Hall of Fame Hill Climbs

Ken Hatton - Class of 2013

admin — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 15:09:45 +0000

Ken Hatton - Class of 2013 admin Wed, 10/25/2017 - 11:09

The “flying Canadian” who did it himself

Straight up is the only way to travel if you’re a hillclimber. Road racers and motocrossers can pick their lines; enduro riders can dodge a puddle and trials riders make a careful study of each section in advance. Not so in a hillclimb, which starts at the bottom, ends at the top and is timed to the hundredth of a second. Like drag racing, it’s simple, elegant and deceptively difficult to do really well.

Kenny Hatton knew the fast way to the top, proving time and again that he could build, tune and ride a hillclimb motorcycle better than his peers. Kenny did it all, aided by his mechanical skills to build a winning machine and a deeply competitive personality that drove him to success in major races from Heidelberg, Ont., to Muskegon, Mich. Known as “the flying Canadian,” he was an international ambassador for motorcycling who first launched his career across the border as early as 1950.

Kenny inherited his love of motorcycling from his dad Joseph Hatton, who had served as a military dispatch rider during the First World War. During that conflict motorcycles first showed their capabilities in the most difficult circumstances. Kenny was born in Weston, Ont., in 1925 and bought his first motorcycle the day he turned 16. It was the middle of the Second World War but despite fuel rationing and other shortages Kenny rapidly developed his skills on two wheels. He showed an adventurous spirit that brought an offer of sponsorship from an older member of a motorcycle club to which they both belonged. In 1947 they entered a hillclimb in Hamilton, Ont., and although initially daunted by the slope of the hill, Kenny quickly mastered the task and became hooked on hillclimbing from that day on.

A hillclimb machine is not something you can buy or build from a catalogue. You make it from scratch, tune it, maintain it and race it yourself, and repair it when it breaks. Being a professional welder helps, and Kenny built a succession of Indian and BSA motorcycles into winning machines. He and his friends held informal races Friday evenings under floodlights at Fundale Park in Woodbridge., Ont.

He became the first Canadian to enter American Motorcycle Association professional hillclimb competition in 1950 and urged his American friends to venture north and compete in the Canadian championship races at Mt. Kuhn in Heidelberg, near Kitchener. In 1954 he won five different classes at Mt. Kuhn and set fastest time of the day to win the Mel Weber Trophy. Over the years he won it four times along with the William Schoeneich Trophy for the expert X class win, both of which are now in the possession of the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Brantford, Ont. Kenny’s trophy collection eventually reached 40 pieces. He is featured in the first televised coverage of a hillclimb, broadcast by NBC Sports in August 1964 and is shown setting second fastest time of the day at the famous Mt. Garfield in Muskegon.

Kenny’s first hillclimber was a ’39 Indian and later when he built his first BSA hillclimber the Indian was raced by his younger brother David. Kenny, David and CMHF honourable member John Williams teamed up to drive to the races in Kenny’s ’57 Cadillac with three bikes strapped to the trailer behind. “Kenny was my mentor,” says John. “He took me under his wing. If it wasn’t for Kenny I couldn’t have gone anywhere. He was a super guy, always up to help somebody.”

Former AMA pro racer Ted Wilkins recalls useful words of advice from a visit with Kenny in later years: “ Kenny said to not listen to the ‘experts’ and just do it myself. It would just take determination and patience.” Those words were the hallmark of Kenny’s life.

He retired the nitro-burning BSA from active competition in 1973 and started a new life in rural Coe Hill, Ont. Thirteen years later at age 61 he dusted off the bike and rebuilt it for a final run as a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, which had been so helpful to him after he was diagnosed with the disease. He rode it in the Canadian championship at Wilberforce, Ont., at the end of September, 1986; while he did not win he succeeded in giving back to the Cancer Society, just as he had helped so many others during his life. He died April 16, 1988 at the age of 62.

Richard, Reg & Bob Shanks - Class of 2018

Vada — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 20:17:07 +0000

Richard, Reg & Bob Shanks - Class of 2018 Vada Fri, 01/25/2019 - 15:17

The Shanks family was instrumental in laying a solid foundation for motorcycling in Victoria, BC

The Shanks family was instrumental in laying a solid foundation for motorcycling in Victoria, British Columbia and left an unforgettable legacy, a love of the sport and the ability to make things happen and inspire others to achieve their goals.

Brooklands speedway opened in 1907 and Shanks Motor Garage was nearby. Richard “Pop” Shanks got to know all the early car manufacturers and drivers. Reluctantly, for health reasons, Pop gave up his garage and racing club memberships and immigrated to Canada in 1912 with his family including two sons, Reg and Bob, and daughter, Mollie. A year later, he opened up Brooklands Sales and Service, handling Harley-Davidson and BSA motorcycles and later on Greeves and Honda. Pop soon became active in the motorcycling community and the Victoria MC Club and the shop became the gathering place for motorcyclists and the centre of the Club’s social life.

