Ol'89r
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Jan 27, 2000
- 6,961
- 45
I first met Danny Macias in 1964 when we both worked at Bellflower Triumph together. He was the Triumph tech and I was the gunk brush. (Lot boy, trainee mechanic). Bellflower Triumph was the place that the the Triumph Distributor sent all of the problem warranty work because of Danny. He was the only one that could figure out how to fix them.
Dan also tuned for a couple of top racers at the time. One was Skip Van Leeuwen who went on to win many National TT titles and the other was Dick Hammer, a top AMA pro flattracker and roadracer and National winner.
During the war, Danny served with honor in the Battle of the Bulge and Omaha Beach where he was dropped behind enemy lines to infiltrate the enemy because he new how to speak German.
After the war Danny opened up Danny's Motorcycle Shop in Santa Ana California as a BSA and Triumph Dealer. He raced flattrack, TT scrambles, Class A speedway, desert and road racing and competed in trials, hill climbing and enduro's in So Cal. District 37 events between 1947 and 1962. He also raced the Daytona Beach course in 1949 and was the first person to take a motorcycle through the speed traps at the Santa Ana drag strip in 1950.
In 1960 Danny set two Bonneville speed records on his self built Triumph in the 250 class. He built the engine for Johnny Allen's Bonneville streamliner which I believe was the first motorcycle to top the 200 MPH mark. Danny earned his teaching credential and founded the Motorcycle Technology course at Los Angeles Trade Tech and taught there for four years.
He was hired by the Triumph/BSA distributor in 1970 to run the National Race Team. He had special frames built for the factory racers and won the Daytona 200 that year with Dick Mann. Other members of the team were, Gene Romero, Gary Nixon, Gary Scott, Mike Kidd, Dave Aldana (Dan's nephew), Jim Rice, Tom Rockwood, Don Emde and Don Castro. He also sponsored or tuned for riders such as Dan Hawley, Roger White, Buddy Parriot, Al Gunner, Jimmy Odem and George Everett. Many of whom were inducted in the AMA Hall of Fame and former number one plate holders.
Danny opened a machine shop in Orange California after leaving Triumph/BSA in 1974. There he built special racing parts for race teams such as American Honda and local racers. In 1996 he moved his home and shop to Fontana California and continued making speciality racing parts until the time of his death at the age of 83. At the time of his death he was working on his Triumph 250 Bonneville record holder and was planning on taking it back to Bonneville to break his own record.
I didn't realize at the time how luck I was to start my career in the motorcycle industry under the tutorage of such a special man. Danny took me under his wing and taught me how to build racing engines. How to port heads, balance cranks, time cams and all of the little things that make a racing engine special. My father didn't particularly care for motorcycles and thought anyone that would want to race one was completely out of their minds. Danny filled that void for me and was an excellent mentor and close personal friend. He also hired me to work on the Triumph/BSA racing team with him in the early 70's building racing engines and bikes for Gary Nixon and Tom Rockwood and also doing R&D for the race team bikes. We walked away with National number one that year thanks to Danny and Gene Romero.
I kept in close contact with Danny over the years and when I had a question or a problem with a project, I would call on him for an answer. He always had the right answer. I saw Danny about a month before his death and he took me around his property showing me all of his new projects and some of his new equipment. You could eat off of any of his shop equipment it was so clean and well kept. Dannys family has asked me to complete his Triumph 250 and take it to Bonneville to break his original record. After that, the 250 will be donated by the family to the Trailblazers motorcycle club museum. Danny was a charter member of the Trailblazers and in 1999 he was inducted into the Trailblazers Hall of Fame.
I can't thank you enough for all you did for me ol' friend and I miss you every day.
Terry Morairty
Dan also tuned for a couple of top racers at the time. One was Skip Van Leeuwen who went on to win many National TT titles and the other was Dick Hammer, a top AMA pro flattracker and roadracer and National winner.
During the war, Danny served with honor in the Battle of the Bulge and Omaha Beach where he was dropped behind enemy lines to infiltrate the enemy because he new how to speak German.
After the war Danny opened up Danny's Motorcycle Shop in Santa Ana California as a BSA and Triumph Dealer. He raced flattrack, TT scrambles, Class A speedway, desert and road racing and competed in trials, hill climbing and enduro's in So Cal. District 37 events between 1947 and 1962. He also raced the Daytona Beach course in 1949 and was the first person to take a motorcycle through the speed traps at the Santa Ana drag strip in 1950.
In 1960 Danny set two Bonneville speed records on his self built Triumph in the 250 class. He built the engine for Johnny Allen's Bonneville streamliner which I believe was the first motorcycle to top the 200 MPH mark. Danny earned his teaching credential and founded the Motorcycle Technology course at Los Angeles Trade Tech and taught there for four years.
He was hired by the Triumph/BSA distributor in 1970 to run the National Race Team. He had special frames built for the factory racers and won the Daytona 200 that year with Dick Mann. Other members of the team were, Gene Romero, Gary Nixon, Gary Scott, Mike Kidd, Dave Aldana (Dan's nephew), Jim Rice, Tom Rockwood, Don Emde and Don Castro. He also sponsored or tuned for riders such as Dan Hawley, Roger White, Buddy Parriot, Al Gunner, Jimmy Odem and George Everett. Many of whom were inducted in the AMA Hall of Fame and former number one plate holders.
Danny opened a machine shop in Orange California after leaving Triumph/BSA in 1974. There he built special racing parts for race teams such as American Honda and local racers. In 1996 he moved his home and shop to Fontana California and continued making speciality racing parts until the time of his death at the age of 83. At the time of his death he was working on his Triumph 250 Bonneville record holder and was planning on taking it back to Bonneville to break his own record.
I didn't realize at the time how luck I was to start my career in the motorcycle industry under the tutorage of such a special man. Danny took me under his wing and taught me how to build racing engines. How to port heads, balance cranks, time cams and all of the little things that make a racing engine special. My father didn't particularly care for motorcycles and thought anyone that would want to race one was completely out of their minds. Danny filled that void for me and was an excellent mentor and close personal friend. He also hired me to work on the Triumph/BSA racing team with him in the early 70's building racing engines and bikes for Gary Nixon and Tom Rockwood and also doing R&D for the race team bikes. We walked away with National number one that year thanks to Danny and Gene Romero.
I kept in close contact with Danny over the years and when I had a question or a problem with a project, I would call on him for an answer. He always had the right answer. I saw Danny about a month before his death and he took me around his property showing me all of his new projects and some of his new equipment. You could eat off of any of his shop equipment it was so clean and well kept. Dannys family has asked me to complete his Triumph 250 and take it to Bonneville to break his original record. After that, the 250 will be donated by the family to the Trailblazers motorcycle club museum. Danny was a charter member of the Trailblazers and in 1999 he was inducted into the Trailblazers Hall of Fame.
I can't thank you enough for all you did for me ol' friend and I miss you every day.
Terry Morairty
