Today in motorcycle history, October 12, 1971

  




  

  While visiting his dad in California, Gene Vincent dies from a ruptured stomach ulcer.

  Vincent Eugene Craddock drops out of school at 17 and, with his parents blessing, enlists in the Navy in February of 1952. Planning on a career in the military, he re-ups, takes the $612 he gets for a re-enlistment bonus and buys a brand-new 1954 Triumph Tiger T110. Then in 1955, during a July weekend, while still in the Navy, he's out riding his Triumph when...Version A) a young woman in a Chrysler 300 runs a red light and broadsides him, or Version B) he's out drinking and tries to sneak back on base, while attempting to ride underneath the security gate he dumps the bike on his leg...An ambulance rushes him into the Naval hospital with a severely smashed (technical medical term) left leg. By all accounts Craddock's doctors were considering amputation but he begged his mother not to allow the operation. He was released from the Navy and was to spend the rest of 1955 in and out of the hospital. His leg would be fitted with a steel brace. The "leg iron" would be a source of pain for the rest of his life.







  Gene Craddock became involved in the local music scene in Norfolk, Virginia. He swaps his name to Gene Vincent, and forms a rockabilly band called "Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps" (a term used in reference to enlisted sailors in the U.S. Navy). The band included Willie Williams (rhythm), Jack Neal (upright bass), Dickie Harrell (drums), and Cliff Gallup on lead guitar.

  In 1956 he wrote "Be Bop A Lula", which would draw comparisons to a fellow-motorcycle rider and future King, Elvis Presley (Rolling Stone magazine lists it as No. 103 on it's 500 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Songs list).

  Originally released as a "B-side" and aired locally but, soon the quarters began to pour into the slots of juke boxes and it caught fire on national radio stations (obscuring the original "A-side" song), and became a hit and launched Vincent as a rock 'n' roll star.

  His influence continues to be felt as evidenced by bands such as Red Pharaohs "Gene Vincent Rides a Triumph" and the BSA riding Big Tractor's "D-Cup A Lula". In London (his much loved second home), the world famous Ace Cafe holds an annual "Gene Vincent Night".





  Gene Vincent factoids;

  He was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997 and the following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Vincent has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1749 N. Vine Street. In 2012, his band, the Blue Caps, were retroactively inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee, alongside Vincent. On Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Vincent was honored with a Norfolk's Legends of Music Walk of Fame bronze star embedded in the Granby Street sidewalk. 

  The Norfolk rockabilly legend is interred at Eternal Valley Memorial Park located in Newhall, Santa Clarita, California.

  Parts of this post appeared in 2013 on Vincent's birthday.

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

Today in motorcycle history, October 9, 2015

  

  

  

  The Brittens are coming! The Brittens are coming! The 11th Annual Barber Vintage Festival, at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama, kicks off today and runs through Sunday so there's still time to make it. 

  60,000-plus vintage motorcycle enthusiasts are expected on Barber’s beautiful 740-acre park. Of course, it doesn’t hurt having the world’s preeminent motorcycle museum in your backyard (with over 1400 bikes), but the festival’s popularity doesn’t hinge just on the museum. The key to success is the Barber organization’s enthusiasm for this vintage jamboree. It starts at the top with founder George Barber and extends to every member of the staff from what I've seen, with everyone making sure the event goes without a hitch, from food and drink to music and bikes.


  This year a major highlight is 9 of the 10 Britten motorcycles ever produced will be on display. These hand-built, water-cooled 999cc, 60 degree V-Twin quad cam, 4-stroke, 188 mph New Zealand bad boys are a must-see. Also returning is the Ace Cafe (for all things cafe), the 'Century Race' for bikes 100 years old or older, (I'm not kidding, Dale Walksler won in 2013 riding his 1912 Indian!), the American Motor Drome 'Wall of Death' will be there, with daredevils on vintage Indians and Harleys riding the wall of a 14-foot tall, 30-foot diameter wooden drum. Cool-ass stuff. In need of a few odd-ball parts for your pre-war BSA? Then spend some quality time rummaging thru the huge 24-hour swap meet.


