At 5:55 AM last Friday morning, eight intrepid scooterheads set out on a 2,500-plus-mile journey of death-defying derring-do. The ride will travel from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Portland, Oregon – normally a three or four day trip if you travel on the Interstates. Not these guys though. This is the third annual 555 ride and it’s not about getting there, it’s the journey. They won’t be taking any Interstates and they won’t be riding Goldwings or Ultra Classics either.
one of the 4 Honda CL350 w/sidecar rigs making the journey.
The 555 is a low-buck affair. Motorcycles entered have to cost less than $500, be older than 1975, and be less than 500cc (The 555 part of the equation). 555 Runs were successfully completed in 2008 and 2009 so a new quirk was thrown into the 2010 event: Bikes must now have a sidecar to carry a passenger. Because of the $500 price limit, all of the sidecars had to be fabricated from recycled materials or parts found lying around.
some of the hack fabricatin'
After a lot of trial and error and some short test trips, four Honda CL350 bikes with hand-built sidecars left with their mission to get over the Continental Divide before snow flies and arrive in Portland in one piece, or should I say four pieces. No one is left behind and the bikes stay off major highways and turn the locals heads on the backroads of America.
As of 6:30 a.m. on Friday, they had only traveled one mile, having to stop back at the repair shop for modifications to one sidecar. You can follow their progress on the 555 blog and check out previous rides in 2008 and 2009. We’ll be following their progress and hoping for the best. It sounds like an experience they will never forget….if they make it.