Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/787665
38 nMarch 2017n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS won fi rst place as the oldest bike in the AMCA show. He was even more delighted when the well-known vin- tage rider Carl Olsen presented the award. From there Monson cruised out to visit the Klock Werks folks before making several other stops and even- tually landing at the Al Muth Harley- Davidson dealership in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. It was at the dealer- ship that Black Betty fi nally got her paint. Dave made great friends with the generous folks at the dealership, then moseyed on over to New Jersey to hang out with the guitar-playing owner of Retrocycle, Rob Nussbaum. Then it was off to the Motorcycle Cannonball's starting line in Atlantic City. By the time Dave coaxed the poor old girl across the coast-to-coast route, she would fi nish in California in 67th place, with just 1,028 miles. Back in Vegas, as Black Betty sat mutely on stage, turning in circles for all the world to see, her #9 MC rider plate glistened in the bright stage lights as the auctioneer called out bid amounts. After a few tense minutes, it was fellow Cannonball rider #17 from Utah, Rick Salisbury, who had won the fair Betty's favor with his $20,000 offer. Every dime of that amount was then handed over to Shriner Ed Stolze. Chopper Dave selfl essly donated the entire sale of his beautiful custom-built bike to the Shriner's Children Hospital. Mecum donated the premium fees and the entire $20,000 went directly to the hospital. Buyer Salisbury gener- ously bought the Cannonball-battered Betty to be displayed with his vast collection of all things vintage at his shop in Springville, Utah. Dave and Vivian headed home to Washington with an empty space in their truck and when we asked if Dave would be in attendance for the 2018 Cannonball, he just chuckled. "You know, Vivian gave me a great piece of advice about that. She suggested I pay off the 2016 Cannonball before I go into debt again for the 2018 Cannonball," he laughed as he completed the call from the cabin of his diesel as he fi nished up his day of hauling apples through Washington. "Before I started the Cannonball I was debt free and even had money in the bank. Now, I can't say either of those things." Yet he still donated $20,000 to the children's hospital. Yep, we're pretty sure that qualifi es as a glowing example of a generous heart of gold. 4 by Felicia Morgan Watching the bidders at an auction as they vie for the machines they want is always entertaining and once in a while it's fun to fi nd out the back-story on what makes a buyer want a partic- ular machine. When we saw the bright orange 1915 Flying Merkel pass the gavel we knew we wanted to see who would be taking the pretty lady home so we hung out to see who showed up. Mike Koehnen and his 26-year-old son Steven followed the bike to its resting place up against the back wall and they beamed as the gathered crowd snapped photos. It pays to do your homework when planning to buy at auction and Mike had certainly done his well in advance. He'd read about the Isams, both Lonnie Junior and Senior, in an AMCA article describing a rare Harley the pair owned and restored. From the article alone Mike already had a sense of trust in both men, so when he learned that Senior had been involved in the restoration work done on the Merkel, he already believed it would be a sound machine. "Besides," he said, "it's a gorgeous bike." As four generations of farmers, the Koehnens are about 100 miles north of Sacramento on a fairly large spread that produces almonds and walnuts. The family is known as one of the biggest queen bee producers in the country yet in between all that, they still manage to fi nd time to tend to the motorcycle side of the gene pool. Koehnen comes from a long line of motorcycle riders. "It's in my blood, really. My uncle, dad, cousins—we all ride." When Mike sets off for a long ride, however, he won't be taking the Merkel. "I'm into the creature com- forts, actually," he chuckled as spoke to us from his NorCal offi ce after the auction. "I'll be taking my 2011 Ultra Limited with all the bells and whistles when I go riding. These old bikes, we have four right now, are offi ce art. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting here looking at them all right now but we won't be riding any of these. That Merkel is a pretty neat bike; I really like the old stuff." When his father was 18, Mike's dad had a 1948 Harley. "About three years ago we found that very bike in the bottom of a grain bin on a nearby farm. It was 100-percent rust, the whole thing, but it still ran." As a surprise to his uncle and father, the family secretly had the bike restored by Rick's Restoration. It took about a year. His uncle passed away before the project was completed but the bike is now displayed with the other antique motorcycles that stand proudly in the family farm offi ce. His 87-year-old dad loves it. "It was their bike when they were kids, his and his brother's, so how great is that to have it back just like they remembered it?" Mike shares. "But I decided I didn't want to go through all that again, the res- toration process. So this time I just let Black Betty Continued from page 36 MIKE KOEHNEN—THE MAN BEHIND THE BID Farming futures Apples don't fall far from the trees Mike Koehnen (r) and his son Steve beam as they look over the newest member of the Koehnen clan See "Mike Koehnen," page 68, column 4