In memoriam
Gil Armas 1920-2008
One of the “Original Wild Ones”
By Bill Hayes (Published with the author’s permission.)
I was up in the rural roughness of Auburn, California, several years ago when I met Gil Armas for the first time. The setting was rough, a bit primitive and completely natural; the perfect backdrop to hear Gil’s tales of the “old days”.
But these weren’t the tales of just any “old days.” No. They were vivid and wild remembrances of just what it took to build and give a fast-lane birth to this lifestyle back in the 1940s.
With his perpetual smile, Gil was reliving the time when he and another biker pioneer named C.B. Clausen decided—on the spur of a two-wheeled moment—to head out from Los Angeles to Daytona. No plans. No money. No cares. No worries. Just that no-rules desire to have fun in an era that still allowed a wide swing of freedom—a freedom that was preserved through the American blood that spilled all around them during World War II.
After the war, Gil Armas found himself in the “always-interesting” company of the legendary “Wino Willie” Forkner and his Boozefighters Motorcycle Club—the “original wild ones.” Gil was there in Hollister in 1947 when this way of life was truly born. He is in some of the most widely publicized photos of that famous 4th of July weekend. He made one of those “slightly infamous” rides through the front door of Johnny’s Bar. He helped to develop the principle of the stroker motor. He was indeed a true pioneer and a genuine legend.
Once described as being like “a rascally kid with a grin and a secret,” Gil had the warm ability to not only tell a story—he brought you into it. He allowed you to live it, too. He rode you back in time. He made you see what the roots of “all this” really were about. As you listened, you felt as if you were actually riding with him and C.B. on those rat rigids all the way to Daytona; hustling money by racing the locals at every bar and roadhouse they came to. You could party for a week with him and Wino and the rest of the Boozefighters. You could hang out at the old “Big A” bar.
Listen.
No cares. No worries.
Just have fun.
Gil Armas will be much more than merely missed. There is now another empty saddle in the row of Flatheads and Knuckles that rolled those “originals” from L.A. to Hollister and into the soul of the American biker. An enormously important part of who we all are is now gone.
Rest in peace, Gil.
Much love. Much respect.
Recently:
- Tom Bennett “Boozefighter Samson” plans to bench press a full-dress Harley
- After father’s death, ‘Irish Ed’ is back preaching to his flock: Bikers
- Cheers
- Lost Brother Roy “Wrongway” Semrau
- Lost Brother William “Bones” Greene
- Boozfighter Down
- Boozefighter Down
- Boozefighter Down
- Chapter 71 DAV Benefit 2009
- Run To The Wall 2009