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An old motorcycle pal of mine, Stan Ambrose, Kenosha, Wisconsin, passed away a few weeks ago. Some years back Stan had a stroke and never fully recovered. A blood clot was what finished him off. At the time of his death he still had a Sportster that he hoped to ride again. That never happened. Hopefully he's riding it now. R.I.P. old friend.
I first met Stan around 1971-'72 when he was Bud Pater's mechanic at Pater's Harley-Davidson shop on Washington Avenue in my hometown Racine. When the factory forced Pater out a couple years later because his shop was too small and he didn't want to expand like they insisted, the Racine agency went to new management and became R&B Harley-Davidson on Douglas Avenue.
Stan made that transition and became R&B's head mechanic. There he got to know my cousin, Danny Wynhoff, who after getting out of the Air Force was hired as R&B's mechanic #2. But one spring evening in 1977 Danny had too much to drink while bar cruising on his Sportster. Then he made the fatal mistake of racing a guy down a dead-end street at the edge of town. They went off the end of the road and into a farmer's field. Danny slid as I recall the story and probably would have been okay, except that there was a piece of heavy farm machinery sitting out there in the dark. He rammed up under it and was crushed to death. After that happened, Stan said that he lost his right hand because Danny was a good mechanic, which I think he trained for in the Air Force.
Later, after R&B went out under unfortunate circumstances, Stan worked as parts man at the current Harley-Davidson dealership in Racine--you know--the kind with no oil spots on the floor.
Pre-1976 when I was still in Racine I built a full stock winter 1950 FL (Panhead) sidecar rig with reverse gear, adjustable Hydra-Glide, winter windscreen and leg shields--painted mostly flat black including wheels.) I didn't have a car then and used that sidecar during the winter riding the 3-4 miles to UW-Parkside where I was going to college. That got Stan inspired to build a similar job of his own. He used a Shovelhead motor for his. I can't remember the model year, but do remember that it had reverse gear, a winter windscreen, and a stock fiberglass sidecar--the correct stock winter setup for that bike.
He rode that sidecar daily during the winter from his home in Kenosha to his job at R&B in Racine for at least a year or two. He said he got pretty cold. By that time I was gone from Racine and only saw his sidecar a couple times during visits. It was done right, meaning all stock H-D stuff. Of course, back then Harley was still building old time motorcycles and practical winter accessories. In fact, you could still get those circa 1930s vintage fleece-lined winter mittens brand new from H-D dealers. One winter around 1978-'79 my mom went to R&B and ordered me a new pair of those fleece-lined mitts for Christmas. I still got 'em. Those winter mitts were warm, but they lacked fur backing that's essential so that you can lift your arm up and press the fur against your face to avoid frozen flesh and frostbike while going down the road at speed. To remedy that, I took a lady's rabbit fur hat, cut it up, and glued the fur onto the mitts. That worked like a charm!
In the 1980s or so, Stan tried to corner the market in old Harley 45 WL parts. He did pretty good too until his divorce put an end to it. Stan scoured the countryside around Kenosha buying and trading whatever WL stuff he could find at a decent price, both complete bikes and parts. They were still relatively cheap compared to Big Twin stuff, plus there was lots of NOS Army surplus parts floating around. John Nowak once said that Harley-Davidson made 16 spares for every part on each 45 they built for the Army. Maybe he was exaggerating, but they did make a lot of WLA spares.
I don't remember how many complete 45s Stan had at one time, but he had several. I remember a real nice crusty all-stock WL sitting by his mother's house in Kenosha when I came down to visit. He also had a post-war vintage WR in running condition, but he couldn't remember its motor number for the WLDR/WR database last time I talked to him. Too bad. One time him and me bid against each other on a rolling RL chassis (complete but no motor). The guy favored me and I got it for $180. I put a 1946 WL motor into it and later built a homebrew third wheel for it and gave it reverse gear from West Side Cycle after Uke refused to sell me reverse. My brother Tom has that job now. Back then I also had a 1919 Indian twin motor that I traded to Stan for a bunch of Panhead parts. That's how I got reverse gear for my FL sidecar. The Indian motor was cool, but I NEEDED those Harley parts. I'm just glad it wasn't a Waverley (Jefferson) OHV twin or a Pennington motor that I traded off, otherwise I'd probably drop dead of regret!
Stan had some pretty good stories about finding old bikes. The best one I remember was one that he never found. He got this lead (from John Giorno maybe?) about a very old Harley-Davidson of teens vintage that somebody drove into a pond years and years ago and was still there. That was the story at least. Stan looked for that bike for a long time. He believed the story was true. He located the pond okay, but could never find the bike. Maybe it's still there yet, and he's looking for it again in the spirit-world.
