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Archives: Indian's
Man of the West
I never met Hap Alzina, yet he
played a big role in my family's
life. My father, Floyd Emde,
knew him well starting back in
the 1940s, and when Floyd won
the 1948 Daytona 200 on an
Indian Big Base Scout, Alzina
made him an offer. Hap told
him that Indian wanted another
dealer in the San Diego area
and his $2000 prize money
would be enough to get a fran-
chise. The deal was made and
worked okay for a few years, but
as noted in Larry's story, Indian
was in trouble. My parents got
another offer about that time
from Harley-Davidson and the
dealership switched brands.
Their store in National City sold
Harleys into the early 1960s.
Then it was Harley-Davidson
who began struggling, and Floyd
had another talk with Alzina, who
was now the Western States
distributor for BSA. Soon after,
the Harleys were gone, and my
parents got BSA and became
one of their biggest dealers in
the United States
with a three-store,
multi-brand opera-
tion they ran in the
San Diego area until
retiring in 1980.
A couple of other
notes, in addition
to all of the other
riding and racing
he did, when the
short-lived Oakland
Motordrome was built in nearby
Elmhurst, California, in 1911,
Hap competed in the amateur
class at a few races there. On
May 2, 1911, he placed second
in the two-mile Amateur race.
He is seen here that day on the
far right in the photo, alongside
Indian factory rider Ray Sey-
mour, winner of the five-mile and
10-mile pro classes. Seymour
went on to become one of the
greatest riders of the early mo-
tordrome era.
Lastly, Alzina's daughter
Shirley would later marry Bill
Bagnall, noted magazine journal-
ist of his time, who later served
as President of the AMA and for
many years was President of the
Trailblazers.
Don Emde
I met this man, Hap Alzina, when
I was 15 years old at his dealer-
ship in Oakland. His mechanics
in the service department above
the showroom helped "this"
young kid out many a time with
problems on my little B31—and I
was never charged! Each time I
learned a little bit more, and af-
ter awhile, I became a backyard
mechanic myself. Without these
fellows and the kindness of Mr.
Alzina, I may not have become a
lifelong motorcyclist.
Al Banta
Empire of Dirt:
The AMA Was Right
The title itself is hilarious, but
that isn't the story and neither
is Steve Cox's psychoanalysis
of Justin Cooper. Look at the
"rule" literally (as we should e.g.;
Cal Crutchlow, MotoGP). The
rule: "….properly re-entering the
course at the closest point to
where the rider left the course"
(emphasis mine). If we take the
rule "literally" that means Adam
Cianciarulo should have done a
180-degree turn and re-entered
the track, not cut across the
track, completely eliminating the
turn and entering on the other
side. Had he re-entered at the
"closest point" where he exited
(done a 180), we can agree he
would have at a minimum been
10-plus seconds behind and not
one second behind.
I don't know Justin Cooper or
Adam Cianciarulo (I actually enjoy
Adam more due to his congenial
personality), but rules are rules
and only work if they are applied
"literally" without any subjective
interpretation. The AMA trashed
their rulebook on this one.
Scott Uhrmann
Without these fellows and the kindness of Mr. Alzina,
I may not have become a lifelong motorcyclist
From the scrapbook of Hap Alzina/
Don Emde Collection
