Don Emde to Retrace the 1914 Route of Cannon Ball Baker

The winner of the 1972 Daytona 200, Don Emde, is to retrace and document the route of America’s first true Adventurebike rider, Erwin G. Baker, better known as “Cannon Ball” Baker. The project is to locate and ride as much of the 11 1/2 day coast-to-coast motorcycle ride in 1914 as possible.

Emde will receive support form KTM North America, who are providing 990 Adventure bikes, as well as Parts Unlimited and numerous aftermarket manufacturers. Emde and a staff writer from Parts Magazine will continue these research rides into 2012 to document the entire 3,378-mile route from San Diego to New York.

“By 1910, some riders had accomplished motorcycle rides from coast to coast, taking 3 to 4 weeks to complete. Then, in 1914, Baker took off from San Diego, CA on a two-speed Indian V-twin headed for New York. He had pre-planned a route through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas that would eventually get him to Kansas City where an established road system would take him to New York City,” Emde explains.

“Baker astonished the motorcycle world when he completed the 3,378-mile route a full 9 days faster than any previous coast-to-coast motorcycle rides. And at the completion of his ride, a journalist obviously impressed by Baker’s commitment to achieving his goal, dubbed him “Cannon Ball,” a nickname that stuck with him for life,” he added.

Emde says the goal of the project is to demonstrate what an amazing accomplishment it was for Baker to make it all the way across the country on a motorcycle that produced less than 10 horsepower, which he did at an average of over 300 miles per day. He will also use a period Indian V-twin provided from the Fred Fox Collection to perform actual demonstrations that recreate certain riding situations that Baker endured.