No meetings or gatherings

[roland]

Hi again.
Roland here, well it has been a few months since i joined the AMCA and apart from the members handbook and the rostor i have not had any communication with any members from florida or any other state, no invits to meetings or gatherings no phone calls nothing, it is just as i said in my first thread here, there is little or no vintage or antique motorcycle activity here in florida. Luckly i still have my friends in england who i call from time to time and even a guy in australia who emails me once a week and phones me.
It is a real shame that such a big state like florida has such a small antique motorcycle movement, I thought that there would have beem much more activity than there is.? I guess maybe it is just too hot to be out on an antique motorcycle, personaly i can't stand the heat and humidity here and wish i had moved to a cooler state, plus there are so many idiots on the roads here it is down right dangerous to be out on anything that wont do any more that 60mph and has very little braking
O by the way the motorcycle shop i work for here in Brooksville Florida, Trik-Daddys custom motorcycles, 13315 Cortez blvd, Brooksville, FL. 34613
tel 352 597 9605 just ask for roland in parts. We can get quite a few antique harley and indian parts from a catalog i have been looking though and my boss said i could give quite a good discount for AMCA members, and it would be nice to hear form any of you.
I was at the Leesburge bike week last week and saw quite a few nice old triumphs, nortons, and bsa's and strangly not many old harleys or indians or any other old american motorcycles i know it was not really an antique or vintage event but i would have expected to see at least some old american iron.
Well cheers for now roland.

[HarleyCreation]

Re: No meetings or gatherings

Originally posted by roland
Hi again.
Roland here, well it has been a few months since i joined the AMCA and apart from the members handbook and the rostor i have not had any communication with any members from florida or any other state, no invits to meetings or gatherings no phone calls nothing, it is just as i said in my first thread here, there is little or no vintage or antique motorcycle activity here in florida. Luckly i still have my friends in england who i call from time to time and even a guy in australia who emails me once a week and phones me.
It is a real shame that such a big state like florida has such a small antique motorcycle movement, I thought that there would have beem much more activity than there is.? I guess maybe it is just too hot to be out on an antique motorcycle, personaly i can't stand the heat and humidity here and wish i had moved to a cooler state, plus there are so many idiots on the roads here it is down right dangerous to be out on anything that wont do any more that 60mph and has very little braking
O by the way the motorcycle shop i work for here in Brooksville Florida, Trik-Daddys custom motorcycles, 13315 Cortez blvd, Brooksville, FL. 34613
tel 352 597 9605 just ask for roland in parts. We can get quite a few antique harley and indian parts from a catalog i have been looking though and my boss said i could give quite a good discount for AMCA members, and it would be nice to hear form any of you.
I was at the Leesburge bike week last week and saw quite a few nice old triumphs, nortons, and bsa's and strangly not many old harleys or indians or any other old american motorcycles i know it was not really an antique or vintage event but i would have expected to see at least some old american iron.
Well cheers for now roland.

I would have thought that Florida would be a paradise for antique motorcycles with so many retired ppl with big bucks down there.

Are the sideroads down there any good? I know that when I lived down near Milwaukee I stayed away from major highways and traffic by sticking to backroads, which, mercifully, were all paved.

[indianut]

Florida IS a Paradise for Antique Motorcycles. I live in the smallest county in the State and we have AT LEAST 20 RUNNING Indians and more than that of Pans and other HD Antiques. Every Spring we have a Party (25th annual) that usually gets 25-30 Panheads. This weekend we are doing our 15th Annual Flathead Run. See my post from a couple of weeks ago for info. We have the greatest group of Real Bikers anywhere Devoted to Antique Iron! We Ride together and Wrench together ALL YEAR in My part of Florida. And yes, it's getting real crowded, but some real nice roads are still out there to ride. I can traved all around the State and AVOID the congestion and cities.

[LouieMCman]

Roland, have you joined the local chapters, or at least contacted them for info on rides? I live in GA but have belonged to the Sunshine chapter for years, they have rides along with the National meet. If you sit around and wait for someone to contact you, you might be a lonely antique biker. Here's your call...............Sunshine – Florida
Joe & Ann Martin, 5133 Rollins Ave. Jacksonville, FL 32207
Phone:904-737-4914, e-mail: mamartin94@aol.com
Everglades - Florida South
Roy Wasson, 6233 Leonardo St. Coral Gables, FL 33146
Phone: 305-666-5053 (office) rdwassonappeal@bellsouth.net
Chapter Website: evergladeschapter.tripod.com/
The ball's in your court.

Louie

[Johnny]

Roland,

Welcome to the club. When I first moved to Tennessee, I went around to some of the local repair shops, and yes, even the H-D dealers, and got to know the owners and asked if they new people into old bikes (I don't mean evo's). I just began networking with people, and one contact led to another.

