BORN BIKER

 

                                        age 6 

WHERE IS YOUR BIKE ? what kind of motorcycle do you ride ?

two questions i have frequently gotten. i dont know why unless its because i am a 

                                                 NATURAL BORN BIKER!

there are not many of us.

my father and his brother built their first motorcycle from junk parts when they were 16. circa 1937.

when WW2 came along my father was in the army signal corp. movies show radios as the communication used most. it wasnt. two way radios were still in their infancy. it was used primarily for tactical comm. short range battlefield comms. larger units were used by ships and headquarters for operational comms. but everyday organizational comms were by DISPATCH RIDER. they rode motorcycles and drove jeeps. but mostly motorcycles.

thats what my dad did. rode a harley as a dispatch rider for PATTONs headquarters. all across north africa and sicily invasion and half way up the boot of italy. he rode a bike all the way through WW2.

when he got back home his brother had 2 bikes waiting that he had built during the war. he was too young to fight. the amazing thing about these 2 bikes is EVERY METAL PART WAS CHROMED. ALL metal parts, even ones you cant see like the brakes etc . was CHROMED. i never got to see them. they were washed away by the 1947 hurricane ( in those days they numbered them ).

my parents honeymooned at daytona bike week where it is said i was conceived.

 until i was 7 years old the only vehicle we had was a harley motorcycle.

my stepmother made us quit motorcycles and dirt track racing as a pre-requsite to marrying my dad. at that time both things were frowned upon as being outlaws. 

we did. until i was an adult. at which time i went back to racing and bikes. i rode some motorcross and did some stunt riding.

i rode 4 bikes to death. i still have them.

the last one i rode is still leaning against a tree where i parked it 1987. 

i was building a cabin for cash out of pocket and couldnt afford the licenses and insurance so i quit riding. i intended to go back but never did.

i guess i outgrew it.