Passes & Canyons Blog

The word from Will Barclay, the putative winner of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, is that he has already had his $500,000 prize wired to his bank account, so it would appear that some folks’ expectation that no payout would ever be made was unfounded. Still, as one comment on Examiner in regard to this said, “This completely exonerates the organizers of all improprieties associated with the race. NOT!”

Hoka Hey riders before the race (Photo: David Stephens)

Nobody has done a better job than Cyril Huze of stating the questions that Big Jim Durham/Redcloud ought to answer. I doubt we’ll ever see answers to those questions, however. But here’s the latest.

Quick Throttle ran an interview with Barclay and it’s an interesting read. The story was picked up by U.S. Rider News and in a comment on that story, Frank Kelly, or at least someone who claimed to be Kelly, disputed the “photo finish” decision that ruled him out of the money. Kelly and Barclay had been in a heat for the finish and agreed to cross the finish line together and split the prize. Durham announced, however, that there could only be one winner, and that winner was Barclay because Kelly had been disqualified.

Now, I say, “at least someone who claimed to be Kelly” because there’s no way be sure here whether someone else simply posted this comment and claimed to be Kelly. With that understanding, here’s “Kelly’s” comment:

I have a bit of heartburn with alot of people saying I was disqualified or that I disqualified myself, no such thing happened. My name is on offical checkpoint sheet. The reason I was told by Jim “Red Cloud” Durham that Will was the winner and we couldn’t split the pot is that the Hoka Hey Organizers said that there could only be one winner and in their “photo finish” Will’s tire was a couple of inches ahead of mine. I haven’t seen the picture yet. I was told from Jim “Red Cloud” Durham that if Will didn’t pass his polygraph then I was next in line to have to take it. I am not sure where this info is coming from but someone is getting lied too.

So in keeping with the tone set by Cyril Huze in his questions, I think it’s also fair to insist that Durham release the photo, as well as the particulars of how this image was captured. Are we talking about serious photo-finish equipment such as they use at racetracks? Or is the photo simply one shot by someone sort of close to the finish line, sort of almost perfectly in line with the finish line?

Maybe they did have that sort of precision equipment in place and in operation. But it is exactly these sorts of unknowns that will continue to cast a shadow over the Hoka Hey until solid answers are provided. And double-checked. Because if one thing is certain it is that Jim Durham is, at best, careless with his words. He accused me and other reporters of error when we reported that he claimed the FBI would administer polygraph tests to potential winners. “That’s another thing they screwed up,” he said. Well, I know I was quoting his words exactly when I wrote that he said that, because I heard him on the radio interview he did with KBBI radio in Homer, AK. And there are other, similar instances.

So, congratulations to Will Barclay, and kudos to all competitors who finished. But is everything about the Hoka Hey settled now? NOT!

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Biker Quote for Today

Biker: A drunk liar in dirty clothes who plays with a large vibrator in public.

We just got back from our annual OFMC motorcycle trip and already the musical chairs have started. With our group up to 10 guys now, it seems like every year someone shows up on a new bike.

Last year it was Dennis, having traded his Gold Wing in on a new Harley Street Glide. This year Brett sold his Fat Boy to his brother Matt and got himself a new Street Glide almost just like Dennis’s. And Matt came along for the first time, the new kid, on what is now his Fat Boy.

Already now we know there will be at least two people on new bikes next year. During this year’s trip Bill and Friggs swapped bikes a couple times so Friggs could get a taste of Bill’s Fat Boy. You see, Bill is very interested in a new Harley Ultra and meanwhile, Friggs has decided it is time to move up from his old Virago. So Friggs will buy Bill’s Fat Boy and Bill will get his Ultra.

Incidentally, that will move our group one further into the Harley column. Just a few years ago we went out with nine guys and among them were five Hondas, one Yamaha, and three Harleys. With Bill and Friggs dealing it would line up for next year at three Hondas, one Kawasaki, and six Harleys.

Except that may not be the line-up. John has also made up his mind that the time has come to replace his 16-year-old Honda Shadow. And he, too, had been seriously eyeing the Harleys all these other guys are riding. However, to my surprise, he told me the last day of the trip that he had been cured of his Harley envy. It seems he talked with some of the Harley guys and was aghast at the cost of the regular service requirements to maintain the warranty, as well as Dennis’s remark to Friggs that the new handlebars Friggs wants for the Fat Boy will run him about $800.

Mind you now, John has an almost totally stock Shadow and it has been pretty nearly everything he has wanted. He has never been in the position of spending money on his bike. I agreed with him that the Harley prices seem pretty high but when I bought my Kawasaki Concours the first thing I did was put on risers to bring the grips 3 inches closer to me, at a cost of $300. And then I added a backrest for Judy so she feels more secure on behind me, also at a cost of $300. Harley gear may be more expensive but all motorcycle gear is pricey.

So it looks like John will be on a new bike next year but at this point he doesn’t know what it will be. I’m betting it’s a Gold Wing.

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Biker Quote for Today

Remember, only you can convince yourself to ride a wheelie on a Bagger!

