Cross Country Adventures on a Vintage Harley: More Rewarding Than You Think
It’s not about the bike, it’s about the ride.
We’re opening this feature with an exquisite photograph of the sun setting over the Arizona desert. Let’s get right to the point, shall we? Mother Nature doesn’t care what bike you’re riding. She’ll put on her magnificent displays of beauty regardless of what machine happens to be beneath you as you journey cross country. It’s been said so many times in the past that it has almost become a cliché: “It’s not about the bike, it’s about the ride.”
As motorcyclists today we are blessed with the finest two-wheeled machines to ever roll off an assembly line. Features like electronic fuel injection, proportional ABS brakes, traction control, on-the-fly electronic suspension adjustment and multi-compound tires are just a handful of the luxuries that modern bikers enjoy.
Why then, would anyone in their right mind consider riding a primitive, vintage motorcycle cross country? A few great explanations actually exist. Read on.
It’s What We Do–Every Year
That’s right. There are folks that climb aboard motorcycles that are close to 100 years old and ride them coast-to-coast every single year. It’s an event known as The Motorcycle Cannonball and it draws up to 120 participants annually. Billed as “the most difficult antique endurance run in the world,” the Cannonball is the brainchild of founder, Lonnie Isam, Jr.
The perennial event saw its launch in September of 2010 when Lonnie assembled a group of 45 antique motorcycle enthusiasts and set out from The Atlantic shore in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for The Pacific Ocean. Since then the event has grown every year attracting riders of vintage Harley-Davidsons, as well as pilots of Excelsior, Indian, Henderson, and BMW motorcycles. Some of these machines are more than 100 Years old!
As you can well imagine with bikes of this vintage, this is not an all-out speed contest. For example, the 2021 event spanned 15 days, with stops at numerous Harley-Davidson dealerships from Michigan to Texas.
Registration is already open for the 2023 running of The Cannonball which will roll from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Huntington Beach, California. If you’re interested in participating you can find more details here.
It’s What We Do–Until We Can Do Better
Let’s face it. Not everybody who wants to own one has the strong five figures needed to plunk down on a brand new Harley. That doesn’t preclude them from being able to cross this country in the saddle of a Hog. Used motorcycles abound and the older iron can be found for relatively moderate prices.
The bike you see pictured here belonged to one of the dearest friends, and most righteous bikers, I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. This is personal 1972 H-D FLH Police Special that has seen more miles than the average rider will ever accumulate in a lifetime. This bike had a excess of half a million miles while it was owned by my dear friend, Lenny; a man who truly lived up to the creed that it’s not about the bike…it’s about the ride.
This bike crossed the United States and Canada, from coast-to-coast, on numerous occasions; including a marathon 1,800 mile burn from Long Island, NY to Sturgis, SD in 28 hours! Not too shabby for a four speed Shovelhead that was almost 40 years old at the time. Sure, the saddlebags were full of tools, oil and spare parts, and Lenny was armed with more than a casual knowledge of how to keep this thing running when mechanical issues arose.
His reward? Being able to explore and experience virtually every square-mile of The North American Continent from the saddle of a Harley-Davidson. Proof, once again, that it’s not about the bike, it’s about the ride.
Lenny has sadly gone on to the great land of twisties and switchbacks in the sky, but the old FLH remains behind. A mutual friend is keeping Lenny’s memory alive by maintaining the bike in perfect mechanical order. As a proper tribute, the bike retains its original cosmetic appearance; a rough patina hard-earned over an exciting life well-lived with a dedicated and accomplished rider.
Herein lies the inspiration for this post. It came in the form of a video posted by YouTuber, Joshua Laurenti; an online personality who has garnered nearly a quarter million subscribers on his “Shadetree Surgeon” YouTube channel. At 39, Laurenti climbed aboard a 43 year-old Shovelhead and commenced a journey from Portland, Oregon to Tampa, Florida.
Josh had purchased the 1979 model year bike sight unseen, and took off on his adventure with minimum preparation and almost no mechanical supplies onboard. Suffering through (and surviving) numerous mechanical setbacks throughout the journey, he persevered and eventually arrived safely at his destination.
By the time he arrived he had been relegated to starting the bike by either push starting or jumping the solenoid with a pair of Leatherman pliers. He used duct tape to fasten the fuel tank to the frame, and purchased a number of passable substitute parts from Walmart.
He addressed serious oil leaks with wooden plugs fashioned from scrap wood found on the side of the road. Because…persistence. Because…obsession. Because…YouTube content.
Though this clearly was not the brightest idea a motorcyclist has ever come up with, Joshua made some brilliant, if not universal, observations along the way.
“Things don’t have to be perfect. Don’t let good get in the way of perfect when it comes to taking an epic trip,” said Laurenti. “Nothing about this trip is perfect and everything about it is perfect. All at the same time.”
Every biker can relate to some of his pearls of wisdom,:
“It’s making me slow down. I really think there’s something to that…it’s something really cool.”
“The worst part of this Shovelhead is me.”
Though these early examples of Harley-Davidson motorcycles can’t hold a candle in performance or comfort to the offerings leaving the assembly line in York, Pennsylvania these days, they were extraordinary machines in their time. More importantly they are still, to this day, being piloted by extraordinary men and women that live up to the conviction that “It’s not about the bike, it’s about the ride!”
Photos: Michael ONeill, Joshua Laurenti, Harley-Davidson, motorcyclecannonball.com