Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

PtiQp fiY p~p~ Wf~LfY (Continued from page 3) Soulhern California's AMA District 37 has adopted a new motocro s division for persons over 40 who don't want to compete with Vets and other kids. The races are held at Sunrise, Saddleback and Perris, once a month. All six D-37 Grands Prix are also on the Senior Division schedule, and are usually listed in our Calendar section. To join, see Nate Sciacqua at any D-37 motocross event. After placing second in the San Jose National Short Track, HarleyDavidson's Jay Springsteen was a no-show for the following day's mile, again a victim of the mysterious ailment that has plagued him since 1979. "Last night he didn't feel too good, and this morning he felt even worse. We've leamed that it's best if he just stays in bed; coming to the track aggravates it even more," seid Hartey-Davidson Racing Manager Clyde Denzer. Reliable sources indicate Kenny Robens will be behind the wheel of a turbocharged Ford Mustang in the May 20 International Motor Spons Association (IMSA) three-hour endurance road race at orlh Caro· lina's Charlotte Motor Speedway. Roberts will probably share co-driving duties with 1983 Indianapolis Rook· ie o[ the Year Bobby Rahal. Roberts, under an assumed name, was involved in test sessionso[ thecaral California's Laguna Seca Raceway just prior to his departure [or England and the April 22-23 Transatlantic Challenge road races. The AMA's Bill Boyce announced changes in the Superbike Road Racing Championship Series schedule. All three changes involve Pro-Am events. Originally scheduled for October, the Kent, Washington, round is now to be held September 8-9. The event at Southern California's Willow Springs Raceway is likewise moved up, to September 1 5-16. The proposed race at Woodbine, New Jersey, has been placed on To-Be-Announced status pending a decision on whether the to-be-constructed track there will be finished in time for the race. Boyce said that will be announced within a few weeks. V-Haul will buy Jet Skis from Kawasaki MOlors Corp. V.S.A. to rent at 1100 company-owned rental offices throughout the V.S. The agreement to supply lhe Jet Skis, which are manufactured at Kawasaki's Lincoln, Nebraska factory, prohibits V-Haul from selling the units. In announcing the agreemem, Kawasaki President M. Tazaki said "We are confident that the V-Haul rental program will provide strong new sales opportunities for our dealers by supplying a location where potential purchasers can test ride the Jet Ski prior to buying." Honda's recent announcement of a similar agreement to sell ATCs to V-Haul was met witha lawsuit filed by the National Motorcycle Retailers Association. (Continued to pag-e 23) Eart and Lucille Flanders accept the Dud Perkins Award from John Hasty. In memoriam Earl Flanders: 1911 -1984 Mass was held on Thursday, May 3, for Earl Frederick Flanders, 72, at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Pasadena. Flanders died late Monday night, April 30, at his home in Sierra Madre after a lengthy battle with cancer. He is survived by a sister, Clara, and two brothers, Harvey and Gordon; other immediate family includes wife of 48 years, Lucille, and three sons, John, Bruce, and Paul, and seven grandchildren. Earl leaves behind a successful motorcycle accessory business - the Flanders Co. - and a host of friends and admirers who remember him for his pioneering spirit and dedication to the sport he loved. Approximately 200 people attended the services, which included many recognized names in the sport and business of motorcycling. Among those present were Hap Jones, Bill Bagnall, Larry Hester, Dave Ekins, Ed Kretz, Andy Kolbe, Pete Coleman, John McLaughlin, Max Bubeck, Howard Weekly and Dennis Manning. . Only two days before his death, Flanders and his wife were paid tribute at the annual Trailblazers M.e. banquet in Pasadena. Earl and Lucile were unable to attend the event which was highlighted with the presentation of a plaque for their activities in the club and motorcycling in general. The' April 28 banquet was the latest in a long series of praises and awards which have marked Earl Flanders' long and distinguished career. Flanders was born in 191 I in Canada's Saskachewan province, the son of American parents who had emigrated there to homestead the land as farmers. If everything had gone as I planned, life for Earl would have probably run its course in the countryside. But a hailstorm in 1923 wiped out the crops, and it was decided to relocate to the more hospitable climate of California. The Flanders family lived in Pomona for about three years before moving