Jerry Hatfield has to be thanked for writing a great biography of Rollie Free, probably these days most famous for that amazing photo of him on his Vincent.
Books on Bikes
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Flat Out - The Rollie Free Story
by Jerry Hatfield
Jerry Hatfield has to be thanked
for writing a great biography of Rollie Free,
probably these days most famous for
that amazing photo of him on his Vincent.
Jerry Hatfield has captured both Rollie's competitive nature and his desire for revenge against Harley-Davidson (which had promised him factory support)
He was
absolutely possessed as evidenced by the picture of him in his swimming
trunks trying to get that
extra mile per hour on his speed attempt without
regard for the fact that a wobble
could throw him down onto the highly abrasive salt flat with the inevitable
result that he would be torn to pieces.
The book is full of fascinating photos of
Rollie's life. He developed the
stretched-out riding pose 1920's, when he was racing Indians.
Rolland "Rollie" Free (born 1900 in
Illinois, died 1984 in California) was a motorcycle racer best known for
breaking the American motorcycle land speed record in 1948 on the Bonneville
Salt Flats, Utah. The picture of Free, prone and wearing a bathing suit, has
been described as the most famous picture in motorcycling.
After an early career in motorcycle retail, Free became a regional racer of the
1920’s and 30’s on Indian Motorcycles. In 1923, Free tried out for his first
national motorcycle race, the 100-Mile National Championships on the board track
in Kansas City, but did not qualify. He developed his career in longer-distance
events, and raced in the very first Daytona 200 on the Daytona Beach Road Course
in 1937.
He joined the Army Air Force as an aircraft maintenance officer during the
Second World War; during this time, he was stationed at Hill Field in Utah,
where he first saw the Bonneville Salt Flats. In 1945, Free left the Air Force,
and resumed racing the soon-to-be defunct Indian motorcycles in long-distance
and sprint record attempts, as well as dirt track racing on Triumphs.
On the morning of September 13, 1948, Free raised the American motorcycle speed
record by riding the very first Vincent HRD Black Lightning, owned by the
California sportsman John Edgar and sponsored by Mobil Oil, to a speed of
150.313 m.p.h. Special features included the first-ever Vincent use of a rear
shock absorber, the first Mk II racing cams, and horizontally-mounted racing
carbs. Free had already developed a style of removing the seat from his mount,
and lying flat prone along the back spine – thereby minimizing wind resistance,
and placing most weight over the rear wheel.
To protect himself and allow comfort when in such a position, Free had developed
special protective clothing. However, when his leathers tore from early runs at
147 mph, he discarded them and made a final attempt without jacket, pants,
gloves, boots or helmet. Free lay flat on the motorcycle wearing only a Speedo
bathing suit, a shower cap, and a pair of borrowed sneakers – inspired by friend
Ed Kretz. This resulted not only in the record, but also one of the most famous
photographs in motorcycling history, the "bathing suit bike" shot taken from a
speeding car alongside his run on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
The Vincent Lightning used is sometimes mistaken for a SeriesB machine, having
the stamp BB on its engine casing – but is actually a works modified machine,
and recognized as the first of 30 Lightnings. The bike remained racing in the
United States until the mid 1960s, and now resides virtually intact in Texas.
Free later moved to California and, after his racing career faded, worked in the
auto servicing industry. He died in 1984 and was posthumously inducted into the
Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
When Indian no longer
had a machine capable of beating Harleys,
Rollie turned to Vincents. His
focus was on beating Joe Petrali's record (on a
streamlined Knucklehead - 137mph).
The book also includes a CD recording of a long
interview with Free just a few months before he died.
Rollie 'flat out' on Daytona Beach, riding his 1937
Indian Chief at 110.15mph
1947, on a JAP slotted into a Royal Enfield Bullet rolling chassis. He rode at
136.62mph at Rosamond Dry Lake California.
(Review
by Murray Barnard - WWW.OZEBOOK.COM
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