  Need more reasons to go? Throw in vintage racing from the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association, Legends of Motocross, observe some leg-wettin' trials from Speed & Sport and Penton Cross Country and you have a weekend of vintage motorcycling that beats the hell out of boring conversation with Coffee Guy (sorry Jim) and a slow bartender.






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Today in motorcycle history, October 8, 1946

  


  

  One of only a handful of true privateers to win a Grand Prix World Championship, Jon Ekerold is born in Johannesburg, South Africa.

  

  Since Worild War II there have been so few "true" privateer's to win a Grand Prix World Championship and South Africa's Jon Ekerold was one of the truest. Aboard his own self-modified, self-tuned Yamaha TZ350, nestled in a Bimota chasis, he gave the 'big finger salute' to both Kawasaki and their team rider Anton Mang en route to winning the 1980 350cc Class Grand Prix World Championship. 

  Anton Mang returned the salute in 1981 when he would win the 350cc Grand Prix World Championship while Ekerold rode his Bimota-Yamaha to a second-place finish. An uncomfortable congratulatory handshake was seen on the podium.


  Bimota was founded in 1973 in Rimini, Italy by the mastermind trio of Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini. The company name is a 'portmanteau', if you will,  taken from the first two letters of each of the three founders' surnames.






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Today in motorcycle history, October 7, 1976

  

  

  

  Six-time Cross-Country Rallies World Champion Marc Coma is born in Avià, Barcelona, Spain.

  Marc Coma is also a five-time winner of the Dakar Rally, having won it in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, and 2015 riding an Austrian built KTM 450. KTM has been the winners bike of choice, being the victorious machine in the Rally 13 times in a row.

  "So, all I need to do is buy a KTM and I'll win the next Dakar Rally?" you ask while laying on your couch accompanied by empty beer cans, a half-eaten frozen pizza and your Persian cat, 'Snuckles'. Yes, that's all it takes, a KTM 450. And some balls.

  The new KTM 450 Rally Replica (based on Coma's 450) is the bastard son of KTM's EXC 450 Enduro, however, the Replica is well rehearsed for the role. Few features from the EXC have actually been carried on. The chrome-moly steel trellis frame has been modified to withstand the rigors of the Rally. KTM designed the new frame in such a way as to create a comfortable riding posture that allows the bike to be ridden hard with as minimum personal fatigue as possible.


  The frame was conceived around the concept of two separate fuel tanks, a narrower one in front for better rider comfort, plus a rear one positioned to make it easy for the rider to bias the weight distribution for the given riding conditions. Also to that end, a special fuel pump allows the rider to select which tank will be drained first. Total fuel capacity is 8.7 gallons.

  

  The Replica's engine is a specially tuned version of KTM’s 449cc, a sohc four-valve motor that uses a 44mm throttle body and Keihin EMS electronic fuel injection. 

  The wheelbase is still 58.3 inches, but for suspension, a 48-millimeter fork and a link-actuated shock (both from WP) are used. Other equipment to help keep you alive on your latest endeavor include a rack of sophisticated electronic instrumentation, arranged on a carbon-fiber tower that is narrower than the previous version’s to give the rider a better view of the front wheel. Race ready, KTM’s 309-lb. 450 Rally Replica costs 24,000 euros (approx. $27,000 US). Before you drain your bank account, there's bad news for American customers: KTM says the 450 Rally Replica cannot be ordered through US dealers. So go ahead and crack open another can, finish that pizza, rub Snuckles belly and grab the remote. It's gotta be on TV somewhere.

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

Today in motorcycle history, October 6, 1956

  
  

  Speedway fans pack Manchester's Hyde Road Stadium to watch Peter Craven win the 2nd leg of the 1956 British Match Race Championship, the coveted "Golden Helmet" Trophy.

  Belle Vue Aces legend Peter Craven defeats Wembley Lion's Brian 'Nipper' Crutcher to take a step closer to his first Golden Helmet in front of over 38,000 fans.



  Peter Craven competed for the Golden Helmet British Match Race Championship every year from 1956.  He would end the 1959 season as the holder of  'The Helmet', taking it against Sweden's Ove Fundin. 1959 turned into his banner year as he would win the Northern Cup at Belle Vue, the Internationale Derby at Ipswich, the Pride of the East at Norwich, the Tom Farndon Memorial Trophy at New Cross and Pride of the Midlands at Leicester. 


