Motorcycle enthusiasts soak in the exhaust at Cannonball Run

One of the oldest of the antique motorcycles that sat arrayed on Spanish Street on Tuesday afternoon was a 1916 Harley-Davidson, just a shade lighter than robin's egg blue with a wide leather seat and broad, rounded handlebars.

Navy, red and gold pinstriping curled finely across the bicycle-looking frame, and the long, boxy gas tank bore the moniker "The Frankfurter." Across the street, lounging in the shade on a bench outside the Brick Street Gallery antique store was the bike's owner, Thomas Trapp.

He was one of more than 100 vintage-motorcycle enthusiasts rolling across the country in the motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run. They started in Daytona, Florida, on Friday and made a pit stop in Cape Girardeau on their way to Tacoma, Washington.

Trapp runs a Harley Davidson dealership in Frankfurt, Germany, and says the run is the apex event for old-school gearheads such as himself. As he talked about the run, his blue eyes turned bright with the type of devotion to craft, bikes and lifestyle that motorcyclists are known for.

"Let me tell you," he said in a round German accent, "I am riding vintage bikes for 40 years. I'm racing vintage for a long time. When you are into vintage stuff, I am always searching for the new thing, a new challenge."

A 1916 Harley Davidson F owned by Thomas Trapp of Germany is displayed for the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run on Tuesday in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

He explained Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker's legacy is one of the most potent allures of the run. Baker set more than 140 driving records in his day, and his reputation for marathon rides is what inspired the event.

"He made it [across the country] in 12 days," Trapp said, "in 1914 on an Indian [motorcycle]."

The motorcycles turn heads, to be sure, but some followers had traveled a distance to see the classic machines. Dave Sickmeyer has been following the competition online since it left Daytona. He and his wife Cindy came from Steelville, Illinois, to see them. He said the engineering of the Hendersons are his favorite part.

"How long have I been riding? Oh boy," he said.

"His whole life," Cindy assured.

Ron Roberts of New Hampshire rides his 1936 Indian Chief across the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge for the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run on Tuesday in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

"Yeah, I'm 63; I've been riding since I was 12," he said. He shifted his weight to ponder the midnight blue four-cylinder Henderson in front of him.

"Boy, I'd like to be able to buy an old bike like this, but you're talking around 50 grand right off the bat."

"What intrigues me is that they come from all over the world," said Cindy. She said she was impressed by the German bike and at how old some of them were.

At 98 years old, Trapp's bike isn't much different from Baker's original Indian, and the similarities don't stop at the antique V-twin engine. The rules of the run allow for modification in the name of safety, Trapp explained, pointing at another driver rolling off his Henderson four-cylinder to fix a flat.

"See? He's changed the wheelbase to get modern tires and a front brake from a BMW," he said. "Which is totally fine for safety."

But as he detailed his ride's specs, a smile cracked across his sunburned face. He hadn't installed a front brake. He hadn't altered his wheelbase. What he'd done is position himself to compete in the run as a purist.

"There is nothing more in the world than the Cannonball on a Harley Davidson," he said. "We are just about five or six people whose bikes are 1915 to 1919."

When he brushed back his weather-beaten white-blonde hair, the inside of his right forearm bore an intricately inked rendering of a motorcycle: a 1916 Harley Davidson with a V-twin engine and a long, boxy gas tank.

"Yes, it's the same one," he nodded, beaming with pride.

tgraef@semissourian.com