Live coverage of the 2012 Cannonball

[LouieMCman]

Steve Barber and Frank Westfall arriving.

Some of the BSA party, the singles were sounding great.

Sorry, no pictures of the BMW guys, they seemed to disappear quickly after arrival. I talked to Joe Gimpel who said all seemed to be running fine. I know a couple riders commented that the BMW contention may be hard to beat.

[c.o.]

Thanks Louie!!!!

[Chuck#1848]

Most of these pictures where taken as the riders came in off the road to check in.

Picture of Brad's #1 bike, the champ from the first Cannonball. Brad said the bike was running good, had some minor problems that were fixed.

How can you not like the paint job on this J model Harley?

The Henderson's seemed to be everywhere!

Hey Louie, The orange J isn't that a picture of Mercury the god of speed on the tank sides?

[c.o.]

I hear this bike gets a bomb start quite often. He's got a perfect score so far though....

[c.o.]

Milwaukee Welcome!

[wlwood]

Day Four story being posted in the News area shortly: http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/index.php?page=news

The first days of this year's Cannonball have been really hectic, and we've been on the road every night. But today was sort of normal, so I got a chance to catch up on a lot of information that's fallen through the cracks so far. I'll try to track down more behind-the-scenes stories tomorrow.

Bill Wood

[c.o.]

Great report Bill! Thanks!!!

[LouieMCman]

Hey Louie, The orange J isn't that a picture of Mercury the god of speed on the tank sides?

Chuck, not sure what it is....here's a closer look....looks like one of my hood ornaments....

[c.o.]

Anamosa.... Nothing beats a secondary road!!!! I hope Tom noticed that he needed a sidestand adjustment!!

[fillibuster]

I just got home from Spirit Lake. Had planned to ride my 47 Chief from Sioux Falls to Spirit Lake, then spend Wednesday and maybe Thursday chasing them west, maybe all the way to Sturgis. The danged oil scraper on the Chief came loose halfway to Spirit Lake, but my mate rescued me, and we went to Spirit lake to witness arrival of Cannonballers. From memory, here is what I saw:

The first bike to roll thru check-in was a Henderson, but I'm not sure whether he had completed all miles. that at about 4:45
Joe Gardella was next, only a few minutes later, and Steve Barber and 3 other 20's Harleys completed the first 5, or 6 depending on the Henderson.
After that, the party was on! They rolled in for the next hour. What a treat!
Some were eventually heading to a church parking lot about a 1/2 mile away, where tool trailers were set up to do maintenance. When I got there, it was still daylight, but many of them worked well past dark, with generators and lights, teams and individuals. Heads were off 2 different BMW flatties, wheels and bearings getting greased, and one Henderson rider had 2 carburetors on the ground while he tinkered with his tuning on the one he'd just installed. Another Henderson roared around on what sounded like 3 good cylinders and a weak valve in the 4th. I got to know a fella from Poland, Nacin, whose stroked 101 had burned its pistons, and it seemed that his bike was locked in the trailer so as to tell him that his ride was over. Shinya Kimura's 15 Indian came in on a trailer. Another 101 with stock barrels was complaining of overheating, and possibly needed a fresh top end. 2 other 101's sounded good enough to last the week.
For all the Harleys, darned few of them seemed crippled. And I didn't get to hear Slojo's bike run, or ride next to him on the road, but you have to know he's setting a heck of a pace.
And then there's the #1-plate, Brad Wilmarth on his X. Amazingly steady, the other guys said.
It was all better than the best rock concert you've ever .... !!

[Tom Lovejoy]

Awesome stuff guy's keep it coming :-)

[Chuck#1848]

Well Louie, it took a bit but I found it interesting name for the J

[wlwood]

Day 5 post is up in the News area. Brad Wilmarth is now the leader since the top placed little bike had problems.

Bill Wood

[fillibuster]

Well Louie, it took a bit but I found it interesting name for the J

Lucille on his shirt too! She's awesome pretty. There is also a 27 Chief that looks real good, but some of the Hens are show material too.
There's more than a few runnin rats, too, of course.
If the 101's scored at the top I'd have to put an asterisk beside the score, on account of the 1941 top ends. just my opinion.

[cares]

Just returned home after following the Cannonballers from Ananmosa to Spirt Lake. What a great experience. With the wind and heat on Tuesday it was amazing to see the riders arrive and still smiling. The only thing at made me nervous was watching the bikers arrive and leave the designated start and finish area. The cars/trucks had not respect for the riders and continually cut in front of the riders or just didn't slow down. At one site I personally stop traffic so the riders would have a safe exit on to the route. I can't image what it was like in the larger metro areas. Now that the riders are headed to So Dak. and Wyoming traffic should be more manageable.
If you are in the area it is worth the time and effort to watch (and listen) to these bikes arrive and depart. Ride Safe