Short History of the Hog Legend
Born on September 9th, 1927 in Hamburg Iowa, Stan grew up in the midwest on the race horse circuit. His entire youth was spent surviving the Great Depression and World War II. He got his first Harley when he was 17 years old – a 1938 Knucklehead. The first time he took it out, he tried to catch up to his brothers and grabbed a little too much throttle – hitting the curb and sprawling at the entrance of a grocery store. The way he tells it, he knocked himself “kinda goofy.” Because this mishap occurred in the middle of WWII, he couldn’t get parts to repair the bike for three months. Needless to say, he was not happy. For the next 60 years, he was never again without a Harley.
After he got the Knucklehead back on the road, he started competing in flat track, winning his first race at the age of 17. By the end of the 1940′s, he was building his own engines and testing them at Muroc, Mojave and Rosamond. It was at Rosamond – in 1951 – that he met Bus Schaller. Bus was running the Harley that Joe Petrali had set the world record on in 1938. 
Bus was representing the Harley factory and was at Rosamond to prepare to make a run for the record at Bonneville. The current record was 150 mph – set by Rollie Free – and Bus wanted the best rider he could get. Bus brought Stan onto his team to ride the Petrali Harley and, as a result, Stan became one of the original ten riders to be invited by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) to participate in Speed Week. This was the first year that bikes were invited to Bonneville by the SCTA. Stan’s first day on the “salt” was very exciting…a wrist pin let go at 150 mph, blowing the rear barrel off the motor. The engine was rebuilt overnight at the local Harley shop and Stan went on to have runs of 129, 134, 147 and 155 mph. His last two runs averaged 151 mph – which was very fast, but not enough to hold the record. It was broken the next day and the Harley factory did not want to recognize a record that only lasted one day!
Stan’s reputation as an engine builder continued to grow and soon he opened Stan’s Cycle Shop in Vallejo, California. During that time, he built a 62 cubic inch Indian Scout dragster that he raced on the earliest drag strips, many of which were converted from abandoned WWII air fields. He was never defeated on the Scout, which consistently ran 108 – 118 mph…this was at a time when the Harley’s and Vincent’s of the day were running 95 – 98 mph. Demonstrating his genius for innovation, he had a strip of live rubber vulcanized onto a bald tire, creating the first ‘slick’ ever used on a motorcycle. He mounted his invention onto the back of the Indian and immediately became the talk of the West Coast drag circuit. Stan often told the story of watching riders pack up and leave as he was unloading the Scout.
As intimidating as the Scout was, Stan’s most famous creation was the ‘Hog’ – a 96 cubic inch monster dragster with barrels, flywheels and heads he cast and machined himself. In 1958, Stan piloted the Hog to the West Coast Championship at Vacaville which, by the way, was the first dedicated drag strip built in the western United States. The later version of the Hog boasted the first 1/4-speed overhead cams ever used on a motorcycle, culminating in Top Eliminator honors in 1965 – during which Stan set the Lion’s Drag Strip quarter and half-mile records of 127 and 147 mph.
In the late 60′s, Stan shifted his attention to manufacturing, putting himself right-smack in the middle of the Chopper Revolution.
He manufactured a wide range of custom parts, the most famous of which were his extended Springer front ends. His manufacturing slogan, “Dishong, in French, means Quality” was never truer than with these gleaming, sleek and durable dual-spring front ends. He sold hundreds of these chromed works of art. During the 70′s and 80′s, Stan continued to be ‘the source’ for impossible-to-find Harley and Indian parts and kept his hand in racing by sponsoring speedway riders. Even Burt Munroe stopped by once or twice, seeking Indian hand-outs. During this period, Stan kept searching out and collecting old “basket-cases” – eventually filling seven sheds with the pieces of some very rare bikes. In 1988, Stan and his wife, Jackie, closed up the shop and retired to Port Orford, Oregon. Stan spent the next 15 years rebuilding and restoring 33 of the rarest and most unique motorcycles in America.
Stan focused his energy into putting his beloved antique restorations on display for America to enjoy, including a 1903 Indian, an 1896 Marks (with engine serial #1), a 1934 Crocker Speedway racer (#16 of only 32 manufactured), a 1914 Indian 8-valve board-track racer, a 1929 Harley DL (owned by Steve McQueen) and many others, including Stan’s Hog and Indian Scout dragsters.
In 2006, Stan closed the museum and sold his collection to an auction house so he could move to Idaho with Jeanette and his grandchildren. Unfortunately, and unknown to him at the time, he already had prostate cancer. By the time the doctors discovered it, it had spread throughout his body. Stan passed away, surrounded by family, in January, 2008.
Stan made significant contributions to American motorcycling. From inventing the first motorcycle slick to winning over 200 trophies to riding the “salt” at 155 mph, his innovations and commitment to the art of motorcycle restoration not only left an impressive racing legacy, but more importantly, returned to show-room condition some of the world’s rarest motorcycles. Were it not for his masterful restorations, these irreplaceable gems would have been lost to future generations.
Stan was a simple and generous soul. He loved everything about American motorcycling and worked his entire life to share that love with many, many others. We, at Hog Legend, believe Stan would have wanted this web site to become a community where we could all continue to share that love. We hope you accept his invitation.
