This bike has been built for a good customer and now great friend, after owning the ‘army bobber’, and getting me to build an Indian style bobber, Terry arrived at the workshop with an idea, could I build him a board track style, sportster based bike? He wanted the looks of a thirties style boardtracker and the reliability of a modern 5 speed sporty. I researched board trackers on the internet and made a single loop frame to accept the sporty motor, the oil tank and petrol tanks were copied from pictures. Terry wanted 2 skinny wheels front and rear so we went with 21″ with old style trials tyres. Terry chose the colours and next door , (Trestan finishers) powder coated the frame the lovely shade of green as well as the 4″ under DNA springers, and the wheels in cream. Alan Stacey painted the tanks, oil tank and rear mudguard, he added ‘The Holmes Special’ to the tank as well (Terry’s surname). I made some very short stainless pipes (leave blowers!) and added some brass tips. The bike has minimal wiring and it runs and rides really well, just need a board track now.

A little background on board track racing and ‘The Wrecking Crew’…

Board-Track Racing in the Twentieth Century: 100mph 100 years ago. By Terry Parkhurst – American Rider

Photos courtesy of Parkhurst family/ American Rider
Red Parkhurst (number 8, far right) sits with a hard-earned trophy, after a race with two unidentified fellow members of The Wrecking Crew.

One of the first such tracks started the career of Leslie Eaton “Red” Parkhurst, a lanky youth with red hair who started racing at just 13 years of age—yes, 13—at the Tuilleries track in Denver, way back in 1909. By 1914, his skills would earn him the honor of being the first member of a team Harley-Davidson assembled to compete with the likes of Indian and Excelsior.

Board racetracks came into existence in 1910, when the earliest of ovals were deemed unsuitable for the earliest motorcycles. Averaging speeds as high as 80 mph, these machines, not far removed from bicycles, had instability problems even on flat straightaways. The earliest ovals had no smooth transition from turn to turn.

Arthur Pillsbury, a racing entrepreneur, had studied railroads and learned about the Searles spiral easement curve. It allowed top-heavy steam locomotives to pull several dozen freight cars up or down a hill without toppling over. This was achieved by feathering a series of corners, one into the next, to blend the approach to any curve.

Pillsbury built a mile-and-a-quarter-long board track, using this same technique, in Beverly Hills, California; it was designed exclusively for motorcycle racing. Today, the Beverly Hilton Hotel stands where Pillsbury’s track was.

Other promoters and builders from across the country came to see Pillsbury’s marvel. They left believers in the concept he borrowed from the railroads. East Coast racing promoter Jack Prince, who was also a motorcycle racer, built board tracks all over America between 1910 and 1925 as spectator interest grew.

The tracks consisted of wooden banking, all in 2x4s or 1x2s, laid on end, ranging from only 15 degrees up to a 62-degree wall. Some tracks, such as the one in St. Louis, were referred to as “pie tins” because the banking was so steep and the transition from the flat surfaces to the banking was so abrupt.

In 1913, Parkhurst went to Milwaukee with several riders from the Denver Motordrome; 18,000 people turned out to watch. Opportunity was his, as he was the first rider out on the then new four-lap motordrome. Parkhurst won the final event—5 miles in 3 minutes 32 seconds—and was first in a free-for-all, 6-mile race. He completed the 6-mile race in 4.435 minutes.

When the Milwaukee season ended, Parkhurst and fellow rider Glen Stokes went to St. Louis, Missouri, to finish the season in that state. By the time the 1914 season started, Parkhurst went back to the Milwaukee Motordrome again. History was ready to be made.

The motorcycles designed for board-track racing had no brakes. Brakes were, perhaps ironically, considered more dangerous than not having them. The only way to stop the bikes was to flip a switch on the handlebar that grounded out the charging system, and then coast home.

The result was that some of the worst accidents at board tracks occurred when the riders couldn’t stop, and flew off into a crowd of spectators, with predictable results.

A board track in Detroit had a sign that boasted, in letters about 8 feet high, that spectators would see racers “Neck and Neck with Death.”

One board track in Newark, New Jersey, opened on July 4, 1912, only to close for good the following September. A crash there killed not only two racers, but also five spectators including four young boys who had been peering down at the races through steep railings. The cause had been a rear wheel from one of the rider’s motorcycles coming off, then landing on a spectator with such force that he died of injuries a few days later.

