Vintage Boardtrack Motorcycle Racing

[@horserider9578]

Just so impressed with all that timber thats been layed.

[@bamaplanter5904]

Gene Walker was my grandmother's first cousin. She loved him dearly. He died while at practice in Pennsylvania in 1924. He had a wife and three girls. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama She said he had an entire wall of loving cup trophies. This film is amazing to my family, to see him win a race and receive his prize money !

[@stevematz7354]

I remember back in the later 60's Cycle World did a Write up/Article on Gene Walker. It seems to me they said Walker was practicing and no one was around to account for what really happen. Supposedly found by a track worker. He may have just Crashed and could have survived if someone had been there to get him to the hospital. Walker was like many of the Well Known BT&DTers of that era, racing both Indian & H-D's. I'm sure I have a Couple Vintage Photos of him on a Harley. I don't believe he was related to Otto Walker but he is well remembered by Vintage Race Historians R.I.P. Gene

[@bamaplanter5904]

@@stevematz7354 My grandmother said he was at practice and a lady on the far side of the track walked out in front of him, and he swerved to miss her and crashed. He was in the hospital and doing fine and his wife was with him. She left after the doctors told him he would be OK and would be released, but he died suddenly from what they discovered were internal injuries they could not detect in those days. His and his family grew up in Madison County, Alabama, but his father got into a land dispute with a neighbor and was killed. Gene's mother moved her family then to Birmingham and Gene delivered mail for the post office on his bicycle. He then put a motor on it and that led to his interest in motor bikes. Some biographies have him as born in Birmingham, but that is not true ; he was born in Madison County, Alabama. My grandmother grew up in Birmingham with him and several other relatives. Gene's mother's maiden name was Bridges. She loved him so much and would talk about their childhood together as they were very close cousins. I wish she had lived to have seen this film ( she died in 2000) but it would probably have been just as upsetting for her to see him alive in it as it would have been joyous to view it. Marshel Cunningham in Montevallo, Alabama. ( His father was John Wood Walker Jr. 1858-1893 and his mother was Martha Jane Bridges 1859-1946. ) His father had died, but his mother and family are on the Madison County, Alabama , Federal Census of 1900. They had moved to Birmingham shortly after. His full name is John Eugene Walker. 1893-1924 . Thank you Steve for your reply to my earlier post.

[@davidmarshall1259]

what a truly lovely story. little did he know that his endevours as a race winner would help to achieve and alleviate motorcycle racing to what is is today. i live in Nottingham, UK. not far from Birmingham uk, the ORIGINAL Birmingham.

[@thinkandrepent3175]

Thank you for sharing this about your family history. As a Southerner I've always been curious as to whether motorcycles were just a rich Northerners hobby or whether or not Southern men were racing and building bikes early on. It looks like that was the case, and it brings me great joy to know our people were making history early on.

[@Vtwin60]

Thank you for sharing such an amazing piece of history with us!

[@babbybailey]

Beautiful... The banks are steep! Great presentation. Top notch.

[@chrisball3634]

These films are priceless and timeless. Thank you for adding them.

[@sitarnut]

Right on Bro...being a bit of a film nut I was shocked to see the depth of field his film camera revealed, and the shots where the riders appeared to be hanging in the sky, boards not being visible...and super depth on the first left turn with grandstand receding into the background....like another guy has said here I will watch this again.... what fantastic times, and the Indian Logos and the pennant flying.... so bloody cool. Cheers.

[@AllTheBestCO]

@@sitarnut These tracks really took a beating! Think about the warp-page from the elements! Incredible maintenance for upkeep!

[@Vtwin60]

Absolutely amazing history that all of us who ride can relate to

[@crominion6045]

The tracks themselves steal the show for me. What amazing bits of engineering and construction, especially for their time.

[@Emira_75]

Really?! It's quite literally just wooden boards, 2x4, in an oval. Not to discredit these marvelous men, but that's the least exciting part of it wtf😂

[@24secondsperframe68]

This short series would be well worth your time...Epic board tracks. A Brief History of speed. kzbin.info/aero/PLnIE2eJEhCd4kTIIAF5MgD4sZNcEuP_DJ

[@generalkayoss7347]

@@Emira_75 Spoken like someone that has no engineering or construction knowledge. Those huge elevated wooden tracks were marvelous.