to Pasadena in 1925 where Earl would spend virtually the rest of his life. While still living in Pomona, at age 13, Earl rode his first motorcycle. According to John Flanders, "His father had bought it as an economy measure, after World War I. But it scared him. My father wanted to give it a try, so he did and in time became very active in motorcycles." Young Earl later tried his hand at high-speed, small package motorcycle delivery in Los Angeles in the late 19205 with the Arrow Delivery Service. Between himself and a parmer, the company had a fleet of five motorcycles which were intended to serve the needs of businessmen in the up-andcoming west coast city. But the odds were stacked against Flanders. "On the third day," recalls Bruce Flanders, "One bike sent a connecting rod through the bottom of its engine cases, a truck ran over another, and a third got in a wreck." That was the end of Arrow Delivery Service. But not Earl Flanders. He went to work for Ed and Earl Farrand in Pasadena as a mechanic in their motorcycle shop and kept racing on the side. However, notall speed activities were on the track, as Earl continually had regular encounters with the local police. Atone point, Flanders' offenses were so' extensive, drtf!' judge glivle-' him the option of a volumary hitch in the merchant marines or an involumary time in jail. Flanders took the him and shipped out for five years at seas. After returning from the mercham marines in the late 19305, Flanders resumed racing - this time speedway. He competed on the same tracks with Jack and Cordy Milne, Pete Coleman, Bird McKinney and Leonard Andres. The start of World War II put an end to the racing, and Earl wem to work as a machinist in the aircraft industry. During the war, Flanders became involved in many importam defense projects, including a successor to the P-51 Mustang, but production was haILed at the end of the war. When he wasn't doing his part fOT the defense effon, Earl still played around with motorcycles. One company Flanders worked for at the time was planning on producing an all-American motorcycle after the war, but it never saw light. At home in his own shop, Earl decided to make his own handlebars, but he was making them for friends soon thereafter. After the war, with his handlebars, Flanders launched himself into the motorcycle accessory business full-time. In 1954 Earl's company was the western states distributor for NSU motorcycles, followed by BMW a few years later. The Flanders Company was the NSV distributor until the German manufacturer stopped production in the early 19605. In 1971, Butler and Smith, the V.S. BMW imponers, bought the remaining distributorship from Flanders. After that, Earl devoted his full business efforts to handling accessories. Oldest son John succeeded Earl as president of the firm in 1978, with brothers Bruce and Paul assuming other corporate positions. As a sportsman, Earl Flanders is perhaps best remembered as the referee for lhe motorcycle records set at Bonneville Salt Flats, but he did more than that. Earl was a frequem enduro and off-road racer after World War II, before stopping in 1950. He was presidem and an activist in the Pasadena M.C., a founder of the Catalina Grand Prix, an organizer of the classic Greenhorn Enduro, a founder and president of AMA District 37. But Bonneville is Earl Flanders' best-known accomplishment of his already famous deeds. Before he arrived in 1959, motorcycle activities were unorganized and a low priority item of Speed Week, which was dominated by car racers. Before Earl, lhere were no standards for engine displacemems or the types of equipment used, and there was apparently little regard for safety. In fact, it wasn't unusual for a rider to go 150 mph in just swim trunks. But by bringing about a semblance of order, creating sensible rules, and improving the promotion of the event, Earl Flanders brought Bonneville up from an obscure oddity to the Carnegie Hall of high performance. Flanders was the undisptued master of the saIL flats umil he retired from that duty in 1976. Earl remained active, however, as lhe AMA's west coast technical inspector and as a tech inspector at Daytona during Speed Week umil 1982. It was in September of that year that cancer was diagnosed and treatmems were begun. Last year, at the AMA awards banquet in San Diego, Earl Flanders was presemed with the Dud Perkins award for his dedication to the sport of motorcycling. Dedication is the word that many of Earl's friends use to describe him. Obviously, the time that Earl flanders had oh earth wa~ time welt spent: . 21

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