Jack Spitler’s "Double Trouble" 1967 Twin Westbend Bonanza Drag Bike

KustomKartKid

KustomKartKid

Administrator
#1
#1
Well sometimes it’s just dumb luck. I was pouring over the OldMiniBikes photo archives one day looking for vintage photos for the Scrapbook thread when I stumbled upon this picture and caption posted by a member called “Tooljac”.



"This is a picture of what I now believe to be about the first minibike produced, Im driving and my brother is on the back. It was called a Doodle Bug and sold by Western Auto, Our Dad bought this for us when I was 12 years old which would have been in 1946".

For the two boys on the bike, Jack and Jerry Spitler, that Hiawatha Doodle Bug would prove to be the catalyst for a lifetime of tinkering with scooters, go-karts…and yes mini-bikes.

I traced the photo link back to Tooljac’s OldMiniBikes profile and saw where he had joined the forum in Dec of 2011 but had only posted twice….. first an introduction and once more where he mentioned owning a couple old Bonanzas. He listed his occupation as “Retired Toolmaker” ….his birthdate as April 18th, 1934.

He had also uploaded several photos. I checked the photos in his album and all of them were quite interesting. A couple even showed a wild looking Bonanza powered by twin side by side Westbends !!!

Perhaps because nobody replied to his intro…:no:…or maybe he just got sidetracked ….. he dropped off the OldMiniBikes radar screen after that.

Over the next several months I tried sending him PM’s and even included my home phone number but got no reply. Also tried the e-mail address he had in his profile…no dice… :shrug:

I had pretty much given up and forgotten about it when out of the blue I got a call one day…..it was Jack Spitler… “Tooljac”.
 
KustomKartKid

KustomKartKid

Administrator
#2
#2
We talked a bit about his background as a toolmaker and machinist…some common ground for us…then about his involvement in early kart racing and eventually mini-bikes. When speaking with Jack you would never guess he was 78 years old …..his mind is sharp as a tack and his memory is phenomenal.

Here’s the basic story highlighted with some additional photos he sent me:

In the late 50’s early 60’s Jack was racing go-karts. In 1961 he earned a place on the U.S. karting team and a trip to Europe.

Jack: “I was racing Go-karts back in the late fiftys /early sixtys;
I won a trip to Europe, at the Hoffco Kart Grand Prix at the Tipp Raceway in Tipp City, Ohio. We ran in Banbury, England, & Milan, Italy. Out of about 150 karters from all over the United States, Carl Phipps & myself won the free trip and 2 brand new Hoffco Racing Karts out of Richmond In. There were 6 Teams consisting of 12 drivers including Bobby Allen/Fox Kart, Faye Pierson/ Bug GoKart, and Jerry Clark/Xterminator Kart.


Team picture of the United States Kart Racing Team in Milan, Italy published in the April 1962 issue of (Racing Karts).

Check out them cool racing leathers…:pimp:


Upon his return to the states, Jack took a job at M&M Tool & Die in Dayton. It was around this same time that the mini-bike craze began to sweep the nation. Jack and his buddys saw this as a way to satisfy their need for speed and even make a few bucks on the side. In 1964, along with his brother Jerry and longtime friends and fellow toolmakers Denny Ashworth and Charlie Peacock they opened Dayton Mini Motors. All four of the young men possessed both mechanical and tool making skills….. they specialized in building “over the top” custom mini bikes with a heavy emphasis on excessive horsepower!


D.M.M. was primarily a Bonanza dealer....don't let that modest store front fool you....this place was well stocked!



Dayton Mini Motors 762 South Main Street _ Dayton, Ohio



The proud proprieters stand by an awesome line-up of Bonanza "Muscle Bikes". These guys weren't happy with just the standard models...they liked to stock the big guns and they catered to hard core mini bike racers.

(L to R: Charlie Peacock, Danny Ashworth, Jack Spitler)


Parts counter and shop area:



Check out those cool 3-D light boxes advertising the various Bonanza Model Bikes....:eek:hmy:




It was also around this time that D.M.M. started setting up a promo booth at the local "Autorama" shows.....


Here a model shows off an awesome Hodaka powered machine at the D.M.M. booth....circa 1960's :

 
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KustomKartKid

KustomKartKid

Administrator
#3
#3
In 1965 Jack purchased brand new “His & Her” Bonanza 1300’s for him and his wife.





Jack Spitler on his new 5HP Big Block 2 Speed BC1300



"These were taken about 1964/5 and I still have this Bonanza Minibike and it still runs, my son, Jason was about 6 years old" _Jack Spitler


It wasn’t long before Jack’s 1300 was back in the shop undergoing extensive mods.. Needing a bike that would really showcase the full potential of their shop’s capabilities, the Nassau Blue 1300 was fitted with twin “hopped up” Westbend 820s , one right-hand drive and one left hand drive…which were dyno-tuned and then mounted side-by-side on a custom built cradle. The engines featured high compression pistons, ATOM ignition modules, a pair of 3” Comet clutches specially built by Hoffco and a set of custom built zoomie pipes that transitioned from the re-worked rectangular exhaust ports into a pair of ear-splitting 2” shotgun pipes.

Here's the Bonanza Twin under construction....sometime around 1968



Note the Tecumseh air cleaners....kinda glad they didn't make the final cut....:rolleyes:



These photos were taken in 1969 at the Autorama car show held at the Hara Arena in Dayton Ohio where Dayton Mini Motors..."Home of the Hot Mini Bikes" had set up a booth to promote their business.



That’s Charlie Peacock behind the sweet Hodaka powered bike…you can just see the top of the handlebars of the twin West Bend bike.
Note the little sign at the bottom advertising “Motorcycle Races”……

Here’s a couple shots of the Bonanza Twin taken at the same show…note the stock footpegs and stock rear shocks are still in place…..