OK. I mentioned way back in February that the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge was coming up this month and the start was yesterday. This a 7,000-mile race from Key West, FL, to Homer, AK, with a winner-take-all prize of $500,000 in Alaskan gold.

The only bikes allowed in this race are Harley-Davidson air-cooled V-twins. The entry fee is $1,000, so the organizers needed at least 500 riders just to pay the winner’s prize. Apparently they got about 750 takers.

I’m going to be following Robert Peterson, of Quebec City, in this race on my Examiner.com page. That arrangement came out of Robert contacting me to inquire about problems riding over Rabbit Ears Pass with a bike tuned to sea level or thereabouts. It creates some issues for me because Bob’s Facebook page on the race is in French. Presumably he’s French Canadian. But I have a cell phone number where I can reach his support team–and hopefully him, at least on occasion–and everyone on the other end of the line speaks English.

So the race got off to a difficult start yesterday, at least for a few riders. It’s hard to get it clear from the news reports but at least four, and maybe five, bikes crashed at approximately the same place around Immokalee, FL. It would appear there was some sort of hazard at that spot, else why would so many bikes crash in multiple crashes in just one spot? Who knows. But Bob wasn’t one of them.

An interesting thing about this event is the skepticism. The idea of awarding a $500,000 purse to the winner does sound extreme. One person commenting on my first Examiner story had this to say:

It’s interesting that by the rules, no prize need be awarded now. According to the rules they do not need to pay the winner if ANYONE gets in an accident or gets a ticket. There have already been several accidents as of this afternoon so it is entirely possible the riders will continue on for naught. Another disturbing point is that one of the “charities” targeted for funds is the Red Cloud Foundation whose relationship to Hoka Hey co-founder Big Jim “Chief” Red Cloud is unclear.

And I read in a H-D forum a comment by one guy who said he’ll believe it all when the money actually is given to the winner. I guess we’ll see.

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Quebec City’s Robert Peterson sole(?) Canadian in Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge

Biker Quote for Today

Harley-Davidson® motorcycles: Impeding the normal flow of traffic for over 100 years.

Two weeks ago I wrote about Jim Campbell, who had just completed at 30-day, 30,000-mile ride on his H-D Screamin’ Eagle Ultra Classic to raise money for muscular dystrophy. Since then I’ve emailed Jim a couple times about telling his story more fully in a book or in additional articles, but I haven’t had a reply.

    Jim Campbell in a Ft. Worth hospital

I found out why about half an hour ago. In an email from Jeff Sirles, Jim’s friend who first told me about his pal’s feat, I was informed that Jim is in the hospital in Ft. Worth. Here’s Jim’s note.

Hi Ken

Thought you may want to know Jim Campbell was in a severe bike wreck in Ft. Worth, Tx over the weekend. He is hospitalized there. Ill spare the details… its all on his 30K for MDA facebook. He needs our support in other ways now. He is a fighter and will live to ride another day. Please let your readers know.

Regards

Jeff Sirles

Oh my gosh.

So I immediately went to the FaceBook page and found this report from Jim’s wife, Beth.

Well, for 30k+ miles Jim rode his Harley w/o an accident but the odds finally caught up to him. On Fri. evening Jim wrecked his cycle on hwy 20 outside of Ft. Worth TX. He was taken by ambulance to Harris Methodist Hospital in Ft. Worth in the ICU unit. He has a broken neck & pelvis. Please keep him in your thoughts & prayers and we’ll update this site with his progress for those who wish to know.
Beth, Jim’s wife

I don’t know what to say other than “Oh my gosh.” To have ridden so far–safely–and then to have this happen . . .

You can track Jim’s progress on the FaceBook page, as I’ll be doing. Best wishes, Jim.

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Biker Quote for Today

Dress for the crash–Not the ride!

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve never been a Harley guy. Rather than spend big bucks on a loud, expensive bike with the pegs way out in front, I have always preferred the cheaper, quieter bikes with the pegs underneath so I can stand up on bumps.

Well, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. For me, as someone who writes about motorcycles, I sometimes have to ride Harleys. Just have to, you know? There’s no escaping it. Dirty job and all that.

This is just a heads-up that I’m going to be making the ultimate sacrifice in the coming weeks and I’ll be spending a lot of time on a variety of Harleys. I was talking the other day with Troy Terranova, the finance manager over at Rocky Mountain Harley-Davidson, and he’s going to try to change my mind.

As Troy puts it, he believes Harleys are hands-down the best motorcycles in the world and if money were not an issue the vast majority of riders would own a Harley–just that simple. For my part, I acknowledged that I’ve rarely ridden Harleys and have never spent any real time on one. For obvious reasons, Troy can’t put me on a new bike for an extended period but with used bikes it’s a different matter. He’s going to set me up to spend some real time on a selection of Harleys, in the hopes that I’ll fall in love.

Troy’s motivation here is simple. Rocky Mountain H-D gets publicity, and it would be especially good publicity if he does in fact convince me. My motivation is to see for myself what is behind the Harley mystique that I have never experienced before. Plus, of course, it gives me good stuff to write about on all my various gigs, such as Examiner.com and RumBum.com.

So stay tuned, I think this is going to be very interesting.

