Motorcyles and Bicycles

Ever since I was 2 years old or even before I equated bicycles and motorcycles with freedom. And when I was 5 years old in 1953 my father bought me a 24 inch wheel bike (which was actually too big for me) so I had to stand on a block of wood to even get on it. But, my neighbor across the street Danny Barsocks already rode his own bike and since we watched Superman on TV together then in 1953. So, we would ride for blocks and blocks with no adult supervision then at all and be gone for hours because it was safe where we were in El Cajon, near San Diego, California then. I think then is when I really got with the incredible freedom California had brought into my life of riding my bike with my friends while I attended Kindergarten there. My life was never the same. I always before felt under the thumb of my mother and grandmother who lived with us. And since I was an only child that is a whole lot of attention which can be really nice or really smothering depending upon what day it is.

So, a bicycle meant once I got on it I could go almost anywhere and not be told to do something. So, the first thing (if I didn't have homework) always and if it wasn't raining or something was to get on my bike and ride alone or with a friend. We especially liked sunsets without parents there and watching Superman on TV before my parents bought a 17 inch black and white TV which was a good size then in 1954 when we had moved to Tujunga. Even then they got a TV begrudgingly just so I would eat dinner with them instead of going next door to my 6 year old friend (also named Danny) and eating with them. I thought his father was cool because he drove a 4 wheel drive Willys jeep so he could get up Mt. Wilson even in the snows. All the TV antennas there for Los Angeles broadcast from there at 6000 feet over the area then. No one I knew had TV Cable yet in 1954 and the Internet would be almost 50 years away in the 1990s

One day around age 12 I found what I wanted, what was called then a motorized Mini-bike. So, basically what this was was a 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall (very small) motorcycle that operated at one speed from a centrifugal clutch up to speeds of 30 to 40 miles per hour. So, usually you would push off with your feet to get it going (since it didn't have gears but just a chain drive) so it was sort of like having an automatic single speed transmission on a motorcycle with a 2 1/2 horsepower Tecumsah engine (like a lawnmower engine) driving it. This was my first motorized vehicle that I ever own at around 12 years of age. My father didn't like me driving it on the streets in Glendale so usually I would ride it in the parking lot of Glendale High school or do jumps off the Baseball pitchers mound or a jump near the swimming pool where I later (as a junior in High school Swam). One day I forgot my tennis shoes because we were supposed to runt the mile that day and ran barefoot. But I tore the balls off my feet running the mile barefoot on the track so it took me a week or so to be able to walk normally again. But, at least I finished the mile in a good time because I pushed myself.

I began jogging along the 210 Freeway then because it wasn't completed yet. So I would get home from school and after it got dark run a few miles along the as yet uncompleted freeway.

The first full size motorcycle I owned was a matchless 600 from Great Britain that was set up for Hill Climbing with a huge rear sprocket and a straight pipe without a muffler or spark arrester that blew blue flame out the pipe at night. it also had a head light but it wasn't really street legal so I didn't run it on paved roads only dirt ones and also Hill Climbing. However, I had to be really careful in 1st 2nd and 3rd gear because it had so much torque with the large rear sprocket that it would put me on my butt especially in first or 2nd gear if I wasn't careful. So, usually you wanted to start out in third and then shift down into lower gears when going uphill so you wouldn't get hurt off the line. You really don't want the full weight of a 600 CC single cylinder motorcycle to come back on you and pin you to the ground. It can be quite painful. I got mad at my girlfriend and blew it up by accident by winding the engine up at too high an RPM and it blew out the crankcase and I was burned on my feet and legs by the extremely hot oil. Luckily, the chain when it broke didn't take off my leg or worse and instead it just wrapped itself around the front sprocket on the engine. I had to walk a few miles in the desert heat back to my Dad's house pushing the bike with burnt feet and legs.

My Dad traded it for a World War II Antique BSA 500. In 1968 it was at least 25 to 30 years of age already. However, the BSA 500 was probably the toughest single motorcycle I ever owned and it was an Army surplus vehicle from World War II. It was sort of like owning a 2 wheeled Army Tank. Just the metal engine guard on the bottom was between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick. So, I could literally hit 1 foot tall rocks in desert washes with the underside of the engine without harming the bike or engine even if I was going 25 or 30 miles per hour at the time. I might get hurt but the bike was basically indestructible and built for warfare. So, it didn't even have a battery but would start up under almost any conditions. In it's own way it was the most amazing motorcycle I ever owned if you wanted something reliable in all conditions but you didn't care about breaking your back if you weren't watching for bumps in the road. So, since the only rear suspension was the two coil springs in the seat you had to stand up or break your back if you were headed for a severe bump. So, you had to be very self protective of your spine when riding it. But as long as you were observant while crossing the desert on dirt roads you might be okay. But, it was the single most amazing reliable motorcycle I have ever owned. No battery to worry about and no radiator really simplifies things. So, it also had no starter motor like most motorcycles in the 1930s to the 1950s. But, as long as you were willing to either kick start it or push start it in 2nd gear I could usually get is started in almost any conditions within about 5 minutes time even if it was snowing outside at that moment.