2 wheel celebration

[Blackthou]

I wouldn’t want to stroke my Dad’s scout either

 

[Ishrub]

It's 47 years ago today that I set off on public roads on 2 wheels for the first time. Of course I had to see how fast it would go! Indicated 62mph IIRC.

Things have changed a bit since then but still loving it and long may it continue

That was seriously fast bicycle and a bloody big steep hill!

 

[Longrider]

I was 12 and stumbled upon a Vespa scooter so I started then. Trust me when I tell you that you can break a Vespa in half if jumped over hills enough times. After that it was a mid 60's Yamaha 60 followed quickly by a street twin 100 and a trail 100. By the time I was 14 and able to be legally licensed (1967) I was up to a Yamaha 250 Catalina. After that they just kept getting bigger and faster and look where I am now 50+ years later.

bob

Yep, a Vespa 150 @ around 10 then BSA 250 @ 13, riding around paddocks and stock routes, you could ride long distances on stock routes back then, learners at 16 and 9 months in 1972, went to work at the local abbittour and bought a Suzuki T120 Agricultural bike, 3 speed with high low range. Bloody thing went anywhere, got a new piston and rebore at Hazel & More in Sydney. Took a train down and back, about 20 hours, sent to the window in a lane way that was the machine shop, parts in brown paper, then a Suzuki Titan 500 (long rides) then a Z1A @ 19 (long rides fast), the rest just got sillier, threre was a Ural 650 in there somewhere....... skip 40 or so years up the road, lots of bikes and a couple of wives to the Rocket ..... best bike I’ve ridden...... end of litany.

 

[barbagris]

Kawasaki Mach III 500 triple. He put a lot of trust in me cause he knew what the bike was

I'll say.

 

[leatal]

My motorcycle virginity was stolen from me on a pretty little white 1966 Sears and Roebuck 50CC Sabre. Mail ordered her from the Sears catalog. $12 down, $12 a month, 12 months later I owned her! Paid for her with the vast amounts of money I made from my paper route. I was 14 at the time and this was as large as you could drive on a permit. Scary fast, 39 MPH up hill or on the flats, 43 MPH down hill! She could spank (my perception) any 50CC Honda on the road at the time. Of course she knew only two throttle settings- idle or wide open. Only major maintenance issue was spark plugs. She loved to melt (swallow) them. I always carried a spare so when the one in the engine quit, I'd replace it with the spare to continue riding.

 

[Ishrub]

At 4 yrs my Dad built me a motorcycle (see my avatar) a custom frame, springer front end & Whizzer engine with 2 speed gear box.
At 14 yrs I was riding Dad's Indian Arrow. At 15, his India Warrior. Was never allowed to ride his stroked Scout.

Someone stole your heritage Steve.
But I am amazed that the MC Club still exists with the same logo as in your photo too.

Tacoma Motorcycle Club
Our History - About Us - Tacoma Motorcycle Club

The Early Years - The Tacoma Motorcycle Club
Although motorcycle riding has always been regarded with a daredevil flare, in the early days it was a staple of transportation. Motorcyclists in the 1920s, when the Tacoma Motorcycle Club was born, were more likely to wear a tie and sporty little cap than the leather of today.

Sporting events associated with motorcycle riding, racing, field meets and hill climbs became the focus of attention for the club through the '30s and '40s. In 1947, TMC bought acreage south of Puyallup to build a new clubhouse and ¼ mile dirt oval track. The annual Bob Knox Memorial Day Race was the major motor sports attraction of Pierce County in those days.

Feeling the encroachment of urban sprawl, the club retreated to the Graham District, where Graham Speedway was built on 80 aces of farmland. Every Friday night, AMA professional racing shows prevailed for 15 years until protesting neighbors again surrounded the club and soaring property values prompted the club to sell out.

The TMC continues to support the sport through several events in the Northwest, and by hosting multiple club member and family campouts and play rides throughout the year.

GeekBobber: Arena of Death -1937

Five-year-old Randy Miller, son of Mr. & Mrs. H.W. "Tex" Miller of Tacoma, poses with his own custom built motorcycle in May 1950. The motorcycle was especially designed and built for him by Paul Stockinger and Cliff Sampson, operators of the Indian Cycle Company at 925 Tacoma Avenue South. Randy Miller was the youngest rider in the Memorial Day motorcycle races sponsored by the Tacoma Ducks motorcycle club.

 

[Nat67]

Someone stole your heritage Steve.
But I am amazed that the MC Club still exists with the same logo as in your photo too.

Tacoma Motorcycle Club
Our History - About Us - Tacoma Motorcycle Club



GeekBobber: Arena of Death -1937

How could this be ? Another case for Hercule poirot !

 

[1olbull]

Good find!
Tacoma news Tribune f'd up the story.
Twas indeed my bike built for me by my Dad, Paul.
We traveled the TT & flat track race circuit. During the intermission between the heat races and mains, I would ride out on the tracks for entertainment.
About a year or two later, one night at a race my hero, Gene Theison, had crashed in his heat race. So when I went out I layed it down in my final corner in homage to my hero.
At the insistance of my Mom, my motor and uniform were sold to a customer of Dad's, Tex Miller.
This was the only picture of my bike that survived.

 

[Nat67]

That's one of my fave new all time photos and a brilliant write up mate .
I think I would need therapy after having an article and pictures of me posted like that , only to have my thunder stolen with a wrong name !
I hope you hunted them down like mangey dogs ? Bloody tabloids , can't believe a word they print !

 

[Gregger]

It was 1971 when I got my hands on a 69 BSA Firebird Scrambler. I was the 3rd owner of the bike. It had been purchased in England by a Canadian doctor and his wife who used it to tour England and Europe. The bike was shipped to Canada where it was sold to a friend of mine. I purchased it from him for $650 Canadian. I rode the bike for 3 months before I got my license. Since my home town had a Triumph, BSA dealership, there were a plethora of BSA 441 Victors, Lightnings, Spitfires and Royal Stars along with the Triumph Bonnevilles, Tigers and Daytonas. The Rockets and Tridents were also on the scene. I had the only Scrambler which was identical to the one shown....sadly not mine. We would park our rides on the main street proudly displaying our beasts. When the shop closed due to the craze over the Kawasaki triples and Honda 750s, a lot of the British bikes disappeared. I also got on the band wagon and purchased a TX750 Yamaha which blew the doors off my BSA for performance but not handling. Then I got married and ...... no more bikes, only kids.

Glad I have my Rocket now.