Cannonball
The quest to cross this country on antique motorcycles. Motorcycles that were the dawn of motorized transportation in this country. Man, how the technology has changed. Man, how much stays the same.

What day is it? Where are we heading tonight, have you seen the route sheet? Man the bike is running so good, this is great. How many miles between gas? It looks like rain. What is wrong now, this thing will hardly run, this sucks. 20 more miles. Where is Poplar Street, did I miss a turn? What year is the Indian? Got to fix the dome seal and pack this clutch bearing. You gonna ride in 2018? Are you crazy?
See you in Portland!

My name is Doug Jones, and my first taste of motorcycling was a Honda Mini trail. I was 6 years old. I’ve raced them, cowtrailed with buddies, toured this country, and made memories for a lifetime. I can’t remember a time since ’68 that I haven’t owned at least one.

I was introduced to the Cannonball at the Barber Festival, just after the 2012 event. Talking with the guys there I was hooked, so I left looking for a project, and have been working on them ever since. I rode 2014 on a 1929 Indian 101 Scout, and 2016 on a 1914 Indian singlespeed twin.

For 2018 I’m going to ride the ’14 Single speed again. There is something special about riding that bike, and I just love it. Or maybe just unfinished business. We were close in ’16, but some unknowns and bad decisions cost us some miles. So with the experience learned, we are headed to Portland to try again.

What a great experience being a part of the Cannonball! The highs and lows, the new friends, the old friends. Keeping an old bike running and sharing a few laughs. Come see us along the route.
Portland to Portland, 2018.

One day in 1970, when I was an 11 year old boy at Papillion Junior High School, the teachers herded all us kids into the multi-purpose gymnasium for a special presentation. They’d brought in a man named Danny Liska to talk to us about his motorcycle ride from Nebraska to the tip of South America. He had a slide show with pictures of his BMW R60/2, and he had a snake skin that unrolled almost to the full width of our stage. He told us that when he got to the edge of the jungle he stuck his arm in and the foliage was so thick that he had trouble pulling his arm back out. I went straight home that night and told my mom that I was going to get a motorcycle. She was against it of course, but after a short time she let me get a Honda Z50 minibike. That was it. I haven’t been without a bike since. My dad taught me how to spin wrenches and troubleshoot circuits on old Japanese dirt bikes. It’s one of the reasons that I am who I am.

We ride for the love of the ride, and for the love of the machine. You can’t choose to stop loving it even if you want to, so you think of more ways to enjoy it. In my life there have been many motorcycles and many miles; big bikes and little bikes; many different brands and nationalities, no favoritism. I’ve ridden track days, trips to Central America, Alaska, fly and rides to Europe, the Continental Divide, Trans-America Trail, and so on. I read an article about the 2010 Motorcycle Cannonball shortly after it happened. It spoke to me. I like old things, especially old machines. I drive a beat up old truck. Our house is full of antiques. Right now I’m sitting at an old wooden desk that was salvaged from the old Denver court house. The room I’m in is filled with old things; old books, old guns, parts from old machines, old memorabilia. At times I have spent more money than something is worth, just on the parts to fix it. Old things, in general, are better than new things. The Motorcycle Cannonball is just the ride for me. Not just the ride, but the build, and the preparation for the ride.

In 2011 I started looking for an old bike that I could enter in the Motorcycle Cannonball. It took almost 3 years to find an old basket case of an Indian that I could afford. It was about three quarters there. The transmission was missing, it had no seat, clutch, foot boards, control levers, and the wheels were roached. Everything had to be rebuilt or replaced. I spent over two years after that searching for parts, fixing the parts I had, and assembling them into a motorcycle. AMCA swap meets were my best source of parts and information. My first ride on the motorcycle that has come to be known as Patience was a just few short weeks before the 2016 Motorcycle Cannonball.

In the early 1900’s bicycles were high technology. Motorcycles were the next evolutionary step and hundred year old motorcycles were the iPads of their time. It was a developing technology; new patents were coming every day. They were the ideas of men applied to metal and set in motion. When you ride these old motorcycles, not only are you dependent on the machine, but the machine is dependent on you. Old machines require regular maintenance. You have to know how to care for it and how to repair it every day of every ride. If you don’t, you don’t make it home. When you do make it home, it’s when the machine decides to take you there.

