By Frank Kaisler

CD: Rhett Rotten's Wall of Death. We met Rhett the week before in New Orleans at the Steel Pony Rally and Bill and Renay set it up. I watched the Wall of Death and I cried. That's the last remaining real old motorcycle stunt show.

THBC: What kind of bike does he ride on the wall?

CD: He rides a 27' or 28' Indian Scout in every way you can imagine. Forwards, backwards, sideways, hands off, feet off, it's unreal.

THBC: He was doing some of those stunts on the rollers out in front of the stage.

CD: Jesse paid for everything. All the shows on Saturday were free. On Monday, Rhett showed Bill and I how to ride it.

THBC: How many laps did you make?

CD: He makes it look so easy and it's so not. You learn on the starting track which is the lower 45 degree section, which is only three feet wide. We're doing that then getting up on the wall. One of the hardest things is coming off the wall. I was riding it like a skateboard going up and down instead of just powering up on it and that would get me a lap or a half lap. Then Rhett would stop me and say, "Dave, you're being a pussy. Just do it, just go, you have it, you got it down". Then I got up on the wall and got two full laps and then I let off the gas and the back of the bike drops and pitches me to the ground, hard. It was beautiful. I have it all on video tape. I'm going to stick it up on my site too. Now, Bill and I are going to build our own wall of death bike to ride on his wall so we don't go out and destroy his stuff anymore. That's how he makes his living.

THBC: What did you break?

CD: The handlebars. I cracked the frame and a bunch of other stuff when I crashed. (Laughter)

THBC: Was he pissed?

CD: Yes, but he was stoked that we wanted to learn. Rhett doesn't usually teach people how to ride the wall. He could see that Bill and I had a real love for it. The Wall of Death is the closest thing to a board track anymore. It's amazing that something that was being done in the 40's is still alive and running today. His actual wall was built in 1941. It's bumpy and so different from what you would think, but it was incredible.

THBC: What's the secret of riding the wall? What did he tell you to look at?

CD: You look as far ahead as you can, look clear across the wall.

THBC: Does that prevent you from getting dizzy?

CD: Yeah, pretty much. I didn't get dizzy riding the wall, I got dizzy from watching it. Watching him is amazing.