.






The bike evolved even more over time. Eventually the frame was strengthened in critical areas, hydraulic motorcycle shocks added to the back, heavy duty racing footpegs added and the neck tube laid back to add more rake “because it was too damn squirrely”.

The Twin Engined freak made regular appearances at the Mini Bike Races which were held weekly at the local drag strip, Kilkare-Dragway in Xeona Ohio. In a display of showmanship, Charlie Peacock would straddle the bike and start both engines simultaneously by pulling recoil with each hand. From there Jack’s brother Jerry would mount the bike and make the ¼ mile pass.

I asked Jack if he ever made a pass on the bike and he replied “yeah…once !”


.
 
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KustomKartKid

KustomKartKid

Administrator
#4
#4
More pictures from the Ohio Autorama Show....and more cool signs!!!




(And yes, I asked.....all the signage went in the dumpster when the store closed) :doah::doah:




And to prove he hasn't slowed down, here’s one of his current projects. Looks like some kind of Speedway / Rupp Sprint hybrid getting a warmed over Yamaha Twin powerplant…..:eek:hmy:



Photo courtesy of Jack Spitler
 
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KustomKartKid

KustomKartKid

Administrator
#5
#5
Eventually as the mini bike craze faded and the demands of raising a family increased, the bike was retired and Dayton Mini Motors went the way of all the other Mini Bike Shops across America.. Jack and Charlie returned to their full time jobs as tool and die makers….. Denny Ashworth stayed involved in racing and carved a legacy throughout Ohio as a championship caliber Sprint Car builder.


Finally it was time for the $99,000 question:

"So tell me Jack, what ever became of the famous “Bonanza Twin”…?

“Oh I still have it….it’s out in the garage”.......

:eek:hmy:

It had, over the years, been repowered with more docile powerplants for family use and had been repainted several times….but the complete twin Westbend 820 running gear and all the custom built brackets, headers and accessories….everything to put it back exactly as it was…..was still under his workbench.




It was easy to tell he was still emotionally attached to the bike; after all he had hung onto it for 5 decades. “I always wanted to put it back together” he said……”but my health won’t let me”.

After some more discussion, we came to an agreement…..he would sell me the bike on one condition….I had to promise to return it to its former glory……back to the way it was in 1970.
.
"Deal!!!"

*******************************

I have pause here to take a moment here to give special thanks to Derrick (Shelby28) and his dad who were kind enough to stop off in Ohio on their way to Windber from California and pick the bike up for me. It saved me an additional 10 hours of driving if I had picked it up myself….I’m not even sure how I would have done it…… Those guys are awesome!!

They did earn a few perks though….they got to hang out with Jack Spitler for a while and Jack even pulled an old Taco 44 :drool: off the wall which found its way into Shelby’s trailer…:wink:

They were also witness to a surreal “Twilight Zone” moment. That same morning Jack was in the garage digging the bike out and gathering up the parts for Shelby’s pick-up when a figure appeared in the doorway….…it was Charlie Peacock who he had not seen in many years.

“What the hell are you doing here? “…Jack asked…”.

"I don’t know" said Charlie, "I just felt like stopping by to see you….what are you doing with the old Bonanza Twin??”

So they got to meet Charlie too…and Charlie, the guy who 40 years ago used to simultaneously start the twin West Bends at the drags….. got to see the bike one last time.

Man I love when cool/weird stuff like that happens....

So here the bike sits in my garage:



Probably the best thing to come out of this whole deal is the friendship that Jack and I have developed. We talk at least once a week……either I have a question about the bike or Jack remembers something else.
So my son and I are comitted to restoring this bike to the very best of our abilities. Working from the original photos and with Jack’s guiding hand it should be both challenging and fun……

We’ll post up as we progress….
 
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kbs8ball

kbs8ball

Active Member
#7
#7
Awesome story, very cool pics and 1 bad ass power plant. im sure you and your boy will do an amazing job on this one.:thumbsup:
 
shelby28

shelby28

Member
#12
#12
KK that thing will pute my flexo to shame. I can't wait to see it all done up and back to its full glory jack couldn't have found any one better for the job. He was a great guy to talk to and even tho my pops and i were on a pretty strict schedule we still ended up hanging out with him and chatting for a few hours. If you don't mind I'll tell a little of the story from my point of few haha. So as every one knows my dad and I drove to windber just before I left I happened to do some business with Gerry (kustomkart). He was a great guy todo business with and was very helpfull so in return I offered him free delivery if he wanted to buy a bike on the west coast. He said thanks but that he Probobly wouldn't be buying any thing. One day I get a pm and it's my buddy Gerry hes wondering if on my way through Ohio I can stop off and pick up a bonanza haha I had no idea what I was picking up till a day or so before and he says o ya it's a dual westbend bonanza haha my jaw nearly hit the floor. I feel very lucky to just have played a small roll in this awesome story. I can't wait to see it in its full glory!:thumbsup:
 
buckeye

buckeye

Well-Known Member
#13
#13
I knew you had something cooking. You have been too quiet.
Wow, just Wow!!
That could not have found a better home. Niiiiiiiccccceeeee!!
 
Neck

Neck

Growing up is optional
#14
#14
Enter Rod Surling. I'm speechless! I hope that makes it to Windber next year, I'll take over starting duties, please?
 
M

MiniBike Paul

Well-Known Member
#20
#20
YOOPERRACER said:
he couldn't have found a better person to bring that back to life.
Click to expand...

That is probably true, but I sure would enjoy doing a restoration like that! Assuming you nit pick it like you did the decals it will be PERFECT!!

Further, I know from conversations with you, that a bike that has had no other owners & has history is your ultimate wet dream!

Congratulations!!:thumbsup:
 
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