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‘a modern classic’
n Alan Stulberg
stretches his legs as
well as the legs of a
Brough Superior 11-50
n Modern blacktop.
Vintage bikes. Heaven
pre-1937
cannonball
endurance run
Settle yourself down for the ride of a lifetime as 100 riders take on a 4000-mile
odyssey across America – on vintage bikes up to 100 years old. It’s a tale of
iron butts on bikes worth their weight in gold. And all for the love of riding
Words & Photography: michael lichter
M
otorcycles are made to be ridden. That simple caveat
is at the heart of the Cannonball Cross Country
Endurance Run. But it’s taken to another level on
this 3,938-mile coast-to-coast run across America.
We’re talking about the kind of bikes that are so
historically significant – and so stratospherically expensive in some
cases – that you’d expect them to spend their days as museum
pieces or being cossetted in private collections as ‘investments’.
‘Run’ is probably an inadequate description of this event;
‘marathon’ is a more appropriate for what amounts to 17 days of
riding (and repairing) old motorcycles. Reviving the pioneering
spirit of the ‘early riders’, the Cannonball has become the ultimate
test of man and his antique machine.
This year was the third instalment of the event, with 100 riders
setting off from the sands of Daytona Beach, Florida and heading
north-west in the hope of reaching the finishing point in Tacoma,
Washington – all giving bikes worth up to £100,000 the biggest
thrashing of their lives.
The first Cannonball, in 2010, attracted 45 pre-1916 bikes and
ran from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to Santa Monica,
California. Cannonball II in 2012 had 69 pre-1930 bikes from
Newburgh, New York to San Francisco, California. But this year’s
Cannonball III allowed bikes through to 1936.
The inclusion of these much more ‘modern’ bikes, made the
Cannonball accessible to many more riders. It also meant, as the
bikes would potentially prove more reliable over long distances,
that more miles could be laid down daily at higher average speeds.
So the organisers planned a longer route for this year’s run, and
for the first time ever, the Cannonball started on a beach with
n Peter Reaves’ 1929
Harley JD on the sands
of Daytona Beach
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n The run took in altitudes
from sea level to the
11,990ft Loveland Pass
n It was a real family
affair for Harley artist
Scott Jacobs and his
wife and daughters
On the Loveland
Pass, temperature
ranged from -2°C to
23°C in four hours
the waves of the Atlantic Ocean kissing the bike’s tyres as all the
riders and bikes lined up for a monumental panorama photo to
commemorate the start. Could there be a more appropriate place
than sands of historic Daytona Beach? A place where so much
motorcycling history has been made. Setting that up took quite
some time, but as soon as the shot was taken, the flag came down
and the bikes struggled through the sand to hit the road and their
first navigation point, 100 yards ahead.
The cross-country route sounds easy enough – modern road
surfaces, well signposted routes – but in addition to the sheer
distance travelled on extremely old bikes, the riders had to rise to
the challenges thrown at them by Mother Nature. They ranged
from the 35°C heat and extreme humidity of Florida to -2°C (plus
wind chill) in the mountains of Idaho. Added to that, it wasn’t
easy for the riders to prepare for the climatic conditions from day
to day, as none of the participants really knew where the route
would take them (other than the day when the organisers warned
the riders about Loveland Pass, where the temperature ranged
from -2°C to 23°C in just four hours.
The riders also had to plough on through heavy rain, and one
morning we all woke up to hail falling sideways, support vehicles
stuck up to their hubcaps and government flood warnings. On
that one occasion, for safety’s sake, race officials encouraged
riders to trailer their bikes (without penalty) to the lunch stop!
But what a way to see the USA – on two wheels, taking the back
roads through every one-horse town through some spectacular
scenery. No wonder riders from Japan, South Africa, France, Italy,
Spain, Poland, England, Ireland, Germany and Canada grabbed
this unique opportunity to see the States in all its raw beauty.
n Paul d’Orléans and
Ken McManus get high
n Even the Beach
Boys were there
n Iron horse.
Iron bridge.
Iron butts
The rules of endurance
Most people think of the Cannonball as a race, and yes, with
number plates clearly mounted on both sides of each bike, there
certainly is a competitive spirit to it, but as the name implies, this
is an endurance run. As such, riders are awarded points for every
mile ridden and the goal of getting to the finish at Tacoma with a
perfect score of 3,938 points (ie covering every mile of the route).
Points are deducted for various things like: breaking down on
course and getting picked up by an official chase vehicle; your
support crew helping you to repair your bike during the day (even
handing a tool over is regarded as outside assistance); coming in
past the 45-minute predetermined window in which you’re
allowed to cross the finish line; having a co-rider sharing a bike
(this results in an automatic 100-point penalty); or having a bike
that was somehow not compliant with the rules.
Some riders were interested in checking the standings nightly,
but for many, the points didn’t mean a thing because they were
simply looking for adventure, the fun and the personal challenge.
