Motorcycle Cannonball: the race of a lifetime for Beaver Dam’s Jonas Zahn


By Joel Waldinger | October 30, 2024

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Jonas Zahn is setting out on an epic adventure. Zahn will join riders from all over the world for Motorcycle Cannonball, one of the most difficult antique motorcycle endurance races on the planet, stretching from Virginia Beach to Oceanside, California. Zahn will be riding a 1928 Moto Guzzi Sport 14 with a sidecar, which he says is known for reliability and endurance. For months Zahn has been preparing this vintage bike for the 3,800-mile coast-to-coast race that zig-zags across America. He imported the bike from Verona, Italy just for Motorcycle Cannonball.

Motorcycles are a family tradition for Zahn. He discovered them through his grandfather, while looking at old black and white photos in a family album. As a young farm kid, Zahm was always fascinated by machines. As an adult, he still has a fascination with fixing and restoring classic bikes at Peg Leg Speed Shop.

Zahn is an amputee from a hit-and-run motorcycle accident more than 25 years ago. He says he got a second chance at life and is going to make it count. But he won’t be doing the race alone. Riding in the sidecar is Brenda Kuhl. Zahn and Kuhl share a biker bond. She describes Zahn as being “like a brother” to her. She loves that he chose her to ride along. Whether it’s a little bit scary or a lot of fun, two heads are always better than one.

Before the Cannonball, it had been more than 20 years since Zahn rode a motorcycle across the Wisconsin state line. So race day arrived with a few nerves and a lot of anticipation. Keeping a motorcycle that’s almost a hundred years old operating every day, all day, is the challenge. Getting on the road and seeing bikes already breaking down was a little scary and unnerving for Team 36.

Day one of racing was underway when Zahn looked at Kuhl and said, the bike is running great. They were going faster and getting more horsepower. Then in an instant, that all changed. They heard a big pop. Another five miles down the road and the Moto Guzzi went dead silent, as they coasted to a stop in the North Carolina countryside. Almost 100 miles into the race, the motorbike they nicknamed Renata, the goddess of rebirth and adventure in Italian, broke down.

Kuhl said, “just fix it!”

They had put in a thousand hours of mechanic time, and 750 miles of practice rides to get ready for the race. And they still broke down in a way that they weren’t going to come back. At that point, Zahn made the decision to abandon the Moto Guzzi. In that very moment, he forged his own comeback at a nearby vintage motorcycle museum. It turned out they had a 1937 Harley Davidson: the bike that made Zahn fall in love with motorcycles. And there it was… just like his grandpa’s. Team 36 named the new bike Salvator. Italian for “Savior.” Zahn had found his salvation.

For Kuhl, it meant the end of the road with Renata. In the rain, she started to cry as she removed her belongings from the sidecar. She really didn’t want it to end. Those tears would turn to triumph and her own shot at redemption.

“You don’t ever want to wait for the opportunity to present itself again,” Kuhl said.

So, she flew back to Wisconsin, got home at midnight, loaded her Harley, and by six in the morning she was back on the road, racing to catch Team 36 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Kuhl would complete the race route on her Harley and was at the finish line to welcome Zahn. They were a bit emotional when Kuhl gave Zahn a big hug. As for Renata, the bike is set for its own revival and a shot at a comeback. Zahn is planning to do the Cannonball again on the same Moto Guzzi in 2025.

Joel Waldinger

Joel Waldinger

Joel Waldinger is a reporter for the “Wisconsin Life” project and considers a sunset over the “big island” on Manson Lake to be a perfect ending to a day of fishing and fun in the Northwoods. 
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