Motorcyclist Archives 1963: 75cc Parilla, Death Valley Run, 250cc Sidecars, Harley-Davidson, Hondas and more!

Destination: South America
...A 23,000 Mile Belated Honeymoon

Talk about winning the motorcyclist lottery. Dick Ewing found the perfect mate in his new bride Patricia. Pat who considers herself “an outdoorsman” is an avid camper and motorcyclist. Back in the winter of ‘62 Dick and Pat were making plans for a motorcycle trip to Punta Arenas, Brazil from their Seattle home that Spring.

Dick, 28, a professional photographer whose work has appeared in Life Magazine and a former U.S. Marine Corps frogman, professional skin diver and even a private dick [detective] is ready for the adventure of a lifetime. The plan is to ride their matching 75cc Parillas over the Andes that reach as high as 16,000 feet to the Southernmost point in South America. Once they arrive, a boat will take them to Miami where they will pick up the journey to New York.

If all goes as planned, the trip will take five to eight months and they will camp 90% of the time and supplement their food supply with game that Dick will procure with his bow and arrow. Also planned is a book of photography and an accompanying lecture series.

There was a great quote at the end of this article: “After that, “Who knows”, says Ewing. I have always had a yen to sail a sloop around the world.”

The Lure of the Desert
8th Annual Death Valley Run Attracts Over 2000

Apparently, the idea of a motorcycle rally is not a new one and the riders of 1963 were a hearty bunch. Rather than riding along the California coast or the hills of north Georgia this bunch was gathering in the scorched earth of Death Valley. The event which was in its eighth year took place in October. In 1962 they had 1,414 registered and an estimated 1,000 “along for fun”.

Naturally like most rallies there were features and events included with the registration fee of $2 that included:

Some very cool machines showed up that we would love to see today including a 1915 Harley-Davidson, two fully restored "early Indian Fours", and a 1917 Harley-Davidson twin with tandem seats. All of these mentioned were ridden at least fifty miles to the event.

Fast forward to 2016… There are a bunch of runs, rallies and rides that roll through Death Valley today. These hearty folks were some of the first motorcyclist to roll through”cool” places like Furnace Valley, Jubilee Pass, and the Funeral Mountains on motorcycles for sport. The takeaway - motorcyclist love to ride, hang out with other riders then as they do now.