In 1921, Brooklands became a franchised Harley dealership. Pop established Bob in his own business, a block away, selling Indian motorcycles. Later Bob added Velocette, AJS and Panther. Indian produced their last motorcycle in 1953 and in 1955 Bob opened up Shanks Saddlery, evidence of his love for horses and his equestrian skills.

During high school and college days, Reg learned to ride at 12 years of age and his first motorcycle was a 1913 Douglas two-speed and a 1000cc Indian racer. The first motorcycle he ever owned was a 1913 Indian 61 which impressed him so much he recalled every detail including the engine number. Reg graduated from high school in 1924 and was the first Economic Major to graduate from college at Craigdarroch Castle two years later. The Brooklands shop moved to 800 Block Fort Street and Reg began working full time at the shop. Motorcycles became his business and his pleasure.

The Victoria Motorcycle Club had become dormant during WW1 but with the help of the Shanks was soon revitalized. Many competitive events were started – hillclimbs, dirt track races, trials, enduros, cross country and precision riding. They were often called upon to lead major parades and perform at rodeos. Bob introduced stunt riding and convinced the Kinsmen Club to sponsor and support the group.

The family provided the additional funding for the club to purchase a 160 acre property for riding near Victoria which was called Cycle Park.

Reg was the most successful competitor although even Pop was involved taking firsts in Reliability Trials in 1932 and 1933. Bob’s favourite was hillclimbing garnering 5 top finishes between 1931 and 1947, as well as winning Trials and Enduros. There was always a serious but friendly rivalry between the brothers.

Reg won his Expert status in Reliability Trials in 1933 and in Observed Trials in 1937. In 1948, he won Expert status in the Hillclimbs on a 1942 Army Harley 45. During the fifties, he was still very present in competition using lightweight motorcycles such as a Francis-Barnett in Observed Trials and an Ariel 500HS in scrambles. His first motorcycle love, the Harley was still being used in sidecar scrambles, trials and cross country events.

Reg recalls while competing in a sidecar cross country trial in the late 1950’s, the frame of his 1300cc Stroker broke, forcing he and passenger Tom Richardson to return to Victoria. As they motored down the highway, an explosion brought them to an immediate halt. Upon inspecting the engine, they found the rear cylinder completely missing! The head was still suspended from a frame strut. So forceful was the explosion that it destroyed the windshield of a car going in the opposite direction yet inflicting no injury to the two on the Harley or the passengers in the car.

In the sixties, Reg could be found racing his 250 Greeves Challenger out on the Metchosm track at the age of59! The last event he won was the 1965 All Day Enduro riding a Harley Sportster. His favourite bike was his beloved 1948 HD 45 which he named “Blue Boy.”

Reg was also awarded the Matson Award for “contributing the most to motorcycling” in 1965, 1967 and 1986. In 1995, he was presented with the Spirit of the Eagle Award. Privately funded and administered by Canadian Biker it is presented annually to the – deserving individuals in Canada who have given generously of their time and effort to the betterment of the sport. You would wonder where he found the time but Reg was also editor for a number of years of the VMC newsletter and wrote a column for 15 years for Canadian biker.

Pop passed away in 1963, Bob in 1991 and Reg in 1998. The Shanks had a deep love for the sport and had the ability to make things happen. Bob and Reg were married but had no children – the club became their family. They provided support and encouragement as well as guidance and maintained the highest moral standards for themselves and the club. They were loved by many and will not be forgotten.

Ted Wilkins - Class of 2017

admin — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 16:40:12 +0000

Ted Wilkins - Class of 2017 admin Fri, 01/19/2018 - 11:40

The drive of curiosity and just doing what he loves

Ted Wilkins was an active and very successful competitor in the AMA Pro Hill Climbing Circuit from 1984 – 2000. He started out on a modified Triumph and in 1990 built a custom made, multi time winning, Rotax snowmobile engined, nitro burning, powered beast of a motorcycle hillclimber that is now legendary in the world of Pro Hill Climbing.

Ted is an amazing self-taught designer, engineer, fabricator and top competitor. He has also designed and built many street bikes with his Rotax powered concept.

When all goes right on his motorcycle during a good hillclimb run, Ted Wilkins says everything just slows down and he can see it all. “You don’t have time to think, it has to be instinct,” says the Kinmount resident.

From the thrill of hanging onto more than 150 horsepower for dear life, to the grit it takes to run each hill 10 seconds at a time, knowing full well his body would feel it for the next week, Wilkins wouldn’t change a thing about his racing career.