Nonetheless, the board-track races were popular and most motordromes held as many as 15,000 spectators so no manufacturer could afford not to field racers. Excelsior, Henderson, Indian and other smaller manufacturers such as Thor, Merkel and Pope used the board tracks as major marketing opportunities. Harley-Davidson had to join in.

At the start of the 1914 season, Bill Harley worked to develop new transmissions. Meanwhile, Bill Ottaway, a racer who had been brought into Harley-Davidson to use his knowledge to develop better engines, modified a 61-cubic-inch pocket-valve engine, fitted with a special camshaft and modified valve porting. He then installed it within a 51-inch-wheelbase, 300-pound racing motorcycle known as the Model II-K.

After spending more than $25,000 in development costs—a princely sum back then—Ottaway finally convinced Walter Davidson to send for Englishman Harry Ricardo; he was known for having designed efficient cylinder heads. After Ottaway came on board, he and Ricardo cleared up any remaining intake and exhaust problems. The result was a 61-cubic-inch twin-cylinder racing engine with eight overhead valves that put out 55 horsepower.

While riding at the Milwaukee motordrome, Red Parkhurst’s skill caught Ottaway’s attention. The engine was fast enough and Red showed he could handle it. So Harley-Davidson hired him to ride for them.

Ottaway became the head of a team known as The Wrecking Crew; it consisted of Red Parkhurst, Otto Walker, Jim Davis, Ralph Hepburn, Walter Higley, Fred Ludlow and Ray Weishaar.

Many of the East Coast’s banked board tracks closed down after the accident at Newark. Then the first World War came along and racing took a hiatus. However, after the war, The Wrecking Crew became the first team to win races at average speeds of more than 100 mph.

During the 1920 season, Ray Weishaar, who loved animals as much as motorcycling, adopted a baby pig as his personal good-luck charm and team mascot. When Weishaar won the Marion, Indiana, 200-mile race that summer, with a new record time of 2 hours and 48 minutes, he celebrated by taking his little pig, now nicknamed Hog, on a victory lap.

Even after all this there was still some life left for the team on the board tracks. In March of 1921, Otto Walker set a lap record of 108.7 mph on the board track at Fresno, California. Then a month later, he won on a board track in Beverly Hills, averaging 104.4 mph.

But you could say that it was Red Parkhurst who truly extracted the last iota of speed from what he’d learned on board tracks, applying it to the hardened sands of Daytona Beach, Florida. It was there, in February of 1920, that “all the world’s motorcycle speed records were smashed to atoms” by Red and fellow motorcycle rider Fred Ludlow, according to a newspaper account of the day. With Ludlow riding in a sidecar, Red broke not only eight solo riding records but also eight sidecar-equipped motorcycle records. Ludlow set one record by himself.

Red achieved a speed of 111.11 mph with a 68-cubic-inch Harley-Davidson twin, the fastest anyone had ever gone on a motorcycle. You could perhaps call Red the true chairman of the board.

Terry Parkhurst is no relation to Red Parkhurst. He is, however, a longtime automotive journalist and an advisory board member of the NADA Antique, Classic and Special Interest Motorcycle Appraisal Guide. He is also working on a biography about Red.

The trike built by Si Harris and featured in TRIKE Magazine has been sold. This three wheel beast was a ‘traffic stopper’ – hand crafted and engineered to the usual high standards set by Attitude Customs it appeared in Trike Magazine alongside the beautiful Missy Malone… Missy Malone is an accomplished actress and model but is maybe best known for her Burlesque show which tours Internationally and throughout the UK. Si added. “We rarely build trikes, not because we don’t want to, but because the trikes we build are not half-car-half-motorcycle… designed and engineered from the ground up to become a purpose-made machine that makes a statement. This style of trike, an Attitude trike, goes back a few years – pre-dating the trike Russell Mitchell built at Exile that got a load of press and media coverage. I’m happy this one has found a new home so we’re able to take orders for our next build schedule… we will only be building a limited number of trikes in 2012 and there are only 5 build slots available so people should contact us soon to make sure they get their booking in — first come first served I’m afraid.”

