I’ve known The Quickest & Fastest Man On Two Wheels since 1982. He is one of my best, longest known and dearest friends. I recently put together a DVD of his TV appearances from the mid-80s, where he was THE man to hire to ride your motorcycle, if you were a factory wanting to know just how fast your bike is in the quarter mile.
Don’t call him PeeWee anymore. Call him Jay. Jay WFO Gleason. (WFO: Wide Fuckin’ Open)
He has been living in the Fort Myers area of Florida since about 1993.
Once the government passed a law preventing the use of quarter mile test times to sell motorcycles, he figured his work was over. His dad passed away in 1991. Lung cancer. Since Jay had never spent much more than a couple visits per year from his mom, he decided to pack it up and move to Florida to be near his mom. The only family he has, besides me.
Jay’s been wrenching bikes and watercraft all this time, but the economy of the area isn’t kind to mechanics.
Seems like the collective consciousness is in sync with seeing this man’s return to the drag strip.
I recently did a web search and found that his name still comes up in conversation, even to this day! I replied on a few motorcycle enthusiast forums, just to set the record straight. Many people though Jay died in a bike crash. That is only partly true. He was flat line for only 7 seconds, but has been back with us ever since. That was a long time ago - during his very brief road racing career. He got into drag racing after that, and as most people know, he’s real good at quarter mile test rides.
Jay is still very old skool. He’s not into computers. His housemate and I are slowly, gradually, getting him up to speed on the internet/email thing. In the meantime, I am the go-between. I am on line alot. Please, if you wish to get ahold of Jay, feel free to contact me, and I will get you in touch with him.
A few months ago, Jay did some test & tunes on an 1/8 mile track in central Florida. He tells me he can still smoke anyone’s times on thier own motorcycle. He still has the magic touch. The man needs to make a comeback.
Jay’s resume is way too extensive to list here. He’s broken many many records (and bones), been featured in hundreds of magazines & publications such as Motorcyclist, Cycle World, Cycle Guide, and Cycle News, billboards and brochures for the 1986 Yamaha Vmax (after he broke the world record, riding the Vmax into the 9s, making it the world’s quickest & fastest motorcycle of the day), and featured on MotoWorld, PM Magazine, and lots of factory videos.
I just finished putting all his TV appearances that were on VHS, to DVD. If you would like a DVD, please email me at wendy@wendyj.net. $10. I will give PayPal instructions. If you are from a factory or magazine, you will get a free one.
Jay sent me some video of his most recent test & tune on a Busa. I will put that together and post it on You Tube.
In the meantime, his very famous Honda V-65 Magna commerical can be found on You Tube.
Rumor has it, Yamaha is coming out with a gnarly new design Vmax for 2009. Time for Jay to give her a few passes down the drag strip, don’t you think, Yamaha Corp? Of anyone, Jay Gleason, the man who made the Vmax the worlds’ fastest motorcycle in 1986, is the perfect jockey for the 2009 Vmax. Let’s do this thing.
Who the heck am I? I used to own & ride a Yamaha Seca 400. My dad used to race motorcycles. I was brought up around boats, water skiing, racing, cars, motorcycles, dirt bike riding, English Trials, etc. I learned to ride in 1986 at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider Course. I put about 18,000 miles on that 400. Gave it up in early 1990. My parents are totally against me riding a motorcycle. Probably because Dad was a firefighter for 30 years. He’s seen alot of squashed ankles & femurs in his rescue career. The asphalt is not kind. I do miss riding, though.