A Harley went 164 then 167 after shedding the leathers. Rollie Free had
done it 4 years before so everyone thought it was a great idea. What they
didn't know was that Rollie described himself as being blue with the cold
after those runs on a cold September morn.
The guy in question was running a slower bike, as I remember in the 130 mph
range when he slid off on his belly. Didn't bleed much ... the salt
cauterized all the scratches. They shut down the race for over four hours
while the ambulance took him to Tooele to the hospital. Two lane road in
those days. We were 4 back in line at the start that day. Loooooong wait
in the August sun.
Rules changed the next year to require leathers and no laying out flat that
way. (Oh yes, the guy was back and running the next year).
Wes
on 11/5/01 6:55 PM, Ed Van Scoy at edvs@uswest.net wrote:
> Why all the bother with the helmet & cape. In the 40's & 50's many bike guys
> greased themselves up and wore only bathing suits! (Rollie Free being the most
> famous) In the early 50's, after one poor chap stepped off his ride at about
> 150
> mph and got a case of road rash from hell, leather got popular REAL
> quick..............
> Ed
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