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Event Reports

Motorcycle Cannonball

Article and Photos By: Bean’re

Originally Published In The September 2012 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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With the next Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run just around the corner (Sept. 7-23), I thought I would share with you my first experience with the Cannonball. When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded cool, but I didn’t really take it seriously. As I began finding out more about it, I wanted to get involved. The Cannonball was a rally, not a race, from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to the Santa Monica Pier in California on 1915 and earlier motorcycles. This sounded just like the kind of adventure that I liked, mixed with the mechanical nightmares that makes every ride an adventure. I looked into borrowing a motorcycle that would qualify and found one, but still didn’t have the money or the time to get it ready for this cross-country endeavor. I finally came to the realization that the only way I could “do” this rally was to be part of the staff. I quickly got some bogus credentials, became a member of the press and reported it in my best Hunter S. Thompson way that I could.

I was doing the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby, Nova Scotia during Labor Day weekend. I had 3 days to get from there to Kitty Hawk for the start of the Cannonball. Things were looking good until I broke a chain in New Jersey. Needless to say, I was late (more like Hunter Thompson), and I caught up with the Cannonball at Coker Tire in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I pulled into the Coker warehouse and there were all the “Ballers” working on their rides for the next day. It was like arriving back in time, and seeing everyone trying to prove their make or design of motorcycle was the best. Every single bike could have been its own display at the Smithsonian. It was one of the first times in a long time that I was speechless. I truly enjoyed watching everyone working on everything under the sun. This would become the nightly ritual as I was soon to learn. They would ride 250 to 300 miles a day on back roads, through every town, and then would meet at a motel somewhere and begin working on their bikes and preparing for the next day’s ride – everyday. There was only one day off and that was in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

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I talked with Matt Olsen in Chattanooga while he was working on his 1913 Sears twin, completely restored like it just rolled off the showroom floor. He showed me everything I wanted to see about his bike. He was really excited about it. It was doing well until he cooked the motor going through the mountains in North Carolina. That night, at the Wheels Through Time garage, not only did Dale and Matt rebuild the complete motor, but 2 other motors as well. All this in just one evening! This was the kind of thing that was happening every single night. Usually though, instead of a garage to work on them, the riders were working in a motel parking lot until the wee hours. I know this for a fact because I was camping in the parking lots of these motels. Every evening when things finally quieted down (around 1 a.m.), I would drift off to sleep only to be awaken by a rider firing up his bike and testing it for several “laps” in the parking lot. Then around 5:30 a.m., riders would start emerging from their rooms and warming up their straight piped machines, signaling me that it was time to get up again.

Matt and I had discussed these motorcycles in Tennessee and we talked about what drew us to this rally. One of the things was the uncertainty of the ability of these machines. None were intended to do a coast-to-coast trip. There weren’t even very many roads in 1915. Another attraction for us was the danger. All these bikes had exposed chains and pushrods and valves and everything else just waiting to take a finger or toe off or some other entanglement of flesh. Matt started his bike for me by pedaling it while it was on the center stand. When it was running, he got off and it vibrated nearly into another bike until Matt dragged it back to the starting position. Later the next day, unfortunately, one of the very things we talked about reared its ugly head and got Matt when he least expected it. A high speed wobble, at about 40 mph, became uncontrollable and sent him over the bars with his bike cart wheeling on top of him. I was riding directly behind him and watched it all. Jeff Decker scooped him up with his support van and rode him to the emergency room. Several of us followed and waited to make sure he was going to be alright. In the end, he had to have numerous surgeries to his broken arm.

