 About the Motorcycle Cannonball and My Blog:
 Photo © Ian Schmeisser In case you haven't heard about the Motorcycle Cannonball event, here is a brief description: In 2010, Lonnie Isam organized the first Motorcycle Cannonball, in honor of "Cannonball" Baker's historic 11 day cross country ride. In the 2010 run, 45 riders started on the pier at Kitty Hawk, NC and 37 finished at the Santa Monica, CA pier. All were riding motorcycles built before 1916, and 10 of them achieved perfect scores, covering every one of the 3294 miles under their own power. In 2012, Isam is reprising the Cannonball. The route will run from Newburgh, NY (just outside New York City) to San Francisco, CA, from September 7th through the 21st. This time the route will be longer (over 3800 miles) and more difficult (passing over the high Rockies), but he is allowing motorcycles built before 1930 to join the fun. This is where I come in. The original run precluded participation by a rider mounted on a BMW, as the company did not exist until 1918 and didn't produce a motorcycle until 1923. For the 2012 run, I have entered my 1928 R52. My intention is to share this adventure with you, here, on the VBMWMO's website. For you spammers, I would just like to let you know that your efforts are wasted here, as comments are queued for review before being published, so why not go plague someone else's website, ok? |
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I just saved Team Boxer Rebellion $195!It has been a little while since I last posted -- sorry about the delay. In that time, I've been busy, however. The R52 is up at Brent Hansen's shop, where we disassembled the transmission and the final drive. There are a couple parts we're waiting for (a new ring and pinion set for the final drive) before putting it back together again. I've decided to go from a 13:57 to a 12:57 set, which will lower my top speed by just a couple mph, but I hope it will allow me to spend more time in 3rd gear, instead of having to downshift at the slightest grade. (I have also been working on a transmission for my R69 project. And last weekend I had my annual Surf City Tech Day, where about 50 people showed up at my house and ate lots of delectable smoked top sirloin.) Today, however, a little tinkering has saved the team a nice bit of cash. We riders have been advised to acquire a rally roadbook holder, to make following the route instructions each day a lot easier. If you don't know what that is, welcome to rallying! It's basically a box that is mounted to the handlebars. The course route sheets are taped together into a long scroll and wound onto one of two dowels. Then, as you follow the course, you roll a knob on the outside of the box to scroll the route sheets past the window on top. These are used by enduro riders and bicyclists, mainly, and they used paper that is 4-6" wide so they don't need a huge roadbook holder. Unfortunately, we will be getting route instructions that are printed on normal 8.5" wide paper. It can be trimmed to 6.5" (just barely) without losing information, but we could have 10 or more sheets to trim and tape every day. Touratech is the only company that produces a roadbook holder for 8.5" paper, although there's an Acerbis model that will take 6.5" paper. They're expensive, though: the Touratech unit is $210: I'm sure that, like all the great stuff from Touratech, this thing is bombproof. Being the cheap guy that I am, I've been musing over what I could make or adapt for this function. I was wandering through Home Depot a week ago -- I needed a hose clamp for a new dryer vent -- when I noticed a parts box that looked like it might be useful for carrying an assortment of extra fasteners on this trip. Suddenly, I had a flash: this was my roadbook holder! At $3.50 for the clear, soft plastic box, with a real hinged top that clamps closed, it wasn't a huge gamble. A couple extra trips to the hardware store to look at "stuff" netted me two 1' x 1/4" aluminum rods, some nylon spacers and bushings and axle nuts. A couple of small, wooden drawer knobs, and my shopping was complete. It cost me a bit north of $10. I threaded one end of each dowel and screwed the knobs on. I cut out some of the internal separator walls to leave me a near perfect 8 3/4" width area. I only had to drill holes on one side of the box for the dowels, because I had one internal separator left to support them. I drilled holes and installed the nylon bushings with a dab of caulk. The dowels turn with some friction in the nylon bushings, which holds the paper exactly where I turn it. The pictures below show my roadbook holder with 21 uncut 8.5 x 11 pages loaded, and there's room for even more if needed.