Come to think of it, looking for antique motorcycles in the heavenly boondocks of the here-after wouldn't be a bad way of spending eternity. Hope you find it this time, Stan!
I first met Stan around 1971-'72 when he was Bud Pater's mechanic at Pater's Harley-Davidson shop on Washington Avenue in my hometown Racine. When the factory forced Pater out a couple years later because his shop was too small and he didn't want to expand like they insisted, the Racine agency went to new management and became R&B Harley-Davidson on Douglas Avenue.
Stan made that transition and became R&B's head mechanic. There he got to know my cousin, Danny Wynhoff, who after getting out of the Air Force was hired as R&B's mechanic #2. But one spring evening in 1977 Danny had too much to drink while bar cruising on his Sportster. Then he made the fatal mistake of racing a guy down a dead-end street at the edge of town. They went off the end of the road and into a farmer's field. Danny slid as I recall the story and probably would have been okay, except that there was a piece of heavy farm machinery sitting out there in the dark. He rammed up under it and was crushed to death. After that happened, Stan said that he lost his right hand because Danny was a good mechanic, which I think he trained for in the Air Force.
Later, after R&B went out under unfortunate circumstances, Stan worked as parts man at the current Harley-Davidson dealership in Racine--you know--the kind with no oil spots on the floor.
Pre-1976 when I was still in Racine I built a full stock winter 1950 FL (Panhead) sidecar rig with reverse gear, adjustable Hydra-Glide, winter windscreen and leg shields--painted mostly flat black including wheels.) I didn't have a car then and used that sidecar during the winter riding the 3-4 miles to UW-Parkside where I was going to college. That got Stan inspired to build a similar job of his own. He used a Shovelhead motor for his. I can't remember the model year, but do remember that it had reverse gear, a winter windscreen, and a stock fiberglass sidecar--the correct stock winter setup for that bike.
He rode that sidecar daily during the winter from his home in Kenosha to his job at R&B in Racine for at least a year or two. He said he got pretty cold. By that time I was gone from Racine and only saw his sidecar a couple times during visits. It was done right, meaning all stock H-D stuff. Of course, back then Harley was still building old time motorcycles and practical winter accessories. In fact, you could still get those circa 1930s vintage fleece-lined winter mittens brand new from H-D dealers. One winter around 1978-'79 my mom went to R&B and ordered me a new pair of those fleece-lined mitts for Christmas. I still got 'em. Those winter mitts were warm, but they lacked fur backing that's essential so that you can lift your arm up and press the fur against your face to avoid frozen flesh and frostbike while going down the road at speed. To remedy that, I took a lady's rabbit fur hat, cut it up, and glued the fur onto the mitts. That worked like a charm!
In the 1980s or so, Stan tried to corner the market in old Harley 45 WL parts. He did pretty good too until his divorce put an end to it. Stan scoured the countryside around Kenosha buying and trading whatever WL stuff he could find at a decent price, both complete bikes and parts. They were still relatively cheap compared to Big Twin stuff, plus there was lots of NOS Army surplus parts floating around. John Nowak once said that Harley-Davidson made 16 spares for every part on each 45 they built for the Army. Maybe he was exaggerating, but they did make a lot of WLA spares.
I don't remember how many complete 45s Stan had at one time, but he had several. I remember a real nice crusty all-stock WL sitting by his mother's house in Kenosha when I came down to visit. He also had a post-war vintage WR in running condition, but he couldn't remember its motor number for the WLDR/WR database last time I talked to him. Too bad. One time him and me bid against each other on a rolling RL chassis (complete but no motor). The guy favored me and I got it for $180. I put a 1946 WL motor into it and later built a homebrew third wheel for it and gave it reverse gear from West Side Cycle after Uke refused to sell me reverse. My brother Tom has that job now. Back then I also had a 1919 Indian twin motor that I traded to Stan for a bunch of Panhead parts. That's how I got reverse gear for my FL sidecar. The Indian motor was cool, but I NEEDED those Harley parts. I'm just glad it wasn't a Waverley (Jefferson) OHV twin or a Pennington motor that I traded off, otherwise I'd probably drop dead of regret!
Stan had some pretty good stories about finding old bikes. The best one I remember was one that he never found. He got this lead (from John Giorno maybe?) about a very old Harley-Davidson of teens vintage that somebody drove into a pond years and years ago and was still there. That was the story at least. Stan looked for that bike for a long time. He believed the story was true. He located the pond okay, but could never find the bike. Maybe it's still there yet, and he's looking for it again in the spirit-world.
Come to think of it, looking for antique motorcycles in the heavenly boondocks of the here-after wouldn't be a bad way of spending eternity. Hope you find it this time, Stan!