camera56
Well-known member
This is the latest interview from midliferider.com. For a lot of reasons, I offer it up in its entirety. It has a searing quality that I suspect will either grab you or not, depending on your age. I feel humbled that folks like Robert are willing to share their stories.
FJRobert told me his story in one long sweeping email. I continue to be impressed, and this may come from some sort of archetypal father/son longing, with stories of boys and their dads and the first bicycle. Robert’s tale of building his first bike with his dad echoes so many others I know of. There is magic in the retelling because there is magic in remembering, even if it’s just a a collective memory.
I am a bit younger than Robert so I don’t have any personal connection to the old Cushmans, but I know a lot of guys do. And in another collective echo, Robert did what nearly every guy has done before and since: he customized if, putting a bigger motor in it and feeling the rush of piloting it to 60 mph, no doubt winding that 8-hp motor to the absolute max.
Finally, before turning this over to Robert, let me also draw your attention to the picture he included of himself standing on the saddle of his Harley. It’s painful to look at, not because it’s such an obviously dumb thing to do, but because of the story it wants to tell of a man home from a war that took so much from so many.
Truly and really finally, make sure you look at the photo of young Robert in SE Asia all the way at the end of this. If you remember the times at all, you’ll find it hard not to stare.
My first brush with owning two wheels was during the time of the Schwinn Stingrays. My Dad decided we could build one (cheaper) together from an old girls type bike. We proceeded to strip it down and apply Orange paint (My choice) and add the upright handlebars and Stingray seat. Man did that set me free! I could now roam a greater distance with my friends.
I lived in Torrance, CA at the time there was a large field across the street where the kids in the neighborhood built a track with small jumps and obstacles. Several years later I got a bike that had 10 gears! And hand brakes! I could really fly now. I remember doing “stoppies” at around 12-13 years old until one day I clamped on the brake and flipped it over, landing on my back in the middle of the street! Lost some of my bravery for a while after that . . .
One day when I was five or six a friend of my Dad’s came over on a Cushman scooter and took me for a ride. Talk about holding on tight and wind in your face! This was heaven! Also, by this time, a motorcycle club had moved into some old water type tanks in the field across the street, cutting doors into the sides. Of course I was told to stay away but really loved the loud bikes and bon fires at night.
My first real motorcycle ride was on a Harley Dresser that one of my Dad’s friends from work came over on. This was around 1958 (I was about 8). I remembered the thrill of the scooter ride and when he asked me if I’d like a ride I hopped on. Again, There was this awesome feeling of the wind in my face and a certain amount of danger like I had on the scooter only much more intense. I was hooked and knew what I wanted to have as transportation when I could get a drivers license.
Moving to Oklahoma
Due to my parents getting divorced I wound up with my Mom and Sister in Oklahoma City the summer of 1963. It was a rather traumatic experience leaving all my relatives and friends behind, leaving the beach where I had just started surfing after many years of tubes and boogie boards, to now be in the land of cowboys and Indians!
My Stepfather wound up being pretty cool. He was Cherokee Indian and had started in the Navy as an E-1. When he passed away he was a Commander in the Reserves! Pretty impressive if you think about it.
I came home from school on my 14th birthday and there was a like-new five horsepower black Cushman scooter! My life (at that time) was complete! My own motorcycle! During the next couple of weeks I went down and took the test to have a daylight only, under 10 hp bike license. Taking the ride around the parking lot to show the tester I could control that Cushman it put my heart in my throat. I had passed the written test and this was going to get me on the street if I completed it without problems. And I passed!
This was the beginning of my riding all the free time I had. I rode that scooter to school and then on the dirt roads south of town with another friend who had a bike. There is nothing like the freedom and feeling of controlling your own ride while having the wind in your face! I would stay out until dinner or dark whichever came first. It was such an escape for me. I no longer felt depressed about leaving CA. I had the world to ride!
I found some guys that had built a little oval dirt track and began trying to go faster and faster. It was evident I did not have nearly enough motor for this.
