Oley Report

[LouieMCman]

I was just wondering how the Oley Meet went? How about a report on the weather, unusual bikes, anything.......thanks

Louie

[flthead]

saturday was a washout not many venders opened

[INLINE4NUT]

Even if the weather would have been nice how could it have been a good meet ???? After all the theme wasnt all American! We belong to the Antique Motorcycle Club of America! NOT JAPAN! I am sorry if Ive offened anyone,Im sorry, that is not my intent! But lets all reflect on what the club WAS and WHERE its going. READ the club name over and over and again if you must !!!

[Paps]

I have to admit the theme struck a nerve in me also. Yes it has gone global but I prefered to look at the global reach as still antique American motorcycles on the whole. Just my preference I guess. Included in the club over the years are many other non American manufactured bikes though. I guess admitting Far Eastern bikes was only right as well. Besides... I saw many a Far Easterner seeking parts for their old Harley there. I saw folks that were there last year from Japan. Matter of fact, they bought parts from me and the Ole Lady for their 45's at that time. There wasn't any Oriental theme going on then. This tells me they didn't show up this year because of the theme. Initially I thought there would end up being to many oriental parts spots taken because of the theme. I was wrong!! If it had been nice weather during the whole duration in wouldn't have changed a bit. The ratio in different bike make and model parts vendors looked to be about the same as it was last year. Paps

The weather ****ed for me too. I got there early Saturday and was drenched in minutes riding around on my electric wheelchair. I didn't get to check out much in the parts department due to vendors leaving early and tarped over spots due to the rain. I didn't really attend this time to seek out parts though. My reason for showing up was just so I could hook back up with friends again. I accomplished most of that so all in all it turned out on the positive side for me.

[INLINE4NUT]

Paps,
I guess my thinking is not that far off???? I dont have a problem with ANYONE having the same enthusamin (SP) as me for AMERICAN Motorcycles! But as far as making other Marques the poster child of the AMCAof AMERICA well lets not go there! For me its not always a good thing to get LARGER As OUR club seems to think! Remember quality BEFORE quanity SHOULD COUNT!!! And as always I Love this Hobby( my parents met because of a 1915 Indian with a sidecar! ) and I have ALWAYS loved it before MONEY MATTERED!! HOW MANY OF YOU CAN SAY THAT????? Lets not lose site of the clubs goals!

PS: **** GLOBAL: Im AMERICAN and fought for the USA and will never give in!

[Paps]

What you stated is exactly what got my nerve on the theme dedication. I don't think it went to well anyhow, at least this time around that is. Will there be another? I certainly hope not. I remember well the flood of Japanese bikes during the mid to late 70's. After a short time it seemed they out numbered domestic bikes three to one. Funny how things turn out though?? By the mid 80's Domestic bikes came roaring back and now the numbers are more than even. HD may even have a lead on them now. At least in my neck of the woods Harley out numbers them 7 to 1. Over the years I have visited nummerous bike bone yards in seach of mini bike parts for my boys. It was really neat to see a yard full of Honda's, Kawasaki's. Yamaha's, and Susuki's and not one single Harley Davidson. Not even a Sprint! Never found any Indian's dwelling in them either. That is so cool about your parents and the Indian with the side hack. Bet I know where you materialized from! LOL!! That is pretty cool also! I think I know where you are coming from as far as the fear of the organization loosing it's roots. It would be a crying shame for the first to find themselves over the long haul, to now be last. Let us all hope it never gets that far ! Paps

[Perry Ruiter]

I read the club name over. It's Antique Motorcycle Club of America. It's not Antique American Motorcycle Club. A couple years ago Oley's theme was Triumph. Wauseon did "The British are Coming" (or horrors maybe it was Davenport!). Didn't hear anybody whining then about the foreign bikes. What is it about the Japanese that upsets people? An argument could be made that they keep HD afloat during the depression. Or maybe it's just that Toyota is poised to surpass that purveyor of junk bonds - GM ... Perry

[INLINE4NUT]

Perry,
And so the debate goes on! Im not just singling out the Asian market, they are all in the same boat with me if you will!Honda,toyota they make nice cars Benz are beautful but at an Antique American Car meet how many of them do you see? It just seeems things have changed and not for the better !
True these other things happened a few years ago at meets and to tell you the truth I didnt like it but did we have a forum to state that ...no, but I sure did hear it out at the meets!
I also see a move to get bigger as not al that its cracked up to be. I dont think the club needs to grow to fast or every year for that matter...but thats a differant topic so I wont go there!
KEEP SMILING

[LouieMCman]

Jeez..I was just asking how the meet went, didn't mean to start WW3. I'm not a big fan of the jap junk, I mean motorcycles, myself, but If there's 35 year old jappers who want to ride with us, so be it. After all isn't riding them what's it all about? I didn't hear anyone ranting about BMW being a theme and them germans started two world wars! Lighten up and get out and ride.