Call Simon on 07758 241123 to talk spec and build schedule

We’ve built quite a few of these Bobbers now and they have gained quite a reputation for being comfortable and easy to ride. Having built over twenty now, all of them unique to their owners, we are able to reduce the build time down to 10 weeks (depending on the spec and paint obviously) as these are meant to be stripped down, raw motorcycles… so, if you order soon you will have a Bobber ready for the road before Easter. There is a new trend for the ‘Japanese Bobber’ style and we have one in build right now so we’ll post photos of that as soon as its finished… call me if you want to chat about building a Bobber

Victory Wheelers 35th Southcoast Internationals, 8-11th June 2012…

Victory Wheelers are please to announce a NEW location to celebrate its 35th Birthday.

The show is to be held in the grounds of the magnificent country estate of Pylewell Park, the 80 Acre show ground boasts probably one of the best views in the country looking down to the Solent and across to the Isle of Wight, with the back drop of the 17th Century Pylewell House.

This is situated less than 2 miles from Lymington, in the heart of the New Forest.

This year the gates will open at 10am Friday, with camping available Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, with departures on Monday morning.

The usual Victory Wheelers events will take place, with Live Bands, DJ, Cruise through the New Forest, Trade Stands and Fun Fair.

Sunday will continue to be Show & Shine Day where all American, Hotrod & Custom cars are welcome to attend, and prizes will be awarded in various categories.

For Booking information and details about the show, please check back here or at: www.southcoastinternationals.com regularly.

The new build ‘Wrecking Crew’ Harley Davidson engined board track racer is coming on really well now, most of the fabrication is done so the tins will be off to paint soon. Terry’s dream is nearly a reality

Board track, or motordrome, racing was popular in the US in the early years of the 20th century. Races were held on oval race tracks made of wooden planks. The first board track opened at the Los Angeles Coliseum Motordome near Playa del Rey, California, on April 8, 1910. By 1931 there were 24 operating board tracks, including tracks in Beverly Hills, California, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York, and Laurel, Maryland. Many fatalities occurred – often involving spectators. On September 8, 1912, Eddie Hasha was killed at the New Jersey Motordrome near Atlantic City. The accident killed 4 boys and injured 10 more people. The deaths made the front page of the New York Times. The press started calling the short 1/4 and 1/3 mile circuits “murderdromes”. Board tracks slowly faded away in the 1920s and 1930s, though racing continued into 1940 at Coney Island Velodrome, Nutley, and Castle Hill Speedway in the Bronx. The oval layout led to the development of the 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and Mile dirt tracks – less expensive to maintain and safer as the body count of riders and drivers had been climbing as speeds increased. These dirt tracks became the basis for the modern Flat Track, Indy and NASCAR race tracks.

The Harley Davidson Wrecking Crew

A few years later, Harley-Davidson added speed to the equation by setting a new record at the 1912 Bakersfield Road Race in California. Whether it was an endurance test through muddy back roads, or speed races on the wooden board tracks popular at the time, Harley-Davidson-supported racers – eventually known as the “Wrecking Crew” – were untouchable. The onset of World War I suspended the racing schedule, but by the 1920s the company was back in the winner’s circle. And not only did the “Wrecking Crew” win, but they shattered speed records as they did it. In 1921, the Harley-Davidson team became the first to win a motorcycle race at an average speed of more than 100 mph.

PETRALI – THE NAME MEANT VICTORY - Through the 20th century, several riders would uphold the tradition and pride of Harley-Davidson Racing, but the man who laid the groundwork for it all was Joe Petrali. In a six-year stretch between 1931 and 1936, Petrali amassed the most National points five times. In 1935 he won every race on the 13-stop National schedule. In 1937, Petrali set a speed record of 136.183 mph by piloting the 1937 Model E Streamliner at Daytona Beach. He also won the National Hillclimb Championship eight years running, beginning in 1929.

We recently had Andy Boldry come down to the workshop and do some photos… we have featured some on the website as you will have seen. We think they are super cool, thanks Andy… we just wanted to give you a mention here – ANDY BOLDRY - FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER BASED ON THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND - AVAILABLE FOR HIRE IN ALL AREAS OF PHOTOGRAPHY BUT SPECIALISING IN PORTRAIT AND FASHION - EMAIL: ITS_BOLDRY@HOTMAIL.COM  — www.andyboldry.co.uk