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| 2. Charles Linbergh's Excelsior
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| When Linbergh was in high school, he ordered a new twin-cylinder 1920 model Excelsior "X" motorcycle from Martin Engstrom's hardware store in his hometown of Little Falls, Minnesota. He paid $290 for the motorcycle and was known around town for his fast and sometimes reckless riding. Locals remember him riding along the steep banks of the Mississippi River past a local power plant on his way back and forth to town. The owner of the power plant became concerned that Lindbergh was going to ride right off the bank and into the river, so he blocked the trail, forcing Lindbergh to take a safer route to town.
Lindbergh didn't just use the Excelsior for around town rides, it also carried him some significant distances, especially considering the roads at that time. In 1920, he rode from Little Falls to Madison, Wisconsin to attend engineering college. Two years later he made a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska where he entered flight school. That trip was made during the spring, when abundant rainfall made for poor road conditions. Around the town of New Glarus, WI, Lindergh found himself in a particularly muddy stretch of road and eventually got stuck. |
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| 4. Cliff Vaughs and Easy Rider
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| Credit for the design of the 'Easy Rider' bikes (and other important aspects of the film, including the title!) goes to Cliff Vaughs, a civil rights activist, filmmaker, and biker (in the Chosen Few MC - a racially integrated club since 1960). |
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| 9. George Formby, Actor
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| GEORGE FORMBY ... He may have had up to 13 motorcycles - and a string of expensive cars... patiently tinkering with the carburettor, or float chamber, on one, or other, of his two, Vincent HRD 1000cc 'Black Prince' motorbikes. |
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| 11. L Ron Hubbard
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| The dry lakebed scene with Quell and Dodd and a Norton 16H lookalike (apparently a BSA M20 with a Norton tank and fake check-springs on the forks!) is equal parts thrilling, dangerous, and liberating, stunningly shot with both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix actually riding the bumpy and alligatored dry mudflat at a fast clip... |
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13. Motorcycle Hall of Fame: Steve McQueen
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| Steve McQueen was one of the leading movie actors of the 1960s and ‘70s, but he was also an avid motorcyclist and supporter of the sport. Among McQueen’s many contributions to motorcycling include financing the influential motorcycle movie, "On Any Sunday," in which he rode with buddies Malcolm Smith and Mert Lawwill. |
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19. The Steve MacQueen Desert Scrambles Page
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| First, a brief bio on Steve. He'd be in his '60's now, if he were still alive, and I'm sure he'd still be riding regularly. Steve was one of the famous enthusiasts who put motorcycling on the map, for good or worse. He was a successful Hollywood and TV actor - his credits include _Bullit_ - the definitive San Francisco Car Chase Movie, _The_Sand_Pebbles_, _The_Great_Escape...
Steve demonstrates his nickel-plated, fancy-ass, to-die-for-in-the-'60's Rickman-Metisse Triumph, as well as the latest '66-tech safety gear... |
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