‘Flat Out! The Rollie Free Story

It might be the most famous motorcycle photograph ever; Rollie Free stretched out over his Vincent Black Shadow at on the Bonneville Salt Flats, clad only in a bathing suit and tennis shoes,  squeezing an extra 1mph out of his machine, and recording 150mph.  The situation pictured is outrageous, incredibly dangerous, and impossible to repeat today.  It was a time when a man might struggle with the forces of Nature and Time utterly naked, and achieve eternal glory.  It was also not long after WW2, when hundreds of thousands died horribly; the antics of a veteran speedman giving 110% to reach his goal probably seemed sensible, when the notion of personal sacrifice in the name of a cause still hung in the air.  Today, it’s the ‘suits’ who control the game; the lawyers, insurance adjusters, and bureaucrats, who seek to deny the darkness in our hearts, the crazy erotism of speed, and the invigorating vitality of a little chaos now and then.

That’s the poetry of the epic ‘bathing suit’ photo, but there was a man aboard that Vincent, who had a very long relationship with motorcycles, speed, and even that fully prone riding position.  Jerry Hatfield delves into the heart of Rollie Free in his biography ‘Flat Out!  The Rollie Free Story’, filling in the history and character of Free, and the buildup of life events that led to that black streak on the Bonneville salt.  Rollie Free had several unique qualities; a fiercely competitive nature (considered ‘borderline insane’), a burning desire for vengeance against Harley-Davidson (which reneged on a promise of factory support), and his dogged persistence, especially in the years he spent developing his engine tuning skills.  Rollie Free engendered loyalty among his friends, and an incredulous admiration from his enemies. He was the perfect nut-job, just the sort of guy who would strip down to his swimming trunks to squeeze an extra mile per hour on his speed attempt, regardless of the highly abrasive salt bed just below his wheels.

‘Flat Out!’ is stuffed with fascinating photos from a well-documented life. That stretched-out riding pose was developed by Free in the 1920’s, when he was racing Indians. When Indian no longer developed motorcycles capable of trouncing Harleys, he turned to Vincents as the next likely candidate. His goal was to beat Joe Petrali’s record (on a streamlined Knucklehead – 137mph) by a sizable margin, so he began discussions with Philip Vincent on delivering a specially tuned Black Shadow which would do 150mph. Rollie Free had a benefactor, John Edgar, who was the actual owner of the motorcycle, but Free was given carte blanche to make a successful speed record. The infamous motorcycle was afterwards converted to a road machine, albeit in slightly de-tuned form, as Edgar wanted to be seen riding ‘the world’s fastest standard motorcycle’.  Who wouldn’t?

That 1947 session on the Bonneville Salt Flats may have been Free’s most famous escapade, but his decades as a racer, tuner, and dealer of Indians is every bit as compelling as a life story.  The ‘bathing suit’ Vincent is the hook, but there’s so much more in ‘Flat Out!’ worth reading.  The Harley vs Indian story is a strong thread; Indian’s successes are rarely discussed today, but Free had a lot to do with giving the Motor Co a spanking now and then.   The book is packed with great photos you’ve never seen, and includes an interview with Rollie Free taken 2 months before he died.  I first reviewed this book back in 2008, and the book is out of print now, selling for a whopping $500+ on Amazon, but let’s hope a little extra attention might bring a second edition from the publisher, Herb Harris.  Herb, are you listening?