10 July, 2011 While I still haven't got the flywheel off the crankshaft even with an improved puller, I decided to pull the motor out of the frame and split the cases. I thought this would make it more portable and give me access to the crank to maybe try to cool it while I heated the flywheel. It appears that the gearbox is fine and I can't see anything wrong with the crankshaft other than it's welded to the flywheel. The crankcases don't look too bad and I think they're worth trying to weld and re-machine. In the photo of the drive side crankcase with the broken rod, you can see the big aluminum ring and the extended cyl. studs that thread into it. This was done sometime in the distant past to repair a crack in the case. In the photo of the timing side case, you can see the front, upper case bolt that took a direct hit from the broken rod. I've since cut, ground, and drilled this out of the case.

A Québéçois racing in the 1911 TT?

On the face of it, the birthplace of Jacob DeRosier (or DesRosiers), Indian factory 1911TT race team member, would seem to have little bearing on his ability to put a racing motorcycle into competition. However nationality is a cherished element in the imagination of historians, academics, and journalists linked to motorcycle culture. In my brief exploration into the nationality of Jacob/Jake DeRosier at the request of Dave Roper, I was party to some rather illuminating correspondence on this matter.

The life of Jacob DeRosier after the turn of the 20^th Century is widely known and part of public record. The specific circumstances of his life, prior to 1900, is less clear, and this is where some controversy occurs. Open participation, on- line resources either related to the Indian marque or DeRosier in particular, have him born in Canada in 1880, which as we can suspect might not necessarily be meticulously researched from primary sources. In private email exchanges, and I will paraphrase, Jacob DeRosier was said to be: born in Ontario, Canada near the Quebec border, in Quebec near the border of Maine, in France, and emigrated to the USA, and my favorite, born in outer space. These various observations were put forward by persons linked to the 2011 TT project and the entry of the Canadian built replica Indian race machine. After quickly consulting my own modest moto library, general consensus, with the exception of T. Rafferty who referred to Jacob as French Canadian, from historians Glendinning, Carrick, and Shilling refer to Jacob DeRosier as American. Nationality within motorcycle culture is a contested territory especially when world records and championships are at stake.

It could be argued that French is the language of speed and motorsport in Canada, one has only to think of the families’ Villeneuve and Duhamel for confirmation. To add Jacob DeRosier to this list is very tempting, if not essential. However, place of birth and nationality are not necessarily equivalent and in the case of the Québéçois motorsport families, international careers served to blur this distinction. Yet, place of birth does play to the imagination no matter where a sportsman or sportswoman engages in competition “away from home” and is an essential enrichment for spectators, journalists, and historians alike. The confirmation of Jacob DeRosier’s birth place therefor, cannot be left to conjecture.

In May of this year Maggie Humberston , of the Springfield Musems in Springfield MA, through perseverance and expertise has come the closest to verification of the birth place of Jacob DeRosier. In an email she makes this assertion:

“I think I’ve finally got it, by process of elimination! The birth record of Joseph Jacques Desrosiers of St. Ulric, Quebec (right next to Baie Des Sables) baptized 10 December 1879,legitimate son of Alphonse Desrosiers and Georgina Ratte”

It must be said that digital mediation of physical archive material for the most part, led Humberston to this conclusion. Nevertheless, enthusiasm and an intuitive intelligence is a far more powerful research tool. Her further research reveals the marriage record of Jacob Derosier to Melvina Castonguay on Oct. 28, 1899 in Fall River, Mass. and lists both sets of parents, as Massachusetts records from this time period do.

“As an aside, Jake DeRosier was an uncle by marriage to Woodsy and Frenchy Castonguay, the 1930s Indian racers. His first marriage didn’t work out, but he had two children, a girl born in 1900 and a son several years later. We haven’t been able to track what happened to them”.

A Québéçois in competition at the TT in 1911 seems closer to a matter of fact than the product of romantic imagination.

Bill Rodgers July 2011,with thanks to Maggie Humberston

5 July, 2011 Sunday 3 July, my brother Doug and his wife Amy hosted a Tiddler Tour from their house in Haddam, Ct. We had 28 bikes participate: 7 Hondas (1 of which was a cheater), 6 BMWs (5 of which were cheaters), 5 Moto Guzzis (1 of which was a cheater), 2 Bridgestones, 2 Bultacos, 1 BSA, 1 Ducati (cheater), 1 H-D Aermacchi, 1 Ossa, 1 Triumph (cheater), and 1 Yamaha (cheater). Some of the cheaters (post '67 or bigger than 350) were more egregious than others, but no one gets turned away. Rider ages ranged from early 20's to 80. My '53 Airone Sport was again the oldest bike, but there were two other Airone Sports, a '54 and a '56.

Doug again laid out a superb route, 85 miles in the morning (east of the Ct. River)and 54 miles in the afternoon (west of the River). Challenging roads, beautiful scenery, little traffic. It started raining at the end on the morning loop and I barely got wet, but some of the stragglers got soaked. It rained through lunch and then stopped and, while some of the afternoons roads were wet, most were bone dry.

