AMA: Motorcycling loses a legend: Dot Robinson, 1912-1999
20 October 1999
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Dorothy Robinson, commonly known as "The First Lady of Motorcycling,'' passed away at 3:50 a.m., Friday October 8th. She was 87.Dot Robinson is considered one of the pioneers of promoting motorcycling for women in the middle of the 20th century. Robinson is the co-founder of the Motor Maids, chartered with the AMA in 1941. This organization, still thriving today, is for women who ride their own motorcycles. Robinson also opened the doors for women riders in the competition arena. A regular competitor in endurance runs in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, Robinson's racing came into question because of her gender and attempts were made to prevent her from participating in the sport she loved. Robinson persevered and was allowed to compete, making it possible for other women to race in future years.
Born on April 22, 1912, in Melbourne, Australia, Robinson was a motorcyclist before she was even born. When her mother went into labor with Dot, her father, James Goulding, loaded Dot's mother into a sidecar rig and dashed off to the hospital. Goulding was a sidecar designer and amateur racer and his designs were renowned for their reliability. In 1918, Goulding moved to the United States to expand his sidecar business and eventually settled in Saginaw, Mich., where the family purchased a motorcycle dealership. Dot grew up around motorcycles and started riding at a young age. She met her future husband, Earl, while working at the dealership when she was in high school.
The Robinsons were married in 1931 and both participated in endurance runs and races. Dot earned her first trophy in 1930 at the Flint 100 Endurance race. After the Robinsons completed a record transcontinental run together in 1935, Harley-Davidson asked them if they would like to run their own dealership. Soon after the couple moved to Detroit and opened a successful Harley-Davidson dealership which they operated until 1971.
In 1934 Dot entered her first Jack Pine National Endurance Championship in her home state of Michigan. By 1940 Dot won the famous Jack Pine in the sidecar class, becoming the first woman to win in AMA national competition. She repeated the feat in 1946.
After the Robinsons sold their dealership in 1971, the couple traveled extensively by motorcycle. Dot's favorite trip was a 6000-mile excursion through the country of her birth -- Australia. Earl died in 1996, but Dot kept right on riding until January of 1998 when knee replacement surgery made it too difficult to get on and off her sidecar rig. She figured she had totaled a million and a half miles in her years riding.
In 1998, Dot Robinson was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum as one of the initial 124 inductees. She was also a longtime supporter of the AMA's legislative efforts and the musuem.
There will be a "Celebration of Life" service for Dot on Oct. 30 at Wekiva Presbyterian Church in Orlando. The time is tentatively set for 1 p.m. The Church is west of I-4 on Route 434. In lieu of flowers sent to the family, Dot's daughter, Betty Fauls, requests that donations made in Dot's name to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum or to the AMA Legislative Fund. Call the AMA at (614) 856-1900 for more information.
Friends and acquaintances are also asked to preserve your thoughts, feelings, memories and stories of Dot and her life to submit in a "Celebration Journal." These will be compiled into the journal, and a copy will be given to the family, the AMA and to the Motor Maids Historian.
If you would like to submit something to the Celebration Journal, please send to Susan Roche, 4326 Windergate Ct., Jacksonville, FL
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