BonnePan Build Part 8 "Sturgis"

My home in Sturgis, CrazyD's ultra-comfortable shop. In this shot its stocked with the goods.

Dave's killer Shovel. One of my all time favs.

The BonnePan awaits it's fate...

My tour director for the week - Indy's favorite son - the ever-stylin Shoe. Shoe went modern for a change this year. Last I checked he had joined HOG and sold everything more than a year old. Of course we jest.

After a long day of dodging buffalo Shoe and I relax with a cold one and a nap at the Wild Game Lodge in Custer State Park.

Chris Carr doing his thing in the semi's just before the weather got very ugly. Chris was on fire!

Hell about to break loose...

2 hours and 20 miles later... In the morning, even after two showers I still had sand in my bits. The fashionable scarf was to keep sand and road debris out of my mouth and nose - it didn't work nearly as well as the make shift fender Shoe made on my bike with the another gas station bought scarf.

The next day mother nature decided to give us a gift which we all took advantage of by running out to Spearfish Canyon.

Shoe in his natural habitat.

Shoe marking his natural habitat.

Beauty all around - the Black Hills is one of the most breathtaking places to ride in the world.

Deadwood for lunch. Bill must have been shot in at least 3 different bars according to the signs above the sidewalks but CrazyD says this is the place it really happened.

More relaxing... This motorbike stuff is tough!

The next morning was a soaker so Shoe and I hit downtown Sturgis, we are after some last minute parts from the J&P store (which proved to be futile). Other than some spark plugs I could not find anything for a Panhead - there were 200 different types of neon lighting systems though...

There is a guy who sells some very cool stuff hidden away in the back of a cheesy t-shirt shop. I stop by every year to see what he has to offer.

If I had some spare cash I would have pulled the trigger on a couple of these but the build has left me with empty pockets.

In the old Indian dealership on the way out of town we found a interesting collection of scoots.

This print of Roger Raymond was my pick of the shop.

Ray Drea from Harley-Davidson design stopped by CrazyD's to drag some gold one-shot around the BonnePan.

With guide tapes in place the patient nervously awaits the brush...

Ray mixes up the potion...

..and lays it down with mind warping accuracy.

Irish Rich and Casey (another solid designer from the HD studio) converse while Ray does his thing.

On to the fender, the bike begins to look visually longer due to the stripes.

With Ray's work still wet we load up and head to the Spoke.

Hiya Mom!

We stop for some gas and I get to pose with my new baby.

The Cycle Source show about...

...to erupt! The worlds biggest burnout (maybe). 12 bikes go wheel to wheel all at once - moments like these give me hope for the world.

Bikes with gobs of character were all over the place.

CrazyD's shovel and my old Flatty before the awards. An unbelievable performance from our rag-tag stable sent us home with most of the bling.

After the successful build blitz in northern Michigan at ACME Vintage the BonnePan got shipped out to Sturgis via contacts at FMC (thanks Harley Dave!). With the timing as tight as it was some last minute things did not get finished like the graphics and number plates. My Sturgis connection CrazyD was kind enough to not only invite me stay under his roof but also offer me the keys to his dream-like shop to finish the race bike. Included in the deal was the use of Shoe as my guide to the black hills rally. As an added bonus Denver Sinner, Irish Rich from Greasy Kulture fame would also be on hand to make the proceedings even more enjoyable.

One of the perks of working at FMC is my connection to Harley-Davidson via the HD-Ford Truck business. Ray Drea, who has become a very good friend of mine (after riding out to Sturgis together about every year) agreed to complete the bike by applying some very tasty gold stripes to the tanks and rear fender. You can see his finished work in the pics above. Ray is a master at his craft and watching him work is almost spellbinding. Thanks again Ray!

Ray's stripes were literally not even dry yet as we loaded up the BonnePan in Shoe's truck for a drive over to the Broken Spoke for the Cycle Source scooter show. Ironically Shoe drives a Chevy but we will not hold that against him because as usual he proved to be good people. We decided earlier in the week to bring the BonnePan to the show since it was turning out so pretty. Irish Rich and CrazyD also convinced me to take the '39 ULH to the show as well. It was completely covered in mud from a late night ride home from the flat track races - as I began to wash up the old girl Irish Rich told me to cease and desist "take it to the show just like that!" he said. So I did. CrazyD decided to take his stellar shovel chop to the show too so all together we had 3 bikes making the gig.

At the end of the night when the awards were handed out our posse took home a mind bending total of 4 trophies!!! My '39 took home the Nash Motorcycle Company "Best Antique"award, the BonnePan took home "Most Hardcore Bike", and CrazyD's shovel grabbed "Best Chop" and finally "Best of Show"! What a night it was and we celebrated like giddy little kings to the wee hours of the night. I have to admit that most of the bikes at the show were dead on the money and deserved the awards more than either of my two scoots. But with that said I would also like to say "thanks" to Cycle Source Magazine and the guys at the Nash Motorcycle Company for giving us all the nod.

With Bike Week coming to a close all that was left to do was find Tiny and Jill (my pit crew) pack up the trailer and point the whole rig west towards the great salt lake and Mecca just beyond...