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Published Quarterly

March 2019

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AMCA® VIKING CHAPTER

NEWSLETTER

Viking Chapter AMCA® P.O. Box 18304,

Minneapolis, MN 55418 http://www.vikingmc.org

Club Officers PRESIDENT: Dave Glennen 612-616-5025 dglennen@hotmail.com VICE-PRESIDENT: Bob Hopf 612-867-5654 codyz@juno.com DIRECTORS: Ivar Natins 612-770-3818 idn@comcast.net Ralph Smith 952-443-2020 ronspargo@mindspring.com Dave Moot 952-856-2695 ocvid@comcast.net Craig Kotval 651-269-1755 aquila1975@comcast.net TREASURER: Jeff Ricker 612-201-6938 j.l.ricker@hotmail.com SECRETARY: Kathi Rimnac 612-825-2550 motokat2@yahoo.com MEMBERSHIP: Roy Williams 612-202-4905 kathyroyw@gmail.com WEB/EMAIL: Doug Nelson 612-559-9595 doug.nelson@gmail.com DEPUTY JUDGE: Roger Rimnac 612-825-2550 motorog1@yahoo.com CLUB HISTORIAN: Tom Jones 763-533-9163 NEWSLETTER: Caleb Spooner 763-443-1602 spoon55432@gmail.com

Officers - New Members 2 Upcoming Club Events 3 AMCA 2019 National Meets & Road Runs 5 The President’s Minute/Editor’s Note 6 AMCA Holiday Party 7 2019 National Meet Featured Motorcycle 9 National Meet - Bikes win Prizes 10 IMS Show 11 Open House Sid Chantland Montrose 14

Riding History—Three Women Who Changed the Face of Motorcycling 16 1940’s Bike Girls 24 Member Stories The $300 Harley 26 BSA Drag Bikes 27 Cannonball 2018 30 Humor 31 Want Ads 33 Classified 34

March 2019

New Members! The AMCA Viking Chapter wel-comes the following new mem-bers: James & Heather Pavelka Mark Buettner Robert Powers We look forward to riding with you and seeing you at our meet-ings! Contents

The Editor‘s MC Parking Spot In Forest Lake

mailto:codyz@juno.commailto:codyz@juno.commailto:codyz@juno.commailto:ronspargo@mindspring.commailto:ocvid@comcast.netmailto:aquila1975@comcast.netmailto:motokat2@yahoo.commailto:kathyroyw@gmail.commailto:doug.nelson@gmail.commailto:kathyroyw@gmail.commailto:tvgadban@gmail.com

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Note: Board of Directors (B.O.D) meetings are open to all members. When held at a chapter member‘s home, please notify the host ahead of time if not a board member.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday March 20 - 7pm Viking Chapter General Meeting Go Moto 3346 N Washington Ave Mpls, MN 55412 Saturday - Sunday March 23 - 24 Donnie Smith Custom Bike Show See web for hours: www.donniesmithbikeshow.com St Paul RiverCentre 175 W Kellogg Blvd St Paul, MN 55102 Wednesday April 3 - 7pm National Meet Planning Committee Davanni‘s - Edina 5124 Gus Young Lane Edina, MN 55436 Wednesday, April 10 - 7pm Viking Chapter BOD Meeting Davanni‘s - Bloomington 8605 Lyndale Ave S Bloomington, MN 55420 Wednesday April 17- 7pm Viking Chapter General Meeting Go Moto 3346 N Washington Ave Mpls, MN 55412 Saturday April 20 Annual Spring Flood Run See web for info: www.flood-run.com

Wednesday May 1- 7pm National Meet Planning Committee Davanni‘s - Edina 5124 Gus Young Lane Edina, MN 55436 Wednesday May 8 - 7pm Viking Chapter BOD Meeting Home of Roger & Kathi Rimnac 5516 13th Ave S Mpls, MN 55417 612-825-2550

Wednesday May 15- 7pm Viking Chapter General Meeting Go Moto 3346 N Washington Ave Mpls, MN 55412 Sunday May 19 - 12 - 5pm Rocker’s Spring Social Red Stag Supper Club 509 1st Ave NE Mpls, MN 55413 Saturday, June 1 - 10am Ride to Hollywood Roadhouse Meet at Bob Hopf‘s home 8784 Knollwood Dr Eden Prairie, MN 55437 612-867-5654 Wednesday June 5 - 7pm Viking BOD Meeting + National Meet Planning Committee Davanni‘s - Edina 5124 Gus Young Lane Edina, MN 55436 Wednesday June 12 - 8am—8pm Thursday June 13 - 8am—8pm Need help at Fairgrounds Decorating & Setup etc. Friday - Saturday June 14 & 15 - Friday 8am - 8pm Saturday 8am - 6pm AMCA Viking Chapter National Meet MN State Fairgrounds, Progress Bldg 1265 Snelling Ave N St Paul, MN 55108 Sunday June 16 - 10am or so... Blind Lizard Rally Nicollet Island North End Intersection of Nicollet St & Maple Place

http://www.donniesmithbikeshow.comhttp://www.flood-run.com

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Upcoming Events

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Upcoming Events AMCA 2019 National Meets & Road Runs

April 8-10 Cherokee Chapter National Road Run Kerrville, TX www.cherokeeamca.org April 26-27 Perkiomen Chapter National Meet Oley, PA (610) 948-4553 Perkiomen Facebook Page May 17-19 Southern National Meet Denton, NC (417) 838-4777 www.amcasouthernnationalmeet.com May 24-25 European Chapter Meet Raalte, Netherlands +44.1303.256266 www.amca-europe.eu June 9-12 Allegheny Chapter National Road Run Ligonier/Seven Springs, PA amcaamc.com June 14-15 Viking Chapter National Meet St. Paul, MN (952) 443-2020 www.vikingmc.org June 14-15 Fort Sutter Chapter National Meet Dixon, CA (916) 485-1721 www.amcafortsutter.org July 5-7 Empire Chapter National Meet Trumansburg, NY (315) 382-6711 www.empirechapter.com

