1945 Harley-Davidson EL

My name is Brent Mayfield. I have lived most of my life in Dayton, Ohio. I got indoctrinated in to motorcycles at a very young age as my father and several relatives all rode motorcycles. In early 1968, when I was a senior in high school, I started looking for my first bike and a friend of mine said he had won an old motorcycle in a poker game. He said it was all apart and would sell it to me for $80.00. Turned out it was a 1941 FL Knucklehead. Needless to say, once I got it together and started riding it, I was hooked.

From that first Knucklehead until now I have owned, built, restored and sold many motorcycles from Bobbers to Choppers, to high point restorations. While Harleys have been my main focus, I like all motorcycles and have owned many brands from Ariel to Zundapp.

Up until 2010 most of my focus was on 1936 and later Harleys. I did not get interested in the older Harleys until the 2010 Cannonball. After reading about the 2010 C/B and talking to some of the riders, I got the bug for the older Harleys. I signed up for the 2012 C/B and built a 1924 J-Model which I entered in the 2012 C/B (rider #77). I rode from Newburgh, NY. to Milwaukee. The bike was running fine and I was doing good but I dropped out at that point. 3 months prior to the C/B, I had made a career change and moved my office to my home. It was a personal decision, but I decided I should not be away from the office for as long as the C/B would take.

I then entered the 2014 Cannonball on a bike that I built which I call a VJH. I used a 34 VL lower end and a ULH top end and put it in a 25 JD chassis. I rode this bike from Daytona Beach to Tacoma, Washington for a perfect score.

I skipped the 2016 Cannonball but entered the 2018 on a 1925 JD that I built. I rode from Portland, Main to Portland, Oregon. The bike ran perfect but I missed a perfect score by 88 miles due to a set of broke distributor points in South, Dakota.

I have signed up for the 2020 Cannonball using the same 1925 JD that I rode in the 2018 but I’ll make sure I have an extra set of points with me this time.

The 2019 Chase looks to be another great adventure aboard that allows me to do what I love best, riding my trusty 1945 Harley Knucklehead.

Life is wonderful and I feel very blessed to be able to participate in this next great adventure with a lot of great and like minded people. See you in Sault Sainte Marie!