One of the best examples of latter was Shinya Kimura’s Team 80,
who signed up for their third Cannonball with a 1915 singlespeed,
twin-cylinder Indian, the second oldest bike on the run.
Shinya, one of the world’s most celebrated custom bike builders,
shared riding duties with his friend Yoshimasa Niimi, who came
from Japan just to ride the bike on alternate days and work
n Sadly, Ken Smith’s
1928 Harley JD failed
to complete the run
Stage Fri, Sept 5 – 140 Miles
Stage sat, Sept 6 – 250 Miles
Stage SUN, SEPT 7 – 224 Miles
Stage MON, SEPT 8 – 237 Miles
Stage TUES, SEPT 9 – 199 Miles
Stage WED, SEPT 10 – 291 Miles
Stage THURS, SEPT 11 – 244 Miles
Stage SAT, SEPT 13 – 311 Miles
1 Daytona Beach, FL to Lake City, FL 2 Lake City, FL to Columbus, GA 3 Columbus, GA to Chattanooga, TN 4 Chattanooga, TN to Clarksville, TN 5 Clarksville, TN to Cape Girardeau, MO 6 Cape Girardeau, MO to Sedalia, MO 7 Sedalia, MO to Junction City, KS 8 Junction City, KS to Burlington, CO
‘Turn right out of the alleyway’ is
the first instruction and so it goes
on. Riders are given basic
directions. No street names,
no town names. A stern test.
From Florida into Georgia,
Tennessee and Kentucky riders
pass farms with cotton exploding
from their pods and tobacco
drying in smoky roadside barns.
Competitors graze the Midwest briefly,
crossing the Ohio River into Illinois and
the Mississippi a couple of hours later
out to Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Another grey, cloudy day with occasional
heavy rain on the plains. Also one of the
longest days, and the hardest on bikes
with a record 14 picked up by the sweep
trucks and 30 not receiving full points.
Leaving Junction City in heavy fog, the ride
keeps getting better and 10 miles from
the Colorado border the sun appears.
An elaborate dinner in a rebuilt old west
town is followed by a rest day.
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n Kevin Waters scored
maximum points with
his 1931 Sunbeam
n A 1915 Indian in a tunnel.
Just imagine the noise...
n Ireland’s Tom
Hayes rode a 1923
Model F Harley
n Peter Reaves
engages Easy Rider
mode on his ’29 Harley
FROM ACROSS THE POND
British riders on this year’s Cannonball
included Stu Surr on his 1926 Rudge, Kevin
Waters with a 1931 Sunbeam Model 9 and
returning Cannonballer Peter Reaves riding a
1929 Harley-Davidson JD. Kevin and Peter
maintained perfect scores, riding every mile
in the prescribed time.
Kevin finished fourth overall on the 493cc
single he had rebuilt for the Cannonball. He’d
put 1000 miles on the fresh motor near his
home in Norfolk. He had to replace one nut
with a spare he just happened to have with
him. Apart from that, at the end of each day
he just filled up with fuel, topped up the oil,
greased the rockers, checked cables, chains,
and tyre pressures.
Peter knew what to expect and his only
problem was the sticking float valve in the
carb, which he believes is a ‘standard thing’
on an early Harley. Stu experienced
overheating issues with his 500cc, fourspeed,
four-valve single. He’d cobbled this
bike together five years ago to ride around the
country lanes in Lincolnshire – which is not
quite like riding over the 11,990ft Loveland
pass or the desert-like Salt Flats of Utah.
During the hot afternoons, heat from the
cylinder fins caused fuel vapourisation – and
almost seized the engine. But nothing
dampened his spirits and he aims to be back
for another Cannonball.
n An overheating 1926
Rudge failed to dampen
Stu Surr’s spirits
closely with Shinya to keep the bike running. This meant
removing the engine from the bike on two occasions, including
splitting the cases for major repairs on their second go. Shinya and
Niimi, along with Shinya’s wife Ayu, had just an old American
van packed with parts as a support vehicle and hotel parking lots
for workshops, which isn’t much when you consider that many
teams had big trailers fitted with complete machine shops.
Somehow, Shinya and Niimi would be
at the start in their big woollen sweaters,
oil-cloth jackets, high lace-up leather
boots and jodhpurs with the bike ready
and running. However, they did have
one breakdown that couldn’t be repaired
at the roadside, causing them to miss
some miles, so Shinya has decided he’ll
be back for Cannonball IV in 2016,
determined that his bike gets ridden
every mile across this big country. His
attitude earned Team 80 a special ‘Spirit
of the Cannonball’ award in Tacoma.
It’s amazing to consider the value of
the Cannonball bikes. Any one of them
could justifiably reside in a museum, but
it was part of Motorcycle Cannonball
Run founder Lonnie Isam’s original
intention to get these quality bikes out on
the roads where they belong and to let
people see them in context.
