The Last Stampede portrait, including the late and sorely missed Panhead Richie.
SMOKEOUT 16, THE RIDE HOME—There’s a buzz in the industry. We are entering a new world of custom motorcycle upheaval. It flies under the blistering Banner of Cycle Zombies, Brat Style, the SmokeOut, Born Free, The Race of Gentlemen, Bonneville Speed Trials, Suicide Machine, Speed Monkeys, LowBrow, Pat Patterson, Jeff Cochran, or you name it. It’s happening, it’s vibrant, it’s vintage, and it’s a blast.
I’m caught in numerous conversations, analyzing trends, looking for clues, marketing numbers, and guiding lights to Chopper financial nirvana. Hell, I just see it as guys having a blast, calling themselves by names from ‘50s tattoos like, Cycle Zombies, Born Free and then running amuck.
It’s different and better in many respects. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, it was wild, and untamed. Any visit to a shop could end up in a fight. Any party could end in a brawl, way too much whiskey, and women were just as wild. A razor sharp edge permeated everything. We were outlaws.
It’s all different now. It’s about the machines and when it comes to the SmokeOut, it’s all about the ride. I just returned from the east coast and the ride from Charleston, SC to Myrtle Beach, and then North into woodsy North Carolina. Some 55 guys rode the notorious Stampeded cross-country blaze this year and some 38 made it across 2,800 miles at breakneck speeds. “I averaged 77 mph,” Brian said challenging the effort with a 250 cc bike, just to see if it could handle it. He’s a Mopar and diesel mechanic. He could build an Evo with a 10-gallon gas tank and blast across the country none stop, but no… He needed to challenge his mechanical abilities and a dinky machine over almost 3000 miles in a couple of days.
I’ll get back to the Stampede and the Long Road contingent. A flashy portion of the raucous SmokeOut agenda included: drag races, new drifting trike races, mini-bike championships, Nitro bike runs, wild bands like Cutthroat and Rebel Son, pinstriping classes by Julian Rossi, wet T-shirt contests, and the maraschino cherries marinated in white-lightening in the campgrounds.
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