Some things never change: Classic motorcycle riders from around New England reflect on the rally

LACONIA — Enthusiasts came from far and wide to show off their hot rides at a classic motorcycle and tricycle show at the Weirs Drive-In on Tuesday morning during Laconia Motorcycle Week.

Four riders met in the parking lot behind vendor stands to display their vintage motorcycles.

Pete Currier of Gilford rode in on a customized 1987 Harley-Davidson Sportster that he’s turned into a “chopper,” a slang term meaning a high-performance cruiser motorcycle. Currier operates a small manufacturer called SMA Custom Cycles and machines custom motorcycle parts in Gilford. 

“I do small, machined accessories. I do everything that’s different on this bike — the shotgun shells, casing lights, the nice throttle control with the gear drive,” Currier said. “I built the engine all by myself, the transmission, everything. The carburetor is all custom. It’s going places, it’s still a work in progress, it always will be but I enjoy it.”

Currier said life in 1987, the same year his motorcycle was manufactured, wasn’t much different than today aside from advances in technology and changes in social attitudes.

“I was there. It wasn’t any different than it is now, really, except we didn’t have phones that did all this magic junk. You went to a payphone if you wanted to call someone, and you listened to the radio if you wanted to listen to music,” he said. “Nothing’s really changed. People’s attitudes changed, but stuff is still stuff.”

Currier purchased his motorcycle six or seven years ago to the best of his recollection, from a friend who had it sitting on his property.

“He had it sitting under the rain and I said, ‘Oh, I’ve got to have that,’” he said. “He sold it to me for cheap money and I ripped it apart and rebuilt it.”

Currier's already done a lot of work to restore the bike but also has big plans for its future. He’ll start by removing the original frame and swing-arm design and install a rigid frame.

“I want to put a rigid frame on this and make it full chopper, full rigid with a springer front end, which is my goal,” Currier said. “But I’ve got to pay for the other motorcycle, which is $400 a month, before I can play with more money for this thing.”

He’s been coming from Gilford to the Weirs to see the show since he was a kid, even sneaking out from his parents' house as a boy to attend Laconia Motorcycle Week.

“All my life — my parents wouldn’t let me play down here when I was a child, of course not. As soon as I was old enough to get out and go, I believe we were 12 years old, and we snuck out because our parents were partying on Bike Week,” he said. “We as kids took off, we walked all the way down the railroad tracks in Meredith to come down here and go ‘Wow’ — it’s a 7 mile way, we did it anyways.”

Currier said the biggest difference he’s noted between the rallies of his youth and the contemporary event is crowds are much smaller and traffic less congested.

Currier was the only participant from the Lakes Region. Dan Murdock from Groton, Massachusetts, brought his 1949 Harley-Davidson WL with a kickstarter to the meet. He said he trailered his bike to the Weirs in order to attend Laconia Motorcycle Week this year.

“I’ve had it about 25 years,” Murdock said. “It’s fun to ride, people enjoy seeing it out."

Murdock said he’s attended a motorcycle rally in Daytona, Florida, in the past but enjoys the rally in Laconia because it’s close to home. 

“I’ve been coming for years,” he said. “Great riding up here.”

Murdock said his favorite memory from Laconia Motorcycle Week is having a party with his friends. He’s enjoyed riding since he was a young kid, he said, and would encourage the next generation to take the torch.

“My first bike was a Kawasaki 175 Enduro,” he said. “Take a rider's course, start out on a smaller bike. Get used to it then move on up.”

Linwood Dall, of Shapleigh, Maine, recently transitioned from two wheels to three with urging from his wife. He loves to ride, so he attends Laconia Motorcycle Week astride a 2015 Harley-Davidson Freewheeler, a motorized tricycle. 

“I came over this morning,” Dall said. “It’s a trike, but it doesn’t have a big seat on the back. ... I started when I was in my 20s and then I stopped after a while and raised a family and so forth. And then my daughter got me into it probably 15 years ago. She gave me a Harley-Davidson in all pieces and it took me a year to build it up.”

Dall rode that handmade motorcycle for about a year before tipping over and sustaining serious burn damage to his leg from the hot exhaust.

“My wife wouldn’t let me ride a two-wheeler any longer so I ended up with a trike,” he said.

He’s been coming to Laconia Motorcycle Week for years, even during a period when he stopped riding altogether. Two years ago he was also in Daytona for the rally there.

“I like it here because, No. 1, I’m close to home. The big ones are Laconia, Daytona and Sturgis,” he said. “Sturgis is too far away, Daytona, of course, is in the winter. This is in the summer.”

Dall said young enthusiasts shouldn’t be afraid to ride.

“Have a good time and be safe,” he said. “That’s the whole thing. A motorcycle isn’t much protection, you’ve got to ride it very defensively.”