Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Racing on the board tracks of the early 1900's was the predecessor of tod ay' s Grand National circu it. The racing was one of the first fo""s of motorized two wheel competition. dictates that it be reprinted here just as it appeared for the first time in that 1903 edition of THE BICYCLING WORLD AND MOTOCYCLE REVIEW. CONSTITUTION ARTICLE I Sect ion 1. The title of this organization shall be the Federation of A merican. Motorcyclists. Section 2. Its objects shall be to encourage the use of motorcycles and to promot e th e general interests of m otorcycling; to ascertain, defend and protect th e rights of motorcyclists; to facilitate touring; to assist in the good roads movement; and to advise and assist in th e regulation of motorcycle racing and other co mpe tition in which mo torcycles engage. ARTICLE II S e c ti on I . For con venienc e of government this Federatio n shall be subdiv ided into four districts. wh ich shall be styled Eastern. Southern. W es t ern and Pa cifi c Di stricts resp ectively. Section 2. Th e East ern Distr ict shall comprise th e New England States an d New York , New Jersey , Pen nsylvania and Delaware. Section 3. The Southern District shall c o m p ris e th e states of Maryland. Virginia , West Virginia, Kentucky. Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Section 4. The Western District shall comp rise the states of Ohio, Indiana , Michigan. Illinois, Wisconsin , Minn esota, Iowa. Nebraska, South Dakota, N orth ' Dakota, Kansas, Montana, Wyom ing, Colorado , New Mexico, Oklahoma and Indiana Territory. Section 5. The Pacific District shall co m prise the states of Washingt on, Oregon , California. Nevada. Idah o, Utah and Arizona. ARTICLE III S ect i on I. Any person of good charac ter owning a motorcycle shall be eligible to membership, Section 2. All applications shall be .end orsed by at least one member of th e Fede ration , or by two reputable citizens of the town in which he may reside, and shall be addressed to th e secretary and be accompanied by the m embership fee of 12 per annum, wh ich th e secre tary shall transmit to th e tr easurer w ithin six days after its receipt. ARTICLE IV S e cti o n I . Th e officers of th e Fed eration shall be a pr esid ent. a vice-p reside nt for each of th e f our districts, a secretary an d a tr easurer. These shall co nstitu te an Ex ecutive Committee in which the management of th e Federation shall be visit ed. They shall be elected at the annual me eting, which shall be held between July I and September IS, at su ch pla ce as th e Exe cutive Committee may deci de. and of which dat e and place not less tha n thirty days notice shall be given; tw enty -five members personally present shall con stitute a quorum. Sect ion 2. Ther e shall be th e fo llowing national co m m ittees, of fi ve m embers eac h , nam ed b y th e presid ent: M em b ersh ip ; L e g a l A c ti o n ; Comp etition; R o ads, Tou ring and H ot el s; and Tran sp ortat i on a nd Facilit ies. Bylaws went on to spe cify that from each $2 me mbership fee, one-third would re mai n with the district with two-thirds forwarded to the national organization. It fu rther defined the du ties of the standing com mittees, in cI u ding the following: "The Committee on Transportation and Facilities will have the vexing questions of the carriage of motor bicycles by rail and boat to occupy it s attention, and also the important work of separating the skilled repairers from the half-skilled or unskilled and dividing them in to official classes in the order of their skillfullness and the facilities of their shops and the stocks carried." A "spirited debate" dealt with the question of competition, the bone of Jack Milne (Far left! brought th e U.S. its only forei gn titl e when he was crowned World Speedwa y Champion in 1937. contention being whether or not the F AM should "absolu tely control mo torcycle racing," should serve in an advisory capacity to the existi ng bicy cle co mpetit io n o rganization. the National Cy cling Association, o r shou ld allow mo torcycle racin g to share tracks with automobile racing organizations. The decision made was that motorcycles and cars should not share the same race tracks lest the cars "dwarf motor bicycles, making them appear insignificant with but small notice and mention received." It was further decided that the Federation was not ready to assume full co n tr ol of racing, and thus an "advise and assist" position was taken relative to the N .C.A.'s position on control of two-wheeled competition. The racial question reared its head even in those early days with the account of the m eeting reading as fol lows ; "The co lored man was unexpectedly trotted ou t in t he dis cussion of the qualifications for membership. The motion to insert the word 'white' was made, even such a Civil War veteran as Will R. Pittman favoring it, not that he was opposed to Negroes, but because he feared the matter might b e a cause of future friction. It seemed like passing when Chairman Perry tersely pointed out the probable effect of suc h action on the press and public mind and suggested that at the outset it would be wise to sacrifice personal inclination for the good of the organization and perm it the membership committee to deal wi th th e Negro should he appear. His counsel prevailed." Proof that these pioneers of organized motorcycling were true enthusiasts and typical of mo to rcycl e club members throughout this century is found in the flnal paragraph of the description of the meeting. "After the election of officers, impatience to attend the (m o to rcycle) meet at Manhattan Beach became general, and following a motion thanking the Kings County Wheelmen for the use of their clubhouse, the meeting adjourned, leaving a number ?f m a tt e r s to the discretion of the Executive Committee ." From its smal l beginnings, th e FAM E.G. " Cannonball" Baker's name became synonymous with long distance reco rd runs. quickly moved in the direction of encouraging competition and club activity. Board track raci ng and mo to rd ro m e racing emphasized sp eed while en durance runs and road runs of variou s types were primarily th e dom ain of the clubs. A co uple of trends that continue today--formation of rival organizations and arguments over rules-cropped up as early as 1906. The short-lived National Association of Motorcyclists offered membership a dollar a year cheaper than the FAM . Meanwhile, at the FAM convention in Rochester, New York, in July 1906. Chairman Douglas of the Competition Committee argued against the tendency toward ever-increasing horsep ow er: "The Federation of American Motorcyclists' limit of five horsepower is bei ng exceeded and it is nearly time to call a halt," Do uglas said. He noted that ho rsep o wer was "elastic" and suggested cub ic capacity as a surer basis for control. He proposed a limit of fifty cubic inches. A big problem confronting the FAM was funding and in 1909 Treasurer E.M. Estabrook went on record as stating that rebates to th e districts .o n membership should be discontinued because the districts co uld operate without those funds while the national treasury needed th e money to continue to build the strength of the organization. Here was the first sign of a trend toward dis sen tio n and division that wo uld result in the demise of t he FAM . within ten years. Meanwhile, a similar move toward organization that would ultimately lend considerable shape to t he American Motorcycle Association was underway among the various manufacturers and other companies involved in the sport. Trade associations including both bicycle and motorcycle manufacturers, accessory makers and distribu tors began to spring up and hold shows and conventions demonstrating th e growing strength of th e two-wheeled industry . The Motorcycle Manufacturers' Association was formed in 1908. In discussing its growth, the publication MOTORCYCLE ILLUSTRATED notes in its January 1,1910 edition; "History Dud Perkins, "Mr. Harley Davidson" , was quite a competitor in his day. , r 4

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