Flatirons Chapter 2027 National Swapmeet.

[len dowe]

[maxglass]

Love the poster, just a bit of a long drive from Louisiana.
Max

[vph-d]

So, not much interest in a new National Meet in the Rockies, huh?
vph-d

[Spag]

Excellent venue. Strategic location for Midwest and Northwest AMCA members and for non AMCA members interested in old bikes. Local advertising in multi-state locations should also help with attendance and the meet’s success. Also this meet would be a chance for new vendors from the area to attend a National Meet. And AMCA members who want to have their motorcycles judged close to home will have a new venue for that purpose. It may take a few years, reports in the AMCA magazine and word of mouth but I think this meet will succeed in all aspects.

[T. Cotten]

Excellent venue. Strategic location for Midwest and Northwest AMCA members and for non AMCA members interested in old bikes. Local advertising in multi-state locations should also help with attendance and the meet’s success. Also this meet would be a chance for new vendors from the area to attend a National Meet. And AMCA members who want to have their motorcycles judged close to home will have a new venue for that purpose. It may take a few years, reports in the AMCA magazine and word of mouth but I think this meet will succeed in all aspects.

A two thousand mile round trip from the heart of the Midwest is 'strategic', Spag?

Really?

No wonder there's no new blood.

....Cotten

[duffeycycles]

Cotton, Spag still thinks he will kill Davenport. I haven't heard a word about the Springfield meet that happened this year, supposed to be the one. Last year was a bust for vendor sales. This Flat Irons meet is 1 week before Davenport 2027, good luck with that !

[duffeycycles]

Antique Motorcycle Foundation at Davenport 2027

Antique Motorcycle Foundation at Davenport.jpg

[vph-d]

It may come as news to some members, but there is life West of the Mississippi River. The Ft. Sutter Meet is 16 hours one way from my house, the Fremont Meet is 8 hours the other way. We don't have the option of going to multiple Meets a month out here. I think a Meet in Colorado will provide a welcome third Meet in the West.
vph-d

[chuckthebeatertruck]

It may come as news to some members, but there is life West of the Mississippi River. The Ft. Sutter Meet is 16 hours one way from my house, the Fremont Meet is 8 hours the other way. We don't have the option of going to multiple Meets a month out here. I think a Meet in Colorado will provide a welcome third Meet in the West.
vph-d

Right, spot on.

I am a Rocky Mountain Chapter Member. I was just with the chapter in Kremlling, Co this week on our invitational.

We will be supporting Flat Iron.

The idea isn’t to draw from Davenport. It’s to give people coming west TO Davenport and the Springfield Mile a chance at an AMCA meet on the way out. A lot of folks come via Denver and that’s why the timing was chosen. The leadership of this meet is planning to attend Davenport, too.

our “western” members regularly drive 2000 miles for “eastern” activities. I just did 2525 miles going to black hills for the national then our chapter invitational 402 miles south. We had folks drive in from across Colorado just for the invitational.

You might be dead surprised at how fast this grows and how it brings new blood in. The western states are not like the east and we are seeing more under 40s joining the Rocky Mountain chapter than you’d think. Our chapter swap meet is well attended with very limited advertising.

Like I said, I was just on a run where half the Rocky Mountain chapter who were riding were 30-40 years old, and there were several of us at 50ish. Attached is a group photo from Trough Road. Oldest rider is 83 and blasted his Black Shadow up a dirt road for 10 miles to get to this photo and the youngest is 31 on a FXR. Most riders have joined in the last three years, but one of our 50 year olds has been a chapter member for nearly 25 years.

join our western chapters, visit, come out for an invitational ride. You are going to be surprised by the youth and growing enthusiasm for RIDING by these newer and younger amca members.

in the meantime, if you don’t want to support flatiron, that’s your choice. But please understand the chapter, not the national, pushed this over two years to create a new meet for the western members. Gary and his team are doing huge work here and this is nothing like the Springfield Mile thing.

[T. Cotten]

Right, spot on.

I am a Rocky Mountain Chapter Member. I was just with the chapter in Kremlling, Co this week on our invitational.

We will be supporting Flat Iron.

The idea isn’t to draw from Davenport. It’s to give people coming west TO Davenport and the Springfield Mile a chance at an AMCA meet on the way out. A lot of folks come via Denver and that’s why the timing was chosen. The leadership of this meet is planning to attend Davenport, too.

our “western” members regularly drive 2000 miles for “eastern” activities. I just did 2525 miles going to black hills for the national then our chapter invitational 402 miles south. We had folks drive in from across Colorado just for the invitational.

You might be dead surprised at how fast this grows and how it brings new blood in. The western states are not like the east and we are seeing more under 40s joining the Rocky Mountain chapter than you’d think. Our chapter swap meet is well attended with very limited advertising.

Like I said, I was just on a run where half the Rocky Mountain chapter who were riding were 30-40 years old, and there were several of us at 50ish. Attached is a group photo from Trough Road. Oldest rider is 83 and blasted his Black Shadow up a dirt road for 10 miles to get to this photo and the youngest is 31 on a FXR. Most riders have joined in the last three years, but one of our 50 year olds has been a chapter member for nearly 25 years.

join our western chapters, visit, come out for an invitational ride. You are going to be surprised by the youth and growing enthusiasm for RIDING by these newer and younger amca members.

in the meantime, if you don’t want to support flatiron, that’s your choice. But please understand the chapter, not the national, pushed this over two years to create a new meet for the western members. Gary and his team are doing huge work here and this is nothing like the Springfield Mile thing.

Just because the rank and file, Chuck,

Can't afford to take a week off for a two thousand mile round trip, doesn't mean they don't support more Meets.

It just means the Club thinks it doesn't need them.

....Cotten

[Spag]

Well said Steve. Glad to hear you are a Rocky Mountain Chapter member even though you live miles away. Instead of folks on this thread being so negative about the Chapter’s effort to start a new National Meet in Colorado, it would have been nice to hear words of encouragement for the chapter members’ efforts. And some of these negative folks may find a ride through Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park on their old motorcycles may change their attitudes about the Rocky Mountain National Meet. I’ll be there. Almost 1500 miles one way! Try it folks. You may like it.

[T. Cotten]

..folks may find a ride through Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park on their old motorcycles may change their attitudes.....

Ain't that "Let them eat cake", Spag?

You believe obvious elitism will swell the ranks?

Newbies have no on-ramp, when the ante is so high.

....Cotten
PS: I have advocated for years to make the judging system virtual, and open the gates for fresh participants, but the good ol' boys club keeps control.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

The national has long understood the need for more western/central western meets and road runs.

The challenge is that chapters have to be big enough and have enough energy to host a national meet.

They have to be prepared for it to take three to five years to cement.

It takes a lot of volunteers who can commit a big chunk of time, the right venue, and moxie.

Flat Iron is just big enough to pull this off and Estes was chosen for many considered reasons.

Gary and his committees have done epic work to bring this meet to the national and have it approved.

These are our fellow AMCA members trying to make a difference in their region for their chapters.

They are supported by the national and their sister chapter in Colorado.

Again, please join a western chapter and learn more before you pass judgment.

[joe fxs fxr]

I don't understand the negativity, either. If I lived out west, I'd welcome any new national event. We're fortunate here in the northeast to have almost 20 chapters from New England to the DC area, all within a days drive. The AMCA chapter map shows less than 20 for the whole western part of the country! Hopefully the young guns will organize more out that way.
chapter map.jpg