Stepping up to more power
My step dad’s brother worked at the airport and had an 8 hp Cushman industrial engine, new on the shelf. I made a deal with him and saved enough money to purchase it. As always my step dad said, “Do it yourself, that’s how you learn.” I pulled the motor out of the bike and put the new one in. Holy Cow! A turn of the throttle and the acceleration was so good I could barely hold on! I remember thinking, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” I could get out on the highway and open it up, doing almost 60 mph winding out first before shifting into high gear (it had a two-speed tranny). It didn’t have enough power to go any faster in high, but to me, it just felt so powerful I knew all was right in the world.
My step dad owned an oil field pipe and supply company. He told me he would match dollar for dollar all the money I saved towards a new bike. I worked after school and weekends cleaning pipe threads and loading and unloading pipe from flatbeds with a “gin” truck. Finally I had enough money and went down and traded the Cushman for a new 80cc Yamaha.
The Yamaha opened a whole new world to me with its better handling and performance. I saved and put a set of Pirelli tires on it for street and dirt. I was now able to fly around the track compared to the Cushman.
Another side benefit was being able to go farther in the limited daylight hours. I soon became one of the better riders around our “group,” whether it was in the dirt or on the street.
I kept working and saving money and soon bought a twin cylinder 100cc Yamaha around 1965. I again put Pirelli tires on it and had a set of expansion chambers made for it along with adding a number plate and removing lights. I found a way to ride side streets to high school.
When I turned 16 I got my real drivers license and a 1957 Chevy. I saved and put five-spoke mag wheels on it and had it painted Orange. Now I could pull a small trailer and take my bike around to different tracks and race! The best I ever did was second place but really enjoyed scrambles and short track racing during high school. As an aside, I would recommend anyone wanting to ride motorcycles to begin on the dirt with a small bike where you will learn more about control than you ever could on the street. A Motorcycle Safety Foundation or equivalent course would be the next step. Those without experience and/or training are rolling a set of loaded dice when they put a leg over a bike.
Home from Vietnam
(crazy 70s, me on a bike)
Since then I have owned many bikes starting with a ‘57 Harley I bought just after leaving Vietnam. During a pass from boot camp I saw Easy Rider and when I jumped out of a helicopter on the Cambodian border I met a now life-long friend that was in a motorcycle club. These two things influenced me to buy the biggest American bike I could, the Harley Davidson. This became a way to get the huge adrenalin rush I had been experiencing in combat and needed to live and feel normal again. Looking back, I don’t know that without the danger if I would have become so involved in riding. Living off my bike and working at shops as a mechanic building motors, trannys and whole bikes for customers was a way of life for me during the ’70s and ’80s.
Robert on the Road
I’ve owned eight Harleys, two Hondas, one Kawasaki, and my latest, the FJR Yamaha.
Since the first of the year I have put on over 10,000 miles (2 1/2 months) and will put many more on now that the mountains are starting to get passable again. My preference in riding is mostly mountains, but have started to really enjoy the long distance type of riding.
My first long distance rally was the Land of Enchantment in New Mexico last year. I have recently completed an IBA certified ride from coast to coast in under 44 hours called the 50CC. I’ve always wanted to cross the nation by motorcycle and the timing was excellent to do this ride, meet and talk with some of the most accomplished riders in the nation at the annual IBA Pizza Party, visit Daytona during bike week, and visit a riding buddy in Orlando, FL all on the same trip.
I was a bit under the weather when I began the ride but persevered and finished within the time limits. I had a fantastic ride with a bit of weather and road construction thrown in just to cover all the bases. The rain wasn’t too bad but the wind kept me on my toes for a good deal of the ride. This was a way to test my mental, physical, and mechanical ability and preparation.
I love challenges and this was a pretty good way to push myself at 57 years young. The solitude gives you time to let your mind go without outside influences and really clear your head for a better attitude towards life in general. My own personal demons become more restricted when I’m able to ride. When you’re in a car your watching the scenery go by and on a motorcycle you’re part of it: you feel it, smell it and feel much more alive and in tune with the world.
I would like to do a Border-to-Border ride and a BBG next, but finances and family dictate how much I can do in the LD circles.
My present Wife of 13 years is completely supportive of whatever needs I feel and does a small amount of riding with me; nothing more than 1,000 mile trips so far. With my first child, a boy 5 years old, I have been given a new perspective on life and family since my parents and grandparents have long since passed on. Life has been like riding a mountain road on a motorcycle with tight and sweeping turns along the way, traveling with let downs and exuberance hoping to come out on the other side having done your best.
