The Motorcycle Community Lost a Trail Blazer
ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 the motorcycle community lost a true trail blazer for women riders with the passing of Jan Downing. Jan and her Husband Del owned and operated Tampa V Twin for over 40 years. Tampa V Twin was one of the largest independent Harley shops in Florida and in its later years was a Victory Motorcycle Dealership.
Back in the 1990’s, in order to buy a new Harley from a dealership, you had to place a deposit and then wait six months to a year to get your bike. But Tampa V Twin always had over 30 nearly-new, low mileage Harleys on the showroom floor for sale. Del ran the sales and Jan ran their huge parts and accessory department. They also had a top-notch service department. In those days, the shop was always crowded with customers and you would see riders of all kinds, from one percenter patch-holders to your average rider, to celebrities such as Steve DeBerg who had a career in the NFL as a quarterback.
Jan and Del met in 1970 and married
within weeks of meeting. Jan quickly developed Del’s love for motorcycles but early on decided she wanted to ride her own bike and not just be on back of Del’s bike. In those days the general opinion was that women did not belong on a motorcycle as a rider. But that didn’t stop Jan.
She had several bikes over the next few years including a 1969 Triumph Bonneville with drag bars and drag pipes that she later turned into a ’70’s era chopper.
The bike had a rigid frame, a coffin tank, a girder front end and 21-inch front wheel. Jan painted it white and there was a mural of the Pink Panther smoking a joint on the tank. Later on, Jan had a 1958 Panhead and her favorite bike was her 1984 Harley FXST with both kick and electric start.
Riding on the street wasn’t enough for Jan and she developed a need for speed. In the early 1970’s, she began racing motocross on a Yamaha 175 MX. Back then, they didn’t have female classes so she had to race with the men. Racing wasn’t enough. She wanted to win and during her motocross career, she almost always made the podium.
Motocross didn’t offer enough speed for Jan so she decided to start dirt drag racing. Del and Jan built her a 1977 Harley XLCR dirt drag bike. Her first race in the East Coast Dirt Drag Racing Association was at Slade’s Raceway in Surry, Virginia. Jan won first place in the Modified Street Class.
Then, in the early 1990’s Jan decided to start racing drag bikes on the asphalt. Del and Jan built her a street drag bike and she joined the A.M.R.A. racing circuit racing quarter mile drag races. Jan initially only raced the east coast circuit and ended up winning the number one plate for the top east coast rider in her class.
Next, she talked Del into buying a motorhome and she started racing the National circuit, traveling all over the country. She wound up being the number four plate holder in the nation in her class. Again, this was all against the male racers, there were no female classes back then.
The motorcycle industry has changed a lot during the last ten years, with small mom and pop Harley dealerships closing their doors while monster dealerships thrive. Many independent shops like Tampa V Twin ended up closing. In my opinion this isn’t better, but just the way it is.
Jan was a woman who helped change people’s view on women riders. Those that knew her, loved and respected her. The next time your wife or daughter decides they want their own motorcycle, remember hat it was women like Jan that made it acceptable for them to do that.
God Speed, Jan. You will be missed.
— Tim Johnson