July 19-21 Wauseon National Meet Wauseon, OH (419) 929-0291 www.wauseonnationalmeet.org August 2-3 Yankee Chapter National Meet Terryville, CT (203) 272-6605 www.yankeechapter.org August 24-25 AMCA Australia Chapter Meet BULLI Show Grounds New South Wales (near Sydney) 011-61-419-229-605 www.amcaaustralia.org September 4-6 Music City Chapter National Road Run Nashville, TN (615) 972-8758 September 12-14 Yerba Buena Chapter National Road Run Monterey, CA (408) 591-7607 www.yerbabuenaamca.org September 27-28 Chesapeake Chapter National Meet Jefferson, PA (410) 360-4211 www.ccamca.org

http://www.cherokeeamca.orghttp://www.amcasouthernnationalmeet.comhttp://www.amca-europe.euamcaamc.comhttp://www.vikingmc.orghttp://www.amcafortsutter.orghttp://www.empirechapter.comhttp://www.wauseonnationalmeet.orghttp://www.yankeechapter.orghttp://www.amcaaustralia.orghttp://www.yerbabuenaamca.orghttp://www.ccamca.org

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As I look out the front window of the store where I work, I look for the parking spot where my bike is usually parked. There is a massive mountain of snow at least 15 feet tall there and it‘s not going away soon. However, this will break sometime, and soon. I rode as long as I could, right through the end of January and I thought I could get a foot down in February, but it wasn‘t to be. The brutal reality that came down in that month was something no one could have predicted.

So I look everywhere for signs of Spring, like the dates when gardening centers are opening, the coming of day-light savings time (yay!), and listing the event dates for the chapter in the newsletter falls right into that. The ad for the Ton-Up club‘s Rockers Spring Social was a great moral booster. The thought of an actual ride somewhere on an actual date, like the ride to Hollywood Roadhouse - proves that this HAS TO END. Sometime. Soon.

And I bought another bike (another ultra-rare 60‘s Ducati 2-stroke) and am working on several others, includ-ing my mountain-bike-Frankenstein-creation and its new 125cc motor. It started for the first time the other day and wow - if I would have had a drive chain on it I hate to think what I would have done with it at -5°, so good thing. Still it felt so good to hear that motor....

But working on the newsletter is very therapeutic. There is so much to look forward to in the coming months - and just 3 months to the national meet! We‘ve kept busy through the winter with meetings and get-togethers and I‘m starting to think we need to use club funds to buy our own pizza franchise. But the real stuff is coming and we‘re already cramped on the front end, so get ready. This will turn around fast!

At the holiday party when (new President) Dave Glennen was talking about women riders, I already had a cou-ple of stories about that all lined up. Just because women are smarter doesn‘t mean they can‘t enjoy the same kind of compulsive behaviors that men engage in! Certainly shelving self-preservation in favor of a thrilling motorcycle ride is in that category… men who are threatened by women who can -best them- in their manly pursuits need not apply. The Viking chapter is an inclusive club and I hope we can attract more women riders.

I also hope we can continue to get contributions from club members to add content to the newsletter. We‘ve enjoyed your stories and pictures. And the more you write, the less I have to - I don‘t like it when I have to put to-gether some mindless blurb about something I did not go to, just to have some identifying text present. If you go on a ride or show up at an event, write up a paragraph and send it over. (Especially if you didn‘t see me there.)

I received the President‘s gavel at our annual Holiday Party in January. I placed it on my fire-place mantel for safe keeping and I think it looks kind of nice there. I asked a particular member after our February General meeting if he knew the history behind the gavel. He smiled and began telling me how he welded it together with a Harley Piston and an Indian piston quite a few years ago! I will share that story with you at another time. This conversation made me reflect on the his-tory of our Viking Chapter.

The Viking Chapter was founded in 1974 by local vintage motorcycle enthusiasts. If they had purchased new 1974 motorcycles to round out their vintage collections, these same new bikes would now have far passed the 35 year old required age to be eligible for judging in the AMCA. Times have changed and the Viking Chapter has con-tinued to evolve and change while always honoring our past and the members who paved the way for us. As we keep our traditions alive, we keep our eyes on the future. The Viking Chapter has always pushed for change that was not always popular at first, but change that works for the good of an organization is often accepted when the results are seen. Sir Isaac Newton said ‖ If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.‖ I have to say I agree. Without the vision and hard work of our predecessors we would not have the active Chapter that we have today.

As the board and the entire membership of the Viking Chapter take on the responsibility of the stewardship of our Chapter, let‘s remember to honor our past while moving into the future and accepting the challenges that await!

I‘m looking forward to 2019 as it unfolds. The Minnesota riding season will begin soon and our Club schedule of events will begin to bring us all together doing what we all need to do, gather with other like-minded vintage mo-torcycle enthusiasts and continue to enjoy the comradery that was started back in 1974.

David Glennen Viking Chapter President

Dave Glennen

Cal Spooner

The President’s Minute

Editor’s Meanderings

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Viking Chapter Holiday Party - January 12, 2019

Club News!

The Holiday Party was held at the Moundsview Community Center this year. During the festivities the reins of power were handed over with great pomp and circumstance, people were recruited and registered to help in the effort and a veritable gauntlet of food was run in order to achieve the dessert table status. Items that were otherwise unobtainable were on dis-play pitting us against each other in bidding wars that will be of legend. Then, after lightening our coffers we carted of our honorably won spoils and resolved to return another day to bask in our former glories. Huzzah!

