The Bike that Won the War

Seventy-one years ago today, US personnel at Pearl Harbor Naval Base were attacked by Japanese forces, pulling the US into World War II.  My Grandfather was stationed at Pearl Harbor, but as luck would have it his ship, the USS Indianapolis, had left port on December 6th, just one day before the attack.  This was just the beginning of a lucky streak that saw my Grandfather through the war unharmed.  By wars end, he had joined the submarine fleet and was present for the Japanese surrender at Tokyo Bay.

As part of the US build up to war, Harley-Davidson was contracted to build motorcycles for military use.  These bikes were designed around the civilian WL model, which was powered by a 45-ci side-valve motor nicknamed the flathead.  The flathead motor was a low reving, low compression engine that was well suited for convoy work.  Besides obvious changes to the civilian color scheme, the WLA (A for Army) included skid plates, skirtless fenders, heavy duty rear rack, gun scabbard and black out lighting.  More than 88,000 motorcycles were produced, a third of which were sent to US Allies over in Europe.  Surprisingly, 30,000 of these motorcycles went to the Soviet Union, with much lower numbers going to Britain, France and China.  Another model was made for the Canadians, called the WLC.  Harley-Davidson produced approximately 18,000 of the WLC's which were similar in appearance to the WLA's, but had many differences including a left hand throttle.  Although the WLA was designed for non-combat use, it was nicknamed the "Liberator" as it could often be seen leading the convoys that liberated much of Europe.

2012 Race of Gentlemen - Video Footage

This year the Oilers Car Club put on a non sanctioned 1 mile race down the beach at Allenhurst, NJ.  The race was open to pre-war automobiles and tank shift bikes.  Competitors raced head to head down the beach in two-up drag racing style, from jetty to jetty.  Looks like a great event.  I hope they do it again next year.  Might be the only excuse I'll every have to visit New Jersey...

2012 Race of Gentlemen from Jon Sykes on Vimeo.

Daytona 200 - March 1948

In March of 1948, LIFE magazine sent photographer Joseph Scherschel down to Daytona Beach, FL to cover the Daytona 200.  I don't think they were ready for what greeted them when they got there.  Here's some quotes from LIFE on the event:

"375 helmeted daredevils and plenty of non-racing hell-raisers"

"Because the antics of an unruly minority reflect on the dignity of motorcycling, the American Motorcycle Association may hire special police at future races.  One duty will be to restrain sophomoric cyclists who amused themselves this year by tossing firecrackers into the crowd."

Of the 155 bikes that started the race, only 45 finished.  There were multiple injuries and even deaths by the time the race was over.  Floyd Emde won the race by only 12 seconds, but he did hold his lead the entire race.  This was the first time a rider led the entire Daytona 200 and the last time that Indian Motorcycle won that race.

 An interesting side note to the race, it appears that Floyd Emde may not have been the true winner.  Rumor has it that the actual winner was Billy Mathews piloting a Norton.  Due to poor lap counting by the officials, Emde was mistakenly awarded first place.  The call was protested and debated for some hours and in the end Mathews and Emde agreed to split the combined first and second place prize money 50/50, but Emde was still listed as the winner.

Motorcycles on the Beach

It's been sunny and in the 70's for the last couple days here in NC.  Who says global warming is all that bad...

Since I couldn't ride and had to work, I spent a little time putting together a collection of vintage photos highlighting motorcycles on the beach. The first one is my favorite, kind of a Harley-Davidson meets the Swiss Family Robinson's.

Just to round things out, a few pictures of some bathing beauties...

Indian Fact Card

Well I guess I messed up.  I've wasted years riding on Harley's when clearly I should have been on an Indian.  Apparently these were given out at the Indian dealerships to try and persuade people to purchase an Indian. 

The Indian News May - June 1936

In 1936, Harley-Davidson had just released an all new bike based on the "Knucklehead" engine, but what was going with Indian?  The following two posts will let you catch a glimpse into what Indian was up to at that same time.  These scans are of the "The Indian News", which is a similar publication to Harley's "Enthusiast".  Both are targeted to the owners of their respective marques.

The Indian News November - December 1936