MOAA: Rev It Up

Rev It Up
Years ago, military motorcycles played a key role in our nation's defense. Today, servicemembers restore them to connect to, and honor, the past.
By Marilyn Pribus

On Nov. 12, 1918, Cpl. Roy Holtz from Chippewa Falls, Wis., rode his Harley-Davidson into Germany and became known as the first American to enter enemy territory when Germany surrendered at the end of World War I. Previously, he had carried dispatches on his Harley for American troops as they advanced through France and Belgium and was praised for the way his Harley withstood the constant hammering and battering from the shell-torn roads. During World War II, Pvt. James Carroll of Brewton, Ala., single-handedly liberated a Belgian town on his Harley.

Motorcycles have played a significant part in the history of American warfare. Today, retired servicemembers enjoy restoring military motorcycles as a way to honor their roles in history. John Seidts, a 12-year veteran of Army Special Forces and now a civilian paramedic for the Department of Defense at Fort Meade, Md., is restoring a 1942 Indian Model 741 motorcycle with World War II combat history.

"It's patriotic," Seidts explains about his passion for military motorcycles. "It's a point in the yardstick of our history. The motorcycles are milestones in American manufacturing and the changing history of America."

The way it was

"Because of their maneuverability both on and off the road, motorcycles were put to military use as early as 1915," says Ed Youngblood of Westerville, Ohio. Youngblood is an outside contractor who works as a curator for the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio. "In 1916, the U.S. Army used Harley-Davidsons with sidecar-mounted machine guns to chase Pancho Villa," he relates. "Appropriately, Pancho Villa eluded them aboard an Indian."

Bruce Palmer III of Valrico, Fla., has restored more than 25 cycles and owns about 15 Harleys, some of which are what he wryly terms "unrestored basket cases." The son and grandson of Army officers, Palmer has authored two books on restoring motorcycles. Now he is working on a comprehensive history, gathering pictures from Harley-Davidson and from U.S., Canadian, and British government archives.

Palmer's interest in motorcycle history was piqued about 25 years ago by an article in armor - a magazine published by the U.S. Army Armor Center at Fort Knox, Ky. "I had a feeling that this history for the Army motorcycles was being lost," he laments.

"My grandfather served most of his career in the horse cavalry," Palmer says, "but in the mid-1930s, he saw the future as being mechanized and converted the 1st Cavalry Regiment from horse to mechanized."

When Palmer's father, Gen. Bruce Palmer Jr., went into the 8th Cavalry from West Point in 1936, he was required, as an officer, to learn to ride a motorcycle. "They still had horses," Palmer III says, "but they also had scout cars and a motorcycle/machine gun troop."

Palmer says Harley-Davidson produced more than 90,000 motorcycles during World War II. Many were sent to other countries in the lend-lease program - mostly to the Soviet Union. Cycles also went to Australia, Great Britain, South Africa, China, Brazil, Mexico, and France. Indian produced a small number of motorcycles for the U.S. Army and Navy and a great many for military allies.

"Generally, motorcycles were assigned to individuals," Palmer explains. "They didn't lead us into combat, but they performed reconnaissance, convoy duties, [and] police duties [and] delivered messages and some emergency supplies."

Youngblood says it was difficult to find gis to ride the motorcycles, because less than a third of them had vehicle operator licenses. During World War II, Lt. John E. Harley (son of Harley-Davidson cofounder William S. Harley) was stationed at the Armored Force School and given the job of finding competent riders.

"The resourceful Lieutenant Harley toured the country recruiting motorcycle enthusiasts," Youngblood says. "He networked through AMA [American Motorcyclist Association] clubs throughout the nation and matched membership records to find experienced motorcyclists [who were] already in the military."

Nevertheless, the days of motorcycles in the military soon would end. The motorcycle with sidecar was used as a rapid personnel carrier until the jeep went into production. The jeep was more stable, could carry more troops or supplies, and was less expensive to manufacture. In 1942, the Army opted for the jeep - more than 600,000 saw service in World War II - and the motorcycle, while still used on occasion, drifted into history.

Rolling Thunder Rides On

On May 25, 2003, at least 500,000 motorcyclists are expected to rally at the Pentagon's North Parking lot in Virginia, then move slowly over the Memorial Bridge, past the Capitol and the White House, to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It will be Rolling Thunder's 16th Annual Ride to the "Wall."

