The Lincoln Highway Man
Dave Harris reflects on the journey of life on two wheels.
Once upon a time, there were highwaymen who roamed across the land on horseback, stole from travelers at gunpoint and set a precedent for future generations of voyagers to be cautious as they crossed the country. In 1912, The Lincoln Highway was conceived and put an end to that. At its birth, automotive transport changed overland travel in America forever as it left stallions in the dust. Many have driven it, ridden it, hitchhiked it and some have been known to walk it. But it’s no “Bundesautobahn”. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: it was not paved in its original form. There were no specific roads and it was merely a set of directions you followed to get across the continent. When I heard someone had traveled across the infamous Pony express trail on nothing less than an R69s assembled during the summer of love, I was more than intrigued and I had to hear their story.
The Highwayman
Earlier this year, Dave Harris arrived at my house late one Sunday afternoon to pick up a new set of petcocks for his /2. “Why do you need 2?” I asked. “I’m riding to New York,” he said, “I leave tomorrow or the day after.” Little did I know what he was about to take on. Proactive, I thought. Better safe than sorry! A committed vintage motorcyclist, Dave started early: as a child, he began his motorcycle life on a Cushman Husky, then moved onto a Vespa through high school, then a Yamaha in college (subsequently traded for a wedding ring, a story for another time…) and a 750 Kawasaki in 1977 which he found too jerky. Then one day in ‘78, he met this kid on an R69s. And just like that, Dave’s jaw dropped! “I had to have it. $1600 later and the Kawi was outta there!” Dave is also a sidecar aficionado. “They’re a whole different mindset. The R50 was a workhorse designed for deliveries and businesses: it came with Earles forks, what’s not to like!”
The road ahead
Many might brag about riding 3,389 miles of backroads on a 50-year-old air-cooled Bavarian flat twin. But Dave is not that guy. In fact, he’s quite the opposite. “The Lincoln Highway has 1500 waypoints. I was committed, so I had to go for it: 75 miles of gravel each day. I didn’t realize how many unpaved roads I would come across. Also, I had overpacked and was too laden.” Easily done since you never know what might fail. He was very rear heavy and wore the tire down more than the front which has over 9K miles and is still in really good shape. “I wanted to be as original as I could and follow the route, so I had to take a lot of unpaved roads and gravel paths. It got better out of Nebraska, but Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada were mostly unpaved.”
I really wasn’t mentally prepared for the unpaved roads. - Dave Harris
Another hazard was the metal decking on bridges: “I hate that! West Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania had many bridges that scared the shit out of me!”
The resourceful innovator
Numerous issues cropped up on this trip and quick solutions were required. With a long career in audio technology behind him, Dave is more than an innovator: “On the road, you have to be resourceful.” From homemade pressure gauges to airbox filters held down with a bungee, one of his most creative endeavors on this trip was an iPhone air-cooler. It was made with cardboard, tape, a coathanger and popsicle sticks! The air flows through the sticks and even in 110–120F heat, the phone stays on allowing for the GPS app to work. It’s might not be a start-up, but could it be the seed of future products…?
As I imagine Dave riding his two-wheeled laden caravan on marbled covered paths, I have to ask if he could have traveled lighter? “Hard to answer that. Spares and tools were the main weight. You now have to carry things you never used to carry, like coils. You hear so many ‘my coils failed’ stories, you never used to hear that. I had minimal personal items: 2 pairs of pants, 5 t-shirts, one pair of boots, 2 iPhones and 1 GoPro. But Vech from Bench Mark Works was really helpful when I called him. Instead of waiting for him to send a flex coupling for the driveshaft that was leaking, he suggested getting some brake cleaner, gauze and a tube of gasket maker. It worked and I didn’t have to stop and wait for parts. The only thing that stopped me was when the kick start lever snapped. I couldn’t push that thing and jumpstart it!”
Looking back
When I ask Dave what is it about BMWs, more importantly: Why did he choose this motorcycle to ride the Lincoln highway? He simply answers: “Endurance, reliability, and ease of repair. It just goes, and I like the feel of this bike. I had confidence in it. I’d seen a lot of fixes and I knew I could fix it on the fly.” Once on the trip, Dave eulogizes on the feeling of “no matter what, it’s worth it” throughout the trip. “I was learning and observing so much. I’m not good at sleeping on the ground but that’s endurance. It’s about coming across the unexpected. The highest reward was the whole trip. There wasn’t a single moment that stood out, but there was a time in a vignette when you look at something that isn’t static but all the information is present. I was taken by a lot of that. It was rich, really rich. I had a sense of time travel. It was the impetus to see what the vehicle got me closer to the date of the route I was following. I thought a lot about people with engines on bicycles. It was a real history lesson. On some days, I counted 8–20 cemeteries.”
I wasn’t prepared for anything but a smooth surface. I hadn’t realized how much was unpaved. If I had tires with knobs on, less weight or a sidecar, I would have taken those things in a heartbeat!— Dave Harris
A ride like this is no longer about the motorcycle, it’s about culture. Lincoln Highway was a marketing term. Eisenhower was enabled by that road. It demonstrated to him the shortcoming of the US without roads. “It did occur to me on this trip that I was learning things that others had known before me. There are old ways that it’s important to experience the need for. There are capabilities in a smartphone, but it’s not rich. In the late ’70s, I was struck with ideas of how society would collapse. You need knowledge and experience to understand how it got to be the way it is. This experience really stayed with me, and in many ways, I’ve still got it.”
Dave’s experience has certainly left a mark. It’s given him the drive to prepare for another trip. But not on a BMW. Next year he plans to ride a recently acquired Nimbus to the club rally in Copenhagen, after which he will ride to Amsterdam, Berlin, Prag, Bratislava and other cities in Eastern Europe, but you’ll have to read about it in the Nimbus club magazine!
On the road
As technology evolves over time, consumers are continuously offered upgrades and safety improvements on modern vehicles. It is ironic that the one thing that hasn’t improved are the roads that take us everywhere. Is it fair to assume that their neglect, lack of improvement and mediocrity of upkeep might be part of the cause of wear or breakdowns on our vehicles more often than we care to acknowledge? As demonstrated by Dave on this trip, it’s our responsibility to prepare as much as possible by packing parts and tools for the unforeseen. Even if we chose to be proactive, we live in a world that mostly functions through reactive behaviour. Do you want an authentic and meaningful experience? On a journey like the Lincoln Highway, one has to adapt, be resourceful and innovative at a moment's notice, no matter how well prepared we might be. The alternative: book a tour bus, take pictures from your seat, flick through social media as you adjust the air conditioning and sip your latte.
