Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1214301
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE O n a recent weeklong visit to Dallas, I had a full schedule of activities planned almost to the minute, but fortunately for me, I lucked into a little free time one afternoon and decided to take an un- scheduled visit to one of the America's legendary motor- cycle shops–Big D Cycle. I Googled the address, plugged it into my GPS, and after bat- tling Dallas' notorious traffic, managed to pull up to the Big D shop, not too long before clos- ing time. Situated in the middle of an industrial park, outside the shop was fairly non-descript Big D Cycle sign, which un- derneath the Big D logo read, "Vintage British Restorations" and "Competition Motorcycles." Then I walked into the place and, whoa! My eyes opened wide, and I'm not so sure my mouth didn't follow suit. The first thing I saw up on a stand being worked on was a Vincent. Then I looked around and there were classic motor- cycles everywhere I looked—a group of historic racing machines among them. As unassuming as Big D looked from the outside, once you're in the place, you are truly in what can only be described as vintage motorcycle heaven. While there, I was fortunate to get to meet Big D's owner Keith P114 THE ICONIC BIG D CYCLE and its riders have won dozens of national championships in vintage and historic racing. The roots of Big D can be traced back to Dalio Motorcycle Sales in nearby Ft. Worth in the 1950s. That's where Jack Wilson worked as a mechanic and where he kicked off a half-century of building record-setting speed machines. In 1954 Jack and a buddy, J.H. "Stormy" Mangham, an airline pilot, constructed a streamliner, nicknamed the Texas Ceegar. Wilson worked his en- gine magic on a standard Thun- derbird unit, developing it steadily over time. In 1956, Wilson's nitro- fueled 650cc Thunderbird engine powered fellow Texan Johnny Allen to a 214.40-mph world speed record for motorcycles on Martin and his two right-hand men, Ryan Ambrose, a multi-time vintage racing national cham- pion who has worked with Keith for 16 years, and Scott Aday, a childhood friend of Keith's who's worked at the shop for 10 years. Big D is one of the most recog- nizable motorcycle shop names in racing circles. The shop, founded by Motorcycle Hall of Famer Jack Wilson, became famous in the 1960s for building Land Speed Record-winning machines. It also sponsored countless racers over the years with riders like Gary Nixon, Buddy Elmore, Rusty Brad- ley, Jess Thomas, Jon Minonno and Mike Kidd, among the better known. Today there is no bigger name in vintage racing and histor- ic road runs than Big D. The shop Big D Cycle owner Keith Martin standing next to a classic Triumph inside his famous shop.