For him, rather than being about recognition and accolades, Wilkins' success has instead come from the drive of curiosity and just doing what he loves. “I probably started my passion for anything mechanical when I was a toddler,” Wilkins says with a smile. “We were like, ‘yeah, that’s awesome!’ And we never looked back.”

Wilkins honed his skills working at motorcycle shops in the Ajax area as well as riding motocross, usually on dirt bikes. Even though he raced motocross in the 70s, it wasn’t until Wilkins started having success on his bike in hillclimb events, particularly at Bill’s Hills in Wilberforce, that he decided to apply for his licence to join the Pro Circuit and got it based on his success closer to home.

His first pro race on his alcohol-running nitro methane Triumph motorcycle was a real eye-opener. “The first few years hillclimbing down there was a real steep learning curve,” he says, adding that he kept blowing out his engine. To solve that problem, Wilkins started using a snowmobile engine instead because it was not only light, but reliable. “No one thought it would work,” he says of his Rotax 521 Ski Doo engine bike. But work it did, earning him third in his first race.

“I think I got a few hundred bucks, a case of beer and a trophy, so we were pumped,” he adds with a laugh. Being the only one using that kind of engine in his 540 class, Wilkins started to prove himself a worthy competitor, working his way up to the top spot in his division, earning the number 1 plate in 1999.

After spending three years working at IBM in Toronto, Wilkins moved to Kinmount in the early 1980s, working at Lindsay Cycle and eventually the Peterborough campus of Fleming College, where he taught Computer and Technology for 20 years.

“I would be marking papers on my way to races,” he recalls, adding that some weeks he would only get home with enough time to grab a shower and head in to work Monday morning.

Wilkins would take part in between 12 and 16 races a year during the 90s. “I don’t know how we did it; we must have had a lot more energy at that time.”

Getting to travel across Canada and the U.S. with the American Motorcyclist Association circuit and getting to share his passion for hill climbing with his wife Bonnie, and kids Kayla and Aaron, especially during the summer months, made the hectic pace worthwhile.

The camaraderie among riders also stays with Wilkins as a high point of his racing days. This sense of community was never clearer to Wilkins than when the AMA decided to change its rules on alternative motors, which would effectively kick Wilkins off the circuit. “The riders stuck up for me so the AMA decided to grandfather me,” he says. “I’m probably the only guy to have my name in the AMA rule book,” he adds with a proud smile.

Ted achieved the status of #1 AMA National Hillclimb Champion in 1999 and competed with his #1 plate in 2000. When Ted retired later that year, he was at the peak level of his career in competition. Due to his work and family responsibilities and also the high level of physical stress in competitive hillclimbing, Ted decided he had enough and officially retired from Professional Hillclimbing in 2000.

Now, having retired after 11 years on the pro circuit, and from his teaching job, Wilkins has turned his Triumph back into a street bike and has taken on a few other builds over the years.

“I am trying not to take on any more projects,” he laughs.

Wade Williams - Class of 2019

Vada — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 00:14:27 +0000

Wade Williams - Class of 2019 Vada Sat, 01/25/2020 - 19:14

At Elkhart, Wade was the first person to successfully jump the first breaker

Wade Williams started riding in 1970 on a rigid frame 50cc Honda and competed locally in a few events receiving a Total Point Winner Trophy for the season. He had a lot of opportunity to study hill climbing growing up as his father, John, spent 35 years of his life dedicated to the sport.

Wade started his Professional Hillclimb career in 1983 at Elkhart, Indiana in the 750cc class. His hillclimber was based on a CB750F series engine from the 70’s, outfitted by Nick Kemp of Keswick, (2017 Hall of Fame inductee) to run on 100% Nitro. Nick’s mechanical genius provided Wade all the horsepower that was needed to be competitive in the top class at the time.

At Elkhart, Wade was the first person to successfully jump the first breaker which earned him a second place finish at his first climb. This set a precedent on how the hill was to be ridden and in order to have a shot at winning, you had to jump the breaker. He completed the season with a 2nd place at Devils Staircase, Oregonia, Ohio. Wade earned 5th place overall with 76 points his first season.

Wade combined for 22 top finishes (11 first and 11 second place) over his 10 year career and finished in the top 10 in each year and top 5 in six of those years; runner up in 1984 and 1991, 3rd overall in 1990 and 1992.

He also won - 1986 American National Champion at Muskegon Michigan, 1991 American National Champion at York Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Champion 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991 and Michigan State Champion 1986.

Wade set the hill record at Caroga Lake, N.Y. climbing the 800 foot hill in 11 seconds flat. That time included rolling off three quarters of the way to negotiate a 30 foot rock ledge covered with moss and water, before being able to turn the throttle on again.

