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  • Rhinebeck meet feedback

    I think Rhinebeck was a great success. A lot of effort was put into the planning and the turnout was good . The timeline exhibit was a rare treat. There were many people there for the first time at an AMCA meet as onlookers and most exhibitors made them feel good about being there. There were some complaints about many things, but what do you expect for a first time meet?
    As a Yankee member, I must voice the concern that the possibility Yankee Chapter meet being taken from the national status is still unsettling. We ,as Yankees, feel that our chapter has a meet that is profitable and more importantly, is a good time for all that attend. It is unlikely that there are any chapters that have the enthusiasm and camaraderie that the Yankee chapter has. This, in our opinion, is what the true meaning of what the club is all about. We ,as Yankees , wish the best for the Rhinebeck meet , but want our meet at Hebron still recognized as a national meet.
    We are all still a little edgy about the future of all of the meets. The Rhinebeck "Eastcoast Spectacular" meet has been described to us as one that the vendors will come to. Well, to tell you straight, all of the vendors that were there are all of the ones we already know and can find over the phone or the computer.
    I have no intention of insulting any vendor, but I feel that the AMCA meets go deeper than vending. The computer age has tightened up the ability to search out parts.
    My prime intent in going to a meet is to see old friends and make new ones, and what seems even harder these days is to make new or potential members feel welcome and wanted.
    It is the small local meets that really make up the AMCA and I feel that that concept is quickly being lost. That is a loss that will change the club forever.
    The bottom line is what is more important, the vendors or the members? I suspect that there are too many vendors making key decisions in this club.
    We need to make the decision about this club's direction, is it fun or is it for the vendors?

  • #2
    I have attended two AMCA events; Hebron 2006 and Rhinebeck 2007.

    For me Rhinebeck was by far more enjoyable; from the grounds to the number of bikes/vendors. My persepctive is purely as an "outsider", not knowing any members.

    I would not want to attend an event that was just a few "old timers" sitting around rusty parts nor an event dominated by "shiny" parts vendors.

    There is a place for both styles of events so there is no need to compare the two. Just enjoy them both for what they are.

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    • #3
      I to like the smaller meets,but that doesnt seem to be the way things will go! For a person in Maine i like the shorter ride to closedr meets and bigger isnt always better but thats what everyone wants........ lets go along for the ride!

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      • #4
        would,ve loved to go to the meet ,but, i was trying to sell a couple of flatheads in my neck of the woods during the "americade week"up here.MISTAKE!TALK ABOUT SOME TIRE KICKERS!i hope everyone that did go found what they needed and had a good time, im kickin myself cause its only 2.5 hrs south of me ..................

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        • #5
          separate from any of the politics over potentially losing hebron, i think that just evaluating the meet itself, it was pretty awesome. i haven't been to davenport, but have made some of the smaller national meets on both coasts. for me, this is kind of what i imagine davenport to be like (i know, i don't know exactly what i am talking about, but it's kind of hard to get out to iowa - someday i'll make it) highlights for me were sitting down and listening to harry buck talk about collecting through the years, and telling the story about the "spiral" and his other machines; meeting jules frohlich and having him tell me about his 1903 indian - he is the third owner! - and watching people actually ride 100 year old machines. i think that all the chapters did a great job, the venue was very clean and well-kept (although i heard everyone say they wish there were more showers), and there were a lot of good antique parts and stuff that were offered for sale. i would bet that after hearing how successful (in my opinion) the event was, more vendors and attendees will show up next year, with or without more advertising. great job by steve barber getting the timeline together.

          and even though they are a different animal, it was neat to see the old steam engines, trucks, tractors, etc on the other field. thanks to those guys for helping to sponsor and taking their machinery out to show all of us.

          what i would like to see: maybe some field games, like slow race, tire toss, etc.; perhaps a technical seminar or two. i heard that there were some old racing movies being shown on a tv someplace - how about projecting them up on the side of one of the buildings at night, or on the wall inside of one of the display halls? also, i know this was a first time thing, but hopefully there will be more of the food vending stalls open on the weekend next year.

          what i would NOT like to see: vendors with the latest and greatest leather gear; "biker" jewelry stands; 10 different "custom" chopper manufacturers. if i want all of that, i can just head up to laconia.

          i am a young member, and a relatively new one, so i am sure that there is a lot of baggage and behind the scenes politics that i don't know about, but it is the ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLE CLUB. i don't have an issue with the japanese bikes coming in, because the 35 year cutoff is the 35 year cutoff- some day even led zeppelin will be considered "easy listening". i am just glad that i got my bikes when i did, because prices are high enough and going higher. but the point is, if this event is supposed to be a money making venture, then that isn't necessarily a terrible thing, as long as the club doesn't try to go overboard. should there be a $250 charge for weekend vending, or $75 charge for weekend camping? i think that would be excessive, but i think the club can still do pretty well by charging reasonable vendor fees (which they did), charging a nominal fee to camp on the grounds ($15? not a lot if you ask me, especially when compared to a hotel), and even charging to park cars outside ($5) and/or for spectator admission (which they might have done, i didn't ask). i don't think it should be laconia or americade - let's try to stick with the antique stuff. the objectives of any of these meets should be to show off everyone's hard work, find that elusive part, keep people interested in the hobby and provide a place for you to put a face to the name you most often see on the internet.

          i do think the smaller national meets still play a role for those who can't travel the longer distances...

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          • #6
            I too would like to thank Steve Barber & his team for the timeline
            and for the care and consideration in which they treated my bike
            while it was at Rhinebeck! I agree that future meets should build on Steve's success
            and include field games, antique races either fast or slow, antique plane displays from Rhinebeck Airdrome. I saw many people there that came to see the bikes,
            lets show them more, more, more next
            year

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