Pre 1916 Cannonball Run

The rules say “original Engine” but at least 3 of the bikes that I heard were defiantly not stock. I was listening to one guy talking about a fine line between finding a compression ratio that would enhance the engine’s power without cutting the life so short that it wouldn’t finish the run. The main concern was not to overload the lubricating abilities of the oiling system, or the lack of a system seeing how the oil is not recycled.

That’s right oil is hand pumped in at regular intervals or on a drip feed system (I was told 1pump every 7 to 13 miles depending on speed and motor conditions). It does its thing then drips out on the road, tire, and just about everything else. Notice that the upper valve train does not get oil. Valve adjustment is one of the most common issues with the nightly rebuilds.

In one of the videos they where talking to one of the riders that was riding in the rain and he said it's getting slippery because of the rain and the fact that his rear tire was soaked in oil. I was wondering why he said that and now I know.

I just got back from Victorville HD to see the bikes come in. The one in these pics is the Militaire, made in Buffalo NY and is one of the most unique bikes in the group. I was hoping to see it run but it came in on the back of a pickup truck. He lost some of the oiling paddles in the engine that splash the oil and got real close to seizing up. These are the best pics I got of this. Check out the rear suspension and the way the front wheel rides on a bar for suspension support. This bike was just "over-engineered". I love the wood wheels.

The Excelsior is pretty sweet looking

This Henderson is pretty unique and clean too.

Here's some of the Harleys.

Not sure what year these are. I'm sure they are after 1916, but they are cool too.

That Henderson may as well be a car, it is huge!

The thing that surprised me the most was a very strong smell of burnt oil - kind of a burnt sweet lube oil smell.

They all leaked all over the parking lot. Someones got a mess on their hands for tomorrow

thanks for the pictures, must have been a fun day for all.

Sunday is the last day. Their supposed to have a gathering on the Santa Monica Pier Sunday night.

I forgot to tell you it was 100 today and will be 100 tomorrow too. I think that's why some of the bikes had trouble. Ya gotta check the website to see who wins. Someone said if there is a tie the winner goes to the oldest bike and then to the oldest rider.

http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/

This is the points tally sheet for all 16 stages of the run. I haven't seen anything about the winners of the different Classes. and it looks as some were able to piece the rides together well enough to ride across the finish line. I'm sure that in a day or two we can find all the details of the finish as well as personal stories of some of the riders when they have time to slow down and tap em out on the keyboard.

http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/scores.pdf