Advertisement The Harley-Davidson store is hosting the Bubba Blackwell show as part of the S&S Cycles 50th anniversary celebration being held all weekend with activities in various venues from La Crosse to the speedway in West Salem. Details for the weekend can be found online at www.sscycle50th.com.
Organizers of the event expect thousands of motorcyclists and enthusiasts to visit the Coulee Region.
“People who would never have otherwise come here are going to descend upon the Coulee Region,”said Howard Kelly, media supervisor for S&S Cycles. “We have builders coming from New Zealand, England, Germany, from all over.”
Eric Eade, manager of the Harley-Davidson dealership, expects 500 to 600 people throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festivities in Onalaska will feature local charities such as church groups providing cotton candy, brats and baked goods. Children’s Treehouse will provide chilidogs and root beer floats and restaurants including Famous Dave’s, Culver’s and Burrachos will be on hand.
For casual to dedicated bikers, product vendors will be at the scene selling their goods. Vendors include Stamper Black Hills Gold; Wizard motorcycle care products; 7 Eye by Panoptx eyewear; Wild Things, which sells hats, gloves and other furry wear; and Wilderness Embroidery.
Bubba Blackwell, an Alabama native, was hooked on motorcycle stunts at the age of 8 when he first saw Evel Knievel on TV. He grew up to break Evel Knievel’s record in 1998 by successfully clearing 20 cars on the same type of motorcycle.
Since his near fatal crash in 2001 while attempting to clear 22 cars, Blackwell has been rebuilding his strength and his show. In 2003, he sailed his XR-750 Harley-Davidson over 10 Peterbilt trucks and two weeks later cleared 15 new Porsche cars.
Blackwell now jumps with a Harley-Davidson V-Rod and a factory customized Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Electra Glide. He won’t be jumping over anything in Onalaska, but his stunts promise to be just as dangerous and exciting. The stunt shows are at 1 and 3 p.m., and he will sign autographs between shows.
If one motorcycle isn’t enough, how about 200? The La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem will host a number of motorcycle drag races over the weekend.
A separate motorcycle show with 200 bikes will be held, with the winner receiving an S&S Cycle engine.
There will be several races: Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. S & S will host Teresi Dyno Drag races and from 6 to 10 p.m. will be S&S Street Drag racing. Saturday, the Dyno Drag races will continue from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The main attraction for the S&S Cycle 50th anniversary celebration is the custom bike building competition. Fifty world-famous custom motorcycle builders — including Paul Teutul Sr. and sons Paul Jr. and Mikey of Orange County Choppers, featured on the TV series “American Chopper” —will bring custom-built bikes made especially for the competition.
Throughout the weekend, Coulee Region residents can see the bikes at the Southside Oktoberfest grounds in downtown La Crosse and vote for the one they like best. The winner will receive a $50,000 prize, which will be awarded Sunday, June 29, at noon at the Oktoberfest grounds.
Residents can meet the builders one-on-one by signing up for a river cruise on the Julia Belle Swain or the La Crosse Queen steamboat. At least two of the 50 custom bike builders will be on each of the cruises for casual conversation, bike talk, or signing autographs.
In addition to the display of bikes at the La Crosse Oktoberfest grounds, live entertainment will be offered throughout the weekend. Local bands including the Remainders, Flashback and the Headbolts, a band with two S&S Cycle employees as members, will perform.
Dave Rogers, owner of Dave’s Guitar Shop will perform renditions of songs by Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others, on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. National acts including hard rockers Jackyl, blues band Avey Brothers Band and OCC the Band also will rock the Oktoberfest grounds.
Weekend celebrations end with a bang with the LSO Pops Concert and Festival Fireworks display Sunday night at the Onalaska Omni Center.
“We’re not making any money with our celebration,” Kelly said. “All the proceeds are going to Riverfront, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coulee Region and the Children’s Museum.
S&S Cycles was started by George Smith Sr. and Stanley Stankos in 1958 in Chicago. Stankos left the business after one year and Smith’s wife, Marge, partnered with her husband and they remained dedicated to making motorcycles go fast. They moved to Viola, Wis., in 1968 and opened a distribution center in La Crosse in 2004. The company has about 300 employees, 65 of whom are in the La Crosse facility.
Advertisement 
