Members   Danny Ramsey
Barboursville, West VA.
Danny Ramsey
1953ST 165

Click on pictures to enlarge

    
Danny writes: "Brent, This is the earliest known shot of my old friend. That's me on the tank with my Dad.
I'm now 57 so that gives you an idea how long I go back with this old fella. Just this evening my sister sent me a note about remembering Dad pulling her on a sled with it.
The picture on the right is me circa 1967, the year I graduated High School."
  

"I was born in Huntington, about eight miles from Barboursville where I now live. The 165 and I have spent our lives here. Dad taught me to ride it when I was 13. We moved to a good sized housing development in I think 1963. All these concrete streets and so few houses. I was in heaven. I was the only kid riding when I started. A friend did have a mini bike though. I did ride it with a guy who's brother went to Viet Nam and left an Ariel 650c.c. It was a little one-sided running together.
I caught my Dad gone with the Army once and decided to paint it a Candy Color blue. "Hi-Fi" I think the color was called. I really messed it up and when he got back he was NOT happy!!!! He repainted it the red color it stayed from the late 60's.

"That seat was another improvement, I thought. My Grandfather made a bracket to mount the seat. The front bracket was off the old one and I have no idea where the original seat, with springs went. My Grandfather has been gone since 70 or 71 and with him went the location of the seat. The one I have now cost more than Dad paid for the bike".

"Dads friend bought the bike new. Dad rode it quite a few miles before he bought it. Dad told me a couple of months ago that his friend had a son who was sneaking it out at night so he sold it to Dad for $150. He was afraid his kid was going to get hurt on it. Dad rode it to College a good bit. He made some boxes to carry books in that mounted where the saddlebags would go. He got a late start at College due to WWII. I rode around on it 'til I was 17-18 and got a car, got married, the first time, and it sat for years under junk in his garage.
He finally gave it to me to fix up this past Spring to clean and paint. I got talking with a friend I work with about this old bike my Dad had in his garage. My friend came to work a day or so later with some stuff from the Hummer Exchange showing me I could still get parts for it. I was just planning to clean it up and repaint the sheetmetal and tank and put a new seat on it. Dad couldn't decide if he was going to let me bring it to my house to fix it up or not. He was showing me some old pictures when he came to the one I showed you. (Ed. note: the intro pic. at the top of the page). He told me I might as well take it and he should have given it to me a long time ago anyway. The next day I dug it out and got my friend to help me load it in the truck and brought it home. I didn't give him a chance to change his mind".
"I posted a question on the Hummer Exchange; don't even remember what it was and this crazy Texan sent me an answer. He said anything I needed not to hesitate, that someone needs to help keep these things going. That crazy Texan is Mutt as I'm sure you have already gathered. I have done things to this bike that I never thought I could because he told me how and that I COULD do it! I couldn't have done this without him. After hooking up with him on this machine, and the phone, I knew this project had to be done right. He even gave me his cell phone number in case I needed him when he was in Davenport (Iowa). A Class Guy."
....and then the work began Ed.

"....taken down to the frame, painted, lots of parts going to Texas (that sounds cool) for Mutt to rework, or plate and spend all kinds of money on the thing. Worth every cent!"


"So many memories come back as I mess with this old guy that you can't put a price tag on."

"In process of cleaning covers. Mutt taught me the way to do it. Mutt replaced this spigot and took the bore .010" over. The carb had a crack and he gave me a NOS one he had that had been sitting around forever. Evidentily '53 was a year that had some one-year only items."

"....been married and divorced twice and no way in H..could I have done this had they been around. The last divorce I even got the dog!!! Life is good."
"My 'buddy' is always with me when I am at home and manages to get in some pictures. That is fine as he is an important part of life for me. He is my 'divorce' dog and I didn't even want to keep him. Wouldn't take anything in the World for him. He has never lied or cheated with me, just always at the door when I get home. My girls think it is so funny as I never was an animal lover. Now I have this crazy, spoiled rotten Australian Shepherd and love him to pieces. He's my boy."



"I love talking about this old bike as it was a very good friend when I was a kid. In my fantasy world on it I've been a motorcycle cop,
racer, Hell's Angel....you name it I've played it in my mind riding it as a kid."

Here's the finished bike! Ed.

Keep reading for more family history and photo's! Ed.

These photo's were taken 2 years before Danny was born.
Dannys Dad had co-purchased this '41 H-D with a buddy named Bob Vincent for $650 from a fellow named Roy Thompson that owned a 'Pure Oil Station' there in Huntington, W.VA. Mom was one of the first 'War Brides' to come there after WWII
   Ed.

Recently taken shots   Ed.

The photo on the left is of Dannys maternal uncle taken somewhere in England. Circa unknown.
The photo on the right was also taken in England. The little girl is unknown, as is the circa, but the motorcycle was owned by Dannys Mothers uncle, Alfred Cook.
   Ed.


(ed.) This is Danny's next project. Found in a barn and also another 'one' that caught his eye, and his attention, growing up....Honda CB-160.



Last updated: June 24th, 2010