Other highlights included finishing second in the Canadian National which was held in Wilberforce in 1984; an event put on by his father. After passing through the timing light towards the top of the hill, Wade flew off the side of the hill in spectacular fashion and out of sight of the crowd. That ride had put him in first place. As he hit the ground, he remembers looking over his shoulder to see the spinning rear wheel full of chains coming in his direction. Fortunately, it landed just inches beside him. He heard the roar of the crowd and then everything went silent. The next thing Wade remembers Nick Kemp was by his side. He indicated that Wade should go to the top of the hill to let everyone know he was OK, as the crowd did not know if he was dead or alive. After removing his helmet and reaching the crest of the hill, he was overwhelmed by the roar of the crowd acknowledging what they had just witnessed and their support of a fellow Canadian. To this day, Wade was sure that if there was a race up the hill with no motorcycle that day, Nick would have been the winner.

One of Wade’s favorite events on the circuit was Freemansburg, Pennsylvania. Its a 600 foot hill which typically had a minimum of three breakers in it. It favored the Honda engines, much like a jockey racing a thoroughbred horse; when you give the horse the reins, you just needed to hold on for the ride. Freemansburg ran twice a year. In 1984 Greg, racing in the 500cc class and Wade racing the 750cc, won their respective classes in June and September. Wade won this event 5 times over his career.

At Logan, Ohio on July 12th, 1992, towards the end of Wade’s career, all three Williams’s were competing in the 800cc class. The Williams Team was holding the top three positions. First (Greg), second (Wade) and third (John) until Tom Reiser nudged out John to take over third place on his last ride. This was the closest the Williams Team came to capturing, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place at a single event, in one class.

Wade reflected that It was a privilege to be part of the Williams Hillclimbing Team and to race with his father John for 10 of his 35 year career and brother Greg.

Although Wade raced sporadically between 1993 and 1997, he left racing to spend more time with his young family and took pride as a coaching assistant with his son’s house league baseball teams.

Greg Williams - Class of 2023

Vada — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:52:34 +0000

Greg Williams - Class of 2023 Vada Fri, 01/26/2024 - 17:52

Four times World Champion

Greg Williams started riding motorcycles at the age of 5. With dirt bike trails, farm fields and the Rouge Valley as his playground he started to chart a course unknown to him at the time that would lead to a racing career in hillclimbing.

Greg started his professional career in 1982 and it did not get off to a great start. The plan was for John (Greg ’s father) to move into the bigger 750 cc class on a newly built 750cc 6 cylinder Benelli and Greg would start his rookie season riding the 500cc Honda his father previously campaigned. As fate would have it, while testing the Benelli a couple of weeks before the first event, it blew up. With no chance of getting the bike back together before the beginning of the season, Greg chose to step back so that John could race one more year in the 500cc class.

During that year, Greg was able to watch his father race and recognized that the competition had surpassed the once dominant 4 cylinder Honda which got Greg thinking about an article he read in a Hot Rod magazine about something called Nitrous Oxide. With the help of Nick Kemp, the Williams’ builder and tuner, they went about incorporating nitrous oxide on top of the already potent nitro methane fuel for the 1983 season. Greg did get to ride a few races on his brother Wade’s 750 Honda in 1982 but many teething problems made for not much success. “I remember the first time I raced, it was in New York. Wade’s bike was pretty fast and unfortunately on my first ride the jackshaft chain broke at the bottom of the hill. My second ride I was able to make it over the hill and thought wow! that was fast. I didn’t even make the top ten and finished well down the list and wondered how fast I had to go to get a podium spot or even get in the money?”

The false start of Greg ’s rookie season behind him and back in the saddle of the 500cc 4 cylinder, fuel injected, nitro methane powered, nitrous oxide injected Honda, producing an estimated 250 horsepower, Greg was able to win three races in 1983 and finished third overall for the year.

1984 brought even more wins and a second place overall finish for the year. It was at this point that Greg realized that winning the majority of races wasn’t enough and that consistency was going to be the key to winning a championship. That was exactly what he did for 1985, winning his first World Championship. 1986 and 1987 would complete a three-peat and another championship in 1989 would make four titles in all.

In fact, Greg was so successful between 1983 and 1988 that the use of Nitrous Oxide was banned for the 1989 season. “They couldn’t compete with us. We were beating the 750 class times at some hills, so they had to do something about it.” That didn’t phase Nick as he got to work adding more compression to the motor and some fine tuning to help Greg win his final 500cc championship. Greg credits his success to having a great bike to ride and an even better team to back him up.

Greg continued to race into the early 2000’s but realized it was time to quit when he became more concerned about getting injured than winning races. He now makes his home in Mississauga Ontario where he resides with his wife, Jessica and his three adult children.