09/25/2026
Early 1960s.
This is Bill racing.
A customer brought an old motorcycle magazine into the shop. Inside was this photo and a kind write-up about Bill, his racing, and the dealership. Linda snapped it with her phone. Family friend Greg Pearson cleaned it up so we could share it.
Once Bill had a steady paycheck at Ford, the first thing he went after was a motorcycle. He had to get back to racing. It was in his blood.
Ohio does not have the Utah or West Virginia hills. So he started racing TT.
Bill lined up against factory riders and won. That got Triumph’s attention in Coventry, England. They wanted to know how his bike was faster than the factory race bikes. Bill knew how to get every last bit of horsepower out of those Triumphs.
Jack Mercer, the Triumph road man — what we would call a district manager now — followed Bill’s racing all over the country. He saw a dealer in him.
On his way to meetings in Michigan, Jack left a demo with Bill and a deal: sell this bike while I am gone, and we will set you up as a dealer.
Bill sold it in a day.
He knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime shot. Bill and Jack Mercer went to Triumph USA headquarters in Baltimore. Bill signed the dealer agreement. Later that day he rode one of the new motorcycles back to Ohio and sold it the next day.
While he waited on the rest of the shipment, he needed a storefront. He rented one on Lodi Street in Elyria — the first shop, the building we posted earlier — and kept looking for a building to buy.
Bill also knew a local track was the heartbeat. Without it, the sport would fade.
He teamed up with Laurel Reynolds, a farmer in LaGrange with land. They built a TT track. Like-minded racers and fans formed a club to sponsor it: the Gay Sixties.
If you remember that track on Diagonal Road, the Gay Sixties Motorcycle Club, or Bill on a Triumph with a number plate — share it. Photos especially. We love our racers. If you’re racing we want to see your photos.
