Butch Baer
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| Butch Baer Racing |
"You were an Indian fan period. And whatever Indian had was the best. And Harley of course, they were made out of tin over in a Milwaukee conveyer factory. The rivalry between the two got to the point where Indian riders didn’t even talk to Harley riders. It was crazy."
Butch Baer’s first ride on an Indian motorcycle was at the tender age of a couple days old. His father, Fritzie Baer, brought his wife and newborn children to and from the hospital in their 1923 Indian Chief with Princess side car. Fritzie Baer ran the factory dealership and started the Fritzie’s Roamers Motorcycle Club (an Indian-only club) before moving on to promoting and organizing motorcycle races in New Hampshire. Growing up around legendary Indian racers Jimmy Hill, Ed Kretz, Frenchy & Woodsie Castonguay, Butch Baer found the draw of racing too tempting to pass up. Before marrying, Butch traveled the country, racing for the Company. He put aside racing to raise a family, only to return many years later to race vintage bikes. He still restores his own bikes and rides them whenever he can.
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Butch Baer racing a vintage Indian |
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