[@Charlie-tk6bu]

It is just stunning, and They are so wide!

[@Charlie-tk6bu]

@@Emira_75Have you looked properly at the boards and how They are Built? Honestly, riding a motorcycle is easy, building those tracks is not.

[@jamesmascia2812]

A perfect song for this film.

[@michaelpryor2981]

THAT FOOTAGE IS AMAZING AND FANTASTIC!! FANTASTIC IS NOT THE CORRECT WORD! THANK YOU FOR THESE INCREDABLE MOMENTS!!

[@dukecraig2402]

I'm so glad this footage survived, from around 1912 to around 1920 there was a very famous board track built by the man who founded Universal Studio's in Hollywood, why he built a board track in South Western Pennsylvania is beyond me and as far as I know he had no other real connection to the area, I was born in the 60's and raised about a mile from where the track was (it was a golf ball driving range when I grew up) and always heard stories about it, it was a very prestigious track at the time and races were attended by the wealthy and royalty, the first championship race won there was won by no other than Louis Chevrolet himself, many of the championship races held there in the years that it was open were won by Duesenberg's, there were motorcycle races held on the track but I don't have any information about winners, manufacturers, or any earned titles as far as motorcycles go though I'd like to find out because motorcycles are the single biggest thing in my life, info on the track and automotive championship titles won there can be looked up on Wikipedia under "Uniontown Speedway", I'd love to see footage from there like this footage from Daytona, I'm really glad this hasn't spun off into the universe and lost over the years like so much footage from racing in the board track era, thanks for posting👍👍👍

[@boataxe4605]

I’m surprised those bikes could go that fast considering the size and weight of the riders balls!

[@kentuckybluegrass8695]

Boat Axe I thought the reason for the tracks being made of wood was so their nuts didn’t get dirty.

[@voornaam3191]

And here we have the ball obsessed man again. Literally every fast YT video again, he gets an urge to take those balls in his hands an weigh them. You're a fattish weirdo! Stick to ballroom dancing!

[@danielwolfe4169]

what the hell voor LMAO

[@richardsokolis7314]

Dang I'm still laughing.

[@isconfused]

That was pretty awesome. They were some crazy S.O.B.'s back then.

[@davidmarshall1259]

all these fine young courageous racers you see here, and their mechanics are long gone. celebrate them with me, and hope they're up there racing where the long track circuits are planed smooth and true, where every race is a winner and they celebrate where their smiley faces are soapy clean and kissed by fair maidens, true race warriors of fair beginnings.

[@downix]

The reason this footage is so sharp and not jumpy is because this was shot on a Bell and Howell 2709. They had pins to hold the film in place and not flutter during shooting. Loud as hell too to use, hence why their use evaporated during the talkie era. The story I heard is that the largest operator of the 2709 east of the Mississippi was located just an hour away from here, and he loved motor racing so would borrow one of his company cameras to shoot footage at the tracks.

[@Vtwin60]

Amazing and something so many would never even think of. Thank you!

[@leonardarola]

Simply magnificent. True gold. Thanks for sharing.

[@bobbysykesjr.354]

Awesome footage..... it is also hard to believe that every person in the film has gone to their reward....... Boy, those guys had some stones...... Thanks

[@buffalo113]

Thanks for this great glimpse into the past!

[@curtisharrison4837]

The track is a marvel,never seen anything like it.

[@ejdiii333]

90 plus mph, no brakes, no shocks,no mufflers, no clutch, no gears, no throttle, full speed only. A, total oil loss drip system ( cylinders were exposed, the oil dripped onto them from above, and blew out exhaust all over the driver an those behind them. open valves, you could see the spark igniting the fuel.

[@Timinator62]

Sounds like fun to me !!!! 8^)

[@lukasgarage956]

Some had no throttle....the carb was fixed wide open and they used a engine kill switch going into the curves to slow down. Either way took alot of nerve.

[@jeffmatson2046]

This is so amazingly Beautiful. Yu can the begining standards of American style Motor Racing . Especially Daytona's High Bank Racing. Thrilling. Thank yu so much !

