Published In The November 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source
Article By: Milwaukee Mike Photos By: Fred Mathews
That’s right! S&S turned 55 this year! To celebrate, they threw a party on the grounds at the Southside Fest Grounds in La Crosse, WI, as well as at the Viola facility. If you have never been to either place, you are missing out! Now that I told you, you have approximately 4 ½ years to get ready for the next one.
I have had the pleasure to be part of both the 50th and now the 55th; they were a bit different. At the 50th, there were 50 different bikes that were built using 5 different S&S powerplants. It was pretty amazing and made one hell of a bike show.
With the 55th, the main theme of the weekend was to celebrate the future, as S&S donated 5 X-Wedge motors to 5 different high school programs. In turn, the schools used their creative abilities to build the 5 beautiful machines you see in these photos. As we all know, the future is just ahead of us, and these young guys and girls are going to be the leaders of our world. In their cases, I have no fear because they are on an incredible path, and already have a huge leg up, at least in the motorcycle world. The efforts of a few dedicated educators can broaden the horizons of today’s youth and give them an option other than computers and professional careers. With this help, they now can actually build something with their own two hands, and turn the ideas in their heads into real, tangible objects. This was just one way to showcase these future talents, and I for one will applaud S&S for taking some initiative and giving these young folks a stage to do it! I guess this was a part of the plans that George Smith told Chris and I about when we were there all those years ago. Congrats again to S&S for following through with those plans and for bringing the little guy back into the picture just as they said they would. Now it is up to those of us that care about American made quality to keep on or start buying these well built domestic products. We say it here on these pages every month, and I hope that the message is getting to everyone that it needs to; I believe it is. I also hope that American manufacturing will experience an even bigger boost in the years to come. Okay, enough soapbox, let’s get back to the event at hand.
As I said, the 55th had a very hometown vibe to it and for me this was especially true as it is the town I grew up in. One of the bonuses of once being a local was that I got to catch up with old friends that I hadn’t seen in a while and do some riding. I also brought some of my motorcycle family from Milwaukee and the surrounding areas; they all had a ball visiting the Coulee region. The rain was a bit of a damper outside the fairgrounds, but inside, the group of friends old and new made it the place to be. With good music at multiple venues, it made the weekend quite memorable. One of the highlights was sharing some cocktails with Big Joe from American Iron and Pam Proctor all while watching Bruce Tessmer get on stage and jam with his son Eric and his band; good times all around! During the breaks in the clouds, there was an organized ride from La Crosse up to Viola for a pancake breakfast and guided tours of the museum. This was quite an experience and I will bring that to the faithful readers in the near future so stay in touch.
Unfortunately, I had some family obligations (my dad’s 70th birthday) on Sat. morning so I did not get to join in the fun in Viola. I will have to take the words of the people who did do the ride and checked out the museum for the first time — they all loved it!
All being said, I had a great time in the company of good people. I listened to some great music, and enjoyed the ride and the bikes that I saw. Congratulations again S&S; you did it right! I can’t wait to see what rabbit they pull out of the hat for the 60th! Since it’s still 4 years and 6 months away, I guess I’ll have to wait and hope to be there to see it!