FJRobert told me his story in one long sweeping email. I continue to be impressed, and this may come from some sort of archetypal father/son longing, with stories of boys and their dads and the first bicycle. Robert’s tale of building his first bike with his dad echoes so many others I know of. There is magic in the retelling because there is magic in remembering, even if it’s just a a collective memory.
I am a bit younger than Robert so I don’t have any personal connection to the old Cushmans, but I know a lot of guys do. And in another collective echo, Robert did what nearly every guy has done before and since: he customized if, putting a bigger motor in it and feeling the rush of piloting it to 60 mph, no doubt winding that 8-hp motor to the absolute max.
Finally, before turning this over to Robert, let me also draw your attention to the picture he included of himself standing on the saddle of his Harley. It’s painful to look at, not because it’s such an obviously dumb thing to do, but because of the story it wants to tell of a man home from a war that took so much from so many.
Truly and really finally, make sure you look at the photo of young Robert in SE Asia all the way at the end of this. If you remember the times at all, you’ll find it hard not to stare.
My first brush with owning two wheels was during the time of the Schwinn Stingrays. My Dad decided we could build one (cheaper) together from an old girls type bike. We proceeded to strip it down and apply Orange paint (My choice) and add the upright handlebars and Stingray seat. Man did that set me free! I could now roam a greater distance with my friends.
I lived in Torrance, CA at the time there was a large field across the street where the kids in the neighborhood built a track with small jumps and obstacles. Several years later I got a bike that had 10 gears! And hand brakes! I could really fly now. I remember doing “stoppies” at around 12-13 years old until one day I clamped on the brake and flipped it over, landing on my back in the middle of the street! Lost some of my bravery for a while after that . . .
One day when I was five or six a friend of my Dad’s came over on a Cushman scooter and took me for a ride. Talk about holding on tight and wind in your face! This was heaven! Also, by this time, a motorcycle club had moved into some old water type tanks in the field across the street, cutting doors into the sides. Of course I was told to stay away but really loved the loud bikes and bon fires at night.
My first real motorcycle ride was on a Harley Dresser that one of my Dad’s friends from work came over on. This was around 1958 (I was about 8). I remembered the thrill of the scooter ride and when he asked me if I’d like a ride I hopped on. Again, There was this awesome feeling of the wind in my face and a certain amount of danger like I had on the scooter only much more intense. I was hooked and knew what I wanted to have as transportation when I could get a drivers license.
Moving to Oklahoma
Due to my parents getting divorced I wound up with my Mom and Sister in Oklahoma City the summer of 1963. It was a rather traumatic experience leaving all my relatives and friends behind, leaving the beach where I had just started surfing after many years of tubes and boogie boards, to now be in the land of cowboys and Indians!
My Stepfather wound up being pretty cool. He was Cherokee Indian and had started in the Navy as an E-1. When he passed away he was a Commander in the Reserves! Pretty impressive if you think about it.
I came home from school on my 14th birthday and there was a like-new five horsepower black Cushman scooter! My life (at that time) was complete! My own motorcycle! During the next couple of weeks I went down and took the test to have a daylight only, under 10 hp bike license. Taking the ride around the parking lot to show the tester I could control that Cushman it put my heart in my throat. I had passed the written test and this was going to get me on the street if I completed it without problems. And I passed!
This was the beginning of my riding all the free time I had. I rode that scooter to school and then on the dirt roads south of town with another friend who had a bike. There is nothing like the freedom and feeling of controlling your own ride while having the wind in your face! I would stay out until dinner or dark whichever came first. It was such an escape for me. I no longer felt depressed about leaving CA. I had the world to ride!
I found some guys that had built a little oval dirt track and began trying to go faster and faster. It was evident I did not have nearly enough motor for this.
Stepping up to more power
My step dad’s brother worked at the airport and had an 8 hp Cushman industrial engine, new on the shelf. I made a deal with him and saved enough money to purchase it. As always my step dad said, “Do it yourself, that’s how you learn.” I pulled the motor out of the bike and put the new one in. Holy Cow! A turn of the throttle and the acceleration was so good I could barely hold on! I remember thinking, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” I could get out on the highway and open it up, doing almost 60 mph winding out first before shifting into high gear (it had a two-speed tranny). It didn’t have enough power to go any faster in high, but to me, it just felt so powerful I knew all was right in the world.
