Milwaukee Gorilla Wrestling An Old Harley Through The Alabama Thicket

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Over the weekend of the Barber Vintage Festival, I had a few goals: to show off a few bikes, hang with friends, and race my 1960 Harley-Davidson pan/shovel (or “dirt shovel”) in the cross-country race. This race was usually reserved for the likes of Hondas, Yamahas, Husqvarnas, OSSAs, and Pentons. Needless to say, I was the odd man out and loving it.

Most of my fellow riders would be on sub-300-lb bikes. But my dance partner of choice was a 600-lb, 1200cc Milwaukee gorilla. Oh, and did I mention it was the early stock rigid chassis? Even at registration, they asked me repeatedly, “Are you sure you wanna go through with this?” They obviously didn’t know my reputation for throwing this thing down fire roads, power line trails, ice lakes, and flat tracks every chance I get.

During the pre-race meeting, Iron & Air editor Adam Fitzgerald asked me how I was feeling. “I’m nervous,” I recall saying, and I never get nervous about a race. But it was time to ignore the butterflies, drop the clutch, grab a handful of throttle, and try to show some of these guys a wheel.
Although I was outgunned, I did accomplish what I came to do: start, do a few laps, and keep a hand in a simpler time – a time when a stripped-down Harley, Triumph, Norton, Indian, or BSA was more or less your only option for a race bike, whether it was cross-country, hair scramble, dirt track, road race, or hill climb.

One of the greatest things about events like Barber is the camaraderie between all the riders and mutual respect for anyone willing to restore and maintain a vintage machine, then beat it mercilessly at race pace. These men were soldiers carrying the flag of their favorite manufacturer. At the end of the day, not many cared about winning, but just the joy of riding.
In those few brief moments, I was alive. Now all I can do is wait until next year with a yearning to see more friends, more vintage machines, and of course, more racing. If you need to fuel the motorcycle fire that burns inside you, get to the Barber Vintage Festival. It will keep your fires stoked all year long. This, I promise.

This article first appeared in issue 18 of Iron & Air Magazine, and is reproduced here under license
Words by Ben Boyle | Images by Iron & Air


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