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Viking Chapter Holiday Party - continued

Club News!

90 plus members and their families were in attendance (more than last year!). Bob Hopf reported that $825 was raised by the silent auc-tion. He also reported that his new numbering system for bidding was more successful than bidding by name as members did not know who they were bidding against and that this drove bids on items higher.

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2019 National Meet Featured Motorcycle - June 14-15, 2019 Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the motorcycle that changed everything, the Viking Chapter has selected the Honda CB750 as the featured motorcycle for the 2019 National Meet. From the AMA website: It‘s hard to imagine the glee that lovers of high-performance motorcycles must have felt in 1969. Suddenly, almost every major manufacturer was introducing a new big-bore bike that was leaps ahead of anything ever built before. And 1969 was transformed into the Year of the Super-bike. The most refined and sophisticated of them all, though, was Honda‘s CB750. Four cylinders. Four megaphone exhausts. A disc front brake. An overhead camshaft. Amazing fit and finish. The Honda was so revolutionary, in fact, that it overshadowed everything else in the market—the Triumph Trident, the BSA Rocket 3, the Nor-ton Commando Fastback, the Harley XLCH, the Kawasaki Mach III. Honda made this landmark step by applying what it learned from small-bore bikes and grand-prix racing to a machine clearly designed as a big-bore flagship. Engineers realized that several low-mass, smaller pistons could move faster than a few heavy ones, turning increased RPMs into more power. The Honda four-cylinder engine, like those from Indian, Ace, Henderson and others back in the teens and ‘20s, also had one more advantage over a twin—it was smooth. "At the dealership I went to, the sales trick was for them to stand a nickel on its edge on the engine cases with the thing running," says Mark Mederski, the AMA‘s vice president for marketing, who owns this machine, pre-viously on display in the Motorcycle Heritage Museum at AMA headquarters in Westerville, Ohio. "If the carbs were in sync, even at idle, the nickel wouldn‘t fall over." The bike was more than a rolling, 67-horsepower statement of technological pride from Japan‘s largest manu-facturer, though. It was also Honda‘s first marketplace shot at the big-bore Brit bikes and Harleys. For the first time, and often for less money, you could run with "serious" motorcycles while riding a Honda. The new model even won the Daytona in 1970, its first time out. The long shadow cast by the CB750 is visible even today. Transverse-mounted four-cylinder engines still power many of the most popular bikes in the ‘90s. That engine configuration now seems normal, commonplace, expected. In 1969, though, there was only one. It came from Honda.

Club News!

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NOTICE! All 2019 Viking AMCA Members Will Be Eligible To Win One Of Two $500

Cash Prizes Given To Two Lucky Winners At The 2019 AMCA

National Meet In St. Paul, MN.

Display a bike and get a chance to win $500. Display 4 bikes and get 4 chances to win $500…

Get the Drift?

Must be a paid 2019 Viking Chapter member and a paid 2019 AMCA member to be eligible. Only one prize per person.

More details to follow.

Club News!

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IMS Show 2019

Events

This year the club combined with the Ton-Up Club and had a fabulous display area. Many great and positive comments were made by the public. Overall the IMS Show itself was noted as being lackluster and lacking some major motorcycle brands. One plus was that Ron Spargo had made up a flyer advertising our June Meet and these were handed out by the hundreds.

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IMS Show 2019

Events

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IMS Show 2019

Events

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Sid Chantland Open House, Montrose, MN

Events

Viking Chapter members were invited to Sid Chantland‘s super-man-cave extravaganza, to partake in food, mu-sic, and of course, motorcycles. You‘d think we liked that sort of thing. Oh that‘s right, we do do do!

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Sid Chantland Open House, Montrose, MN

Events

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Riding History: 3 Women Who Changed the Face of Motorcycling

Take a minute and picture a motorcyclist.

Maybe you conjured a long-haired outlaw like Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy. Perhaps you visualized Ewan

McGregor and his motorcycle adventures abroad. Or possibly you thought of the last motorcyclist who shot

past you on the Interstate.

But chances are that you thought of a man—not a woman.

There are 8.4 million motorcycles registered in the United States—a tiny number compared to the 264 million

registered cars and trucks. Motorcyclists are definitely a subculture and a heavily male-dominated one at that.

Only 14%–about 1.18 million—of the motorcycles on American roads are registered to women. The American

Motorcyclist Association encourages more women to try motorcycling if they are interested. As the AMA‘s

Managing Editor Jim Witters notes, ―there's always room for more riders.‖

Women riders should be as common as women drivers." –Maggie McNally, Chair of the American Motorcyclist Association. McNally is the first female chair of the

AMA in its 94-year history.

But numbers aside, women motorcyclists simply haven‘t broken through in the American popular imagina-

tion. That doesn‘t mean there are no motorcycle heroines. In fact, there are many female motorcyclists who

deserve broader public attention for their taboo-smashing derring-do and their insight into the souls of two-

wheeled conveyances and the people who ride them. Three of them are particularly worthy of celebration: Lois

Pryce, Melissa Holbrook Pierson, and Bessie Stringfield, three riders who took very different journeys on

what Pierson calls ―the perfect vehicle.‖

One woman rode outward across whole continents and forged personal connections in remote and forbidden

countries. Her vulnerability and good humor were her strengths. Another rode inward through her own psy-

che to understand the allure of motorcycles and the people who ride them. Her fearless and honest introspec-

tion were her guides. Their spiritual ancestor rode onward to confront the institutionalized racism and sexism

of Jim Crow America. Her powerful faith and personal toughness were her allies. Let‘s meet them.