[@yogeetarzan]

amazin'..... in those days.. oh my that's 100 years ago. many brave souls raced

[@keithfrmcov]

What an amazing film this is. I did not know about Motordrome racing until yesterday. They had more thane nerves of steel. The idea came from Brooklands racing oval circuit.

[@rdc327]

Thanks for posting this. Awesome race footage. Iron bikes and Iron men!!

[@plaguearttutorials]

Never knew they had sidecars in these races wonder if the passenger was the navigator go fast turn left😂

[@nameofthepen]

This is wild. The idea of a wooden plank track that big is just...mind-boggling. And, someone mentioned below, "is that a man talking on a mobile phone at 3.06 far right of shot?" I see him! And it _is_ pretty weird. Because that's exactly what it looks like... o_0

[@Spud4X]

Vintage footage with modern music. Magnificent! How far the West has come and how arrogant we have grown. :-(

[@ejdiii333]

1910s era common battery powered hearing aid, no time traveling here....technology didn't start in the 1980s, battery powered devices have been in common use since the 1880s.

[@1timejohn]

My grandfather raced at Daytona in the 1920's. Can't help but wonder if he's in any of these shots. Thanks for posting!

[@ejdiii333]

you controlled the speed not by a throttle, it had none. there was a power kill switch was usually made from spring steel , often a hack saw blade, that was used as a form of pressure switch on the handle bar to break the electric spark circuit from thre plugs, and kill the engine,,you would slow a little, and then depress to resume full speed. eeeeeeee haaaaaaaaaw! thats racing!

[@BrownsSports]

awesome footage, my grandfather was a timer for the races, looking for spome info on him Floyd Quennell known as "Pops"

[@mikesmith4468]

These guys had big balls !

[@1650bullet]

I do believe that William Harley and Arthur Davidson would of been in the crowd there somewhere. Great historical footage

[@derkeheath5172]

My great grandfather used to do this sort of racing in New Orleans in the 1900s. I asked family if he ever got involved in motorcycle chariot racing, but he never got into THAT particular form of insanity.

[@onazram1]

When I watch these early BT races I can't help but think of massive splinter's....

[@timothyahernRoxyCat]

Dreamy! I have never seen anything like this.

[@mnicrashSoren]

absolutely outstanding

[@ejdiii333]

This is the only motorcycle racing with real danger and excitement, speed, with no safety what so ever.... from 1908 til about 1933 it dominated all forms of racing for attendance in America, and it didn't stop because of the deaths, It was the great depression and the cost of rebuilding every 3 or so years that was to expensive that brought it to a close, simple economics not humanitarian influence. If you doubt me, read the newspapers of the time, not some modern day revisionist drivel. This was racing when Men were men...and women were glad of it!

[@Godscountry2732]

Very dangerous indeed, a broken femur [I broke my femur in a MC crash ] would kill you.My cousins's husband Steven Wright wrote The American Racer series ,great books.He worked for Solar Productions,[ Steve McQueen's company ]restoring motorcycles for Steve.I was fortunate enough to see a few of Steve's restorations when I was in Calif visiting family in the 1990's.When Steve passed,they to his surprise never offered Steve a choice of purchasing any of the bikes he had restored or liked,Steve was a great guy,sent my mom a picture from Bullet,signed Happy birthday

[@itsjustnopinionok]

No, TT racing still beats them all. Going 160-200+ on a bike. It dont matter if you have brakes or not. You fall. It will ruin your day

[@deuteronimus750]

@@itsjustnopinionok F1 in the rain gets my vote.

[@Timinator62]

​@@itsjustnopinionok Bah, Bah, Bah, the Isle of Man in 1920 was 51.79 MPH....these guys were going 103 MPH...TWICE as FAST

[@dukecraig2402]

@@Timinator62 I grew up about a mile up the road from what was one of the most famous board tracks of the era, look up "Uniontown Speedway" on Wikipedia, and even I gotta say that the body count from the Isle of Mann is much higher than any other race in history, it is by far the most dangerous race ever, the biggest threat racing motorcycle board track is getting impaled by a gigantic splinter from sliding down the track after a spill, the reason for the speed difference between the two is the Isle of Mann is a winding twisting coarse (just like the mountains where I'm from) and a board track is literally the first "super speedway" type track but there's no stone walls and stone buildings (just like the mountains where I'm from), so yea, the Isle of Mann is far more dangerous to the rider than any board track ever was, the biggest threat to life at a board track was to the spectators as is evidenced by the wreck that happened at the board track up the road from where I grew up, a vehicle involved in a wreck got into the stands or something and killed as many spectators as it did racers.

