The Bikes of Smoke-Out XI

The Smoke-Out has always been my favorite event to attend and I always mark my calendar well in advance every year. The Smoke-Out is held at the Rockingham Drag Way in Rockingham N.C.

This year Vicki and I headed down to Rockingham Friday afternoon. We pulled into the parking lot of our hotel just before the skies opened up. By Saturday morning, the rain had moved out and we were headed to the Smoke-Out! [photo 683]

I am like a kid in a candy store at the Smoke-Out. There were too many bikes to see, so you had to pick and choose. Let me tell you about the bikes. These bikes at the Smoke-Out are not for the faint of heart. These bikes are no nonsense bikes, bare bones bikes, bikes that are garaged built. Don’t mistake garage built for low quality, these bikes are top shelf.

These bikes are built with a “less is more attitude.” They are motorcycles that feature kick starters, hand shifters of all varieties, foot clutches, some rear brakes only, no front brakes and solo seats, some covered, some just bare metal, long front ends to short front ends, Z-bars, Ape Hangers and of course rigid frames, no gadgets and very few gauges, Simplicity at it’s best! These are not beginner bikes; these bikes are for hard-core chopper jockeys.

One of the sweetest sounds at the Smoke-Out is the sound of all the open belt primaries, all singing their tune in unison. These bikes live by the creed of “Chains, Flames, and Rigid Frames.” Like I said these bikes are bare bones bikes, so if you plan on bringing anything with you, you had better make sure it fits in your pockets! [photo11686]

All of Harley-Davidson’s engines are on display in the bikes of the Smoke-Out, from Flatheads to Knuckleheads to Panheads to Shovelheads to Iron Head Sportsters to Evos and even Twin Cams, you see it all at the Smoke-Out. Some of these engines are over 60 years old and that speaks volumes for the builders who keep this old iron on the road and it also tells you what kind of product that the Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces. These engines are as tough as nails, yeah they have been re-built, but the basic engine cases are still intact.

There are also metric choppers at the Smoke-Out, a lot of 750 Hondas, and a good number of Yamaha XS 650’s. You will also see some of the nicest Triumphs on the planet. I would love to throw my leg over some of the Triumph customs I spotted!

The Smoke-Out is a gathering of chopper builders, a chopper festival that sends you back in time by just being there. Back to the days when the long front ends and metallic helmets ruled the road. Back to a era when things were simple and less complicated, back to the days when there were no computer-designed bikes, to the days when your chopper notion was in your head, back to the days when we used basic tools to build our dream machines.

Yes, we rolled back to the days of NO cell phones (for you younger readers, there was a time with no cell phones), back to the days when you had to know the basics to do some work on your bike on the side of the road. This is what makes the Smoke-Out so unique, the simplicity of it all, the simplicity of all the bikes and their riders.

The chopper jockey at the Smoke-Out is different breed of animal. He or she does not really care about the newest bike offered or the latest trends in bikes. His mechanical mind has a historic perspective, from old school choppers with long front ends, to bobbers with short front ends. He stays true to the old school code of doing things and would never think of having an electric starter. Every time he kicks that bike to life, it is a tribute to riders of a time past.

Every time he is blasting down a stretch of black top, you see Captain America and Billy from Easyriders bouncing down the highway. Yeah these bikes and riders are a “throw back” to a different time and a different world. I can tell you from experience there is nothing cooler than kick starting a bike and blasting down the asphalt and pushing that foot clutch in and reaching back to slap that jockey shift into a higher gear!

Nothing comes close to that feeling! I know because I have a rigid frame, jockey shift, kick-start only bike and it is a blast to ride. You might be saying “Who would want to kick start a bike when we have electric starters?” Well to borrow and old saying “If I have to explain, you wouldn’t understand!”

Even if you ride a newer bike and most of us do, you are welcome at the Smoke-Out. It is a great place to see how it used to be and to even learn about the engines that preceded the Twin Cam. It also a great place to see old friends and make new ones. If you are a builder, it is a great place to pick up some ideas and some parts.

The Smoke-Out is brought to us every year from the fine folks at “THE HORSE” magazine. This is the best chopper magazine on the rack today, grab a copy, and if you have never been to the Smoke-Out, this will give you an idea of what it is all about.