The Journey Outward: Lois Pryce Lois Pryce rode all the way down to the southern tip of South America, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, where

you can smell Antarctica 620 miles away across the Drake

Passage. She rode all the way from London to Cape Town,

traversing the Sahara Desert, the jungled interior of sub-

Saharan Africa, and the sun-blasted hills of South Africa.

She rode across Turkey and crossed into Iran, a country

that we in the US and the UK have been locked in a cold

war with for 40 years. It was her most intimate trip, a

journey around the country that brought her into close

contact with dozens of ordinary Iranians who showered

her with kindness. Pryce did what so many only dream of.

She left a desk job with the BBC and set out to explore the

world by motorcycle.

Riding History

Feature

https://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/https://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/http://www.bbc.com/

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She‘s taken three epic motorcycle trips: from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, from London to

Cape Town, South Africa, and from Istanbul to Iran. Along the way, she witnessed the aftermath of a horrific

motorcycle crash that left one of her riding buddies with a fractured skull and a mangled arm. She clashed

with officious policemen and border control officers who seemed determined to thwart her desire to see what

lay beyond the next hill. She endured the

heat of the Sahara Desert and the bone-

chilling cold of the Zagros Mountains in

northwestern Iran.

Never one to follow the motorcycling in-

crowd, Pryce rides smaller bikes—225

and 250 cc Yamahas that are light, easy to

work on, and far more in keeping with the

motorcycles in the places she travels than

big BMWs, Harleys, or Ducatis.

As she said in an interview for this article,

"as soon as you leave the Western/

developed world there‘s not much oppor-

tunity to ride at 70-plus miles per hour.

The kinds of roads you‘ll be traveling on

are full of potholes, dirt, kids, dogs, don-

keys, cows, insane traffic etc. This means

you will be riding much slower than that

most of the time - so a big powerful bike is wasted. Also, riding slowly means you see more. A small bike forces

you to carry less stuff, which is good - traveling light will transform a trip. Another benefit of riding a small,

cheap trail bike is that you will blend in better in less-developed countries. Turning up on a big flashy brand-

new BMW or similar marks you out as a wealthy westerner and creates a divide between you and the people of

that country."

Pryce also gained a unique perspective on the perception that motorcycles as dangerous machines. One of the

scariest days of her life occurred in the Republic of Congo, when she was forced to take a train from Loutété to

Brazzaville because the road was ―too dangerous‖ to be traversed by a lone woman on a motorcycle. She was

shut up in a boxcar with her motorcycle and a dozen intoxicated male Congolese soldiers. There was no es-

cape. She spent a sleepless night sitting on the floor of the box-

car by her bike, fending off some soldiers who wanted to steal

her supplies and other soldiers who made it clear they might

want something more from her. Had she been out on the road,

she could have escaped those dangers.

Motorcycling is so much more experi-mental than driving. Riding allows you to experience life through your five senses instead of watching it through a windshield. - Peter Ter Horst, Spokesman for The American Motorcycle

Association & President of SymPoint Communications.

Riding History

Feature

https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/motorcyclehttps://sympoint.com/

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But despite that terrifying situation—and despite being assaulted by a meth-head gas station attendant in

Iran, Pryce believes that being a woman on a motorcycle in a foreign land actually helps keep her safer than a

man would be.

"Being a woman can be advantageous as on the whole," she said. "When people see you traveling in their

country, especially if you are alone, they actually want to look after you, rather than harm you. I truly do be-

lieve this is how most humans respond to others. A solo female is not viewed as a threat in any society, so peo-

ple tend to be welcoming and friendly. Obviously, there is the occasional lecherous or scary guy, but you soon

learn to sniff them out right away!‖

This idea of strength through vulnerability was the theme of a TEDx talk Pryce gave in 2015. On to her first

epic journey from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, she learned that "the reason to travel is to make human connec-

tions. To make those connections meaningful and real, you have to lay yourself bare. You can‘t insulate your-

self and hide away. You have to be vulnerable…. Your vulnerability becomes an asset and brings out the best

in people.‖

I've known Lois since 2010 and consider her to be a remarkable world traveler and gifted writer. She's one of the original group of motorcycle adventurers and also one of the first women riders to take on the world solo. Few authors in this genre can capture these life-changing experiences, inform us how things really are out there, and provide so many chuckles along the way. -Paul Smith, Senior Editor, Adventure Motorcycle Magazine

In between epic motorcycle journeys, Pryce wrote three books: Lois on the Loose, about her trip through North and

South America, Red Tape and White Knuckles: One Woman's Adventure Through Africa, and Revolutionary Ride: On

the Road in Search of the Real Iran. With her husband, Austin Vince, she co-organizes the Adventure Travel Film Festi-

val, an event dedicated to showing 100 years of adventure travel films, listening to good music, and hearing talks from

trekkers, bicyclists, overlanders, sailors—and, of course, motorcyclists.

Riding History

Feature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QucYuQx7jnAhttps://adventuremotorcycle.com/https://www.amazon.com/Lois-Loose-Pryce/dp/009949356X/https://www.amazon.com/Red-Tape-White-Knuckles-Adventure/dp/1937747131/https://www.amazon.com/Revolutionary-Ride-Road-Search-Real/dp/1857886577/https://www.amazon.com/Revolutionary-Ride-Road-Search-Real/dp/1857886577/http://www.adventuretravelfilmfestival.com/london-festival/http://www.adventuretravelfilmfestival.com/london-festival/

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The Journey Inward: Melissa Holbrook Pierson

The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles, by Melissa Holbrook Pierson, begins with a lyrical passage

that reads like a description of a religious rite. "The key is slipped into the ignition at the top of the steering

head. Then the rider swings a leg over the seat and sits but keeps the weight on the balls of the feet. With a

push from the thighs, the rider rocks the bike forward once, again, picking up momentum until it starts to fall

forward and down from the centerstand… The key turns; idiot lights glow.… The starter button on the right

handlebar, pressed, begins a whirring below. A simultaneous

twist of the right grip pulls the throttle cables and the engine

bleats, then gulps, then roars. There is contained fire within

inches of the rider‘s knees."

