Tom Shinn (left) of San Jose and Tom Embry of Roseville park their rare Honda Rune motorcycles in Hollister Friday at the end of a row of hundreds of bikes on the opening day of the Hollister Motorcycle Rally.

Just beyond a long line of parked motorcycles, a short walk through a horde of beefy leather-clad bikers and near an ominous attraction called “The Wall of Death,” Webster Dalton was dismounting his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Friday, having just ridden into Hollister from Torrance.

Dalton, 71, in his well-worn leather jacket and leather pants, proudly showed off his cycle, gleaming and undamaged despite its 72,000 miles, which he bragged were “all mine.”

Carefully brushing away a barely noticeable smudge on his gas tank, Dalton was happy to share wisdom gleaned from his years on the road.

“Nothing looks better than a bike that’s been cleaned up,” he said. “And nothing looks worse than a bike that could look good but doesn’t. Kind of like a woman. If you take care of them, they’ll take care of you.”

Along with thousands of other bikers, Dalton had come to Hollister for the annual Motorcycle Rally. An estimated 80,000 people attended last year’s event.

Hundreds of vendor booths lined the streets, selling everything imaginable related to motorcycles — rims, custom painting services, clothes and riding glasses. Many vendors sold T-shirts ranging from simple advertisements to the downright obscene, and most came in the obligatory black. Hanging from one booth, a humorous sign warned, “support your local Hell’s Angels, or else!”

Several specialty motorcycle shops showed off their wares — bikes that ranged from standard Harley-Davidsons to choppers with custom-tooled leather and elegantly curved chrome; works of art on wheels, many of which looked like props from a futuristic movie.

The Hollister Motorcycle Rally is more than 60 years old, and is thought to have inspired the 1947 Marlon Brando movie “The Wild One.” The iconic image of the American biker reportedly came from the Hollister rally.

Cancelled in 2006, the rally was revived a year later, bringing in 130,000 attendees, its largest crowd ever.

The event is a boon to local business owners, who report record sales during the weekend event.

“We in the Chamber of Commerce wholeheartedly embrace the event,” said Bryn Calderon, administrative assistant with the Chamber of Commerce.

Hollister law enforcement authorities recruited help from several jurisdictions, including King City, Paso Robles and Watsonville. Additionally, officers from the Department of Justice, local sheriff’s offices and local parole agents were patrolling the streets.

Aside from a handful of traffic enforcement problems and a few gang fights, police on Friday said the rally is generally uneventful.

In an enormous cylindrical building called the Wall of Death, about 50 people bought tickets to watch four scruffy daredevils ride motorcycles and go-carts up onto the circular walls at blinding speeds to grab dollar bills from the outstretched hands of spectators standing on a viewing platform 30 feet above the ground.

Sunshine Nelson, 62, arrived at the rally on her Harley-Davidson FLS Heritage. She was wearing a pink tank top, fishnet stockings and pink leather cowboy boots.

Nelson came to the rally alone.

“Nobody else can keep up with me,” she said.

She bragged that she had logged 163,000 miles on her motorcycle. She had come to purchase helmets to decorate with crystals.

Many of the bikers will travel later this summer to the Sturgis, S.D. rally, thought to be the largest in the country. The Hollister rally will end Sunday.

“It’s not the destination,” said Dalton. “It’s the ride. You’re not coming to get anything. It just gives you a reason to ride.”

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*Photos by Tarmo Hannula*

(Published in 7/12/08 edition)

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