DOT ROBINSON
Hall of Fame Inductee

Dot Robinson is best known as the "First Lady of Motorcycling". Dot, the daughter of Jim Goulding who manufactured the famous Goulding sidecar, was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1912. In 1930 Dot won her first trophy in the Flint 100 Enduro Men's Sidecar Class with a score of 1000 points. Dot always competed against men, as there was no women’s class in these events until the 1960's. Once when asked how she felt about beating men, she replied "I didn't think in terms of men and women. I was always determined to finish the events and I always wanted to win first place." During the 30's Dot placed or won in over 50 endurance runs. One of her most enjoyable wins came in the late 1930's when she was the sole female entrant in a 12 hour Thanksgiving Day event out of Columbus, Ohio. Her dad was the sidecar passenger. A group of competitors were laughing and one of them asked, "What chance do a girl and an old man have in a tough run like this?" Well, Dot and "the old man" proceeded to win the sidecar class with a score of 100 points higher than the 2nd place sidecar. In 1940 Dot helped her lifelong friend, Linda Dageau, found the Motor Maids of America. Dot was the first president and remained in that position for 25 years. Today, the Motor Maids are still a strong, outstanding organization, dedicated to upholding what is best in the sport of motorcycling. Between 1928 and 1990, Dot put on well over a million miles on 35 new Harley-Davidsons. Dot Robinson passed away October 8th, 1999 at the age of 87. A Celebration of Life service was held in her honor.

Return to the Hall of Fame Page
Sturgis Museum and Hall of Fame - Sturgis, South Dakota