The Vintage 1,000 - Here We Go!

The Vintage 1,000 started five years ago as an idea between Adam Sheard (Speed Deluxe) and his friend Chastin Brand - riding vintage bikes (pre-1981) 1,000 miles off-road over five days. Harking back to the days of enduro events where you have to fix your bike as you go and make it to pre-scheduled stop points each evening. 

1,000 miles in five days may seem like no problem. But, of the seven bikes participating in the first year, only one bike made it the full 1,000 miles and only four bikes made it back under their own power. The remaining three were on the trailer. 

Now at 20 riders for each trip, we caught wind of this adventure and decided we had to be a part of it. We just needed pre-1981 motorcycles. 

Earlier this year, Jake (@Prism_Jake)bought a vintage 1970 Ironhead Sportster 1) because it’s incredibly cool and 2) because it fits the criteria for the Vintage 1,000 perfectly. Not to mention, this will be the first time a Harley-Davidson competes in the Vintage 1,000! 

Jake invited Prism Suppy’s Content Manager, Matt (@Matt___Best), to come along and join in on the fun - shooting photos of the whole journey. But, he didn’t have a bike at the time. So, with about a month to spare, Matt picked up a ‘97 Sportster from our good friend, Kyle, but it was going to take some work to get the bike ready for the off-road trip. Plus, since it’s not pre-1981 the bike doesn’t fall under the criteria for the ride, but the Vintage 1,000 team was gracious enough to let him tag along with the rest of the riders in order to capture content of the trip - although he’s not technically in the ride. Thanks again, y’all!

So, with not much time left until the ride, our very own Mitch “Theo” Johnson spent some serious time prepping both bikes for the trip, building everything from custom luggage racks to just general maintenance work in order to get the bikes ready for the 1,000 mile haul.

The bikes in the photos below are the result of a lot of hard work and some ambitious goals. But, Jake and Matt are currently en route to Chattanooga to start the ride and we can’t wait to see what these Harley-Davidsons can do alongside vintage Japanese and European bikes. 

Follow along with Prism on Instagram and Facebook for regular updates of the trip and help us cheer the guys on from wherever you’re reading this! 

PS. We’re also crossing our fingers that the bikes still look like their “before” photos once they return to Charlotte, albeit some expected dirt and mud that will surely be collected along the way.