[@jimtomstimpson1477]

This was wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@generalkayoss7347]

What a time to be alive.

[@PatricioBridges]

The work it must have taken to build those wooden tracks. There was no Czech Republic back in those days it was called Czechoslovakia and there was no 50 star American flag either. I did enjoy the movie and board-track racing is a favorite subject of mine...this is a real gem that could have been lost forever.

[@cliftonmanley3882]

love the Pompous men getting in the way.... lol

[@g.g.6362]

Fantastic footage.What a find!

[@mrjericho5701]

This film is from 2 mile Sheepshead BayNY Board Track in 1919,.....Someone originally said it was a Daytona Board Track but Daytona never had a Board Track These guys would go 90 to 120 MPH in 1919 . Some of the footage is of road machine not race bikes as you can see

[@AllTheBestCO]

Killer motorbikes (I love'em)! If you can find one!

[@AllTheBestCO]

The cameraman on the back of a cycle -- taking the footage. . . is a feat in itself!!! 100+ per hour!

[@dozergyp]

Great bit of film, A lot like me on the sands at Blackpool

[@richard4165]

That was amazing!!

[@95inchhog]

.these guys had GONADS the size of BASKETBALLS !....and they CLANKED when they walked !

[@fanghicheck]

I think there is a walkers H D shop in salem Oregon ?

[@EbayJakeHarleyDeals]

If you think this is AWESOME, don't miss the Sons of Speed Race March 17th, New Symrna SpeedWay. 100 year old motorcycles, 100mph, no brakes, no clutch putting it on the line

[@keithfrmcov]

Strange thing is. This is used in the Olympic sports event today, but as bicycle racing.

[@hondatech86yahoo]

could you imagine the sound during the 100

[@chrisball3634]

When you consider the protection they had, or not! Crude patched-up leathers, helmets of leather or even wooden (an example of which can be seen at the brooklands museum) if you were lucky! Then of course the question of the SPLINTERS! They were tough riders. RIP.

[@tintriumph]

what a great wee film,i really enoyed each aspect,and was just a little sad that lovely music ran out before the end of the film as it was so appropriate-excellent

[@john_atco]

interesting film and audio...

[@rodf73]

WOW!!! the 3:06 (cell-phone-guy) far right...it is really strange body posture and behavior, is he just holding his cheek? (tooth-ache) ?... I don't know!??? Is he from another dimension?

[@ejdiii333]

it's called a hearing aid, early 1900s. faily common, hand held to ear, batyteries where huge back then. not time traveling here.

[@anthonybarnes2355]

Wow ! I can't believe how fuckin steep the corners are . Wow !

[@irishpat64]

What an incredible treasure!!!!

[@josephbuckhoff6988]

*Very Cool !!!! :)*

[@stevesievers1248]

Dudes in the sidecar should be allowed to carry one blunt weapon. Ballbat, hockey stick, tennis racquet, axe handle, shovel, something and when ever two bikes came close enough to each other, they would come up out of the sidecar and try to knock the other driver off his bike. The rider would have to protect his driver.

[@Timinator62]

This is awesome footage...being a woodworker as a Hobby, I wonder how much wood was used to build these tracks?....and what happened to it, when they were torn down?

[@wheelie63]

my questions too...........a huge amount , no doubt.

[@michaeltaylor8835]

@@wheelie63 proably burned as they didnt recycle then

[@drewwithers8131]

looks like fun id do it

[@TZGreg]

What a shame that the "Splinter Road" movie has never been made. (As far as I know anyway.)

[@pinslayer4579]

No brakes no butterfly in the early carburators they grounded the magneto to slow the bike. Read one account about a rider after the race not being able to release the handle bars. He discovered a pencil size splinter through his forearm. Some spectators were killed at a few tracks and the media started calling the tracks murder dromes. Bad press and high maintenance caused the end of board tracks and the birth of dirt ovals in America.

