Gophers and Cheese

The bike that absolutely blew me away at That's A Fine MotorBike was this 1977 rocket-powered Sportster, XL1000.  Yes, ROCKET-POWERED!!!  I love Sportsters but have never seen anything like this.  It was AMAZING!  It looked like someone bolted on a bunch of fire extinguishers where the motor should be.  NOS is for sissies. It was built and is currently owned by "Rocketman" Ky Michaelson.  The following description comes from his website (check it out for vintage pics).  There's an even longer description here . "Back in 1977 I was contracted to build a Rocket Powered Motorcycle For a guy they called, "The Human Fly". They sent me a brand new Harley Davidson motorcycle still in the crate to use. I rode it one mile, brought it back to the shop and pulled the engine out of it. Then built two 1,500 lb thrust hydrogen peroxide rocket motors for it. The bike was built to jump over 27 buses at one time. And now 30 years later, I bough...

There was quite a bit of American iron featured at That's A Fine MotorBike too.  Here's a 1934 Harley-Davidson VL flathead. A beautiful red 1963 Harley-Davidson FL Duo-Glide panhead.   1994 Harley-Davidson FXR WideGlide: This 2004 Harley Davidson is covered in signatures including Willie G, Jay Leno, and our very own Donnie Smith. 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA: Here's a 2012 Tin Lizzie Custom.  The bike features Lucas Oil graphics, a super slim gas tank, and a massive roulette-wheel-style rotor.  A guy at the show said his buddy won this bike in Sturgis by entering a free raffle.  More info here .     Trust me, I saved the best for last.  Come back for photos of the rocket powered Sportster.

While That's A Fine MotorBike might be one of the smaller shows I've attended, the bikes were very diverse, interesting, and included many I had not seen before.  I don't know whether the bike selection was by luck or by design, but it was excellent. This 1974 Indian JC54 Mini was part of an Evel Knievel tribute just outside the main room. While Evel was all about long jumps, Team Strange is all about long distances and this BMW has covered more than a few miles and has the Iron Butt awards to prove it.  There were many fine examples of vintage British Iron including this 1936 Vincent HRD 500.   I really liked this 1975 Norton Commando and this 1966 Triton.   My dad rides a 1976 Triumph Bonneville and here's a earlier version, a 1966 TR6: I have heard of putting motors onto bicycles to make them sort of like a motorcycle, but I have never seen a fan-powered bicycle, let alone one made in 1947.  It's like an airboat sort of concept....

I recently saw a flyer at Bob's Java Hut for something called "That's A Fine MotorBike!", a 6-week-long motorcycle show held in a library in River Falls, WI.  Sounded interesting.  I headed over there this past Sunday and was very glad I did. That's A Fine MotorBike is being held on the lower level of the River Falls Public Library from December 16th to January 27th so there's still plenty of time to see it.  Best of all, it's free!  The flyer says, "An exhibit of fine, vintage, rare & custom motorcycles; art, memorabilia, gear & toys." It was a beautiful clear day in the upper 20s and the roads were dry and clear while a blanket of snow still covered most grass and fields so the scenery was great.  In fact, afterwards, I headed down to the Nauti Hawg before driving home so I could enjoy some of my favorite motorcycle roads despite the fact I was in my car. For a long-running show being held at a library, I didn't expect...