Motorcycles have been around for over 100 years, and while the industry is building faster and safer bikes these days, the old time feeling just isn’t there. Similar to automotive enthusiasts who revive old iron for the sake of nostalgia, motorcycle enthusiasts put forth great effort to restore these two-wheeled machines to their former glory. Some antique motorcycle collectors like to present their bikes as flawless pieces of history, and choose to never get out and ride to keep the bike’s pristine condition.
That trend is starting to change as the years go by, and a group of antique motorcycle enthusiasts got the grand idea to ride their bikes across this fine country. The term antique, in this case, refers to motorcycles built before 1916, so the difficulty factor is rather high. It’s certainly a challenge and 60 die-hard riders have signed up to make the trip.
The event is called the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run and it’s held from Sept. 10-26. Starting from Kitty Hawk, N.C. and wrapping up in Santa Monica, Ca., the Motorcycle Cannonball is a true test of determination, with three classes of bikes that are not capable of the constant speeds required to travel on modern Interstate highways. With that said, the endurance run will be held on small roads, to keep the riders and bikes out of harm’s way.
Coker Tire is the only supplier of antique motorcycle tires bikes built before 1916, and will provide new tires if punctures occur out on the road, or if the tires wear out during the 3,272-mile trip across America.
It’s called an endurance run for a reason, as these pre-1916 motorcycles will battle modern roads on this amazing journey. The 60 pre-registered participants plan to make this a tradition, but an endurance run like this may never happen again. It’s hard on the riders, and it’s hard on the bikes, so it could be a once in a lifetime chance to see some of the greatest pre-1916 bikes roll through our neck of the woods.
When the developers of the Motorcycle Cannonball discussed the route, there was a great interest to travel through the Appalachian Mountains on their way to visit Chattanooga. The riders will roll into Chattanooga from 4-6 p.m. on Monday to take part in a tour of the Coker Tire facility, and see the Scenic City. Though it’s a fairly small group of riders, the economic affect will be great for Chattanooga, as each rider will more than likely have a support team or individual alongside.
The riders will head out toward Huntsville, Al. on Tuesday and continue westward toward the end goal of Santa Monica, Ca.
For more information on the Motorcycle Cannonball or Coker Tire’s involvement, visit www.motorcyclecannonball.com to see a more in-depth description of the event, and the folks who plan to participate.