How fast do you dare go on Two Wheels? This is the story of Lee Humiston, the first man to hit 100 MPH on a motorcycle back in 1912, riding an Excelsior motorcycle on a Board Track Motordrome in Los Angeles.
To be the fastest is a drive held by only a few, but for those who have it, the pursuit of speed can be life-changing, all-consuming, and, at its worst, even fatal. Still, the pursuit is a never-ending quest to push slightly beyond the limits, be them of others or ones self. Still, for the scant few who were bold enough, fearless enough to push the farthest before anyone else, their names are the ones forever etched into history as the pioneers of speed, the first to make the mark. This is the story of one such legend, Lee Humiston who will forever be remembered as the first man to take a motorcycle to triple digit speed by hitting 100 miles per hour back in 1912.
Since hitting 100, it has been a carrot dangling in front of almost everyone to throw a leg over a bike, made all the safer with the improved equipment, recreational tracks, and outrageously capable machines.
Every milestone, however, has a first, a pioneer who cast all doubts aside and reached for the unknown, and for the venerated century mark, that trailblazer will forever be Lee Humiston.
HTTP://ARCHIVEMOTO.COM
This video is a companion to the articles detailing the history of American motorcycle culture, published exclusively at ArchiveMoto.com.
PATREON
Support this history, consider becoming a Patron at the new Archive Moto Patreon page at / thearchivemoto .
Written, Narrated, Edited, and Produced by Chris Price, Archive Moto.
Music:
Respawn - Vieveri
Idiosyncracies - Gavin Luke