  Peter Craven’s final race was against the Edinburgh Monarchs at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Stadium on September 20, 1963. As he closed in on the race leader, Monarch George Hunter, Hunter’s engine failed. Craven ran into the fence rather than hit the fallen Hunter. Rushed to the hospital, he did not regain consciousness and died later that night. Speedway lost one of it's most well-liked and well-respected riders. He was 29 years old.

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

Today in motorcycle history, October 5, 1975

   




  

  Elvis is photographed leaving Graceland on his then favorite toy, a VW trike.

  Elvis owned/rode two one-off Volkswagon trikes. Both built by another legend, Ed Roth. The first one was nicknamed 'American Beetle' and powered by a 1600cc EMPI-powered VW engine, custom molded body, must-have white seat and 4" over springer front forks. 

  The second trike (top pics) was built around a 1957 1192cc Beetle engine, the three-wheeler featured a four-speed tranny, VW independent rear suspension, rear-mounted drum brakes, Honda front-forks and 5lbs of lead to keep it balanced.

 






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

Today in motorcycle history, October 4, 1970

  Janis Joplin dies.

  Check back tomorrow to read about Janis Joplin and her biker connectiion with 'Freewheelin' Frank' and 'Sweet William'.  

    


  

  

  Part II

  Janis Joplin was a favorite of the Hells Angels since her Big Brother & the Holding Company days. The HA put on numerous shows in San Francisco with Big Brother that also included The Merry Pranksters, Blue Cheer, The Diggers, etc. And let's not forget their 1967 album "Cheap Thrills" with 'Approved By Frisco Hells Angels' on the front cover. The first public appearance of her band Full Tilt Boogie in 1970 she played a show for the them for only $260, Janis exclaimed to the journalist Al Aronowitz "Two hundred and sixty fucking dollars! Man, I could make $260 a minute but the Hells Angels are friends of mine." 

  From the bands relationship with the Angels two other relationships were cemented - Janis and her sometime, on-again, off-again boyfriend Frank 'Freewheelin' Frank' Reynolds and Bill 'Sweet William' Fritsch, both San Francisco HA.

  According to Aronowitz... "Janis was Sweet William's idea of a lady. 

  I don't know whether they ever shared the same motorcycle seat but the way people talk, you'd think that Sweet William always bowed with his hand over his heart every time Janis walked by.  

  Sweet William had a lot of style, even if it was the kind you picked up working 12 years on the docks as a longshoreman.  Otherwise, Sweet William had all the tenderness of a dump truck.  His hair was long and black. There was a satanic goatee on his chin.  His face had a way of making you think there was a knife clenched between his teeth.  Sweet William was a Hells Angel.  Janis loved them all. 

  They'd met a long time before, after Janis first came up to San Francisco from Port Arthur, Texas, hanging out in Haight-Ashbury, looking for a band to ball.  Sweet William was busy helping organize the Diggers then, a band of hippie thieves who used to rob the wholesale commission markets of beef and vegetables so they could give free meals to all the freaked-out kids roaming the streets. Later he joined the Hells Angels and became vice president of the San Francisco club. 

  "Oooowwhheeee!" you could hear him saying after watching Janis sing.  'she's so beautiful and loose!  She makes her voice sound like a Harley-Davidson Seventy-Four tear-assing a warp in the continuum.  Pearl's always in fourth gear and don't give a good goddamn whose nickel-dime mind she bombs."   


  To Sweet William, Janis was a lady.  The last I heard of him, he was shot in the back of the head during a gunfight after stopping in for a drink at a friendly neighborhood bar in Fresno.  He had parked his bike outside. He wasn't looking for trouble.  He was alone with his girlfriend but he was wearing his colors. He was paralyzed afterwards with the bullet still in his brain.  It happened on the very day that they scattered Janis' ashes from the Golden Gate Bridge."


  And then there's Texas biker, Rick Fairless, who has done both panhead and shovelhead pscychodelic Janis Joplin Full Tilt Boogie bikes based on her 1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet.

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