My goal in 2016 was to convince my 100 year old Indian motorcycle that it wanted to take me from Atlantic City to San Diego. With the help of friends, that is exactly what Patience did. We rode every mile, Patience and I, and earned a perfect score of 3306 miles. They say that, before the 2016 Motorcycle Cannonball, there was no documented case of any person crossing the USA from coast to coast on any kind of motorized conveyance that was 100 years old. No motorcycle, car, train, airplane, etc. that was 100 years old had ever crossed the USA from coast to coast until me and a few others did it in 2016. I’m kind of proud of that, it was one of the things that kept me going.

My original plan was to do this Cannonball thing once and get it out of my system. They told me it’s addictive, but I didn’t believe them. Well, it turns out that they were right. So now Jason has announced a ride from Portland Maine to Portland Oregon in 2018. I discussed it with my team, and we’re in. My goal this time, in addition to riding all the miles, is to spend less time working on the bike, and more time having fun with my friends. I need to get started.

I have a few old bikes, but I’m not a collector by any means. I’m just a rider. So I’ll ride Patience again. I don’t have any other bikes that qualify. We learned a lot on the 2016 Cannonball, but I still have a lot of prep to do before September of 2018. You can see the details of my story on Adventure Riders, or on the AMCA Forum. Here are the links:

http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/bboard/showthread.php?22812-Powerplus-or-Bust-Eh

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/powerplus-or-bust-eh.996958/

I got my first taste of motorcycles when I was about 8 years old and I wanted to keep up with my big brother and the other boys in the neighborhood. My bike was a 1975 Honda MR-50 which my husband restored and is still in our possession today. I don’t think any of those boys are still riding?

My husband and I met during the 2001 Daytona Beach Bike week and motorcycles have remained a large part of our lives. Partners in everything we do, we set out to join the Cannonball in 2016 and just couldn’t get things to work in our favor. Settling for a poster and a dream, we set our sights on 2018. With a lot of help and direction from our friend Dave McGraw putting us in touch with Mark Hill and the Wolf Pack, we are proud to be participating in the 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball riding a 1913 Henderson.

I want to thank the friends and family who have come together to support me in this voyage, I have been truly touched by all the well wishes and words of encouragement. Go Team American-Anchor, #98!

Hi, I’m Pat Simmons #100 from Haiku, Maui, Hawaii. This year I’ll be riding my 1928 Harley JD. My wife Cris, and I are doing this together again. This will be her 4th time, and my 3rd. We always look forward to The Cannonball, and reconnecting with our many friends, and the open road. This is truly the only event of it’s kind that lets us ride this kind of distance on an old motorcycle, have the confidence to feel we have done as much preparation as we can, and know that we have the kind of back-up, and support that we will need as we traverse this beautiful country. Bless Lonnie Isam for his wonderful idea, (a true visionary), and Jason Sims, and his great team for continuing the adventure. I unfortunately can’t finish the whole ride. I have to jump off about halfway across due to prior job commitments, but I will enjoy each, and every mile that I’m able to complete. I wish all of you riders a safe, and fulfilling journey. Even though I won’t be there for the entire ride, I’ll be with you in spirit, all the way to Portland.

Go Cannonballers!

MY NAME IS CIRO NISI AND I’M THE ONLY ITALIAN RIDER WHO WILL TAKE PART IN CANNONBALL (#102).

IT IS MY THIRD CANNONBALL AND THIS IS THE BIKE I WILL USE THIS YEAR: IT IS A HD MOD. F 1919.

I HAVE WORKED FOR TWO YEARS TO PREPARE IT. IT IS A BIG MOTORCYCLE AND I HAVE EXPECTED GREAT SATISFACTION IN RESTORING IT.

IN 2014 I PARTICIPATED WITH A MOTO GUZZI AND IN 2016 WITH A FABULOUS INDIAN.

IN SEPTEMBER I WILL GO WITH A HARLEY !!!

I AM HAPPY TO BE IN THE WINE TEAM WITH MY FRIEND DEAN!

THIS PICTURE SHOW ME WITH MY FRIEND GUGLIELMO ZAPPA, WHO IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DEALER OF HARLEY DAVIDSON IN ITALY.

I’M SURE IT WILL BE AN EXCITING RACE AND I HOPE TO DO MY BEST.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE PILOTS.

CIRO NISI #102

My name is Dennis Bensavage. I’m the owner of Beam Equipment and Supplies (an Engine Rebuilding Equipment and Supplies Company).

I got involved in the motorcycle cannonball back in 2012 when I sold some machines to Buck’s Indian in Romney WV. They were working on a cannonball bike at the time and my interest was immediately sparked. I helped build their 2014 cannonball engine and went on to help build the Indian Powerplus engines for the 2016 cannonball. That year I went to Atlantic city for the cannonball start, it was the final hook that reeled me in, so here I am building a bike of my own to run.