Indy 500 Carb Day!
By Paul Weber

Brad Dykes called me Wednesday night (May 24th) and said he had access to Pit Passes for Carb Day (Thursday the 25th), I decided it was too good to pass up, and the weather would allow, so we would ride our Valks up.

This would be a little trip compared to our Montrose Ride last summer. We parked in the Motorcycle parking up in front of the Speedway Museum. There were nearly a hundred bikes of all types, mostly H-D's, however, we parked in a row that had several Gold Wings (our half brothers!). We looked all over, but, to no avail, no other Valks there that day.

We left the track around 2 pm. Then it happened on our way out. As Brad and I were leaving the Speedway to head for home, and I noticed this Wild Purple/yellow/checkerboard Valk parked along the side road across from the Speedway. The purple/yellow Valk belongs to Dick Taylor of Speedway, Indiana.

I had seen this bike previously cruising on SR 37. He was heading north the day we met in Indy on April 30th for our inaugural Indiana State chapter meeting and I was going southbound! I just about ran off the road looking back over my shoulder to get a better look at his wild ride! I posted a note on the message boards to try and find out who this was, but had no response.

Then on Carb Day Brad Dykes and I spotted the bike and pulled a quick U-turn and cruised up to the wild Valk. I asked a nearby vender if he knew who the bike belonged to, and he pointed to a fellow with checkerboard suspenders! This was a jolly fellow named Dick Taylor. He was more than happy to take a few minutes to talk about the custom job he had done, and in fact, decided he would ride along with us to our next stop downtown Indy before we headed southward to home.

Dick told us many tales of his experiences and had not heard of the VRCC or the VOA, but had a card with an e-mail address. I showed him a tail light cover that he should get to "finish off" the rear of his bike, as he had already done "everything else". He was impressed with the piece and wanted details to get one of his own. This is the kind of thing that the local chapter can foster amongst our membership.

Dick showed us his unique lighting and other special details on his bike. I know we can count on him to be a member of our ranks, and if we each make an effort to recruit other Valkers, we can be a strong and committed group and be of service to each other. If you get a chance to meet or talk to other Valkers, get pictures and send them in to us. We'd like to hear about it, and we'll post them here for all to enjoy!

Keep your eyes open, and be sure to Keep the Shiny (painted) Side Up!!!

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