Don Emde 0 Posted June 22, 2011 Greetings. I am a new member, but not new to motorcycling in San Diego. My family has been involved in the motorcycle sport and business in San Diego and Imperial counties for almost 100 years. My grandfather had a repair shop and did some racing as far back as 1914, then later was a motorcycle patrol officer in Imperial County, then Chula Vista. My father, Floyd Emde, was one of the country's top racers in the post-WWII era, and he won the Daytona 200 in 1948. He and my mom open a motorcycle shop in National City and eventually had three stores in the county. I worked in the shops as I was growing up, got into racing and eventually also won the Daytona 200, the only time a father and son have both won that race. Through the years I have been involved in the sport and business, and now I am starting a media project that the club might find interesting. We are going to retrace the original route of Cannon Ball Baker's 1914 cross country ride from San Diego to New York in 11 1/2 days, a record at the time. KTM has sponsored me with motorcycles to go check out the roads and trails that still exist. We are going to take it in small bites, checking his route for each of the 11 1/2 days. We plan to have a website that we are now working on, and we have a Facebook page called The Cannon Ball Project if anyone wants to check that out. We won't have too much to report until September, but I'll try to keep everyone posted here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCHWINN 0 Posted June 22, 2011 Hey Don: Welcome aboard. I knew your son Dave well..RIP..Bought alot of motorcycles from him from ECC. I am born and raised in San Diego and alot of Peeps here should know you and your Family and history of your Family. Even in the movie " On any Sunday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 559 Posted June 22, 2011 Welcome to the forum. We will be looking forward to the reports from this adventure. I'll be sure to check out your FB page. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted June 22, 2011 Emde? Never heard the name Just kidding... nice to have you aboard, and good luck on your journey... I'll facebook you too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 887 Posted June 22, 2011 Sounds pretty interesting, welcome to the site. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christi20 0 Posted June 22, 2011 wow. Really looking forward to the reports on that!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
X-Racer 0 Posted June 22, 2011 Hi Don, Bob Baldwin (son of Jack Baldwin (RIP), Jack Baldwin Motorcycles, Santa Monica, Dirt Diggers, friend of Don Sr. (Etc.)) here..... I think you are going to need some help out there. I better ride with you just in case. I'm pretty sure my Y2K LC4-E "Katina" will have no problems getting there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don Emde 0 Posted June 23, 2011 Hi everyone. Schwinn: actually Dave was my little brother. We lost him a few years ago on a road crash near Julian. To all, here and on our own pages we will update how it is going. Have been doing a lot of research online about the old roads, plus I spent a day at the San Diego Historical Society library in Balboa Park. It was so cool that they had an actual 1914 road map of San Diego County, so that helped me resolve what Baker's route out of town would have been (basically Campo Road / Hwy 94 east to Imperial County). Most of the California route is now paved, but I think Arizona will still have some dirt to ride. We post the route in sections as we work it out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCHWINN 0 Posted June 23, 2011 Hi everyone. Schwinn: actually Dave was my little brother. We lost him a few years ago on a road crash near Julian. To all, here and on our own pages we will update how it is going. Have been doing a lot of research online about the old roads, plus I spent a day at the San Diego Historical Society library in Balboa Park. It was so cool that they had an actual 1914 road map of San Diego County, so that helped me resolve what Baker's route out of town would have been (basically Campo Road / Hwy 94 east to Imperial County). Most of the California route is now paved, but I think Arizona will still have some dirt to ride. We post the route in sections as we work it out. Oooops Sorry about that Don..Should have known after looking at the pic of you and you talking about your Dad Floyd. . I was to meet Dave the day he crashed at the Hide-Out at Lake Henshaw when he went down on Old Julian Hwy. I was the one riding front on a new Black 2003 Harley Street Glide with Dave Ketchum next to me in the Funeral procession. RIP- 9-14-2003 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don Emde 0 Posted June 23, 2011 Thanks. Dave made so many friends. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ste63 0 Posted June 23, 2011 Don Nice bike, Sounds very interesting. We lived just up the street from you. Last name is Siebern, 2nd house from the end on Acacia Ave. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted June 23, 2011 Hi Don....Welcome ! Glad you joined our forums, and look forward to reading about your Adventure. Hope to get out on the 950 with you sometime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don Emde 0 Posted June 24, 2011 Hi Don....Welcome ! Glad you joined our forums, and look forward to reading about your Adventure. Hope to get out on the 950 with you sometime. Hi Randy. Nice to be connected here finally. While we get our bikes all setup, I have been mainly doing internet research on the old roads and routes of 1914. We will probably start our "re-con" rides in September and then once we have made a pass to check out photo locations, we'll be re-running the different sections. I think Arizona is going to where the best dual sport riding is going to be. It looks like a lot of Baker's 1914 route is still there, and much of it is still dirt. I'll keep you posted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenosan 2 Posted June 24, 2011 Welcome Don. Sounds like fun. Back before the days of silicone sealants Permatex ruled. When I was a young mechanic in the early 60's the old timer mechanics of the day told me a story I have never been able to verify. They said that a guy called Cannon Ball Smith was hired by Permatex to do a promotional stunt for them. They took a Ford (I think it was a model T) and completely dismantled it and removed all the gaskets. They reassembled it using only Permatex in place of all the gaskets. Cannon Ball Smith then drove the car from New York to LA without any failures. I would be curious to find out if this event crossed paths with your Cannon Ball in any way. No info on their website. http://www.permatex.com/about_history.htm Another Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted June 24, 2011 I figured for those of you who don't know Don Emde....here are a couple links......hope Don doesn't mind..... Don Emde, Inc. AMA Hall of Fame Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
