A steady flow of antique motorcycles rumbled through downtown Chattanooga yesterday as riders from around the world met for the pre-1937 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run, a race in which all riders drive motorcycles built before 1937.
"It's a challenge, the ultimate adventure for us," said 60-year-old Stuart Surr.
Surr and his mechanic David Shaw came from England to drive their 1926 Rudge in the race.
"Not many of them are on the planet," said 51-year-old Mike Eastman of Chattanooga as he admired the Rudge and several other bikes parked outside the Coker Tire Museum off Chestnut Street where bikers stopped for dinner and a tour.
Dozens of Harley Davidson, Ford and Indian motorcycles lined the street near the museum. The crowd included middle-aged men with ponytails and older female motorcycle riders who walked with canes.
Drivers started Sept. 5 in Daytona Beach, Fla. By the time they end their 17-day trip across the country in Tacoma, Wash., they will have driven about 4,000 miles.
People usually only drive old bikes for about 50 or 60 miles on the weekend, said Surr. To drive the 250 miles a day required to complete the race on time is a challenge, he said.
Part of the challenge is having the mechanical skills necessary to keep the antique bikes on the road, said Eastman. For that reason, more than 100 people came to staff the race, assist people with injuries and remove bikes from the road when needed.
The sweep drivers who pick up broken down motorcycles and carry them in a trailer are kept pretty busy.
According to the event's website, the sweep trailers were loaded with 12 disabled motorcycles on Day 1. The next day, all but three returned to the road.
"You have to have skills to hear the problems when they occur and to address them in the field," said Eastman.
More than 100 riders set out to complete the race, but because of mechanical failures, some have already dropped out.
The motorcycles in the race are built on old iron head technology, said Eastman, and you have to be a mechanic to drive one.
Most new motorcycles have engines made of aluminum, he said.
"They don't make those anymore," Jean Herndon said in regards to a motorcycle with a "suicide stick," while her husband Phillip snapped photos. "Everything is at our feet now."
It's called a suicide stick because the driver had to take his or her hands off the handle bar to shift it into another gear, explained Jean Herndon, who said she has been riding motorcycles for 50 years.
Coker Tire Museum representative Steve Anderson said the goal of the museum and of hosting these racers and many other events is to preserve the history of antique cars and motorcycles.
"If we don't take care of this, it will be lost," he said.
Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.