Walter & Lucille Timme
1995, Leadership
Walter & Lucille Timme have the honor of being the first man & wife team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Lucille and Walter E. Timme were married on July 12, 1935. 1938, Walter purchased the Indian Motorcycle dealership. Walter and Lucille entered into a partnership in 1938 as TIMME MOTORCYCLE SHOP at 105 North Grand Ave., Pueblo, Colorado. In 1942, they had to close because of Walt's induction into the U.S. Army during WWII, and re-opened in 1946 in their home and garage. They moved the shop to 115 South Union Ave. in September of 1947. Their association with Indian continued through 1962, when the Indian company folded. In March of 1965 they moved to their present location of 215 North Victoria Ave. They have also been a Honda dealer since 1959.
In 1948 Walter was the Director and Lucille was the reporter for the Pueblo Motorcycle Club in Pueblo, Colorado.
Lucy went as a passenger on many of the Pueblo Motorcycle Club's and Steel City Rambler's trips. She was one of the first women to attempt the annual trail ride across Mosco Pass on an Indian Arrow before this trail was closed to motorcyclists. She worked as a checker and other jobs for enduros and other activities. Lucy was selected by the Pueblo Motorcycle Club as it's candidate for the most popular and typical girl rider in America for 1950.
Even though Lucy's name does not appear as proprietor of TIMME MOTORCYCLE SALES AND SERVICES, she did take an active part in Sales, Billing, Bookkeeping, Payroll, Advertising, Collecting and many other functions that an office manager is required to handle. It was usually Lucy that met with the Media and helped with the advertisements and promotions. She has been promoting a good respectable image of motorcyclists for all of these past fifty-four years.
To Walt Timme, motorcycles have always been more than an alternative form of transportation - to him, they have been a way of life. This lifelong fascination with motorcycles is reflected in one of the best collections of old motorcycles in the region.
Bikes have never been all business for Timme. He has been an active motorcyclist himself, enduro racing, hill-climbing and building racing bikes. One of his racing bikes, ridden by Bob Larratt, broke the track record at Sturgis, S.D., in 1950.
Walter is the Vice President of the New Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum in Colorado Springs, Co. and since its organization in 1962, has been a mainstay of the Al Kali Motor Patrol, which has entertained parade crowds throughout Colorado.
As an Antique Motorcycle Club of America member, he has attended many of the club's annual national tours and is active in the AMCA regional branch.
To date, Walter has reworked 11 Indians the oldest a 1913 model. Some are completely restored, but all are in good running condition. He is not likely to run out of antique motorcycles to restore, either. Right now, there are about 18 of the old motorcycles stored in his shop (some of them basket cases) awaiting restoration.
"I've been very fortunate," Walter says. "I like motorcycles and working on them. All those years, I looked forward to going to work every day. It's fun for me. My retirement hobby is doing the same thing I did before. But now I'm doing it for me."
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