I rode these bikes all my life -starting at the age of 15 (when I had to lie about my age to get the job - besides having to overcome the stigma of being a female - which was way worse at the time!) Back then, all the old drome guys ('cept Sonny) wouldn't tell you anything - 'cause of the "competition" between shows. They took their secrets about how to set up the Indians for the Wall to the grave with them, selling their buildings to folks who had no knowledge or idea,...resulting in a lot of people getting hurt badly and the sport/business of Wall riding to all but become extinct!  I saw it happen.

    When I was a kid there were many more dromes. Sonny would take us down the street to another carnival (which was the only place dromes were then), just so that we could see the way other shows operated, and watch other trickriders on Indians in action. That was how one learned. He was always proud of our business, and constantly told us that the worst thing that could ever happen (for him) was for there to be no more Dromes!  He taught us to never talk badly about other shows or riders- if asked, you said that' "they did things differently than we did."  If there was a competition for Sonny - it was encased in a brotherhood of wallriders. At least that's how it was for him, and is also for me.  Then the day came when we were the only Wall operating in the States for a long while.  I was the only female rider my whole life until recently. People forgot what a Wall show was. Most of my life was spent trying to reeducate the public, to prove we were a family show, and not to fear bringing children, despite the negative legacy the oldtimers had left us with.

   When it came my turn to learn to trickride, Sonny had retired, his Indian 101 Scout had been wrecked by a drunk rider (as most of the riders were back then), and I chose to learn on the small Indians we had - which no one else rode that way.  Sonny said he could not teach me, for he could not trickride those machines - and there was no one left who could. He was always there for me though, to give a much valued opinion when needed and to keep me as safe as possible! When the day came that I got to ride a 101 Scout - the future opened up for me! The bike is the best balanced motocycle ever made( I trickrode many others, and know from experience). It is state of the art for acrobatics on the Wall! 

   I have been very lucky in my life, for though I have no secret knowledge to set up the Scouts for the Wall(I just ride 'em as they are)- I learned in my own way to compensate for a bike that is not quite right. This includes hanging half off of the seat to get a bike that's pulling to track straight... no secret, just a shift in ballast! Of course, I am not beyond putting a johnson bar to the front leaf spring and tweaking it a little...! I have seen bikes dropped to straighten them out, sledgehammers taken to the axle, as well as many other things I would rather not ever use! I have shared my knowledge - sometimes to my regret - as there are some people who will never acknowledge or give credit to anyone other than themselves - and talk badly about the rest of us in the business. That doesn't even matter, though.  I will continue to stay and do as I was taught by Sonny Pelaquin - who was raised in Lion Dromes with his family -who were some of the pioneers of the sport. The family was riding Indians on the Wall in the '20s!  

   I rode carnivals most of my life, and believe me, they are a far cry from the bike meets of today where drome riders are treated like gold, and have the best of everything!  (I believe we were called "carny biker trash" back then).  But I also got to ride for thousands of children, who are now the adults who come up and tell me their grandparents took them up to see the show when they were kids - and even though they don't really remember what they saw - they remember it was great... and they are bringing their children up now - unafraid!  Now we have a future!

    It was all worth it... sleeping in the drome(motel drome) when it was up (the place of choice was next to Sonny's '27 Scout - the only place that the canvas didn't leak!), or on the ground under the wagon when it was loaded. Making $5 a day and all the "desperation" you could eat (noodles and cream of whatever soup mixed together), until fair season started and we could make a paycheck. I remember lying in the drome after the show closed at night, next to that marvelous machine, looking up at the walls, dreaming about becoming a trickrider on the Indian someday! Sonny stayed out on the road 12 months a year (which was great for me, since i was an orphan who ran away from a bad foster home and had no other place to go). That's how I moved up in the ranks despite being female - everyone else had families to go to on the holidays and such -but I never left!   