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First Sponsor - Joel Rapose!Joel Rapose, who sells the PowerDynamo 12V alternator and electronic ignition kit for BMW /2s, as well as a heavy steel plate that can be used to mount /2 and Airhead engines and transmissions while you work on them, sent me a very generous check to help support Team Boxer Rebellion. His name will be up on the side of my Sprinter chase van as we travel back and forth across the country. Just to give you an idea of the costs for this folly, consider: Entry fee: $1500 As you can see, participating in this event is essentially the cost of a new BMW bike! Early next month I will have several ways to become a sponsor, from any business that would like to see their advertisement on my van, to smaller contributors who will get their name up there, to T-shirts and other items. (This will be completely separate from any club function.) CommentsI hope to see you in Sept. I
Submitted by Bob Distelcamp (not verified) on Tue, 03/20/2012 - 18:21.
I hope to see you in Sept. I live about 1 hour from Newberg,Ny If there is anythingI can do to help Bob D Muskegon, Mi. to Milwaukee, Wi.
Submitted by Bob Childers (not verified) on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 08:11.
When are you going to be in Muskegon to board the ferry? September 9th we are
Submitted by Darryl.Richman on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 12:02.
September 9th we are scheduled to ride from Sandusky, OH to Muskegon and then take the 4:45pm ferry crossing to Milwaukee, which should get us there at 6:15pm. From the ferry dock in Milwaukee we will ride to the Harley museum. --Darryl Richman Post new comment |
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BMWs in the CannonballI thought you might like to know more about the other two BMWs that are entered into the Cannonball. Both entries hale from Florida, and both are 750cc bikes: a 1928 R62 and a 1929 R11.
They will be employing a 1929 R11 owned by Jack Wells. Jack, member #1081 of the VBMWMO, has an extensive collection of BMWs, including all of the air cooled singles BMW has produced. Jack just recently won the Prof. Dr. Gerhard Knöchlein BMW Classic Award for preservation and sharing BMW’s history with the public. Jack will also pilot the team’s support vehicle, an 18 wheeler that Jack uses to transport his bikes to shows up and down the east coast and points further when the interest strikes. Team HMS has nine members in total. Besides Norm and Jack, there is team manager Bill Robinson. He is a member of the Iron Butt Assoc., as well as the BMW club of North East Florida (BMWNEF), the AMCA and a founding member and past president of Riding into History. Larry Meeker is the road manager and another Iron Butt member. Webmaster Alan Singer, an IT specialist and amateur car racer, will oversee the website. Chief Tech Chris Alley and Tech Neil Fogelberg are charged with keeping the R11 on the road. Alley is a retired Mercedes Benz mechanic who did the wrenching on a 1969 Triumph Trident that completed the 2011 Iron Butt Rally. Fogelberg has spent over 30 years working on Porsches and BMWs. Technical Advisor Ed Miller and Legal Advisor John Duss round out Team HMS. Handy with a lathe, mill and a multimeter, the most interesting bikes to Miller are those that do not (yet) run. Although his day job is as an attorney, Duss is heavily involved in the vintage scene, working at events like Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance or judging at Riding into History.
In order to participate in the 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball, Joe started searching for a suitable mount. He found it in the collection of well-known BMW collector and dealer John Landstrom, owner of Blue Moon Cycles in Norcross, GA. The 1928 R62 had been in John’s private museum for years, after he bought it from one of Dr. Wernher von Braun’s team members in Huntsville, AL. Now it is apart and soon it will be renovated and ready. Joe has done extensive motor work, to ensure he has every one of the original 18hp available, including new pistons and main bearings, and he has updated to modern seals from the original felt items. The magneto has been overhauled and he turned a new driveshaft. Joe has long experience with the so-called Airhead BMWs from the 1970s, but those are very modern bikes, especially in comparison to the R62, with their overhead valves, four and five speed foot shifted transmissions and modern niceties like 12V electrics with electric start and centrifugal spark advances. None of that will be on the R62. Its three speed hand shift transmission requires the same right hand, which must also manipulate the air and throttle thumb levers, to grasp the ball end of the shift lever and change gears. CommentsCannonball
Submitted by R66RODENT on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 23:06.
The guy who won the Cannonball last time apparently just motored along steadily on his 1914 two-speed Exclesior V-twin, and barely put a wrench to his bike for the entire event. Didn't even change his plugs. Don't think he had much back up, other than his considerable experience and expertise. He prepared for the event by stripping and rebuilding his bike. Then he broke it in carefully (quite a few Cannonball disasters occured because owners were breaking their bikes in on the run!). Finally, he spent a lot of time riding the bike for two hundred and three hundred mile runs, getting the feel of the thing and its capabilities. I don't know this for a fact, but I bet he also did a fair amount of physical training in the lead up to the event. I did, in my late twenties, when I went across country on a 'modern' motorcycle, a 1951 Vincent, and it was a good thing too. We ain't as young as we used to be,and I think physical training for an event like this is indispensible for geezers, or those approaching geezertude. When will we see the detailed route?
