Board Track Motorcycle Racing - A History of the Deadly Sport

Archive Moto presents GRIT , Part 2 of a three part documentary series looking at the history of one of America’s most infamous and sensation sports, motorcycle Board Track Racing .
Part 1 • Motorcycle Board Track...
Just as quickly as bicycle fever swept the nation in the 1880s, so too did motorcycle mania in the early 1900s. Motorcycles followed the blueprint of the industrial revolution, utility and refinement drove production and profit. Manufacturers of motorcycles , parts, and accessories sprang up by the dozens.
Trade magazines kept enthusiasts up to date with the latest innovations and newest trends in the wheelman’s world. Shops made space on their showrooms for new motorcycle stock, and growing manufacturers further expanded their distribution markets. Social groups formed promoting riding, lobbying for accommodation and better roads, and organizing socials, long-distance tours, and exhibition races on local hills and horse tracks.
The saying goes, that the first motorcycle race occurred the day the second motorcycle was built, which isn’t all that far from the truth. Daring enthusiasts and champion cyclists alike could be found gathering at local horse tracks to pit their machines against one another. It was one such track, Los Angeles’s Agriculture Park on May 7, 1901 that former cyclist Ralph Hamlin bested 3 other entrants on his Orient motorcycle at roughly 32 mph in what is widely credited as America’s first motorcycle race.
Eleven years later, Motordrome fever in America was just beginning to enthrall the American public, and in time, larger, steeper tracks would allow more riders to race in a single heat and break record after record as the top speed climbed. By 1912, Motorcycle racing was entering its golden age, but the gruesome, deadly reality of speed on the perilous wooden motordromes would soon catch up.
Enjoy Part 2 , A Battery of Gatlings of GRIT , the third and final chapter will be released soon.
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This video documentary series is a companion to the articles looking back at the history of American motorcycle culture, published exclusively at ArchiveMoto.com.
PATREON
Support this history, consider becoming a Patron at the new Archive Moto Patreon page at / thearchivemoto .
Read more about board track racing, and countless others now, only at ArchiveMoto.com.
PATREON
Support this history, consider becoming a Patron at the new Archive Moto Patreon page at / thearchivemoto .
Written, Narrated, Edited, and Produced by Chris Price, Archive Moto.
Music: I Want You To Stay - Victor Lundberg, Candlelight Theme - Trevor Kowalski, Rain - Valter Nowak, Who We Once Were - Gavin Luke, Shadow Play - Anna Landstrom
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[@user-rx1lc6mp5n]

Hate it when the algorithm drops me into the second part of a series. But it’s not the algorithm’s fault the author didn’t include a link to part one in the description.

[@ArchiveMoto]

I'm shifting the blame to KZbin for not having a better interface for composing descriptions ;) but good catch, I'm adding a link now.

[@funhog24]

Very well done!

[@ArchiveMoto]

Thank you very much!

[@Mr19thcenturyman]

I worked in a store that sat on the location of Tuileries in Englewood, Co. The Englewood Public library has a couple more digital pics. White City (Lakeside) and it's dirt racetrack still survives.

[@ArchiveMoto]

I paid it a visit while researching in Denver a few years ago and have some friends that live across the street. Definitely time to make another trip

[@Mr19thcenturyman]

@@ArchiveMoto research Rodeans gas station on York St. And 40th. I went to a home by the botanical gardens 30 years ago. Saw cylinder tank motorcycles in the attic of the garage. They were not for sale.

[@michaeltaylor8835]

Men with b@lls of steel

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

Awesome vid❤

[@ArchiveMoto]

Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement

[@magellanicspaceclouds]

I'm guessing the LA Agriculture Park was turned into Exposition Park. Any idea what happened to the Clifton, NJ velodrome?

[@ArchiveMoto]

Agriculture did become Exposition, the Clifton track was on Piaget and Main which is now a Middle School, Library, and Park though I'm not quite sure where on the lot the track would have been exactly. The Springfield Drome, the first circular track was a neighborhood on the land now, though when I visited you can see a large perimeter of older trees which is telling.

[@magellanicspaceclouds]

@@ArchiveMoto Wow, it's great that you know these details.

[@johnmartin7158]

Hi Sir, do you own a motor scooter or motorcycle yourself. Merry Xmas from NZ.

[@ArchiveMoto]

I have had the pleasure of owning several, most recently was a 1941 Indian Scout and a 2008 Harley-Davidson Deluxe. Im also fortunate to live in a beautiful place to ride, but Im sure it pales in comparison to your stunning corner of the world. Take care.