Given Pierson‘s attentiveness to the rituals of the ride, it‘s not

surprising that many pages on, she tells of her visit to a mo-

torcycle museum in Otterbach, Germany in spiritual terms:

"We admired all the fine old bikes, from Aermacchi to Zund-

app, sure, but I think we were at least as appreciative of the

fact that they were housed in a former church. It was still a

place of worship as far as we were concerned.‖

But what begins as ritual soon becomes a psychological in-

quiry. To invert Pierson‘s subtitle, what is it about motorcy-

cles? It‘s certainly more than just the ride. The closest she

comes to giving a direct answer is to say that ―motorcycles are

a way into yourself, and a way out.‖

By writing The Perfect Vehicle, Pierson had hoped to com-

municate the essence of motorcycling to a general audience.

But that's not the way it worked out. The book was popular

among motorcyclists, but non-riders took little note of it.

In an interview for this article, Pierson also laments how tech-

nology has affected her connection with her motorcycles.

"Now I feel a tad . . . distant from my bikes. This extends to

the ride because I‘m no longer able to pay the close attention I once did to the inner workings of the stationary

motorcycle. Or to relate in a physical way to much of what‘s happening when [I‘m] underway. And that‘s be-

cause I can‘t—it‘s all inside the invisible workings of a chip that is not ‗read‘ by me, but by a computer.‖

Pierson came to motorcycling in her mid-twenties, after getting her bachelor‘s from Vassar and her master‘s

from Columbia. Once she discovered motorcycles, a different kind of learning took hold of her. She discovered

the joy, power, peace, fear, vulnerability, and happiness that can visit a rider in just ten miles.

She rode around New York City and its near environs. She rode America through and through. She rode in

Europe. But the real travel is through the landscape of the psyche. The Perfect Vehicle is as much of a trave-

logue as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is about the highways of the northwest. Which is to say

that it isn‘t really about those roadways at all.

To make these inward journeys, Pierson doesn‘t ride trail bikes, crotch rockets, or plush cruisers. She favors

the sculpted, sinewy, Italian designs of Moto Guzzi: ―I would know the sound of a big Guzzi in my sleep. It

concentrates its aural energies in your upper chest, ringing through your bones. It is…the sound of joy.‖

Riding History

Feature

https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Vehicle-What-About-Motorcycles/dp/0393318095/http://www.melissaholbrookpierson.com/http://www.motoguzzi.com

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Melissa writes so that you are on that bike, the wind rushing by,

and feeling every bump and bend in the road. Beyond summoning

the exquisite sense of riding a motorcycle, she summons the bike‘s

physicality in its lines and weight, but especially in its sound. –Amy Cherry, Vice President & Senior Editor, W. W. Norton Company

Despite her status as a female

rider, Pierson is careful not to

attempt to speak for all wom-

en motorcyclists. "I don‘t think

riding itself is a gendered ex-

perience," she said in an inter-

view for this article. "It‘s the

way the rider is perceived

that‘s gendered. . . . Women

have to push through an extra

layer of resistance sometimes,

in that we may have to first

take back a basic right to do

what we want to do without

censure. In cultures that have

strong gender prescriptions,

this can be at the risk of physi-

cal punishment, but in many

of the most dramatic instances

where this is the case worldwide, there are now examples of women who have taken to motorcycles even un-

der pain of physical harm, which is a new and amazing development. Men don‘t face that.‖

Pierson's second motorcycle book, The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing: Long-Distance Motorcycling’s

Endless Road, was published in 2011. She hadn't planned to write about motorcycling again until she encoun-

tered the extreme long-distance motorcycle subculture, people who ride 1,000 miles in a single day in "iron

butt" marathons. "It's such a loony, all-absorbing pursuit, I knew I‘d have to write about it," Pierson re-

marked. "I still think those people are nuts. But they‘re among the smartest, most generous humans I‘ve ever

encountered. There‘s got to be a connection there.‖

More recently, Pierson took a trip through India, another one of those journeys that broadens the mind, the

soul, and the horizon.

And she‘s still discovering what it is about motorcycles.

The Journey Onward: Bessie Stringfield

Bessie Stringfield measured only 5‘2‖, but she stood tall at a time when to be black and female was to be dou-

bly oppressed. Photos of her show a sturdy woman with an inviting smile. She always appears freshly made up

and impeccably dressed, even when photographed against a backdrop of dusty roads and dirt tracks.

Riding History

Feature

http://books.wwnorton.com/books/index.aspxhttps://www.amazon.com/Would-Stop-Nothing-Long-Distance-Motorcyclings/dp/0393344126https://www.amazon.com/Would-Stop-Nothing-Long-Distance-Motorcyclings/dp/0393344126

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Born in 1911, she taught herself to

ride in the 1920s on a neighbor‘s

bike when she was in her mid-

teens and the modern motorcycle

itself was only about ten. ―My ma-

ma had a fit,‖ she later recalled.

―Nice girls didn‘t go around rid-

ing motorcycles in those days.‖

Nevertheless, on her sixteenth

birthday, Stringfield‘s adoptive

mother gifted her with what she

really wanted: a ride of her own.

