Sometimes in life, there are things that happen that take you to another place. Trust me, you rarely will realize this as it is happening, but after the fact, reflecting on the way the events unfolded, you’ll know this was a special time. That was the case when I met Gerald Jessup, the owner of this ‘51 Triumph Tiger.
You see, Jessup had been making his plans to go to Bonneville and I had been making mine. The wheels were set in motion even though neither of us were aware of the other’s purpose yet. I guess I should start from the beginning with Gerald’s story to let you know the significance of him being on the salt, ready to race, at 71 years old. Gerald is no stranger to motorcycle racing, starting back in 1957. He competed in all but two forms of the sport, ice racing and land speed time trials. He hill climbed, flat tracked, road raced, and in 1961 he even raced in the inaugural event held on the Daytona International Speedway. Gerald lost an eye that year, and that was the end of his factory support from Harley-Davidson.
He competed in TT scrambles, motocross and rode in one Jack Pine event. To say that Jessup is an authority on motorcycle racing are tiny words to describe a giant man. Although the day I walked up to the small framed, 71 year old Texan, who proudly sported a hat that said, “Old Guys Rule,” I might have missed that perception. It was a gift I later received in the form of magnificent stories he offered me in one short afternoon, we spent talking, on the salt.
To speak to this man was to know what it meant to love life. He sat and told me not only of his personal history, but of the history of racing itself, like how racing on motorcycles in the ‘50s and ‘60s featured only one #1 plate. That meant competitors were forced to race in all types of events to achieve the title of #1.
Gerald commented that it took a particular type of rider to be proficient in every form of two-wheeled competition. He struggled when he started road racing. Apparently the use of a front brake was a novel idea. You see, in flat track the bikes had none. He wondered why everyone kept passing him in the corners. Three or four laps later he got the hang of using the brake and the race was on.
Eventually, Jessup would conquer road racing to become the Southwest Champion on a factory Aprilla Wild Cat, a bike he also helped develop. Names of racing greats like Carol Resweber, Cal Rayborne and Gary Nixon flew out of his stories, and not in reference to record books, but simply as pals he raced with all over the country. Everyone who competed back in those days knew each other, and up until the ‘70s, when the sanctioning body split the styles of racing, the community stayed very tight.
Jessup continued to race through the ‘90s holding the #1 plate for three years in a row in the flat track vintage class. He survived crashes, like the one coming out of the chicane in 1994 at Daytona where he lost a finger. In ‘99 however, all that came to an end. It was by no means Gerald’s notion. He had a stroke and it left him unable to speak and in need of rehabilitation. As he began to recover, he swore to his wife Connie, that he was done with racing. So strong was his conviction, he actually signed a legal document to that effect.
The years went by, and Gerald carried on the work at Jessup Sportcycles where he can improve engine performance on any bike the planet has to offer. He left behind an incredible career in racing and was lucky enough to completely recover from the stroke. Jessup felt that he had accomplished everything he wanted, until the day his wife came home with a copy of, “The Worlds’ Fastest Indian,” on DVD.
Once he saw the story of Burt Munro, who also had to overcome great difficulties to set his record, the wheels began to turn. It wasn’t long until Gerald was hinting around at the idea of going to Bonneville. He felt that this didn’t break his promise, since it wasn’t really racing. It was time trials. So Gerald went to work, disassembling his old Triumph in preparation for one more run. He found a broken frame, in three separate places, but that wasn’t anything a little welding wouldn’t fix. Luckily, he found an engine in relatively good shape, as were the valves and bottom end. So he immediately started building the bike back up.
Jessup handles all of his own work in house. He found out a long time ago that if you’re going to do this type of work for a living, you better have the tools. In his shop he has everything you need to build a bike from scratch. As you can imagine from all those years of racing, he is a master builder. About 30 days later he pushed the ‘51 out of the shop for its break-in miles. Just south of Tyler, Texas he hopped on route 69 and got her up to 7200 rpm at 3/4 throttle. He figured the speed to be about 105 M.P.H., but was hoping a state boy would have shot him with radar so his estimate would have been validated.
The day I met him, Gerald was sitting in a chair like he was on his back porch. Apparently he had been in the front of the line the day before, but that morning the streamliners were running so they shut the line down. I asked if that made him crazy and his reply was perfect. He said, “When you get as old as I am you don’t get excited about things like that. I’m just enjoying the day.” There he sat with his ‘51 Triumph, behind his trailer and a white van, waiting to be entered into the record books. You see, there was no standing record in the modified 500 vintage fuel class, so it was his for the taking.
After some mechanical problems, Gerald was ready for his run, heading into the wind recording 102 M.P.H. That was damn fast. All he’d have to do would be to back it up going the other way, and he’d have the record. On the way back, he missed the gate and left the course early. It would have disqualified him from the record but the officials decided to let him make a back-up pass in the, “Run What Ya Brung,” lane and if he could run within a certain percentage, they’d let the record stand. He ended up hitting 99.89 M.P.H. on that run, but near the end of the mile his a pushrod broke, and he coasted thru the gate at 77 M.P.H. That was considerably slower than he’d hoped for, but good enough to set a record, with the combined run at 86 M.P.H. Gerald Jessup’s name was entered in the big AMA World Land Speed Record book!
It was all due to one man’s determination, but it was an entire group of people who helped make it happen for him. Tucker Rocky gave him all his racing gear, Heartland Express put in $1,500, 12 other people gave $100-$500, and one of his customers even put a water pump in his truck. Of course Gerald is grateful to them all, but in his words, he didn’t do it for money or for the accolades, it was just what he wanted to do, and he’ll be back next year to better that record!
Cycle Re-sources
Jessup Sportcycle
19014 Hwy 69 South
Tyler, TX
903-894-3020
Heartland Express Tech Sheet
Owner: Gerald Jessup
City: Flint, Texas
Fabrication By: Gerald Jessup
Year: 1951
Model: T-100 Triumph
Value: Priceless
Time: 30 Days
ENGINE
Year: ‘51
Model: T- 100
Builder: Gerald Jessup
Ignition: ARD
Displacement: 500cc
Pistons: 9 1/2-1 Robbins
Heads: Modified Stock
Cam(s): Number 9 Magnums
Carb: Amal 300mm Square Body
Air Cleaner: K&N Exhaust: Stock T-100 R
Primary: Stock
TRANSMISSION
Year: ’51
Make: Triumph
Shifting: 4 Speed Foot Shift
FRAME
Make: Standard Modified
Rake: Stock
Stretch: StockRear
Suspension: Rigid Steel
FRONT END
Type: Triumph / Ceriani Tubes
Extension: StandardTrees: Stock
Builder: Gerald Jessup
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Barnes
Size: 19”
Tire: Avon
Brakes: None
Rear Wheel: Barnes
Size: 19”Tire: Avon
Brakes: Nissan
PAINT
Painter: Dickie Davenport/ Ron Hansen
Type: Urethane
Color: Red And White
Crew:Robbie Fleming – Jason Jessup – Pat HendrexBilly Hibbs Jr. – Dickie Davenport – Jason Davenport
Sponsors:Heartland Express – Tucker Rocky – Terry’s Repair – Jessup Roofing – Pack Rat Storage – C. Woods Heat & A/C – Jack Martin – Classic Honda – Jim Dowdy – Bill & Joe Milburn – British Cycle Supply – Charles & Linda Scholl – Tyler Radiator
Photography By:: Chris Callen