Louie

[33vld]

AMEN TO YOU LOUIE.

[AdminGuy]

I was talking to a fella the other day who drove 9 hrs, spent 3 hours at meet. then packed it in due to rain. Major bummer.

This club was started buy guys who really enjoyed their teenage British bikes that they owned in addition to the American bikes. I feel that a person exposed to older machinery will catch the infectious enthusiasm and naturally be drawn to it. A path of regression has to start somewhere. hee-hee.

Just smile, your all knowing smile, as that pack of Honda's passes you by. They'll eventually come around -with a little HELP FROM YOU.
Rest assured with the fact that Mr. Honda loved his 101 for a reason.

[inrustwetrust]

I'm Indian all the way. My roots, however are small Jap bikes. I was very disappointed not to see a good showing of good Japanese motorcycles. I would have loved to see some good examples of machines I learned how to ride on and others I would have loved to have owned. I must be the odd man out as far as not having the first learning experience on an Excelsior or a Panhead or whatever. I would have loved to seen a perfect 1973 Honda SL350 or a 1974 Elsinore or a 1966 450 Honda. In fact, I would have put one of those machines proudly in front of my Indians, as those bikes truly mean something to me.

[c.o.]

I started out on Japanese dirt bikes, of which I think my age is mostly a factor. I got my first HD at the tender age of 18 after many hours pumping gasoline at the local service station. The HD sold and it was on to 60's and 70's BSA's. But , these bikes were never really satisfying to me. At age 30 I finally scooped up my precious Scout project and am very happy for that. As far back as I can remember I had the need for old American iron. Indian was always my favorite and I spent a great deal of time reading on them and various other old makes(Excelsior, Cyclone, Reading Standard, etc. etc.) I do believe that it should be each to his own, although I am biased toward certain marquee's. I think Admin-Guy nailed it right on with that all knowing smile thing. The people that really get it will always know and the one's that don't either never will or eventually come around to the old iron. If you were to ask my wife she'd tell you that my old bike addiction is almost worse than CRACK! Ha!Ha! Anyway I guess that's enough babble. InRust it's funny you mentioned the 1974 Elsinore, I just scooped up just such a project that I will be finding a home for as I need Wumpum for the Indian!

[Paps]

I have to bow to the smile suggestion. Well put!! I hate to think I am bias torwards other manufacturers of motorcyles but I may be just a tiny bit. Truth is I owned a 1971 Honda 350 SL and I have to state that it was the most reliable and easiest Japanese bike I ever layed hands on. I rode that little bike through several Pennsyvania winters and it never failed me. I had a few 750 Honda's that I couldn't pass on because of the price and I can say that compared to that SL model all they had was power over it. One of the nicest things about that little bike was the fact that I could take it through the stripper cuts and barrel down the highways at 100 MPH too. I couldn't aford my dream machines when I rode these scooters. Harley Davidson was what I yearned for. Pap rode em and so would I!! I had me some Beezers too. One I had I rebuilt form the ground up. It was a 1971 BSA 650 Lighting model. A friend of mine had a 900 Susuki two stroker. He wanted to run it against my fresh rebuild. I only had around 10 miles on her and I knew I shouldn't beat her until break in was completed but I did anyway. He drop a gear or two and red lined that rolling chainsaw and proceeded to pull 3 to 4 bike lengths away from me. I quickly twisted and cracked that throttle all she would spin, not dropping any gear and staying in fourth. Was but only a hundred feet or so when I blew right by him!! That stretch of road ended at a stop sign about a mile further on. I waited for him to catch up to me there. He pulls up beside me, turns to look at me, smiles, and says!!!, WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Paps

[c.o.]

Good one Paps! I did a summer tour on a '69 Lightning with a bunch of Harley folk a few years back. We would get rolling on the throttle in the twisties in a local area mountain pass and all I could see was the odd headlight in my vibrating mirror! We also were fortunate enough to roll five and six at a time through some longer mountain tunnels. When we stopped to fuel up the guys were blown away that none of them could hear their bikes. The only sound was the blasting of the Beezer through it's megaphones!