September 22nd, 2017 was the official launch of the Motorcycle Missions Motorcycle Build Mentorship Program in collaboration with R.O.T. Rally and Cycle Refinery. These veterans gave it 💯 percent as they disassembled a 1992 Harley Davidson Softail Springer (FXSTS) which was raffled of to another Veteran in attendance at the 2017 Republic of Texas Rally (R.O.T.) in Austin Texas - a rally that draws approximately 200,000 spectators each year. This will be a bike built by vets for a vet, with a mission to eliminate PTSD and reduce the suicide rate. Check out our gallery and events for more pictures and videos of the final product.
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS BELOW!
Photos by Dalton Campbell Photography & G Stanley Photography
We had an amazing time with amazing friends made at the December 17th, 2016 Project MX. The guys showed up and played hard, and the weather was perfect. We even had one of the riders son join in on the fun. Thank you to all that donated gear and sponsored these guys to ride. Special thanks to Tyler Livesay at The MX Factory for taking them under your wing for the day.
Thank you to all who sponsored, donated and volunteered on Saturday at our Fundraiser to combat PTSD. The event was a great success with $7143 raised for our Ride and Wrench Programs, the first riding camp scheduled October 8th at The MX Factory. Please enjoy this recap of the fun, and we look forward to seeing you at the next one. Music by Texas Renegade.
Staci Wilt, where do you call home?
Oh, that’s a fun question. I’ve moved around so much in the last couple of years. I’m a Texan by birth, Oklahomie by choice. As cliche as it sounds, I feel a lot more at home on my bike in the middle of nowhere with some friends on a moto trip, though. If I sit still for more than 2-3 weeks I start to get stir crazy. The road ain’t a bad place to call home. It’s where I’ve made a lot of my favorite memories and have learned a lot about myself over the last five years.
Tell us a little about your history and what got you into motorcycles.
I’ve been interested in motorcycles my entire life. I remember visiting my aunt and uncle out in the boonies of east Texas and watching guys dump their Harley's on the dirt roads that led to their property. From there I became a teenager and the kids that lived on my street raced motocross and all I wanted to do was ride. Apparently that’s, “not what girls did,” though, according to my parents. So until I was 19 I had never ridden a motorcycle—even as a passenger—which is totally a typical girl-meets-boy story. I broke up with a dude I had been with for two and a half years that was into hot rods and rebuilding cars and the first guy I met after him had a bike. He took me on a ride one night and tried to freak me out by hauling ass across a bridge and all it did was make me want my own. I forgot all about cars, got a job at a dealership, saved my money by eating all the ramen noodles for months, and bought a brand new 2011 XL1200X for my first bike. The rest is really history. I’ve ridden over 100,000 miles in the last five years and haven’t really looked back. I caught the bug for sure.
What kind of bike or bikes do you ride on a normal basis? Tell us your favorite parts about it or them.
I have a 2003 Sporty and a 2015 Dyna. Both of them F’in rip in their own way.
The sporty has been modified so much and is so small, narrow, and powerful…hell I’ve ridden it across the country multiple times and have loved it. It’s fun in the city and on the highway.
My Dyna is my workhorse and has saved my back on long distance trips. It’s way easier to rip across the country to all the events and not feel like my back is broken once I get there. Plus carrying camera equipment and my gear is a lot easier on this bike.
I think the simplicity of the Sporty and the overall performance of the Dyna are my favorite things. The Sporty makes me remember what riding bikes is all about and the Dyna has been upgraded to be a pure “purpose built” bike. Fairing, bags, suspension…it’s a couch on two wheels basically. They’re both fun, they just have their own functions.
Where is the farthest you have ever rode, what was the trip like?
I’ve done 1,000 miles in a day a couple of times. I wont say it’s a walk in the park because on a Sportster or a Dyna it takes a toll on you. But the longest i’ve done total is a 15,000 mile trip last year in 2015 when I lived off my bike for three months. I left from phoenix and rode to Washington state and back down to SoCal, then took off to Sturgis, then back to phoenix, then off to OKC, Austin, and then ended it in Joshua Tree at Babes Ride Out. By the end of it I was tired, felt gross, and was ready for a place to call home again, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I love getting to ride new roads, see new things, and visit my friends that I only see once or twice a year. If you ever get the chance to take that kind of time off work, you should explore, for sure.
Where is one place you have never been to yet and must go?
I really want to ride to Alaska. A friend of mine who passed away did it on his Sportster a few times alone and I told myself I’d do it as a memorial run for him.