The trek to Sturgis is different every year. Each trip has its own personality, a new bike and a unique sense of timing. Last year was pure deadline.

We built Agent Zebra a Paughco Softail to ride from Miami, then a rigid for my ride from San Pedro.

I had this desire to build a rowdy chopper in a rigid chassis. It wasn't so much a personal test, but a tribute to the Black Hills Rally. At one time, outlaws rode rigids to the Sturgis City Park, got fucked up for a week and rode home. I had wanted to play the same game for the year 2000.

The second aspect of the journey was the drive to build a rigid that would run with the reliability of the Evolution technology. Generally it worked, except for my own tank installation blunder, but that's half of the adrenaline rush of riding to Sturgis each year. Even Arlen Ness always tries to build something new and exciting for each run.

So what happened this year? What was the driving desire? Was there a new girl tearing at my heart, a deadline hanging over our heads? Nope, not initially. At first we had several projects to deal with. One was building bikes for the hard-working folks who help keep Bikernet going, as a reward for their efforts. We did it for Agent Zebra with his Badlands Softail, and this year we're building our morale officer, Ladd Terry, a Pro Street FXR, and our master illustrator, Jon Towle, a Paughco Rigid Sportster. I too had planned to build a Twin Cam FXR, and I had the opportunity to pick up a used Buell. On top of that, Dr. Hamster and I, while under the influence of tequila shots, had discussed riding old bikes to Sturgis. He was restoring a '34 VL and I had recently installed dual Mikunis on my 61-inch '48 Panhead. We're stupidly still considering the antique trek for next year.

For various reasons we focused on the Buell. Part of it was financial. When I suggested riding the Buell, the response was similar to what I got last year with the rigid. People thought I was crazy. There are a couple different takes on Buells. Some dealers consider them the black sheep of the Harley family. Mechanics, on the other hand, say they'd rather work on Buells because of their construction and performance. I began to ride the M-2 Cyclone around town and researched modifications. The more I rode it the more impressed I was. Buell owners have discovered a hidden treasure. Sure they're not the traditional fat classic cruiser or custom, but the sportbike is a diamond back in handling, with a rubbermounted Sportster driveline and no vibration. The factory brakes stop on a dime, and the frame technology makes high-speed wobbling a thing of the past. I discovered a bike that could pack a babe for 400 miles in the heat and it was a dream ride. At 100 mph, I could pick my nose while passing 18-wheelers without even thinking about it. Long-distance rides became less trial and more pleasure. The thought of riding the Buell to Sturgis became almost too easy to consider. Would it be enough of a challenge?

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