#87 Brent Mayfield
My name is Brent Mayfield. I have lived most of my life in Dayton, Ohio. I got indoctrinated in to motorcycles at a very young age as my father and several relatives all rode motorcycles. In early 1968, when I was a senior in high school, I started looking for my first bike and a friend of mine said he had won an old motorcycle in a poker game. He said it was all apart and would sell it to me for $80.00. Turned out it was a 1941 FL Knucklehead. Needless to say, once I got it together and started riding it, I was hooked.
From that first Knucklehead until now I have owned, built, restored and sold many motorcycles from Bobbers to Choppers, to high point restorations. While Harleys have been my main focus, I like all motorcycles and have owned many brands from Ariel to Zundapp.
Up until 2010 most of my focus was on 1936 and later Harleys. I did not get interested in the older Harleys until the 2010 Cannonball. After reading about the 2010 C/B and talking to some of the riders, I got the bug for the older Harleys. I signed up for the 2012 C/B and built a 1924 J-Model which I entered in the 2012 C/B (rider #77). I rode from Newburgh, NY. to Milwaukee. The bike was running fine and I was doing good but I dropped out at that point. 3 months prior to the C/B, I had made a career change and moved my office to my home. It was a personal decision, but I decided I should not be away from the office for as long as the C/B would take. While on the 2012 C/B, I met Mike Carson and when the C/B was over, he ended up buying my 24 J.
I decided to enter the 2014 C/B (rider #77) and started looking around for a suitable bike. I built a bike out of parts which included a set of 1934 VL cases, a set of ULH heads & cylinders, a 25 J frame, a 27 J fork and a 28 J transmission. I ended up calling the finished product my 1934 VJH. Mike Carson called me and said he was going to enter the 24 J I had sold him in the 2014 C/B. He was also putting a team together and wanted me to be part of it. I said it sounded good and I became a member of the Carson Classic Motors team. What a great experience and Mike and I both got perfect scores on the 2014 C/B.
I had spent 4 years preparing and participating in 2 Cannonballs. I had got a perfect score in 2014 so I decided not to enter the 2016 C/B.
This brings us up to date and I am entering the 2018 Cannonball. I have 2 project bikes I plan on building, a 1917 J and a 1925 JD. I’ve got a little over a year and a half which you that build bikes know will go fast. At the end, I hope to have 2 road worthy bikes to choose from. One to ride and maybe one to sell.
Life is wonderful and I feel very blessed to be able to participate in this next great adventure with a lot of great and like minded people. See you in Portland.
Brent Mayfield