Motorcycle Cannonball won on 1911 Harley
A 68-year-old Fargo, North Dakota, man and son of a former motorcycle dealer recently won the Motorcycle Cannonball – dubbed the world’s toughest antique motorcycle endurance run – on a 1911 Harley-Davidson.
Dave Currier rode the 3,700-mile, 16-day indirect route from Michigan to South Padre Island, Texas, on the refurbished bike with a rock-hard seat.
The route took riders south, then east all the way out to the Carolina coast before angling back toward Texas while crossing 11 states. The event is typically held every second year, but the 2020 event was delayed until this year due to COVID.
The bike Currier rode had the original engine – including the cylinder, crankcase and carburetor – he said.
“[The bike] is very tall, and I have short legs so I can’t touch the ground,” Currier said when interviewed by WDAY TV of Fargo. “You have to pedal it to start it. It’s a belt-drive – the only way to move it forward is you pull the level which tensions the belt, and then you move forward.”
The event – which had many motorcycle industry sponsors – attracted 88 competitors.
Currier’s father, Dick Currier, was a retailer of Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles in the 1940s and 50s and also raced motorcycles. Dave dedicated the Sept. 10-26 ride to his father’s memory.
