Dan Rouit and his wife Cathy opened the Dan Rouit Flat Track Museum in 1991, the same year they were married. Located in Clovis, it was launched with Dan’s personal collection of four motorcycles and hundreds of posters and memorabilia that Cathy pain-stakingly displayed throughout the complex. At first, Dan didn’t think they would ever be able to fill the original 30’ X 40’ building, much less get the enthusiasm needed to sustain the new museum. Even with the local popularity of flat track racing and the list of notable valley racers (Wayne Sumner, Tod Sloan, Don Howard, and Brandon Bergen to name a few). But before they knew it, the museum, which is dedicated to education and the preservation of flat track racing history, was off and running. The complex and its collection have continued to grow ever since.
Dan was 12 years old when he first started racing novice on a Bultaco 250 that Todd Sloan had previously raced pro-novice on for Butch and Doug Wilson. Dan was the youngest racer, with his dad having to hold the bike while his son climbed on. After his first season, with his first trophy on the mantle, Dan stepped up to a Triumph TT-Special 650. He became the youngest rider at the time to ride open junior class, switching to junior class later that year. By his third season, Dan and his friend, Ken Thieebaud were racing up and down the state. Dan and Ken were anxious to graduate to senior-class, wanting to make the switch at the same time. In order to move up, they each had to accumulate 6 victories and total at least 84 points. As it turned out, they would make the move to senior class and go on to earn their blue plates. Blue racing plates were awarded to the top 25 racers in the district (Dan was ranked #6, Ken was #1).
Dan continued racing successfully throughout the state. But eventually, without a sponsor and the demands of the racing schedule beginning to conflict with his job at Hallowell Chevrolet, Dan was forced to race open-expert class locally. In 1978, however, everything in Dan’s life would change. In October of that year, Dan was critically injured in an accident. “A lot of people assume I was injured riding a motorcycle,” Dan explains, “I always joke and tell them I nicked myself shaving. But seriously, I was climbing on a rock pile wearing an old pair of boots. I stepped on some wet moss, which probably formed after centuries of water trickling across the boulder. I slipped and fell, breaking my neck when I landed. That’s what put me in a wheelchair,” Dan recalls. But the accident didn’t arrest Dan’s passion for motorcycle racing. The museum has since grown to become the world’s largest flat track motorcycle racing museum.
As Dan and Cathy attend to other business, museum contributors Bob Miller and Joe Simone offer me a tour of the facility. The walls are lined with a boggling array of American (Harley-Davidson, Indian), British (Triumph, BSA, Royal Enfield), Japanese (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki), and European (Ducati, Jawa, Bultaco, and Ossa) motorcycles. In one corner sits the 1969 Bultaco 250 that Dan started racing on. There are many unique bikes including an automatic clutch, pull-start Rokon model. Bob explained how one embarrassed race official did not realize the bike was clutchless, and went to rev the engine while doing an exhaust check. The bike rocketed away, with the official holding on for dear life. Another bike that caught my eye was a Japanese “gambler” bike. According to Bob and Joe, Japanese race on motorcycle races much the same as horse races. The riders are even sequestered to prevent them from taking bribes prior to the quarter-mile race. Placards displayed in front of the motorcycle collection include names of a veritable who’s who of flat track racing. (Art Banda, Don Castro, Steve Eklund, Digger Helm Aaron King, and Gary Nixon, among others). As we conclude our tour, one simple display catches my eye. A row of neatly labeled mason jars sits in the corner. Each jar contains soil from various race tracks. There are samples from Clovis, Tulare, Bakersfield, San Jose, Lodi, and Del Mar. There are even samples from Sturgis, South Dakota, and the Bonneville salt flats.
This coming May, the museum will hold its 20th annual open house. This event serves as the main fundraiser for the museum. This year it will be held on Sunday, May 15th from 10am to 3pm. The event is held at the museum’s location in Clovis at 309 West Rialto. This year, the almost 100 vintage and later model racing bikes being displayed will be joined by motorcycles owned by members of the California Classic Cycle Club. Also to be displayed is the “World’s Fastest Indian,” owned by the Hensley family, which is the bike made famous by the movie of the same name starring Anthony Hopkins. The entire street is blocked off for the event, with BBQ being served the Holley gang and friends, with various vendors and media in attendance as well. This is a great time to visit the museum and learn more about the rich history of U.S. and California flat track racing. For more information on the museum or the open house, call 7 days a week, 11AM through 7 PM (559) 291-2242, or go to www.VFT.org/rouit.html.