Artie Muller, the national president of Rolling Thunder Inc., explains, "Another veteran - Ray Manzo - and I met back in 1987 when we were both working on the POW issue. We believe our government has knowingly left a lot of guys behind in past wars - Korea, Vietnam. We found a lot of documents. Nixon claimed all live POWs were home, but they weren't."

To draw attention to their cause, Muller and Manzo planned a demonstration and motorcycle rally for Memorial Day 1988, drawing about 2,500 bikes and 5,000 marchers. The demonstration has been discontinued, but the rally has grown since then. "It's hard to figure out how many will be there this year," Muller admits. "Last year there were 500,000 to 700,000 people and a 15-mile backup. There were between 200,000 and 300,000 bikes."

Rolling Thunder has successfully lobbied for a bill concerning the flying of the POW-MIA flag over the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and World War II Memorial (when completed) in Washington, D.C. The group also works on passing legislation for veterans' benefits such as the Missing Service Personnel acts of 1995 and 1997, which state that MIAs cannot be declared deceased without credible evidence of death. "Our mission is to educate the public on the POW-MIA issue," says Muller. "We want to correct the past and protect future veterans so they are not left behind."

If you would like more information, visit Rolling Thunder's Web site at www.rollingthunder1.com.

Fix 'em up

According to the Antique Motorcycle Club of America, any bike older than 35 years is an antique. Mark Mederski, spokesman for the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, says "Most [restorers] are interested in machines manufactured from the teens through the '40s." He says individual restorers care for their old cycles differently.

Mederski, for instance, prefers to see machines in original condition. "I believe in preservation," he says. "Too many get completely redone when they should be left in the condition they're found - just polished and preserved. You can only have a machine original once."

Others seek to restore their vehicles to like-new condition. After researching the 1942 Indian for five years, Seidts spotted his cycle on the Internet several years ago. He inspected photos and checked the seller's references before having it shipped from Australia, where it had seen service with the Royal Australian Air Force.

He'd been working on it for several months before it finally stood on its own in September 2001. Now it's completely assembled and painted, and he's test running it. "It's the last 25 percent that takes 99 percent of the time," he says.

A major difficulty, he explains, is that while there are quite a few military surplus motorcycle parts around, they fit civilian cycles as well so they're in short supply. Parts can be pricey, too. "Just to buy a chain guard - it was brand new - was $200 at an antique motorcycle show," Seidts adds.

He estimates that he spent between $8,000 and $10,000 on his Indian, including parts, hardware, painting, and the original shipping. Fully restored, it will be worth $15,000 to $17,000.

Parts can be found through other restorers, on the Internet, and at motorcycle shows. The Antique Motorcycle Club of America has a quarterly magazine where members can advertise for parts. The Military Vehicle Preservation Society assists restorers as well. "The community of restorers is pretty tight and very friendly," Seidts says. "A good few are former military. Most are pretty conservative and very patriotic."

"Restorers tend to know each other," confirms Palmer. "Most work in their garage with motorcycling friends. They … swap parts and information."

Brig. Gen. George Ogden, usa-Ret., of Fairfax, Va., has restored one Harley-Davidson and is working on a second. "I started in the summer of '97 to restore the cycle," he says. "I'd been following the want ads in The Washington Post for a number of years and saw an ad for this particular bike."

The Harley-Davidson WLA was simply a frame, two wheels, and several boxes of parts stored in the loft of a Fredericksburg, Va., auto repair shop. "Everything was recognizable," Ogden says, "but I spent months cleaning and identifying parts, and I had to buy a lot more parts to complete it."

A local motorcycle shop restored the engine. "All the parts were there," Ogden relates, "but they had to put in new bearings, pistons, connecting rods, and valves."

How long does it take to restore a cycle? "It had to be [more than] a thousand hours," Ogden says. "The first time I cranked it up ... it was a great experience." He had to do some fine-tuning before putting it on the street with its permanent Virginia antique tag, but he admits the first time he rode it was like the first time driving a car - he couldn't stop smiling.

"It has since received top awards in the Antique Motorcycle Club and is now on loan for two years to the hall of fame museum," Ogden says.

The way it was

Fix 'em up

Show 'em off

A piece of history