In 1953, Cycle magazine touted its 1000-mile road test of the latest 350cc single-cylinder swinging-arm Velocette on the front cover, complete with a leggy movie-star model. The rear swingarm with adjustable shock mounting angle was a new thing for Velocette that year, so the company took the opportunity to coordinate a full-page advertisement with the appearance of the road test.
That was big news for the marketing efforts of Velocette, but the really big news that would still affect things 70 years later didn’t even make the cover.
Chas Suter’s article, “Daytona Out to Sea,” was buried back on page 33, and it contained a scoop that might have gone unnoticed. Yet, its subject would change the granddaddy of all motorcycle and stock car races forever.
“Racing promoter Bill France proposes that a million-dollar speedway be built to retain racing in Daytona Beach, Florida. France urged that either a governmental agency or private enterprise construct such a plan so that this may still be called ‘The World’s Speed Capitol,'” stated the article’s first paragraph.
The article goes on to tell of France’s meeting with the Daytona City Commission and a Volusia County legislative delegation. The Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce decided to advertise its intent to pass a local act that would allow the issuance of revenue certificates to build the proposed speedway. Construction of the speedway would move auto and motorcycle racing off the old course, which included a stretch of beach and required closure of a stretch of a state highway. It had long-posed critical safety problems.
Construction on the 2.5-mile tri-oval course with 31-degree banked turns began in 1957, and Daytona International Speedway hosted its first stock car race in February 1959. The first Daytona 200 motorcycle race at the Speedway took place in 1961. Harley-Davidson mounted Roger Reiman was the winner. The rest, as they say, is history.
Yet another historic milestone was featured in that same issue—the first motorcycle drag racing event officially sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) / and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). The NHRA had only been formed by Wally Parks in 1951, and the jointly sanctioned event with the AMA was its first official event. Parks also helped organize the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) in 1947.
In their article, “The First Quarter Mile,” John White and Jerry Weinberg tell of the first jointly sanctioned motorcycle drag racing event held at Pomona drag strip, 40 miles east of Los Angeles.
“The Pomona drag strip was chosen as the site of the first sanctioned quarter-mile drag race ever held in the history of drag racing, with the hope that other tracks throughout the country would follow suit and finally crown a national champion,” they wrote. Indeed, other tracks did follow suit; today, NHRA drag racing events happen at 120 strips.
Among the winners at that first sanctioned event was 13-year-old Bobby Sir Kegian. Riding Triumphs, Kegian won Class A (30.5 c.i.) with a terminal speed of 96.52 mph and Class B (40 c.i.) at 99.86 mph. At the top of the displacement scale, Lloyd Krant blasted through the quarter-mile on “Brute”, his fuel-burning 80 c.i. Harley-Davidson, at 123.71 mph to win Class E.
For more of our coverage of motorcycle history that was written as it happened, check these stories out:
- Motorcycle history: 70 years ago, Britain’s Motorcyclists still felt the Effects of WWII
- 60 years ago: Johnny Allen brought the motorcycle speed record home
- Harley-Davidson Racing History: From TT to ISDT Gold
- 85 years ago: Harley-Davidson’s new models would knock your eyes out
- Shopping the new Triumph catalog: 1959
There was a lot of other cool stuff going on in 1953 covered in that issue of Cycle:
The emerging interest in helmet use by motorcyclists was showcased in two articles. “Stop Chipping those Curbs” looked at research done in the U.K. on the benefit of using cork as an impact absorption layer and laminated cloth overlaid with plastic leatherette as shell material in crash helmets. That information led to the London Metropolitan Police adopting the “Corker” helmet, as it became known, for its motorcycle patrol officers. British interest in head protection for riders was spurred on by data showing there were 426 serious motorcycle accidents in just one county in the U.K. in 1951. There were 38 fatalities, all of which were attributed to head injuries.
U.K. correspondent, RAB Cook, weighed in on the helmet question in an opinion piece. In it, Cook said the anti-helmet camp loses a few followers “each time some unfortunate rider bangs his head against a truck fender.” True to British form, the Daily Express newspaper had some fun with the whole thing, offering a prize of a new motorcycle to anyone who submitted a better name than “crash helmet” for the gear. We now know the origin of the term “skidlid,” which was the winner.
Editor Bob Greene covered a range of topics in his “Behind the Lines” column. One of which was the fact that BSA tested each completed 40 c.i. (650cc) Super Flash engine on a dynamometer, and each had to produce an actual 40 brake horsepower (BHP) before it would be approved for use. That’s not all. BSA Super Flash owners could obtain the BHP and torque curve reports from the test on their motor by contacting their BSA dealer with the frame and engine number. BSA would also provide the carburetor model, jet size, choke [venturi] size, ignition timing, and other tuning data from the test!
Greene also reported that German manufacturer DKW had an operational 500cc four-cylinder two-stroke racing bike engine that could turn 16,000 rpm–not bad for 1953.
A well-known name shows up in race event results. Bud Ekins took third place aboard a Matchless behind Vern Robison and Vern Hancock in the Southern California Motorcycle Club Field Meet at Crater Camp. Ekins also rode his Matchless to victory in the 17-mile Costa Mesa Scrambles Open Class event.
Motorcycle land speed racing got some ink. A feature by Bert Martin documented Aussie Jack Ehret’s attempt to break the Australian motorcycle land speed record of 139.39 mph held by Les Wharton on a Vincent Black Lightning. Ehret had to fight New South Wales police in court to be able to make his timed speed runs since the attempt was going to be made on a public road that would have to be closed for the effort.
The presiding judge decided in Ehret’s favor, provided the attempt was made on a Sunday between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. Why Ehret wanted to use the section of road he did is a mystery. The total length of the course was only 2.2 miles, with a timed section of only a quarter mile and a wooden bridge that would have to be negotiated on the return run at a point where the speed would be about 130 mph!
Ehret’s first attempted two-way average was 138.50 mph—not good enough. After changing the final drive ratio, his second attempts netted a two-way average of 141.509 mph, setting a new Australian record, though not eclipsing Marty Dickerson’s Class C record of 141.720 mph, also set on a Vincent.
The Earles leading link front suspension system, then a recent innovation by inventor/motorcyclist Ernie Earles, was covered in a feature by Ray Biddle. The article extolled the technical advantages of the Earles fork, announcing that Ariel would be offering the Earles fork on the 1000cc four-cylinder 4G Mark III Royal Hunter, the twin-cylinder KHA Mark II Hunt Master, and single-cylinder VHA Mark II Hunt Marshal.
An illustrated technical feature by Bud Wright called “Spring Fever” explains how to convert your hardtail chassis to a twin-shock set-up.
There’s much more in this 70-year-old magazine, with pages yellowing with age. This issue of Cycle was a particularly great find due to its coverage of what would be significant milestones in motorcycle racing history. It is a gem for any motorcycle history buff and made it well worth my while to take a careful look inside a cabinet at an antique shop.
Cycle magazine was published by R. E. Petersen (dba Trend, Inc.) from April 1950. After several ownership changes, Cycle World magazine owner CBS bought Cycle in 1985. In 1993, after both were acquired by Hachette-Filipacchi Media, publication of Cycle was discontinued.