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There were 3 classes: single cylinders, twin cylinders and twins with a transmission (gears). The earliest of all the bikes was owned by a German girl named Katrina Boehner. She rode a 1907 JAP. It was 250 cc’s, no pedals, no clutch, direct drive. What that means is that to start it, you push it, and when it starts running, you jump on. If you come to a complete stop, so does the motor, you then have to get off and push it again. She did this all the way across the US and was always smiling. Once when I stopped to aide her at the side of the road, I asked, ‘Do you have everything you need?’ She said, “Do you have a triple shot latte?” In 1915, Indians and Harleys came with 3 speed transmissions. This was the first year for the Harley J model which was made up until 1924 when they started producing the JD. The main difference in the J and the JD was the stroke of the flywheels thus increasing the displacement for the JD. Several of the 1915s were running these “stroker” flywheels, and I can tell you first hand that those machines rolled! Then there were the support crews. Most teams had a support vehicle and maybe a small trailer. Some had grouped together in a team fashion and shared bigger trailers; some were like full-blown mobile shops. There was even a rock star RV. But on the other side of the spectrum was Katrina on her JAP and her husband Dieter on his 1913 BSA (500cc). They shipped their bikes from Germany and carried their tools in their luggage that they flew with. They did the entire trip without any support crew or vehicle. Everyone was a good sport about it and took turns hauling their luggage and tools for them. This was also true when someone broke something. If another rider had a part or some equipment to repair a bike, everyone would share and help out the best they could.

There were a lot of riders that were in the spotlight: Buzz Kanter, Jeff Decker, Matt Olsen, Dale Walksler and Cris Summer-Simmons just to name a few. But every single rider was worthy of an article all by themselves. Here are just a few of the unsung heroes that I came across. John Szalay form New York had plenty of problems with his 1911 Harley single. He broke a rod three times! He had brought an extra rod, but when it happened the third time, everyone thought it was over. John wouldn’t quit. He found a “similar” rod at a forklift company on the road. His van, being driven by his girlfriend Alicia, was packed full of everything under the sun including a small lathe. He machined on that rod until he had the right size and shape. He then trued up the flywheels, put it all back together and finished the race

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Another racer was Sean Brayton from Rhode Island. He rode a 1911 Indian single. He had 4 blow-outs before finally switching to a lesser recommended tire for another application and then everything seemed to work out for the better. Sean built his bike from several partial basket cases. One set of parts came from a Rhode Island resident who was cleaning out his garage and said he had some old parts that he didn’t know about. He offered them to Sean for two-hundred dollars for basically 2 motors in parts. Sean wasn’t sure about the value, but bought them anyway. When he sold one of the motors for more than what he bought both for, he went back to the older gentleman and gave him five-hundred dollars more. The man was skeptical and didn’t understand since the deal was over. Two weeks later, the man called Sean back up and said he had a 5 gallon bucket of miscellaneous parts that Sean could have since he already paid the extra money. Sean went by there and one of the parts was a complete magneto which he bolted into his bike. The most common problem Cannonballers had was ignition problems. Sean ran the whole race with that very one, untouched by anyone, and it never failed him. Another racer was Mike Vils from Southern Cal. He rode a 1913 Excelsior twin. He had some trick things he had done to his bike like the perimeter brake on the rear wheel. That’s what caught my eye, but he seemed to have even more questions for me about my bike. Turns out, Mike has had quite a history in the motorcycle world. He was on the cover of Street Chopper in 1972, riding side-by-side with none other than Sugar Bear. Mike’s also a painter and had done jobs for Evil Knievel and Kenny Roberts. He also worked for Ed Roth for several years. Mike told me, “Riding motorcycles is not a choice for me.”

Pete Young is from San Francisco. He rode a 1913 Premier. Him and his wife collect and ride vintage bikes, but she stayed home with their two children while he did the Cannonball. He had no support and did all the work himself everyday as many did. The one day we had off in Hot Springs, all of our bikes were parked inside a huge civic center where everyone worked on their rides. That night, the city commerce had a huge catered party for us. While everyone was eating, I went back to try and find someone and there was Pete, busy rebuilding his motor. I tried to get him to take a break and come down to the hall and eat, but even though he assured me he would, he stayed working and never stopped. He’s another one that lives and breathes motorcycles, not because it is a fad or because it is cool, but because it is in his blood. His son had just turned 7 and he was teaching him about motorcycles while helping him build a 1913 of his very own. I think it is going to be in his son’s blood as well. Every single racer had their own amazing story, and I could go on forever talking about each of them. It was a great experience, and I am so glad I got to participate in it.

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