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Biker Quote for Today

It’s a fast Harley…but a slow motorcycle.

We all know people who are fanatics about their Harley. And most of them have very strong feelings about the company that makes their beloved machines.

Well, here’s the perfect gift.

How about a framed, personalized Harley-Davidson stock certificate? They’ll be an owner of the company, and hey, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Harley pays dividends. Right now they’re paying $1.32 a year per share. Your loved one can look forward to padding his wallet with that cash!

The place to go to make this happen is Oneshare.com. You can pick the frame, the matte, the engraving–heck you can even pick the stock. It doesn’t have to be Harley-Davidson.

You pay the price for the share, a $39 transfer fee, and whatever the frame, matte, and engraving you select costs. Figure around $104 for a Harley share right now, or higher if you want to get fancy.

So, just wanted to pass that along as a gift idea–doesn’t have to be Christmas, could be birthday or any other–that you probably hadn’t thought of. You’re welcome.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride like you own the road…and…someday the road will own you.

Dennis announced happily, in an email with photos, that he has taken possession of his new Harley-Davidson FLHX Street Glide. That’s it in the photo.

That means the OFMC now has four Harleys, four Hondas, one Kawasaki, and one Yamaha. Dennis sold his Gold Wing.

The real irony of this is that it could have happened months ago. We were off on the summer road trip and one of the Harley riders had mechanical problems with his new bike. So he and several others hit the Harley dealership in Durango. Stranded there for half a day, they all spent some money, but Dennis had his eye on a Street Glide just like the one he has now.

There’s a real problem when a company has a product that is so in demand that it sells itself. The “salesmen” tend to become “order takers.” Well, this particular order taker who Dennis was talking with had a live one on his hook and didn’t do a thing. So Dennis walked out without the bike, but he knew now what he wanted.

And now he has it.

Biker Quote for Today

Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high – Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky – And live like you ain’t afraid to die – And don’t be scared, just enjoy your ride.

The OFMC went on our summer trip last week and it was a great week of riding. We stayed primarily in Colorado and many people (not me) were surprised that we could see so much of interest and make so many nice rides without going far. I knew this. That’s what this website is all about. I know that people come from all over the world to ride in Colorado. So we live and learn.

Anyway, this isn’t about our trip except for a couple things that happened along the way.

One of our guys, Jason, was riding his very new Harley-Davidson Road King. It’s less than two months old. So guess whose bike was the only one that had problems. We were close to Durango when Jason decided he needed to visit a dealer so he checked and found that Durango Harley-Davidson opened at 9 a.m. He planned to be there at 9 a.m. so they could work on it right away and he could get back on the road.

Well, it turned out that they opened at 8 a.m., and when Jason got there at 9 a.m. he was told they couldn’t get to his bike until about 1 p.m. because six other traveling Harley riders had gotten there before him and they also needed priority service in order to get back on the road.

Now, in our group this year we had five Hondas and three Harleys, and as I said, Jason’s Harley was the only one to have problems. And six other traveling Harley riders also had problems that day? I’m sorry but we couldn’t help but conclude that does not reflect very favorably on the Milwaukee folks.

And then there was Dennis’s issue. Dennis has owned a lot of bikes in his day, including Harleys, but recently he has been riding Hondas. Part of the reason for that has to do with Harley salesmen. It would appear that with their product in such high demand, many of them have never had to learn to actually sell. They do a great job of handing you the papers to sign when you’ve made up your own mind, and they’re happy to sell you the extras, but working to close a deal is apparently a different matter.

Let’s back up a few years. Dennis was riding a Big Dog but decided to replace it with a Harley. He went to a dealership knowing they wouldn’t take the Big Dog as a trade-in but figuring he could arrange some consignment deal. The salesman was brief: “Get rid of your clone and come back and I’ll sell you a real motorcycle.”

More than a little annoyed, Dennis headed straight for a Honda shop and bought a Honda.

Dennis was equally put out in Durango. He and several others went with Jason to the dealership and, as he puts it, the four of them were a captive audience for half a day. Bill, Brett, and Jason all ended up spending money there but the thing that really caught Dennis’s eye was one particular bike. A salesman noticed this and approached him. Dennis explained that he rode in on a Gold Wing and would need to get the right amount out of it in order for a deal to work. And the salesman dropped the ball. All he could offer was that Dennis could buy this Harley now and fly back to pick it up, and what he did with the Honda was his issue.

For hours afterward Dennis went over again and again how it could have been handled. “All he had to do was say ‘toss me your key and I’ll go over to the local Honda dealer and see what they think you can get on consignment.’ Or he could have just picked up the phone and called the Honda dealer and asked what they thought they could get for the bike. But he didn’t do a thing! I’m not going to buy it and fly back here to pick it up!”

Dennis had been extremely close to spending quite a few thousands of dollars but once again the Harley salesman blew it. So what if your dealership doesn’t take trade-ins. If you want to make a sale, and the sale is contingent on unloading the current bike, doesn’t it make sense for you to go an extra mile to try to grease those wheels?

Biker Quote for Today

When you look down the road, it seems to never end – but you better believe it does.