Cross Country Motorcycle Trips in 1949

Reader Contribution by George Protopapas
Published on June 6, 2012
article image
courtesy of George Protopapas

I enjoy your articles in Motorcycle Classics very much. I thought that it may be of interest to you and some of your readers to experience a cross country trip on one of those classic motorcycles.

Your articles in Motorcycle Classics take me back some 63 years ago when I made a couple of cross country motorcycle trips from Laguna Beach, California to Ann Arbor, Michigan and back on one of those classic motorcycles. Some of your readers might be interested in what it was like taking a cross country trip during that era. My motorcycle was a 1948 Indian Chief.

I was going to the University of Michigan at that time. The trip to Ann Arbor was in the middle of September and the return trip was in the middle of June. The route traveled across country was on the old 2-lane US 30, which has now been replaced by Interstate 80. It traversed the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. The weather was stormy on one of the trips. Since the times of the trips were in late spring and early fall it was quite cold in the higher elevations, especially in the mornings. In those days there were no freeways. With the exception of when you were in a large city, all roads were two lanes. Making 500 miles in a day took at least 12 hours, if everything went well. However, traveling on those two lane highways was much more enjoyable than on present day freeways. One saw a lot more of the country, towns, and cities in those days. The highways always went through the towns and cities and weren’t by-passed as sometimes modern freeways do. It wasn’t as monotonous as freeway driving. Gas stops were always a lot more convenient.

Most of the breaks were taken at gasoline and oil stops. During that era motorcycles were noted for using oil and as a result the oil stops were every 400-600 miles. These stops were either at a Harley or Indian dealer because they were the only ones that carried 50 wt. oil, which is what motorcycles used at that time. There was always much camaraderie at those stops. You’d spend a little time swapping motorcycle yarns with the dealers and their employees. There, you would sometimes meet someone traveling in the same direction and you would travel together for a ways.

Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-880-7567