car racing ended in 1969 when one driver lost control after the finish and crashed injuring 32 spectators. 

  Prievidza was 3.2 miles (5,175m) long with some parts barely 20 ft (6m) wide.

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Today in motorcycle history, August 12, 1972

  

  



   

  "Motorcycle Mama" checks in at #20 on Billboard magazine's U.S. Top 40.

  "Motorcycle Mama", Sailcat's single from their LP of the same name, would eventually climb the Billboard chart all the way to #12. Shortly after riding the song to Carnegie Hall and American Bandstand appearances Sailcat broke up.


  The legendary illustrator Jack Davis did the albums artwork. Davis was one of the founding cartoonist for Mad magazine and did the artwork for numerous movie posters such as "Kelly's Heroes" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".


                               "Motorcycle Mama"

  Tell your Daddy and your Mama too.
  You got something better to do.
  Stick around the house the rest of your life.
  You're eighteen you can do what you like.
  You'll be the queen of my highway, my motorcycle mama.
  We'll see the world through my Harley.

  We'll get matching jackets and helmets too.
  We'll get respect from the towns we ride through.
  We'll sleep at the roadside in the soft green grass
  And if the squares walk by we'll let them pass.
  You'll be the queen of my highway, my motorcycle mama.
  We'll see the world through my Harley.

  And maybe in a year or two
  We'll have a little one, she'll look just like you.
  We'll add on a sidecar, electric guitar. We'll be a trio.
  The baby makes three, oh.

  Tell your Daddy and your Mama too.
  You got something better to do.
  Stick around the house the rest of your life.
  You're eighteen you can be my wife.
  You'll be the queen of my highway, my motorcycle mama.
  We'll see the world through my Harley.
  We'll see the world through my Harley.
  We'll see the world through my Harley if the chain don't break!



   On the 1990 compilation album Rubáiyát, "Motorcycle Mama" is covered by The Sugarcubes. 

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Today in motorcycle history, August 11, 2013

      




  

   PMC (Peoria Motorcycle Club) Race Park, home of the "World's Longest Consecutive Running Dirt Track Race", celebrates its 65th AMA Grand National Championship TT race.

  After a week of lawn-soaking, basement-flooding rain, the 65th running of an AMA Grand National Championship TT at PMC Race Park was anything but wet. Somehow the track remained excellent and the competition remained intense. Some of the top racers had tough days, the track claimed some and motivated others. There was a lot of blood, sweat, crashes, stitches, blown engines, come from behind charges and Emergency Room visits. Pure excitement.

  In the Budweiser/AMA Pro 16 lap race, Rodney Spencer Jr. of San Marin, California, navigated his Honda CRF 450R to victory over Dan Bromley of Warrington, Pennsylvania, and his KTM 450SXF by 00.339 seconds.

  The 25 lap Expert race saw Henry Wiles of  Winn, Michigan, aboard a Kawi KX 450F dominate the pack, including leading for 17 consecutive laps, enroute to beating Eatonville,Washington's Brad Baker riding a Honda CRF 450R.

  Racing at Peoria began in 1931 and has seen the legends of motorcycle racing such as Joe Leonard, Carroll Resweber, Eddie Mulder, Kenny Roberts, Mert Lawwill, Dick Mann, Bill Miller, Bart Markel, Jay Springsteen, Chris Carr, to name just a few. 83 years later Peoria is still going strong. The 2014 Budweiser/AMA Pro Grand National TT Championship is August 17. Check it out.

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

Today in motorcycle history, August 8, 1948

  

  

   In Atlanta, Georgia, Indian's Bobby Hill and Harley-Davidson's Billy Huber cross the finish line in a dead heat and both are declared the winner. The only time that has happened in AMA Grand National competition.

  At the AMA 10-Mile National held at the Lakewood Park Mile in Atlanta, Georgia, coming into the final lap of the race Indian’s Bobby Hill held a 30-yard lead over Harley's Billy Huber. Huber cut the lead in half during the first turn, holding his position on the back straight. Hitting the final turn wide open, Huber drove out of the corner on the inside and pulled up to just 10 feet behind Hill. Taking advantage of Bobby’s draft, Billy Huber swung out with the finish line only 150 yards away. Determined, Billy cranked it pulling neck and neck with Hill. Both riders crossed the finish line simultaneously in a photo finish, setting a Lakewood Park track record of 7:46.47. With the crowd going batshit, President Mike Benton of the Lakewood Park Speedway declared both riders winners, and both riders received first-place prize money. The first and only tie in  AMA National history.

   Bobby Hill was known as one of Indian's famed "Wrecking Crew", along with Bill Tuman and Ernie  Beckman. The three made an indelible mark on the motorcycle history books and solidified Indian's racing reputation.

   Bobby Hill was AMA National Champion in 1951 and 1952 by virtue of his victories on the Springfield Mile. Hill won a total of 12 AMA Nationals during his professional racing career spanning the years 1947 to 1959. 

   Bill Tuman was the last single-day winner of the AMA Grand National Championship at the Springfield Mile in 1953 before the AMA Grand National Championship Series was created in 1954. That win also marked the last time an Indian rider won the prestigious AMA Grand National No. 1 plate. Tuman won a total of five AMA Grand Nationals during his racing career that spanned 1947 to 1955.

   Ernie Beckman earned ten podium finishes from 1949-1957 and only finished outside of the top 10 six times in that span. Beckman was the last rider to win an AMA Grand National race on an Indian— August 2, 1953 at Williams Grove, Pennsylvania.

   Billy Huber won the AMA 100-Mile National in 1950 and 1951, at the Langhorne Speedway near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He held multiple track records and is considered one of the strongest racers of his era.

   On July 5, 1953, with the temperature over 100 degrees at the 200-Mile National Championship race in Dodge City, Kansas, at the 140-mile mark Huber was overcome by heat stroke causing him to crash hard coming out of the corner. Tragically, he would die the next day from his injuries.

    All four men were inducted in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

 

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