Submitted by Tom Lubben (not verified) on Wed, 02/29/2012 - 01:48.
I'd love to see these machines go by, and live near to the route. I live near Madison, WI. But I don't know where to be to see this, since the route is currently 'drawn' with the equivalent of a Crayola on a US map. Since small roads are the obvious choice, the devil will be in the details, and I sure would like to see that detailed route. I realize there is still a wee bit of time before I need to plant myself by the roadside (with my 1955 R50), but I was just wondering. Brad Wilmarth
Submitted by Darryl.Richman on Wed, 02/29/2012 - 02:57.
Brad is the winner from 2010, and he will be riding his 1913 Excelsior again. He will be difficult to best, but we will all try! I'll tell you this: my bike is already well broken in and I will be riding it a lot to gain a level of comfort that it will perform as needed on this long voyage. Even the riders won't know the detailed route until a short while before we leave the hotel each day. (How short is under debate right now, but the rules package said that the day's ride instructions would be handed out 20 minutes before the start. This seems likely to be changed, however.) Probably you won't be able to just meet us along the way, you'll have to be at the day's start or some publicized event. From the "Crayola" map, it looks like we will probably run south of Mad City. Your best bet will be to contact the organizers a few weeks ahead of the run to see if there will be any events along that day's route. Maybe they will give you a hint of where to situate yourself. --Darryl Richman Post new comment |
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Final Entries Are In!Lonnie Isam has said that the entry list is now complete. There are 72 entrants on board, which makes this year's event nearly 2/3rds bigger than the original run in 2010. It's not much of a surprise that the bikes are dominated by Harleys. There are 32 of them entered -- almost all Js and JDs. Those big engines will be the least stressed of the entrants, except maybe for the sixteen Henderson 4s that are also entered. There is no replacement for displacement, so the little bikes, like mine, the solitary Triumph and braces of Rudges and BSAs, will be spinning up the RPMs to keep up. (The Rudges are race bred OHV engines, designed to rev higher and run harder.) This is not to say that there won't be a grand selection of marques and models to see and hear, with a few that are less often seen. There are two Sunbeams entered, one to be ridden by The Vintagent himself, Paul d'Orleans. (If you haven't seen Paul's blog, you are truly missing out.) JAP, which stands for Joseph A. Prestwich, a firm that made motorcycles in the first decade of the 20th century and then switched to focusing on building engines for others, has a representative, as they did in the last Cannonball. And a Husqvarna, now a subsidiary of BMW after 20+ years of ownership and manufacture in Italy, whose original works on the shores of Lake Vättern conveniently close to a coal mine in Jönköping, was the royal forge and an arms manufacturer before making bicycles and motorcycles and then proceeding on to making white goods, chainsaws and sewing machines, has been entered as well. There are three BMW entries, and I will be writing more about them in the future, but let me introduce them to you for now: Besides rider #52 (me) on my 1928 R52, a 500cc sidevalve making 12hp, there is #62 Joe Gimpel, Jr. on a 750cc 1929 R62 and Team HMS featuring rider #23 Norm Nelson riding Jack Wells' 750cc 1929 R11. Joe's R62 is, with minor differences and 250cc more displacement, the same bike as mine. The running gear, excepting the final drive ratio, are all the same. The R62's motor has a "square" bore and stroke, 72x72mm and produces 18hp. Joe's bike was in Blue Moon Cycle owner John Landstrom's collection, and Joe is going through it now. Team HMS, which stands for Historic Motorcycle Society, is composed of seven individuals led by Bill Robinson. All are veteran riders and collectors. Rider Norm Nelson is a retired pilot, and an Iron Butt Assoc. member with many riding exploits as well. Owner Jack Wells is a long time VBMWMO club member and he bought this R11 eight years ago. CommentsPost new comment |
Comments
Darryl, I made something
Darryl, I made something similar to this probably 45/50 years ago for enduros. I made mine out of aluminum and to use adding machine paper since that was all I had handy. It mounted between the handle bars and worked fine. I still have the box here someplace. Bob
Hi..
Nice.
You had done good job.
Now sell one to each of the
Now sell one to each of the Cannonball entrants and you've recovered the cost of your new ring and pinion. When's your IPO?
'67 R69S
'05 R1200RT
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