The original adventure riders (and bikes!)

I was getting $50 for a 48 hour week. My fully loaded 1950 74 cost $1335. Gas was $.26 per gallon. Many summer evenings after work we rode over old Loveland pass to the old town of Dillon to the Wildwood Inn to have a cup of coffee. The pass is over 11000 feet and very cool after dark.

Sean Penn in the movie version?



Great story and pictures, Webers

Warren:

Thanks a lot for the information. I looked around a bit to try and find the camera you were using. Think this is it? Later versions weren't collapsable and just looked like a regular 35mm camera.

Outstanding photography!

I'm just blown away. Like someone else said " lots of pictures from that era with the guys just lounging aroung" But to have the action shots and candid photos give the real sence of who they are.
True Trail Blazers of the modern Motorcycle era.
Truly Awsome!

Well guys what can I say that has not been said?

Thanks is a good start, really great stuff.

You guys rock, really that is so cool, and so great that you have pics of it all.

Well this thread has made it all the way over to Japan, someone put a link up on our Gaijin riders BBS (Gaijin is foreigner in Japanese) so I'm sure some of the board will come by.

Thanks again!!

At least they were not afraid to ride in the rain!

Cheers!

Wes, I hope you don't mind, but I so enjoyed looking at those pics that I decided to try hand coloring one (sort of a winter hobby). Here is a small version, as the attachment limit is small and I do not have image hosting abilities that will handle all the hits your pics are getting. Email me if you want the full size version, or if this attachment thingy doesn't work.
jonderson(AT)earthlink(DOT)net
Jonderson ('63Pan)

Wow. Awesome pictures Wes & Warren!

I always think riding my R1100GS in the knarly stuff is a handful, but it's gotta be a virtual featherweight compared to those rides!

Warren,
Would you have time to give us some words on the maintenence you guys had to perform on these bikes and what was the longest trip you ever took?
Randy

Welcome to the asylum. Shouldn't you be insta moderator or something. Dang you put us all to shame with our heated grips, vests, cutsie cameras, and attire that we have these days.

Cool story.

This thread has hit every motorcycle list I'm on in the last couple days (at least twice)! I've sent it to so many people that I figured I'd better join this one too.

As long as we're sharing the family jewels, here's a pic of my grandfather and grandmother, taken about 1940 up in Alberta, Canada:

The bike, as far as we have been able to determine, is a 1929 Henderson Deluxe. The sheetmetal fender skirts were added by my grandfather to keep Grandma's dress out of the spokes.
Here's my father, on the same farm, 23 years later in '63:

He's on the Harley Hummer that my grandfather built for him from pieces and parts.
Moving on, here's my first motorcycle

That was back in the 70's, when my dad gave me a Honda Trail 90. My first motorcycling experience was true adventure riding (for a 12 year old). Since I was too young to take it on the street, I spent years exploring the back roads and trails near Crescent Lake, Oregon. Now days, I spend most of my time on the paved roads. My main road bike is a 1996 Guzzi Cali 1100i, which gets a lot of use year round. I have other bikes too, the current inventory is on my web site.
This looks like a good list and I'd not heard of it until this thread was passed on to me from one of the other lists.
I'd really like to see guys take their Road Kings out and do some of the stuff these guys did in the "glory days".
Hell, I'd pay $5 to see it!

Awesome pictures! They are a true breath of fresh air and a reminder that our bikes are only limited by the skill of the pilot.
Thank you for that reminder.

I used to take my ElectraGlide Sport out on a lot of back country dirt two track roads through the mountains around here and up in Montana. It gets done more than you imagine but you have to get back there yourself to see it. Keep your $5.

Ok, I think I have figgered out another solution. Hopefully the pic will show up here now. If it does I am not going to leave it up long, as I am sort of borrowing the bandwidth and I don't want to take too much advantage. (Maybe someone can grab it and host it someplace...?)

If that didn't work just c/p the URL into your browser to see the image.

Yup...I guess you are gonna have to c/p it. Wish I knew what I was doing. :):

Gentlemen,
Please don't start brand specific flame-fest in a great thread like this.

Chill beavis. I didnt see any HPTAWSTBR saying the old boys in the pictures they were posers. But boy howdy there is piles of them around these days, that's for sure.

Hi
I just had to register and say thanks for sharing some great photos and stories !
All the best
Greg
www.somerset-trf.co.uk

Those are great pic's I sure wish I had some pic's of when my Dad set his old Indian on fire trying to start a camp fire on the banks of the Willamette River in the 40's or some pic's of Grampa riding Grandma from Portland to Seattle in the 20's (not sure what kind of bike but it took em 3 days). I never thought about it until now but I came from a family of early Adventure Riders. Thanks!