Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 04/01) - Bikers from all over the NWT and the western provinces recently joined local riders down at Harley's Hard Rock Saloon to put together a dazzling display of machinery.

Sandy McPhee on his 1980 Wide Glide with a Shovelhead engine.

At least 28 motorcycles, nearly all of them Harley Davidsons, were parked outside the downtown saloon on the eve of the summer solstice.

"It was great to see the increase in out-of-town participation," said a rather large and burly fellow known affectionately as Uncle Rusty.

"I'm betting that next year, we'll see even more of the boys coming down for Raven Mad Daze," he added.

Robin Hein, owner of Fast Wheels, a bike shop in Regina that concentrates on custom choppers and large motors, rode up to Yellowknife with four or five other guys.

"Everybody ran hard and it was a good time," said Hein.

Two choppers constructed at Fast Wheels made the journey without any trouble. These impressive chrome steeds go for about $50,000 apiece.

The trip was a fairly significant one as the choppers were running high-performance motors made in Connecticut by a company called Total Performance Engineering.

"Total Performance is the best damned company I've ever dealt with," said Hein.

Fred Squires was excited to see how the engines in the Fast Wheels-built choppers performed.

"It was a real torture test for those engines and so far, they've passed with no problem," said Squires.

Squires has lived in Yellowknife since 1982 and is co-owner of Harley's with his wife, Kelly.

Interestingly enough, the bar wasn't named after the motorcycle, but after one of the Squires' six children, daughter Harley. On the other hand, his daughter was named after the motorcycle.