[@murderdromecycles8925]

Amazing

[@johnsamu]

It would be great if this movie could be digitally improved and colorized because the base b/w movie has a rather good quality.

[@drewwithers8131]

wonder how many red woods they had to cut down to make the super oval track in LA

[@theoldman8877]

If you cut down a costal redwood several more come up from the roots and stump. If is very difficult to kill one, close to impossible.

[@robertghorne8607]

The real deal in racing

[@skyedog24]

Thank you

[@arthenies]

so fast in 1920 and fully risky only with google and leather helmet..

[@Gregasaki]

What's the music? Gotta get it.

[@johnranallo424]

Sounds like music from a nature film, drop it.

[@txrick4879]

Ballsy guys imagine going over 90 mph on a bicycle with a engine and no shocks on thin tires.

[@markrowland1366]

To think all that raceway was timbered 4 inches thick. 100mm.

[@fd9431]

Awesome.

[@janusvananus]

great movie

[@KRAMPUS1933]

Would it be OK to use this on my channel? I will give you full credit and reference for it...

[@monkeyfootracing645]

Love the footage, especially the sidecars. The. obnoxious music however leaves something to be desired. Would have been better silent, had too turn off the sound. Please think of the older viewers who will be watching this with hearing aids.

[@michaelcolgan3182]

So where do you think this was filmed ? Looks like NY

[@Charlie-tk6bu]

Wonder What happened with all board tracks…

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

What was the survival rate for early 20th Century sidecar men? Sign me up.

[@1kevinroberts]

what is the music . . . . shazam cannot identify.

[@BeebopConnard]

and they were heavy like bowling balls !

[@jasonkeating9958]

3.37 look at how uneven the track is, there's all sorts of nasty edges and and bumps with sharp corners, Those leathers would offer very little protection from that, They would just rip and flesh there after.

[@artofdisguy3401]

Just imagine,,, taking a wobble at 90mph with absolutely no steering geometry, a 2x4 on end track nailed together, rough as shit, gouges from previous wipe outs, chunks and splinters waiting to claim it's next victim,,,, balls ya they had Big Hairy Moose Balls!!

[@jasonplant5432]

So,cool.

[@catdaddy3302]

Indian still rules the track.

[@Jeff46u]

Great video but I do not think Daytona ever had a board track.

[@stevenszalus2529]

There wasn't. A track was down in Miami, I'm guessing this is it.

[@yogeetarzan]

someone mentioned below "is that a man talking on a mobile phone at 3.06 far right of shot" I noticed that too...

[@JamesAlexanderCarey-xt5pb]

0:10 0:13 0:16 0:16 0:17 Awesome Friends and Family Sports Home Improvement 0:25 17 Yeah 💯 Amen Q 0:34

[@MrClowntown57]

is that a man talking on a mobile phone at 3.06 far right of shot

[@josephvogel7234]

How about that flag...48 stars!

[@TZGreg]

LOL!!!!

[@peterrod5239]

at 3:06 anybody notice the man standing talking on what appears to be a cell phone. NAH! is 1920 impossible!!!!

[@SW-Video]

+Peter Rod : I think he's just putting a finger in his ear because the bikes are loud as they go by.

[@peterrod5239]

i been watching too many twilight zone..lol

[@ejdiii333]

battery powered hand held hearing aid, my great grandpa had one from that same time period, before that they had a brass horn.

[@ejdiii333]

please stop with the "cell phone" at around the 3:00 , It's a 1910s era common battery powered hearing aid, no time traveling here....technology didn't start in the 1980s, battery powered devices have been in common use since the 1880s.

[@michaeltaylor8835]

still expensive in those days

[@just86in]

A hearing aid? At a racetrack where the bikes have open pipes?

[@alain6752]

@@just86in He probably turn the switch of his hearing aid to off

[@cliftonmanley3882]

the Jerkyness of old films is the result of variable frame rate of the camera... it wasn't necessary to have one frame rate with silent films, and why they look funny.... todays films are all 24fps these varied between 15 and 19fps

[@clawhammer704]

I see nothing really dangerous as other racing...

[@PeacefulRallyCar-pw3cs]

Safer really than roads with trees, poles, rock cuts etc. Even paved tracks had no runoff.