Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 I attended the Antique Motorcycle Club of America's regional National Show and Swap meet.

This is not something that  you'd usually see offered for sale on CraigsList.

It was held at the Dixon California county fairgrounds. I could claim that attending this event changed my life!

Maybe it wasn't really life changing, but it was reaffirming to one of my life long loves.

Motorcycles.

This bike has obviously not seen any restoration.

While there were many immaculately restored antique bikes, I was drawn to the many old bikes that wore the patina of their life and use.

This Knucklehead drag bike
displays the design that influenced chopper styling.

There was this incredible board track racer offered for sale. It could be mine if I had an extra 60,000 bucks (probably much more!) lying around! I will admit that I've got a real "thing"for these board track bikes. Whether restored or not, they could never be used on the street. They have no clutch or transmission, no brakes or throttle control.

I think that it might make more sense to start with an appropriate age street model and modify it to look like a track racer. Then the bike would be rideable and usable. It probably wouldn't be any cheaper though.

I'd been on a 15 year or so year hiatus from motorcycling. To be honest, I really hadn't much of an urge to get back in the saddle and I have been satisfied working on the car side of my hobby. 

I'd thought about getting another bike as a project, even though I hadn't been very successful with my Virago. I always went back to the idea of another Sportster.

With my bad back I really didn't see myself riding at all, I was so concerned that I would hurt myself again. I'm still dealing with, and getting over some issues. To be honest I didn't see myself riding that often or that far. During this time off I just couldn't reconcile spending the money on something that I wouldn't use very much.

However my outlook changed.

After I bought my Plymouth, I realized that it was okay to spend the money on a car that I wouldn't drive that much. 

After attending this swap/show and seeing all those rare antique motorcycles that also get infrequently ridden, I thought that it was a lot like owning my antique car. A lot of the enjoyment comes from just owning and tinkering with the machine.

Also, and this is not meant to be a deprecating comment, I noticed that a lot of the guys with these bikes were gimpy old bikers. I could be one of those guys! All I needed was a bike of my own.

They didn't let their current limitations and disabilities stop them from enjoying their machines, as best as they could.

I think that it is a pretty cool logo.
Wings always get to me.

I was so impressed by the event that as soon as I got home I got online and signed up for two years of membership in the Antique Motorcycle Club of America. It didn't hurt that they produce a high quality magazine similar to that of the AACA.

I also made a definite decision to get another motorcycle. It would not be one of those fabulous antiques, but I knew exactly what I was looking for.