Presented by

To Benefit

Kiwi Facts & The Century Ride Home Charity Road Run
In 1988, Mike and Carolyn Tomas started what today is one of the premier manufacturers of vintage Indian motorcycle parts in the world, Kiwi Indian Parts.  From the humble beginnings in the back of a garage to today's large modern shop, "Kiwi Mike" as he is known in the business, has worked hard to ensure his customers constantly receive the highest quality reproduction v-twin Indian parts and accessories. The repair and restoration shop and involvement in motor sports were a logical progression.

With his team of experts, Kiwi Mike can manufacture and sell parts for the DIY, repair the powertrain, or completely restore an Indian from the ground up. Take Kiwi's complete powertrain package which will soon be on the market, readily available frames, and a complete inventory of parts, and a customer can walk out with a completely new vintage Indian motorcycle. From spark plugs to complete motors, Kiwi Indian can handle it all!

In the spirit of dedication to their aftermarket vintage Indian customers, Kiwi Mike and his Parts Manager, Steve Adams, have organized "The Century Ride Home" Charity Road Run. Steve and Mike wanted to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Indian Motorcycle and what better way than a charity road run to join the motorcycling community with the general public? Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a favorite of both Steve and Mike, will be the beneficiary. Mike and Steve hope the run will raise $100,000 for the CF Foundation.

The run will begin June 29 2001 in Riverside, California and end, 15 days and 3,700 miles later, in Springfield, Massachusetts. The run will travel some of America's most beautiful and historic roads, including the famous Route 66. There will be a post-ride barbeque and concert for the riders, then a motorcycle show, swap meet and vendor expo for the general public on the following day.

Participants may join the ride at any point along the way. An Indian motorcycle is not required in order to participate, but be forewarned: You'll probably want one ofthese American classics before the ride is over.

The Century Ride Home will be the greatest road run of the new millennium, a once in a lifetime event. Please come join us in supporting a great cause!

Practical Details
Due to popular demand, the entry Fee for EVERYONE has been reduced to $150 (plus $50 for passenger). This goes for everyone, no matter where you join us, and includes a Century Ride Home T-shirt and pin. $50 will go towards the expense of the truck, $100 will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you want to join us for a single day, the fee is $50, meals, hotels etc seperate, but you'll get a Century Ride Home pin. Those who've paid the full share will have their checks returned. We have decided to do this to make this ride more accessible for everyone. So, join the others who have already sent their money in and join the greatest road run of the new millennium: The original Century Ride Home. 

We are currently addressing the lodging "problem" by trying to find a chain (or chains) that would trade sponsorship for room discounts. Update 06.08.01: List of hotels, campgrounds and RV parks now online.

Most will provide lodging for themselves (campgrounds, RVs, Motels, etc) and that is fine. For those who do not want the headaches, we hope to be able to do the work for you (we also hope to have a list of motels/hotels that will provide discounted rooms soon). 

Transportation of the bikes (from east to west coast, or vice versa) is also being addressed (see below), including overseas shipping. Security will be provided at all overnight stops, and we will also be taking at least two trained mechanics (for the American v-twin stuff), plus several chase vehicles will be there to support us along the way. We will not leave anyone behind!

If you need transport for your bike to or from the Ride, please contact Wisco Transportation. They are set up for transporting antique bikes safely and at good rates. Wisco is one of our main sponsors.

More information will be posted on the update page as we work it all out.
 
 

Updated 01.06.01 Please note that some of the questions and answers below do not apply any longer (new lower entry fee and revised sponsorship levels). If you have any questions, feel free to contact Steve Adams at +1 909/780-5400 or ride@kiwi-indian.com

The Century Ride Home has naturally excited Indian enthusiasts around the world, and the Indian mailing lists have had their share of questions about the Ride. Here's a couple of the most common. We expect to post more questions and answers on this page as June 2001 grows nearer. If you have a good question, send it to us and we will do our best to answer it.

What does our $500 entry fee go to? (entry fee now lowered to $150, but the basics here still apply) Is it tax deductable?

While I cannot guarantee the amount that goes to CF (I am estimating about $200 of the entry fee will go directly to CF), we do have a preliminary budget established. 

Yes, the repair truck and mechanics, the production company that is producing the run and their staff are all being paid for their work. Official chase and support vehicles, security, communications, advertising, insurance (a big expense), signage (banners on vehicles, French barricades for each evening's festivities) and entertainment are some of the expense items we will encounter. We are planning on something special for the riders at each evening's stop. Now if some of these expenses are donated, the CF will benefit (NOT the Run's producers or presenters) by lowering the expenses, and increasing the bottom line. Like I said earlier, about $200 of the $500 goes to CF....and all monies left over go to CF (they get a cut on the top plus all the bottom line). 

Yes, $500 is expensive ($700 if you have a passenger), but we have worked on this, dropping the price to $350 (+$100 passenger) for those who join us east of St Louis. Indian Sue mentioned that the Love Ride is a minimum donation of $125 for a ONE day event, and gets you the barbecue and a concert with some famous rock acts. We plan on the same thing, after a 15 day event, plus more. There will be several barbecues over the course of the ride, not just the final day. 

Stan mentioned that the donations might not be tax deductable... The Century Ride Home bank account is set up within the CF guidelines as a 501c charity account, thus would qualify as a "charity" event (receipts showing this will be given with every paid entry fee). The money does not go first to either the producer (Road Shows, Inc), nor to the presenter (Kiwi Indian Parts), but to the charity account.

This is a once in a lifetime event, and for a very worthy cause. I do hope those who are considering joining the Ride who have concerns, address us at ride@kiwi-indian.com

Thank you,

Steve Adams
the Century Ride Home

"If my (wife. friend, partner) attends, but drives our (motorhome, van, truck or other chase vehicles) do I have to pay an entry fee for them too?"

No, you do not have to enter your chase vehicle or support crew for our ride. However, we de request that the chase vehicles stay on the main highway(s), away from the riders. This is to cut down on the gridlock conditions we may cause on the run. Also, we would like to register all chase vehicles and crew for security reasons, parking, etc. Thanks for your question.

"I plan on having a few friends ride with me, can we get some kind of discount, or does each of us have to pay the full amount?" 

While we would like to collect as much money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as possible, we do offer discounts to groups or clubs that attend. These discounts will be based on number of riders attending, and where you start riding with us. Thanks for your question.

"If I can get my employer to pay my entry fee, can they be listed as a sponsor?" 

Sorry, no. If you have your employer, family, neighbors or local business support this ride by paying your for your entry, that would not qualify them as a "run" sponsor. There is nothing keeping you from promoting them on your own, by listing them on your pesonal clothing or motorcycle. However, if you can get your employer, local business, family or friends to donate at least $2,000 (total) then we will use that as a sponsorship, listing them with the other sponsors. At $2,000, the sponsor will, in addition to all the signage, vendor space at the conclusion of the ride, and other benefits, recieve a free rider pass! Thanks for your question.