Motorcycles Only

[Duoglide]

Just wondering if anybody has any info on what happened to Motorcycles Only. I think they used to be located in Gardena Calif. and owned by a great guy named Troy. The phone # is no longer. After driving by the old location and searching the internet I figured I'd try the forum. Thanks in advance for any info.

[Chris Haynes]

Motorcycles Only was owned by a wonderful man named Bob Ross. Troy was his son. Motorcycles Only started out as Eddie Ryan's H-D Dealership in San Pedro, CA. San Pedro was home to Fort MacArthur and Long Beach Naval Station was across the bridge. Many servicemen would store their bikes there when they went overseas. Many never returned. When Eddie shut down the shop Bob Ross bought it and operated as an independent motorcycle shop for years. The the area of San Pedro he was in was slated for renovation and he moved the contents of the building to a warehouse on 154Th St in Gardena, CA. It was at this time that many wonderful NOS and used parts were found stashed in places that had long been buried in the old shop. Bob ran the business in Gardena for many years until his health gave out on him. Troy came in and ran the shop into the ground and it finally closed. All the parts and tooling were sold off.

[Tom Lovejoy]

Something funny about Motorcycles only. I lived less than a half mile from them and did not know it. Untill I was in the Coast Guard, serving in far off Micronesia. There I was on a cutter out at Sea, along way from home and I get a flyer from Motorcycles only and they were located in my home town, could not believe it - funny stuff. Bob was a good guy for sure, was lucky enough to meet him and some of his old ridding buddies. About all gone now I think. Homer Knapp is still going strong though, last I saw him.

[Chris Haynes]

Homer Knapp.
Now there is a guy that volumes could be written on. Homer rides a JDH dirt bike. He loves Le-mans type starts at races where the riders all sit on their bikes with their left hand in the air prior to the start. His two Cam has a foot clutch so he has the jump on the whole pack. Then with his mighty eighty incher with a Goodyear Grasshopper on it he is throwing so much real estate behind him that no one dares getting close to him.

[Tom Lovejoy]

Homer is quite a guy, I have been lucky enough to ride with him several times. He is mild mannerd and rides like the wind. What I really get a kick out of is, I cant tell you how many times. We have pulled over to help someone on a run, he is like Mcguyver - seems like he can fix just about anything with a rock, tape or some pliers :-) Cracks me up. He is skilled with these old machines, no doubt. Always glad to see him on a run.

[Perry Ruiter]

For those of you that never experienced Motorcycles Only I dug out and scanned some pictures from my spring 1990 pilgrimage. I had freighted two knuckle frames down for repair. Yellow Freight mugged me on the freight on the way down (charged me (and I paid) one amount on consignment in Bellingham WA, then "reassessed" the amount before delivery in LA. I said if you want that much I don't want to ship them, give them back to me in Bellingham, they said sure but you need to pay freight back up then too. They have you over a barrel and know it. Pay up to release the frames. Needless to say I'll never use them for anything ever again). So anyway, a buddy and I drove down to pick them up. The blue Honda Accord out front was his. We fit two knuckle frames in the back for the trip home (two days down, 22 hours back).

Anyway, storefront, tanks, frames and a shelf of knuckleheads ... Perry

[Perry Ruiter]

And here's some shots of their frame table with a 40s Indian 4 frame on it. They had factory blueprints from Indian and Harley. I think they said the frame table dated from the 30s. They had a straightleg pan frame of mine in for repair when they dropped off the radar ... Perry

[c.o.]

Cool pics Perry! We all need a frame table like that in the shop!

[c.o.]

Homer Knapp.
Now there is a guy that volumes could be written on. Homer rides a JDH dirt bike. He loves Le-mans type starts at races where the riders all sit on their bikes with their left hand in the air prior to the start. His two Cam has a foot clutch so he has the jump on the whole pack. Then with his mighty eighty incher with a Goodyear Grasshopper on it he is throwing so much real estate behind him that no one dares getting close to him.

Got anymore tales? That's pretty interesting stuff!

[Chris Haynes]

Cool pics Perry! We all need a frame table like that in the shop!

That table is still in use. George Hood bought it and all the JD parts when MC only closed.

[RichO]

Just so you know...

When the table was at Eddie's dealership it was mounted on a lift and was stowed away below the floor. When he needed it, up it came. Eddie was an Excelsior dealer and hillclimbed a factory machine for Ignaz before he dealt Harley-Davidsons. When Eddie decided to give it up he gave the keys to Bob and told him to give him a small amount when he could as he was really close to the old man. When they went to redevelop that area of San Pedro they had to pay the costs of moving Bob's stuff. The table weighted so much it put them over budget. Because Bob was so tight with with George when he decided to give it up he did the same with George that Eddie done with him. George has Eddie's files that go back into the early 20's and are unbelievable in their content. Excelsior thru the golden years of H-D. Pat, Bob's wife still has his sweet 1940 knuckle with side car. I remember riding out to Palmdale to the CAMA meet way to many years ago with Bob astide his knuckle. I wrote an article that was in the AMCA magazine a few years ago that told this whole story in way more detail.

[partshunt]

For those of you that never experienced Motorcycles Only I dug out and scanned some pictures from my spring 1990 pilgrimage. I had freighted two knuckle frames down for repair. Yellow Freight mugged me on the freight on the way down (charged me (and I paid) one amount on consignment in Bellingham WA, then "reassessed" the amount before delivery in LA. I said if you want that much I don't want to ship them, give them back to me in Bellingham, they said sure but you need to pay freight back up then too. They have you over a barrel and know it. Pay up to release the frames. Needless to say I'll never use them for anything ever again). So anyway, a buddy and I drove down to pick them up. The blue Honda Accord out front was his. We fit two knuckle frames in the back for the trip home (two days down, 22 hours back).

Anyway, storefront, tanks, frames and a shelf of knuckleheads ... Perry

Perry:- Your story on Yellow Frieght brings me back to the past experience when a few years ago I bought a small 1/2 pint of soldering salts from McMaster=Carr. They had to ship it by freight truck as the posties nor UPS would touch it as a Hazzardouse chemical. Cost of the pint was $8.50 but the freight was $250.00. I called McMaster-Carr and they agreed it was nuts so they paid the shipping to release it. The freight co quoted me to send it back but I had to prepay the same amount to return the item, $250.00 again. You just never know sometimes what you can encounter...joe

[Knotthed]

Chris,

Do you think George has the factory drawings?

I'm looking for some Indian leaf fork drawings/dimensions to work on straightening mine out.

Any other leads would be appreciated.


Perry,

Thanks for the pics - the frame table has some cogs turning in my mind now.

[Chris Haynes]

[QUOTE=Knotthed;97630]Chris,

Do you think George has the factory drawings?

He has the factory drawings with specifications as far as I know