My step dad owned an oil field pipe and supply company. He told me he would match dollar for dollar all the money I saved towards a new bike. I worked after school and weekends cleaning pipe threads and loading and unloading pipe from flatbeds with a “gin” truck. Finally I had enough money and went down and traded the Cushman for a new 80cc Yamaha.
The Yamaha opened a whole new world to me with its better handling and performance. I saved and put a set of Pirelli tires on it for street and dirt. I was now able to fly around the track compared to the Cushman.
Another side benefit was being able to go farther in the limited daylight hours. I soon became one of the better riders around our “group,” whether it was in the dirt or on the street.
I kept working and saving money and soon bought a twin cylinder 100cc Yamaha around 1965. I again put Pirelli tires on it and had a set of expansion chambers made for it along with adding a number plate and removing lights. I found a way to ride side streets to high school.
When I turned 16 I got my real drivers license and a 1957 Chevy. I saved and put five-spoke mag wheels on it and had it painted Orange. Now I could pull a small trailer and take my bike around to different tracks and race! The best I ever did was second place but really enjoyed scrambles and short track racing during high school. As an aside, I would recommend anyone wanting to ride motorcycles to begin on the dirt with a small bike where you will learn more about control than you ever could on the street. A Motorcycle Safety Foundation or equivalent course would be the next step. Those without experience and/or training are rolling a set of loaded dice when they put a leg over a bike.
Home from Vietnam
(crazy 70s, me on a bike)
Since then I have owned many bikes starting with a ‘57 Harley I bought just after leaving Vietnam. During a pass from boot camp I saw Easy Rider and when I jumped out of a helicopter on the Cambodian border I met a now life-long friend that was in a motorcycle club. These two things influenced me to buy the biggest American bike I could, the Harley Davidson. This became a way to get the huge adrenalin rush I had been experiencing in combat and needed to live and feel normal again. Looking back, I don’t know that without the danger if I would have become so involved in riding. Living off my bike and working at shops as a mechanic building motors, trannys and whole bikes for customers was a way of life for me during the ’70s and ’80s.
Robert on the Road
I’ve owned eight Harleys, two Hondas, one Kawasaki, and my latest, the FJR Yamaha.
Since the first of the year I have put on over 10,000 miles (2 1/2 months) and will put many more on now that the mountains are starting to get passable again. My preference in riding is mostly mountains, but have started to really enjoy the long distance type of riding.
My first long distance rally was the Land of Enchantment in New Mexico last year. I have recently completed an IBA certified ride from coast to coast in under 44 hours called the 50CC. I’ve always wanted to cross the nation by motorcycle and the timing was excellent to do this ride, meet and talk with some of the most accomplished riders in the nation at the annual IBA Pizza Party, visit Daytona during bike week, and visit a riding buddy in Orlando, FL all on the same trip.
I was a bit under the weather when I began the ride but persevered and finished within the time limits. I had a fantastic ride with a bit of weather and road construction thrown in just to cover all the bases. The rain wasn’t too bad but the wind kept me on my toes for a good deal of the ride. This was a way to test my mental, physical, and mechanical ability and preparation.
I love challenges and this was a pretty good way to push myself at 57 years young. The solitude gives you time to let your mind go without outside influences and really clear your head for a better attitude towards life in general. My own personal demons become more restricted when I’m able to ride. When you’re in a car your watching the scenery go by and on a motorcycle you’re part of it: you feel it, smell it and feel much more alive and in tune with the world.
I would like to do a Border-to-Border ride and a BBG next, but finances and family dictate how much I can do in the LD circles.
My present Wife of 13 years is completely supportive of whatever needs I feel and does a small amount of riding with me; nothing more than 1,000 mile trips so far. With my first child, a boy 5 years old, I have been given a new perspective on life and family since my parents and grandparents have long since passed on. Life has been like riding a mountain road on a motorcycle with tight and sweeping turns along the way, traveling with let downs and exuberance hoping to come out on the other side having done your best.
