BEST ONE continued from page 12


paying $100 for empty Gunk and old oil cans. They’re apparently collector’s items now.” Hilton kept all the service


records for each of his bikes and also a log book for each. In it he recorded what he did, when he did it, what kind of oil he used, when he changed it, what the mileage was, when he changed the spark plugs and so on. That’s the thing about


respecting your bike, he says: “If you’re good to it, it’ll be good to you.” Hilton tended to have one


motorcycle at a time, to be a one- bike, BMW kind of guy, but over the years he had his fair share of beautiful machines:


1. First was the Whizzer.


2. Next was a Harley Davidson 45, built in 1942, that had been owned by the OPP.


3. After that came a Harley


the best, the one he still owns, the one he rode for more than 50 years, and the one now on display at Fred Kohlman’s “Vintage Motorcycle Museum” at his bike shop Wheelsport on Youville Drive in Ottawa. Hilton says he would have liked


any BMW, but the R69 is the love of his life. He and Denton are still friends.


In fact, years ago Denton asked Hilton to store a bike for him, and Hilton cared for it in his usual fashion. He took it apart, waxed it, brought it upstairs in his house, and gave it a room of its own. “If you leave a bike in a garage,


HILTON’S 1957 BMW R69


Davidson Knucklehead, probably built in the 1940s. (“I hated that bike,” says Hilton. “It always leaked oil!”)


4. Then came his first English bike – a BSA B-33 (500cc single) built in 1949. Hilton called it “Seabiscuit”. It had no rear suspension. “It was a rough ride,” recalls Hilton. “It’s a wonder I have a spine left.” He still has its original bill of sale.


5. He traded in the BSA for a new 1953 Triumph Thunderbird, a faster bike with a bigger engine. It was, says Hilton, “a pretty good bike.” It had a sprung hub: the suspension was in the actua hub.


6. Next was a 650 BSA Golden Flash, which he had for one or two years.


Then came his epiphany. One day he and


his friend, Denton Craig (Canadian road race champion in the 1950s) decided to trade bikes for a few days. Denton had a 1955 BMW R69. For Hilton, it was true love – instant and forever. “I hated to give it back,” says Hilton. “I said to myself, ‘I’m gonna have one of those’.” Sure enough, the next year Hilton bought


a brand-new 1957 BMW R69 for $1,595 from T.A. Irwin, who was a well-known, well-respected motorcycle dealer in the Cornwall area. Hilton bought all his new bikes there. The R69 is the bike Hilton still loves


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on a cement floor,” he explains, “it will be covered with frost in the winter.” He still stores that bike for


Denton, though not at his house, because he recently sold the house and moved to a seniors’ residence. In 2007, at the first BMW


international rally in Canada, one of the world’s foremost authorities and collectors of BMW motorcycles was there with his beloved 1923 BMW. He encouraged Hilton to take it for a ride. (Most people wouldn’t be allowed to touch it.) Hilton was also presented with a beautiful plaque from BMW Canada commemorating his “years of loyalty” for having owned and ridden his 1957 R69 for 50 years. Hilton was very cautious and


only had one accident in his life. It was in the 1940s. He went over the handlebars when a handlebar grip came off his Harley. He tore his arm so badly that there’s still a major indentation in it. Ever since, he wore a Lanlitz


leather jacket for riding no matter how hot the weather. He had one custom made and wore it for more than 60 years. “I can’t stand to see someone riding with a t-shirt and shorts,”


he says. “You ever get tossed off − and boy, you’ll look like you went through a meat grinder.” He wore a helmet from the first


day he could get one. He calls it “the best thing I ever put on my head”. Before helmets, he wore a leather cap. It wasn’t much protection, but “at least it would keep you from scraping the skin off your head”. He has one regret: that he didn’t


marry and have a son. “I would’ve taken him on the


back of the bike with me. I would’ve taught my young lad how to ride a bike and how to look after it, and if he didn’t respect it, he’d be grounded.” He wasn’t sad about selling


his home of 84 years. He felt it was time. Now he reminisces with friends and talks about bikes. “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he


says, popping a peppermint into his mouth. “And I’ve still got a good heart.”


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