It was a 1928 Indian Scout, an

American contraption that looked

like a bicycle on steroids with a

603 cc V-twin engine nestled be-

tween the wheels. It was heavy

and loud and belched exhaust,

but it must have seemed like free-

dom. It was her first and last In-

dian. Thereafter, Stringfield discovered Harley-Davidsons and immediately developed the kind of brand loyal-

ty that marque inspires. She owned 27 different Harleys in her lifetime.

By the time she was 19, Stringfield was riding all over the country. Some say she would choose her destina-

tions by tossing a penny onto a map. It‘s hard for those of us who were raised alongside the Interstate High-

way System to imagine how difficult motorcycle travel was in 1930. Roads in the United States at that time

were topped with graded earth, sand, clay, or gravel—surfaces not especially hospitable to motorcycle traffic.

Even the basics of navigating from town to town were difficult in an era where interstate roadmaps were still

in their infancy.

The risks of motorcycling and the sheer difficulty of long-distance travel in that era would daunt all but the

hardiest souls. Stringfield, however, encountered additional obstacles: her black skin and her woman‘s body.

It was perfectly legal in the 1930s for hotels, restaurants, and inns to refuse to serve African Americans and

unaccompanied women. Stringfield

spent many nights staying with black

families she met on her travels. Other

evenings were passed parked at a fill-

ing station and sleeping atop her bike.

These aspects of Jim Crow America

were almost benign compared to the

more serious dangers of being black

and far from home in a white world. In

the 1930s, 119 African Americans were

lynched. Hundreds of others were beat-

en, tortured, raped, and humiliated.

The protection of the law was uncertain

and inconstant, to say the least.

Riding History

Feature

22

Bessie Stringfield was a black woman in a white man's world and a

woman in a male-dominated culture. She helped pave the way for

the civil rights era. She's definitely a hero! -Maggie McNally, Chair of The American Motorcyclist Association

But Stringfield was undeterred. She became the first African American woman to ride a motorcycle in every

one of the contiguous 48 states. She rode in Brazil, Haiti, and Europe. She raced in flat track competitions and

performed motorcycle stunts at carnivals and fairs. During World War II, she served as a civilian motorcycle

courier for the US Army in the pre-fax, pre-internet era, carrying important military documents from base to

base.

In later years, Stringfield was remarkably reticent about the discrimination she faced on the back roads of

midcentury America. In a newspaper interview of in 1981, she recalled that "colored people couldn‘t stop at

hotels or motels back then. But it never bothered me.‖

When pressed by reporters and biographers, she would relate an incident where a white man in a pickup truck

deliberately ran her off the road and knocked her off her bike. She told other stories about being followed

down a dirt road by an angry white mob only to outrun them and fill her tank at a gas station owned by a

kindly white man who let her fill up for free. But even those tellings are devoid of anger or bitterness.

Perhaps she guarded her carefully-wrought image as a positive, can-do spirit. Perhaps her powerful Catholic

faith impelled her to turn the other cheek. She frequently said that ―the man upstairs‖ was looking out for her.

Or maybe she was actually lucky and plucky enough to have avoided the worst of Jim Crow violence and ha-

tred.

But one oft-told anecdote hints at the quiet pride she took in her skill and determination. When she moved to

Florida in the 1950s, she found herself repeatedly pulled over by the police for ―riding while black.‖ As String-

field tells the story, the Miami police told here that black women were not allowed to ride motorcycles in Mi-

ami.

"I couldn‘t even get a motorcycle license there. Those officers kept harassing me until I got fed up and went to

see Captain Jackson, a white motorcycle

cop in the Negro district. He took me out

to a park and told me to go through sev-

eral figure eights and other tricks. I did

them, and he was amazed. He said he‘d

never seen a woman ride like that. From

that day on, I didn‘t have any trouble

from the police and I got my license

too.‖

Stringfield died in 1992 at the age of 82.

She rode her Harley to church every

Sunday until shortly before her death.

Recognizing that it had neglected to

write about her death when it occurred,

The New York Times belatedly published

an obituary in 2018.

Riding History

Feature

23

In 2000, the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame created the Bessie Stringfield Award to honor

"an individual who has been instrumental in bringing emerging markets into the world of motorcycling." Two

years later, the AMA inducted her into its Hall of Fame.

And today, there are legions of women who ride in her honor.

Three Women, Three Journeys Most of us who ride will never even attempt the outrageous distances that Lois Pryce covered. We‘ll never

have the insight to report on the combination of insecurities, contradictions, and fearless self-analysis that

allowed Melissa Holbrook Pierson to dive deep into ―what it is about motorcycles.‖ And we‘ll never (we hope)

have to transcend the racism and sexism of the day and smash through the cultural stereotypes that Bessie

Stringfield had to contend with for much of her riding life. Riding outward, inward, and onward, these three

women have mapped out trails for the rest of us. Now it‘s up to us to act on their inspiration.

Riding History

Feature

https://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Riding/Story/ama-bessie-stringfield-award-1

24

1940’s Bike Girls Fascinating Photos of Female Motorcyclists From 1949

These are some badass girls! In an era when it might have been strange to even see a woman in pants.

These photos were taken in 1949 by Loomis Dean for LIFE magazine.

