Left : Mike Tomas , president of Kiwi Indian Parts , which specializes in pre- 1953 Indians , rode his lovely Indian Chief to the Iron Horse Saloon gathering . Middle : Smokie and Dozer ’ s “ Sex on Wheels ” at the Buffalo Chip ’ s Motorcycles as Art exhibit . Right : Roland Sands unveils his latest creation , a Royal Enfield- based chopper , at the Buffalo Chip ’ s Motorcycles as Art exhibit .
almost totally up to the rider . Would I jump the gun ? Would I start too conservatively , or perhaps be too conscientious of starting too conservatively and end up on my ass ?
I joined a couple locals standing at the chain- link fence who were placing gentlemen ’ s bets on who they thought would “ win ,” which didn ’ t only mean crossing the finish line first but also logging the highest speed .
They talked about the bikes they owned , but neither said why they weren ’ t competing that evening . Maybe they weren ’ t confident in their abilities , much as I wondered about my own . Maybe they didn ’ t want to risk the same fate as that first rider . Or maybe for today , they just wanted to watch the show and drink a beer or two . And dream about speed .
Death- defying acts for a death- defying cause
With a rally as huge as Sturgis , it helps to have a little spectacle to draw in a crowd , even if it ’ s for a good cause . Enter the Death Wire Daredevil Spectacular . The tagline for this particular event was : “ Are these guys going to die ?” The chances of that weren ’ t likely , but some of those in the crowd probably showed up to bear witness just in case .
Stunt shows are nothing new at motorcycle rallies , and the genesis of the headlining act of this particular “ Spectacular ” goes back nearly 50 years to when Evel Knievel jumped his motorcycle – with a broken upper back , no less – over 13 cars while Karl Wallenda crossed a highwire over the former JFK Stadium . Wallenda was the founder of the Flying Wallendas , a circus act that performed highwire stunts without a net . The tagline for the 1973 Knievel / Wallenda stunt was “ see them before THEY DIE !”
Photos by Paul Dail
Top : Buffalo Chip Media & Public Relations Manager Cody Ertman stops moving long enough to pose for this shot with assistant Mai Richards and Kyle Ives at the Death Wire Daredevil Spectacular . Middle : It may have been all game faces before Shawn Ives ’ jump , but the father- son team was all smiles as they signed event posters designed by Darren McKeag . Bottom : Shawn Ives poses with the Harley- Davidson XG750 that he would use to jump over 10 drift cars , which put on their own show before lining up between the ramps .
14 | OCTOBER 2023 | AMERICANRIDER . COM