Throwback Thursday: Harley Advertising

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday with vintage HD advertising. I had to do a little research into who Jimmy Chann was.

Jimmy Chann was a racer during the 50’s whose most notable accomplishments include winning the Springfield Mile 3 times in a row and earning the number 1 plate for 1948 to 1950. Earning his money as a ship builder during the war and returned to it after his racing career ended due to a freak accident in the Daytona 200 when he swerved to miss another accident in 1953.  A fellow racer had hit a spectator and Chann swerved to avoid the two, crashing to the pavement hard. He was critically injured. While Chann eventually made a full recovery, he would never race seriously again. He left the motorcycle business and took a position at the shipyards building submarines. He and his wife, Elaine, had two boys.

Chann, who worked at a Harley-Davidson dealership owned by his brother during the early 50’s, took on much of Harley’s research and development on the racetrack during that period. Being a tester for new parts had its advantages and disadvantages. At times, Chan would have a new engine part that would make his bike the fastest in the field. On the other hand, sometimes new parts still needed further development work, and as a result, reliability of his racing mounts often suffered. 

Chann will always be remembered as an intelligent rider of prodigious talent. His three consecutive victories at the Springfield Mile will go down in history as one of the great accomplishments in AMA Class C racing history.

Jimmy Chann was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.