   I do not ride the Wall to get rich in $$. I ride because it enriches my life - the history, the Indian 101 Scout, the awesome people who were and the things they did, the new enthusiasts we meet now, and the faces of the children who come back years later as adults to thank us for enriching their lives with something that they will always remember and pass on to the next generation...! The fact that I have managed to make a lifetime career out of such a passion constantly amazes me, and I am ever grateful to the forces that be. The fact that now one can go down the street and see another Wall show again is a wondrous thing!  It means so much to Sonny!  Sometimes  dreams do come true... 

   It is easy to be a part of a thing when it successful, with much positive attention. We were a part of the drome when you had to love it to stay - for there was little acceptance, and as I said, a negative legacy - not in the abilities of the oldtimers - for they did wondrous things on the Wall that will never be seen again... but for their behavior in regard to others who wanted to be in the profession. Life was not easy - but it was full of tradition and the passion for a machine and a sport that remains to this day. It never diminished for Sonny or for me. Each time I get on the 101 Scout is just as marvelous as the first!   ...Sonny told me it would be so... 

    We are lucky now in that there are some new young talented up and coming riders without jealousy or the "big head" - which is what almost destroyed the sport before. Doni & Sandra at "the California Hellriders" Wall are two of them. I consider it a privilege to have been trickrider there when they were starting out. They are the future of Wall riding, and I wish them All the Best!  There is also Jay Bentley's new "American Motor Drome Co." Wall - the first new Wall to be built in 40 or so years! This brings the # of active American Walls to 3 now, I believe.  It is a start...

 About my Indians:  I have two I am working on(street & wall bike-both '29 motors) - both are rolling chassis now - (i even got to make some of the bushings for the front ends myself -i am learning how to work machines in a machine shop). The bikes will not be show quality - as are most of your alls...but they will be functioning, working-for-a-living Indian 101s!   I am taking the motor out of the Wall bike for the other - it has a sport scout top end, different cams (chief, i think), and a very small rear sprocket (like it was used for hill climbing or something...). Actually, they are both bikes i got from Bruce Kiper (Ancient Age Motorcycles in Land 'O Lakes, Fl.)-and originally belonged to a drome and globe guy named Speedy Babbs.(Passed in 1975).  It may have been a globe bike - as they need quick speed response and power at a slower speed.  Anyway -I am going to put that motor in the street bike for more power.  The motor in the street bike(which came from So. America) has homemade pistons and various other interesting rigs.  I have some friends with old flatheads( Indians and others) who are figuring this all out and teaching me as we go... they say with a little work, that motor is ok also.  On the wall I do not need so much power (my '37 pulls me just fine) -so the '45 will be perfect for that wall bike.  My '37 is in Cal. with jay still - I can't work on that, so this is keeping me busy.

   The hot rod moto would interest you - it has a homemade upgraded oiling system (to change from the total loss system)-similar to later model Indians - only it has been entirely hand drilled and rigged - those old drome guys were way cool!  My informants tell me it's an ingenious design and will work just fine! 

  We also have been working on the gas tanks.  I have photo documentation of 3 of my friends who spent a day splitting one of my tanks, cleaning, and resoldering the baffles, and putting it all back together (with George Yarocki's "how to" guide spread before them!  They diverged from the guide from time to time, but the tank came out beautiful and non leaking!  I also got huge Thank you's from my friends for the learning experience!

   I am very excited at the prospect of being on the road - my friends rode from Fla to Springfield for the 100th anniversary, and then continued to Sturgis for Bike Week there( where i met them) - before they rode back to Fla. They were riding a '37 Chief, a '46 Chief, and a '57 panhead for the trip.I am looking forward to riding with them on some of their many trips. 

Here she is as she appears today!  Duffy redid her in 1998.  He sure did make her pretty!  I prefer a white frame, as it's easier to see if there are any cracks! Paint cracks when the metal cracks... (We pull up to 3 &1/2 Gs in the Drome - under which these machines were never designed to operate...leading to cracked frames, front ends, etc...from time to time!). 

Live to Ride - a 101 Scout!       -sam