Stunts, trophies & Horsepower

By Itchy

July 17th was a perfect night for motorcycles, so it’s a good thing Sun Harley-Davidson had planned their annual Bike Nite and Bike Show for that particular Saturday evening.

The parking lot was packed with bikes of all kinds, and the people who ride and appreciate them. Some were there to show off their pride and joy, while others were there to admire, ask questions, and have a little fun.

The Sun parking lot starting filling up in late afternoon, as participants and the curious turned out to be a part of the event for a few hours. People from all along the Front Range turned out to be a part of what is steadily becoming one of the best little ride-in motorcycle shows in Colorado.

The main attraction though, might have been a trick riding demonstration by stunt rider “Insane” Kane Friesen. Friesen performed a couple of impressive and awe inspiring show. How he does what he does was the question of the night, as he put on crazy radical shows in the Sun parking lot. Friesen is the world’s first sponsored stunt rider, and holder of the Guinness World Record for the fastest nose wheelie at 137 miles per hour. Sick enough for ya?

Between stunt performances, and throughout the event, there was a roar from the far end of the parking lot. It was the always-popular dyno-challenge. The dyno-tuning trailer was set up, running dyno tests—the best way to see what kind of power your bike has. There was the dyno showdown, too. Proud owners threw a few bucks apiece into the pot to see whose bike had the horsepower to shame all others. The bike with the highest horsepower rating took the pot—a pretty nice wallet-filler, not to mention bragging rights. The winner—a turbocharged Hayabusa—putting out a monster 273.9 horsepower at the rear wheel! Thirteen participants gave it a shot, with three bikes putting out more than 200 horsepower. It was a noisy, power-junkie kind of a good time.

The ride-in bike show also drew entrants in 10 classes, from vintage to custom, the winners taking home handmade, one-of-a-kind trophies.

Anyone was eligible to enter the show; the only requirement was that the bike had to have been ridden to the exhibition.

Both sides of the Sun facility were represented, with plenty of import cruisers and sport bikes mixed in with an impressive display of Harleys. The judges took their work seriously, spending a fair amount of time evaluating each bike based on overall view and impression.

The winners: HD Sportster, Kim Swank, 1996 Sportster; HD Touring, David Mares, 2009 Road Glide; HD Dyna, Gary Hurlburt, 2001 Wide Glide; HD Softail, Nick Stabile Jr., 1997 Softail Springer; HD Custom, Barney Vowell, 2004 Custom Rigid; Domestic vintage, Gene Scherschligt, 1948 Indian Chief; Import touring, Melissa Garduno, 2004 Honda Rune; Import vintage, Steve Babirad, 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000LTD; Sportbike, Michael Rheault, 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa; and Import custom, Kevin Sandoval, 2007 VTX 1800.

Put all this together with a fun little party attitude, and it made for nearly perfect night in Thornton.