Riding History

Feature

25

Fascinating Photos of Female Motorcyclists From 1949

Riding History

Feature

26

So I heard that Minneapolis Escort was going out of the motor-cycle escort business for escorting funerals and oversized loads and just sticking with cars and truck vehicles. This was 1976. I worked at Egeberg Cycle (the Mpls Harley dealer) and we serviced their bikes. They would be auctioning all of their bikes. I knew they had a really nice 1969 Harley Davidson FLH and that model was the holy grail of all Harleys ( the last year before AMF took over) and I was sure I could get it cheap. My old panhead would finally be put to rest. I was there early and I saw that not only were some of my friends were there but also some customers I had mentioned the auction to. And they ere all looking at ―my‖ ‗69, not at the other ra-ther rough bikes lined up. I wasn‘t worried because I had $900 in my pocket and an old police bike wouldn‘t go for anywhere near that (they sold new for $1900 plus accessories in 1969). I started the bid at $500 and it went up to $700 and then $800. Then it was just me and the one customer biding $10 increments at a time. At $900 I was done. Then another customer jumped in and it sold at $1075. A harsh toke. Bummer. My friends were amazed at the price

and laughed about how it got away and told me what a big fool I was. So now I wandered over to see what other bikes were

coming up for auction. Nope on the two panheads alt-hough one looked ok and ran. But there was a 1966 FL with a sidecar on it and a sign that said ―not running‖. It looked really tired and beat. But it was a shovel head. The starter turned it over weakly but nothing. but when I kicked it over it had compression. Plus it had a full tank of gas. Maybe I get it to run somehow. Well maybe I could part it out because it probably wasn‘t worth re-building. And I had a pocket full of cash-a dangerous thing for me back then.

So I started the bid and only one other guy was bid-ding. Finally It was mine for $600. My friends then real-ly started laughing big time ribbing me for being a big-ger fool and buying that junk pile for that huge amount. Since it wouldn‘t fit into my truck I took the side car off for clearance and as I pushed it over I thought I would check it for spark now that I could easily get to the tim-er. When I looked at the points I noticed that one of the contacts had broken off. And I always carried a chain master link and spare set of points in my pocket! I put the new points in and set them all the while being un-mercifully hassled by my friends. One kick and it was running! Now my friends totally changed their tune. The picture was taken by one of them as I rode it around the lot. And the guy who was bidding against me saw that I had put the sidecar aside and asked it he could buy it. It turns out that was why he was bidding in the first place! So I ended up with a running (but still pretty tired) bike for $300 after it was said and done. My friends were pretty silent after that.

Geo Edwards

The $300 Harley

Member Stories

Update on Tim Gadban After several members expressed concern over why Tim has been MIA lately, I decided to investigate. So I went to Tim‘s house and this is what I found.

Tim has become a fat cat indeed. All this laying around has taken its toll and now all he wants to do is lay on his back in front of the fire, licking whiskey from a bowl. He said he would love to come to a meeting, but he‘s been on his back so long that he can‘t roll over and get up. I tried pushing him over but he turns over harder than a BSA single. More than I can do. I think we should at National Meet time and roll him over to the fairgrounds; it‘s only a couple of blocks. I mean, what are friends for, right? -editor

27

In 1959, I purchased a new BSA Spitfire motorcycle from Paul‘s Cycle in St. Paul, Minnesota. The spitfire wasn‘t just a fast motorcycle it was also a very beautiful motorcycle, with it‘s chrome and red gas tank and to top it off it came from the factory with racing straight pipes! It seemed like every time I pulled up next to an-other motorcycle at a stop sign I would get into a drag race, so I figured I had better start taking my speed ad-diction to the local drag strip before I ended up with a pile of speeding tickets. The Triumph and Norton motorcycles usually dominat-ed the 650cc class at the local drag strips. When I showed up at Minnesota Dragways with my 1959 BSA Spitfire everyone was surprised, including myself when I beat all of the Triumphs and Norton‘s that showed up that day. I ended up winning a first place trophy the first time I raced the bike. I raced the bike for two sea-sons dominating my class. I also won the Minnesota Dragways motorcycle points race.

I wanted to do something a little more chal-lenging so I decided to build a dual engine drag bike using two 1959 BSA 650cc.Spitfire engines. Forty years ago I didn‘t have the tools, money or the ability that I have now, but I still managed to build my drag bike on the dirt floor in the basement of my old farm-house where I lived. I started the season out by entering my drag bike in the GSTA Car Show and won first place in the motorcycle class. I named the motorcycle the Centipede be-cause of its long wheelbase and the four ex-haust pipes that looked like legs hanging out the side of the motorcycle. Back in the early sixties they didn‘t have wide racing slicks for

motorcycles. So I settled for a four inch MH slick. The first time I ran the bike it handled horrible. When I shifted into forth the bike slid all over the track. When I came back to the pits. Ron Braun came over to me and said, "You should rename the motorcycle the Widow Mak-er‖. Because of the way it handled I ended up making a number of modifications to the frame and changed the gearing to the bike. I started out in third gear so I only had to shift once. This made a big difference in the handling of the bike. I won a few trophies with the bike but I was hoping that it would be a lot faster.

BSA Drag Bikes - Ky Michaelson

Member Stories

28

At the time there wasn‘t much off the counter speed equipment you could buy, but I ported and polished the heads and put in high compression pistons. This added more speed to the top end. One night at Twin City Speedway Clem Larson, a friend of mine asked me if he could ride the bike. He was about twenty pounds lighter then I was so I was anxious to see if his weight difference would increase the speed of the bike. Clem was an experienced rider but when he shift-ed into fourth gear he stuck his foot in the rear wheel and flew off the bike. He could have been seriously hurt if not killed. Clem ended up with a few stitches in his foot, and a lot of road rash. The motorcycle did not come out as well. The throttle was wide open when Clem came off the bike. The front motor blew a rod right thru the case and the frame was destroyed beyond repair.