I led a morning group of Doug Boughton (CL 72), Leif Gustafson (TW 200, amusing cheater), and Phil Turkington (CB 450, beautiful cheater), all excellent riders and we had a spirited ride. In the afternoon Bob Bendix (BMW cheater) and Mike Peavey (beautiful '54 Airone Sport) and I rode together and the ride was slightly more subdued owing to the wet roads and the fact the Mike and I switched bikes for a while. This was the first major ride for Mike's Airone, which he had recently bought off ebay and, while it need a little sorting, he considers it a definite keeper.

Amy (and a few neighbors and participants) out did herself with food, libations, and entertainment including fireworks that evening. A great day.

6/26/2011 I finally started taking the Dondolino apart after blowing it up at Grattan last Sunday. I firmly adhere to the school that believes things alway could be worse and this blowup confirms this. The cyl. head looks fine. The crankshaft maybe OK. I couldn't get the flywheel off using the same technique I've used several times before, both on this motor and my Airone. That make me think the flywheel spun on the crank and sheared the key when the motor stopped spinning suddenly. I suspect the gearbox is OK, but I won't know for sure until I get the flywheel off. At minimum, I need a piston, rod, cyl. liner, a new magneto armature, and lots of welding on the crankcases. This is the risk we take when we put them on the race track.

6/23/11 Here's another nice photo by Bill Burke of Richard Birch fettling the clutch as David Plant looks on at David's house in Bride, IOM. The Indian has great lines, doesn't it?

6/21/11 the Summer Solstice The AHRMA event at Grattan, Mi., near Grand Rapids, on 18-19 June, had markedly mixed results for me. I started practice on the '46 Moto GuzziDondolino and it seemed good right off the bat, although I made a mental note to try reducing the rear tire pressure to reduce the rear end hop, which I promptly forgot. My '70ERTT H-D Sprint wouldn't start. The last time the motor had run was sliding on it's side down a very wet Summit Point in April. Now it had no spark. I removed the points and cleaned them and it was better than new. Points maybe crude, but perhaps easier to diagnose and fix than a mysterious black box.

In the Class 'C' race on the Dondo, I got the hole shot and led the first lap, then Alex Mclean came by on the front straight and pulled steadily ahead. I finished 2nd with Dave Dunfey on his beautiful '50 Vincent 3rd.

In the 350 GP race, Bruce Yoximer, on his Seeley AJS 7R got the hole shot and I tucked into his draft, pulling out just before turn #1 and out braking him. I led the rest of the race to the checkered flag, but Bruce was right there the whole race and, in fact, turned the fastest lap of the race.

For Sunday's practice, I did remember to reduce the rear tire pressure on the Dondo and it did feel better. When the green flag dropped for the Class 'C' race the Dondo stalled and KenMertz, the starter, saw that the plug lead had fallen off. We shoved it back on and I took off well behind the pack. Coming out of turn #2, the lead fell off again and I stopped and put it back on and bumped it down the hill. Then, coming out of turn #5, it fell off again and I routed it through the frame before putting it back on this time. I bumped it off again and took off. When I finished the 2nd lap, I got the 'meatball' flag and pulled into the hot pit lane at the end of the 3rd lap where I was informed I was disqualified for starting a dead engine on the track. I said I started it on the grass, not the track, and the referee told me he'd let me go, then review it with the corner workers. So I took off again, but as I finished the 4th lap accelerating out of the last corner in 3rd gear, I had 'magneto failure' as when the broken connecting rod punches through the crankcases and knocks the magneto off. The rear wheel locked instantly while I was well leaned over, and the Dondo and I went sliding down the track. The cycle parts aren't too bad: bent handlebars, small ding in the fuel tank, bent footrest and left rear shock, and the seat is well torn up. I haven't taken the motor apart yet, so I don't know how bad it is yet but, potentially, it could all be scrap. At minimum, I need a rod, a cyl. liner, an armature for the mag, and lots of welding on the cases. I'm hoping the gearbox and head are OK.

The pain of this disaster was tempered somewhat by the 350gp race that followed after one race in between. Again Yoximer got the hole shot and again I outbraked him into turn #1 and led the first lap. But, Bruce passed me down the straight starting the second lap and a scrap ensued. He had a little motor on me and I had the advantage on the brakes. We swapped the lead many times. While he was leading, he missed a shift and I was able to get ahead. Then, a lap later, I overshifted from 2nd to 4th, but he wasn't able to capitalize on that because he almost ran in the back of me and had to check up. I may have had an advantage in traffic and I held him off for the win but, again, Bruce had the fastest lap of the race. It was the best race I've had in a couple of years.

Photo by Kenny Cummings, NYC Norton.

6/21/11 The Summer Solstice

One more picture of the infamous seagull theft of the chips on Glencrutchery Rd. Photo by Bill Burke, Binh foto