The AMCA meet in Eustis, FL is a great one and you should attend every year. Louie's suggestion to join the local chapter is great advise and should be your next phone call.

Getting to know people through this forum is another great way to meet people.

Good luck, and again, welcome to the club,
Johnny

[roland]

Well thanks for thr replies and now i have a few phone # i guess i can start calling. Back in england my membership to the Vintage motorcycle club (and i am still a memeber) sent me a club mag every month with events, gatherings, meetings, local chapter events and a large advertising section for free adds. I did not need to have to make personal calls to local chapter members i just turned up at the meetings in the local pub or town hall or where ever they were being held. Theres no continnuity here, no buddy system and it all seems so unfriendly, just big business and money, but i guess i should not have expected anything else from a country that revolves just around money. Its a great pitty really because i believe a lot of rare bikes are being lost to the wreckers yards because the word is not getting out of there where'abouts. I am beging to think it was a big mistake my moving here and especially bringing my bike here, i am now going to look into having it shipped back to england before it to ends up in a wreckers yard, sorry to have to say this but i just don't get any good vibes here at all.

[Baytown]

Interesting point of view Roland.
Maybe there's a reason no one has contacted you!
I'm sure the vintage scene is far less active where I live (due to the distances involved), compared to you in Florida, but I certainly don't blame the AMCA for it, or bear the US any grudges!
Best wishes from a very happy international member of the AMCA, where you get nothing from them, but a great web site with very helpful and pleasent contributors, and the best magazine of its type in the world relevant to US made machines. That's all I need.

Ken in Australia.

[LouieMCman]

Roland, please try and contact some of the locals and I'm sure there are other club members, like Indianut, who are active riders. I must admit that FLA is not like other states in the union. As you may have witnessed by now, there are probably multiple blue and gray headed people in the state that have to long since pasted their prime. I was active for years in the state and can attest to the large number of machines, but it's just that it's a different atmosphere than most other states. Basically I think any club is what you make of it.
As far as your other statements, we Americans do things different than most, but we believe that why it is the best county in the world and why everyone wants to come here!
Have a nice day.


Louie

[Baytown]

Wrong Louie.
Australia is the best country in the world and every body wants to come here!!!!
Ride safe mate.

Ken.

[LouieMCman]

I would love to VISIT both Australia and England and check out the antique MC scenes. I let you know when I'm coming Baytown!

Louie

[Johnny]

Roland,
I think another point that you may not have realized is the geographical size of our country. I'm sure in England, all of the meets and fellow enthusiasts were within a short ride from each other. In the US, some of my closest friends are at least 4 hours away. I went to the meet in Eustis last year.....13-1/2 hour drive. Went to Oley a week ago.....12-1/2 hours, Waseon....8-1/2 hours, Davenport.....9 hours. My point is, I am able to see the people I love seeing most only once or twice a year because we are so spread out!
If you can get to one of the meets here this year, just ask who else is going and hook up with them. We would all like to trade stories with you and learn more about the classic bike scene in England.
And again, welcome to the club.

[Smarty]

Johnny,

Don't fall into that popular misconception that a lot of our American cousins fall into...i.e. that you can drive around Great Britain in a day, see Stonehenge in the Morning and Loch Ness in the afternoon.....and for the record UK residents aren't all related and know each other by their first names....there are just under 60 million of us in the country !!!

6-8 hour drives are quite normal for us to get to events in the UK and 12.5/13 hour drives to get to events on mainland Europe.

Roland...seems like you have a bad case of homesickness..........

[Johnny]

Smarty,

Thank you for clearing up my misconception about England. I figured if you drove 12.5-13 hours you'd be in Spain.
Another misconception we have in common is that not all people in the South (United States) are related. Close, but there are a few Northerners here too.

I was just trying to let Roland know he is welcome here and that it just takes some effort. I have gotten to know folks from around the world through antique motorcycles, and there is never the issue of boundaries or borders when we get together.

[Smarty]

Johnny,

Yes Spain, Scandinavia, France, Germany, Eastern Europe, its good that a shared passion for old bikes can cross borders, boundaries and the language gap.

Regards,

[roland]

Yep Smarty i think you hit the nail on the head, i am desperatly home sick, I miss my friends and the vintage bike scene so badly, I really do regret coming here in the first place and things have not really gone as planed either. I really should not have made the comments i made about my host country and i am sorry for that and yes it is the distance that is the bigest factor here and the thing is i am not a rich person so gas prices being what they are now make it very expensive to travel long distances. It is ironic because thats one reson we came here in the first place to get away from the sky high gas prices in england. Great country, well maybe, it is always going to be great for the native people but sometimes they need to look at it from an outsiders point of view, you know what is good about 40mil people who can't afford health insurance, try telling some of those people how great it is.