Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Vintage Racer --~--- HARLEV- DAVIDSON By George B. Mauess • . Motorcyclists, as a group, seem preoccupied with the pres ent. Some thought is given to the future, of course, but the past is left to those who lived it and a few'bdd-balls" who collect antiques. This is as it should be, for motorcycling is an active participation sport and those who would engage in it are th e type who have no time for any but a cursory glance backward out of curiosity. It ill behooves us to ignore completely that which has gone before because much can be gained by parting the mists of time and bringing to the present those ideas and products tbat can serve our current needs. That the past does hold suc h useful items was proven rec ently at the Long Beach Indoor Short Track races when Dan Haaby (National 1122) took second place in the - AMain Event on the 9th of April and won both the Trophy Dash and th e - A" Main on the 30th with a 1937 BSA. This machine, one of three own ed hy Louie Tbomas of Modern Cycle Works in East Los Angeles, is a 250cc Empire star which was th e smallest of the three sporting bikes huilt by BSA at that time. It was from these machines that the famous " Gol d star" models were developed and a quick glance at th e machine will reveal many points of similarity. Being 29 years otd is not the only reason that this is a strange racing mount-the thing was originally put together from parts found i n a scrap pile behind th e BSA factory by Louie Thomas when he was there in 1949. The hits and pieces were brought home and with two other similar bikes was modified and raced until 11 OF 1952. These machines were very successful during that time wi th the climax coming in 1952 when Nick Nicholson won hi s class in the great Catalina Gra nd Pr ix. The three bikes were put away then and it wasn't until about two weeks before the Long Beach race of April 9th that Gary B ray, who maintains the racing mounts of Dan Haaby and Ralph white , cast an eye in th eir direction. Gary had a hunch that these vet erans might be j ust th e thing, and two days before th e race it was decided to us e th e ancient mounts. With only 48 hours there is little that even a tuner of Gary Bray's ability can do. The bikes were simply st ri pped and cleaned up inside, fitted with suitable handlebars, tank, and seat and hauled to Long B each . ONGBEAaI NEW H-D 'PB' HI-PERFORMlNa CAMS FOR XL'S NOW IN STOCK 426-7101 3654 No. Long Beach Blvd. DAYTONA PROVEN " w~ THE 32 TO 4() TO I LUBE ACING CASTO and SUPER FILM That t he s e · V lnta ge Ra c ers· we re up to the task was p ro ve n by H aaby' s winning p e r f o rm an c e s. and White mauaged a Main Even t seventh pla c e o n h i s antiq ue. &"'~AI"'AII~ E'dnmely dum burning It' Next November, when th e winter season starts again in Long B each, Dan and Ralph intend to use these same bikes, and with sev en months to improve them th ey may j ust be the ones to beat in the great indoors. All this brings to mind thoughts of other men who have used yesterday 's motorcycles in today's rac es. The last few runnings of th e great Big Bear hare and hound saw Homer Dr 0 w n out th er e with a 1920so met h i n g Harley-Davidson JD. More recently, someone was seen at th e Bay Mare TT-SCrambles on a Harley of i ndete rmi nate age with hand shift, foot clutch and rigid frame. Sam Pierce, when are you going to bring your Indian t o A scot? ~~ ADDZIP ADDITIVES 1433-14 3 7 F IRST ST. ESCALON . CALIFORNIA. UNEqUALLED f_INJECTOR II' GAS-OIL MIX e LAWNDALE CYCLE INC A YAMAHA e ) :t!, VELOCETTE Due" T I SALES·SERVICE-PARTS- RENTALS 1 5 3 24 HAWTHORN E L..AWNOAL.E CAL. IF BOULEVARD • SP 2 1122 os 6 -8 548 T~ Nonda C-z (t. Hwqvarn.a n ·;iflthU MOTORS 2422 E. HUNTINGTON DRIVE DUARTE. CALIFORNIA Te teph one THE FAM ILY FUN CENTER 3S9 ~ 54' •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• THEYRE HENE./ -'SA • • .. .. ABOVE: Nick NlcIIols. art.. wlnol nl 250« class In the 1952 Catalina Grand PriL AI left Is Loa! s 'T1IoIUS, owner of Ihe BSA wIIleb recently rel1ned 10 wlnMr' s circle at Lonl Beach Indoor short trac k races ridden by Dan Hu by. To the rlillt Is Hap AlzIna, f....r BSA distributor. BELOW: Huby displays wlnolnl form aboard Y1n1a1e BSA. l IJ,,§ Bef1ll/A HIJ",fa· J.M u.. ~ 1966 BS,q Ii-.

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