The 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball is in the history books. 100 riders riding pre-1937 motorcycles started out from the sand on Daytona Beach, Florida on September 5th and 17 days and 3,938 miles later it ended in Tacoma, Washington near Puget Sound. Age, road hazards terrain and weather conspired against the riders and their beloved machines to finish the course but 32 hardy bikes and riders completed every one of those miles. 24 of those achieved a perfect score of 3,938. Points are awarded for every completed mile and deducted for certain rules violations.
South Africa’s Hans Coertse on a 1924 Indian Scout won the Class I (machines under 700cc) and the overall championship. In Class II (700cc – 1,000cc machines) Dean Bordigioni riding a 1923 H-D JS took top honors, and Jeff Tiernan on a 1919 Henderson Z came in first in Class III (1,000cc+). The top lady rider was Dottie Mattern who at 70 years young was able to complete 3665 miles on a 1936 Indian Sport Scout. Dottie is a cancer survivor and rode to raise funds for the Colon Cancer Alliance, Inc. and the Antique Motorcycle Foundation, Inc. Japanese custom bike builder Shinya Kimura, who has ridden the same 1915 Indian Twin in all three of the Cannonballs, was given the Spirit of the Cannonball Award. Shinya and his riding partner, Yoshimasa Nimi, covered 3,614 with the last 100 miles done on just one cylinder.
Kudos go to all of the riders and the wrenches who keep these beautiful antique machines up and running and to Lonnie Isam, the father of the modern Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run. 3 Cannonballs are now in the books and many who are involved with, and fans of, antique motorcycles are looking forward to 2016 for the next edition of the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run.
Source and image: Motorcycle Cannonball
Posted by ITN
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