After a first year fraught with troubles, the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge appears to be gaining significant legitimacy in its second go-around as Harley-Davidson has signed on as a sponsor.
“We’re excited about what the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge represents to our riders,” said Steve Piehl, Harley-Davidson Director of Customer Experience, in a release dated Feb. 15. “The new direction of being more about a personal test of touring endurance, where rider and machine stretch the boundaries of long-distance touring, appeals to us. It’s a perfect match for the superior touring experience and capabilities of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. 'Hoka Hey' translates to 'It's a good day to ride!' and that is always the case on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.”
This year's Hoka Hey is to start in Phoenix on Aug. 5 and cover 10,000 miles through 48 states and Canada. The final destination is Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. Riders are expected to reach Glace Bay by Aug. 21. Unlike last year's winner-take-all arrangement, this year the top 25 riders will split the pot.
Hoka Hey organizers are calling their event "the world’s greatest long distance endurance motorcycle event," although they might find that claim contested by groups such as the Iron Butt Association (IBA), which holds a bi-annual Iron Butt Rally, which is an 11-day, 11,000 mile marathon.
IBA events are open to riders on any bike, while the Hoka Hey last year was open primarily to air-cooled Harley-Davidsons. Although the Hoka Hey home page says that "The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is open to riders of Harley-Davidson motorcycles," the page providing entry requirements says "This year's event will be open to riders of V-twin, air-cooled motorcycles."
Hoka Hey Executive Producer Jon Compton said in September last year that the 2011 Hoka Hey would have different classes that included motorcycles other than Harley. Compton made note at that time that planning was just beginning and details were subject to change. Another thing that seems to have changed is the omission of Mexico from the route. Mexico had been part of the plans back in September, and the start was then envisioned for San Diego.
Although the route will only be made known to riders as they progress from one checkpoint to the next, the Hoka Hey organizers have said that Las Vegas; Sturgis; Rocky Mount, NC; and Laconia, NH will be part of the ride. Among the highlights listed are:
- See the Las Vegas Strip and Bourbon Street!
- Ride across 3 of the countrie's (sic) most famous bridges!
- Travel along 2 US Parkways
- Enjoy views of oceans and the Great Lakes
- Vast technical riding!
- Great mountain passes!
Unlike last year's event, the 2011 Hoka Hey will include one mandatory 24-hour stop at the Broken Spoke Campground outside of Sturgis, SD. This will allow riders to rest and is presumably a change prompted by the deaths of two riders last year.
Comments
Here's to hoping it goes better than last year's challenge.
Have traffic laws in all of the lower 48 states suddenly changed overnight? Up until now it's been illegal to race any vehicle for money on public roads in every single state.
You can call Hoka Hey an "endurance challenge" or anything else you choose, but the fact remains whoever gets to the finish line first wins the cash, and that's called racing in any language.
No one has the right to jeopardize the driving public (in 48 states no less) by conducting an illegal race on public roads. Last year's Hoka Hey was fraught with death and serious injuries, and not just to the race participants.
To bad they aren't allowing all Harley-Davidson motorcycles. I inquired with the organizers as to whether they would allow me to enter with a 2008 Harley-Davidson V-ROD (it is HD's only liquid cooled engine). I was told in polite terms, no. Looks like I will continue riding with the Iron Butt Association and not ascribe to the "H-D Lifestyle".
Dave you must be mistaken because all HD motorcycles, including V-Rods and Buell are allowed in the Challenge. Maybe I'll see you next to me and my V-Rod at the starting line
Hey Dave, Good news, Your V-Rod is welcome this year. Harley Corporate's sponsorship of the event means that any Harley is welcome. See you out there.
Big Jim is a known scam artist and con man. And now with the sponsorship of HD he clearly has a partner with deep pockets to share in the future lawsuits. Maybe their next great idea will be to make each leg of the HH a ride from bar to bar.
Alternatively, riders interested in distance should look to the IBA. They require training and proficiency in order to participate in their events, and the first to finish is rarely the winner.
I knew it wouldn't take long before the IBA whiners started chiming in. You have your rally, so go away already. If IBA was so great you would be the one with the big sponsors and prize money events rather than making your riders do all the documentation and work then pay too much for a patch they can get made for $2. IBA is a great idea in the hands of the wrong people.
Harley is going to regret it and the idiot they are quoting will be unemployed when this is over
For clarity: The Iron Butt Rally runs every other year on the odd years. Semi-annual is every six months. Bi-annual is every two years.
Thank you. I fixed it.
The Hoka Hey was the antithesis of everything that safe LD riding is about. They turned it into a race compounded by greed with a high-stakes, winner-take-all objective. They were even more reckless, in my opinion, with their “this is a good day to die” nonsense. I don’t know a single LD rider in his right mind who gets on his bike and thinks “this is a good day to die.”
Their declared “winner” said in an interview (http://quickthrottle.com/hokahey2010realstory.html) that he kept his wheels turning for all but 10 hours of his journey. Key West, FL to Homer, AK (8,482 miles by their published route) on only 10 hours sleep?! That is not humanly possible without lots of chemical stimulants or hallucinations due to sleep deprivation. Neither is safe, responsible, or representative of the LD community.
Or maybe he didn't ride his own bike the whole way...
I'm pretty sure he rode the whole way, Seems like he did it safely too, although if safety is the primary goal, none of should be on motorcycles, ever. Does the IBA construct their big events to discourage speeding? Does a speeding ticket disqualify you in IBA events?
Limiting it to air cooled Harley Davidsons is the only way to keep IBA riders from taking it all. They know if the real endurance riders, on well known and proven endurance machines were to enter, the Harleys would be hard pressed to break the top ten, period.
The IBA is not about money, but the real challenges involved. As one said, the first to finish is most often not the overall winner. The IBR is still the REAL endurance rally. This one pales in comparison.
I have nothing but respect for the Iron Butt riders, and I have yet to ride in one of their events, but I do hope to. There were plenty of IBA riders in the Hoka Hey. They did not do so well because it is not the same deal. I suspect that they will do better this year because riders have a better understanding of what to expect. HH is ridden primarily on classic motorcycle roads without GPS or hotels relying heavily on the rider's ability to read maps and navigate remote poorly marked roads. The two events are both great and need not be seen as competing with each other.
By the way my two Harleys completed 36,000 miles over the past 10 months without any failure outside of a headlight bulb. They did not even require any oil between changes, I was never a Harley rider. I love my other bikes and bought a Harley only to compete in the Hoka Hey because I was attracted to the unique challenge. I now hope to compete in an Iron Butt event on my comfortable, reliable Harley. I will enjoy having Aux fuel and a GPS and a computer mapping program and using my cruise control - But hey: I like both waterskiing and snow skiing too.
I wonder, did the so called winner last year actually get the big prize? More likely he got a bit of money after agreeing to tell everyone he won big.
Yep, He did get the full amount. The people he shared it with are pretty sure that he did too. What a silly comment. Read the rider's stories at hokahey.com.
@Will: Many of Bernie Madoff's investors continued to support him for months after his Ponzi scheme was revealed. For them to do otherwise would be to admit they had been duped and screwed. I see the same psychology at work with the hoka hey.
No way the "declared winner" rode his bike the whole way - his own words convict him.
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