Isam’s dream seemed far-fetched to
some, who questioned whether anyone
would really want to sign up their rare
and valuable motorcycle for nearly 4000
miles’ worth of on-road abuse, plus all
the costs involved to get these bikes
across the country. But as in 2010 and
2012, the fears were unfounded and
Lonnie stopped taking entries after
filling up in less than a week!
This year the first-year-of-production
Harley-Davidson Knuckleheads were
eligible. These are clearly valuable
machines that may not appreciate all that
wear and tear, but in the end seven were
signed up for the run and they were impressive to watch as they
barrelled down the highway, often at speeds of 65mph and more.
Many of the bikes on the run were able to hit speeds like this, but
more remarkable was how many were able to sustain such velocity
over many miles, notably the Knuckleheads, the Henderson Fours
and the Brough Superior.
Among the Knucklehead-mounted contingent were two very
refreshing entries – chopper dudes Sean Duggan and Bill
Buckingham. In sharp contrast to all of the other antiques on the
run, these close friends from Southern California both ran
‘Invader’ style spindly-spoked wheels, pull-back ’bars, rigid frames
n Shinya Kimura
exemplified the
spirit of the run –
even in pouring rain
many riders
were simply
looking for
adventure, fun
and a personal
challenge
Stage SUN, SEPT 14 – 250 Miles
Stage MON, SEPT 15 – 278 Miles
Stage TUES, SEPT 16 – 289 Miles
Stage WED, SEPT 17 – 299 Miles
Stage THURS, SEPT 18 – 257 Miles
Stage FRI, SEPT 19 – 284 Miles
Stage SUN, SEPT 20 – 244 miles
Stage SUN, SEPT 21 – 142 miles
9 Burlington, CO to Golden, CO 10 Golden, CO to Grand Junction, CO 11 Grand Junction, CO to Springville, UT 12 Springville, UT to Elko, NV 13 Elko, NV to Meridian, ID 14 Meridian, ID to Lewiston, ID 15 Lewiston, ID to Yakima, WA 16 Yakima, WA to Tacoma, WA
West through Missouri, the Cannonball
transitions into the seemingly endless
Great Plains, through Kansas and half of
Colorado, until reaching the Rocky
Mountains in Golden, Colorado.
After rising to 11,990ft above sea
level to cross the Continental
Divide at Loveland Pass, it’s lunch
in Leadville, Colorado, the highest
town in the States.
A climb over the 10,424ft
Tennessee pass. A week
earlier, it snowed at the bottom
of the mountains, but it’s a
gorgeous sunny day today.
Onward west through the saltscapes
of western Utah and a
stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats
for a second dramatic
panoramic photo.
The barren Utah landscape at times
seemed lunar. Rain and general cloud
cover (and California wildfire smoke)
didn’t help. In late afternoon we cross
into Idaho and the sun comes out.
The Cannonball rolls on to the barren
landscape of Nevada and turns north to
Idaho – more rivers, mostly greener
surroundings – with just the Cascade
Mountains left to cross.
After riding through 12 states and back
down to sea level, competitors roll into the
impressive Lemay Museum, to finish
Cannonball III with a backdrop of Puget
Sound and the Pacific Ocean.
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‘Dottie Mattern, one
Of the four female
riders, turned 70
during the trip’
n Route took
in the Rocky
Mountain
Motorcycle
Museum
and long springer front ends – and both had kept their bikes under
wraps, not posting any photos as all the other riders had done
prior to arriving in Daytona Beach.
keeping the spirit alive
The Cannonball is about keeping bikes running, how everyone
helps each other, sharing knowledge, parts, time... even loaning
motors and motorcycles between teams. It’s about the places
passed and visited along the way.
It was endearing to see father/son teams like Mike and Buck
Carson (1924 Harley-Davidson JE and 1936 Harley-Davidson R,)
Ken and Matt McManus (on identically-painted 1936
Knuckleheads) and Dan and Robb Kraft (1934 Harley-Davidson
VL and 1936 Harley-Davidson VLH).
Of the four female riders on this year’s Cannonball, Dottie
Mattern turned 70 during the course of the trip aboard her 1936
Indian Scout. But she wasn’t the oldest rider – Victor Bookcock
turned 71 on the oldest Cannonball bike, a 1914 single-speed
Harley and Mike Bell was the one who carried the torch as the
oldest rider at 72, riding his 1923 Harley-Davidson J.
The Cannonball was every bit the epic adventure we hoped it
would be. Trials and tribulations took their toll, yet 72 very
satisfied and exhausted riders crossed the finish line in Tacoma.
The winner’s trophy was presented to Hans Coertse at the awards
banquet, as his 1924 Indian Scout was the oldest bike in its class
to run every mile. Almost all the 105 riders who had started were
at the banquet with their families, crew and support staff – it was
some celebration. But while it may have seemed like they were
celebrating the finish, it was really a celebration of the journey.
n 72 riders eventually
crossed the finish line
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