In the spring of 2001 I was having a senior moment and I was thinking of the good ‗ole days when I remembered the time I was racing against Roy Egeberg, a local Harley dealer and who was a dear friend of mine. I never really knew how old Roy was until after the end of a race when Roy came over to me and said, ―Ky I am getting to old to do this stuff‖. I jokingly re-plied, ―So how old are you Roy?‖ And Roy said, ―Fifty-eight years old‖. I was in my early twen-ties, and when I heard his age it sounded to me like he was as old as Methuselah.

Well I am now sixty-three years old and I still feel pretty young. I thought I would take back the good old years and build another BSA 650cc dual engine drag bike and race it a few times so I could have the same thrill, like my friend Roy Egeberg had. I went to a cou-ple of auctions that were put on by the Mid-west Motor Cycle Auction and bought two complete 1957 650cc BSA motorcycles. This time I had a little more time, money and mechanical ability. I wanted to build this mo-torcycle like a piece of fine polished art. Something I could be proud of when I am still on this earth and something my family will be proud of when I pass on.

BSA Drag Bikes - Ky Michaelson

Member Stories

29

The primary cases, chain case, valve covers, rocker oilers and gas tank are made out T6-6061 highly pol-

ished aluminum. All the nuts, bolts and hardware are either chromed or polished. By Joe Deters. The Takesago aluminum rims were re-spoked with stainless steel spokes and fitted with Dunlop tires on front and back. The Lucas magneto armatures where rewound and modern condensers where installed by Steve Hamel. I purchased and polished two new 376/17 Amal Monobloc 1 1/16‖ Carburetors. The frame was painted cor-vette yellow with a dash of orange. I used two different sets of Siamese Exhaust pipes so the carburetors would not hit the pipes.

I spent six months building the bike. I called up my long time friend Ron Braun, who was in charge of the floor plan at the GSTA car show and I said, ―Ron, I am going to ask you a question I asked you forty years ago. Where are you going to put my bike in the GSTA Car Show?‖ Of coarse he didn‘t remem-ber so I had to refresh his memory. When he did remember he got a big laugh out of it. Well I entered the GSTA show and won first place, just like I did forty years ago! I‘ve been asked by a number of my friends are you going to race the bike this sum-mer? Only time will tell.

BSA Drag Bikes - Ky Michaelson

Member Stories

30

Go back 100 years in m/c history to when cast iron ruled. The route covers approx. 3400 miles from Portland, Maine to Portland, Or. One hundred and five entries with Harleys and Indians well represented along with several Henderson fours and many Euro machines. A trio of one lung Snorton's from " down under "..a couple of Broughs… and others. Many machines seemed to be up the challenge and sounded great..others ..pop'd, back fired, sputtered and seemed reluctant to continue.. but perhaps that's the nature of the beast. The bikes rolled into the Spirit Lake Indian manufacturing facility in small groups or singularly around 4PM having their times clocked at the official Cannon Ball tent. They then proceeded to the parking lot for the many fans to ask questions of the riders and photo ops. The folks at the Indian plant will need a bleach party the next day.. ... " total lost oil system "... The next day at the nearby Ramada Inn... 100 years of cast iron is kicked, pushed or " rollered " into live. First departure was at 6:45..promptly followed by other groups at 15 minute intervals. The folks at the Ramada will need to borrow some bleach from the Indian folks.

Cannonball 2018 - Mike Blackburn

Member Stories

31

Q: How can you tell when a Gold Wing rider

is having an affair?

A: His helmet doesn‘t match the passengers!

Three riding buddies were sitting in a bar af-

ter a long days ride having a beer. One looks

up and says to the others, "Look at those old

farts over there across from us. That'll be us

in ten years!"

His buddy responded, "That is us you idiot,

you're looking at the mirror."

How many BMW riders does it take to change

a light bulb? None. They bought the extended

maintenance agreement with roadside assis-

tance package, and it covers light bulb chang-

es.

Drill press: A tall upright machine useful for

suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of

your hands so that it smacks you in the chest

and flings your beer across the room, splatter-

ing it against the Pamela Anderson poster

over the bench grinder.

―Calling upon my years of experience, I froze

at the controls.‖ – Stirling Moss

Humor

32

Humor

33

2001 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport

One owner, new tires front and rear, needs rear brake rotor, needs engine tuneup. The original air box was removed and K & N air filters were installed. Mistral after market mufflers. The speedometer was replaced so the new one shows zero miles on the odometer. The original speedometer shows 13,548 miles. Engine num-ber 013232. Maier fairing. $3950. Arlen Johnson 763-670-9701 (cell) 763-497-8555 (work) arlen@acutecmn.com (Savvy buyers want to know if non-oxygenated gas has always been used, because the plastic tank can absorb the alcohol in standard oxygen-ated gas and cause swelling of the tank. The an-swer is YES, non-oxy gas has always been used. The tank has no signs of expansion. )

WANTED: Altette horn, 6 volt, proba-bly made by Lucas, for old British bike. I can send you a picture. keith51ply@gmail.com or call/text 612-532-1112

Want Ads

WANTED: HRD/Vincent project bike, basket case, pile of parts or a single part, sheet metal, tools, books, etc. Please contact me about the items you have. Thanks, Tim. Email okeeffedesign@yahoo.com or call 651-675-6560, 9am - 9pm MN

WANTED: Info on any other Zundapp Bella scooter owners in the club or in the near area. Please give me a call. Thanks!! Dave Rademacher 763 755 8520

mailto:arlen@acutecmn.com

34

12480 Plaza Drive, Eden Prairie MN 55344

Classified

35

1618 Central Ave. N.E. Minneapolis MN 55413

612-789-5282

www.diamondscoffeeshop.com

Classified