AMA Vintage Days - Mid-Ohio

Bikegeezer · Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:44 am Post subject: AMA Vintage Days - Mid-Ohio

Leaving Arizona this morning for Mid-Ohio. Hope to see a few of you out there. I'll be at the VJMC swap meet booth from 11 to 1 on Saturday and at the infield booth between 1 and 3 on Sunday. Don't forget the Saturday evening BBQ.

Stu

Rizingson · Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:45 am Post subject:

Enjoy yourself and have a safe trip. I'll have to wait til' next year as I don't completely retire until then, but it's on my bucket list along with Barber and a few others.

Steve Adams · Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 3:07 pm Post subject:

We're leaving Wed. after work heading to points north.
I've been pegged to work the VJMC Swap Meet area on Sunday from 9 - 11

See there!

Steve

redwingrider · Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:19 am Post subject:

I'm headed for a meeting tomorrow and Thursday morning. I'll be at Mid-Ohio by around 1 PM Thursday helping to get the tents up at VJMC's swap meet location, Q7,9 and 11. Got a few parts to send to a new home too! I'll be judging bikes Saturday at the bike shows and Sunday 9 to 11 I'll be manning the infield VJMC booth. In between times, I'll hope to see what I can find at the swap meet field.

Ellis

Steve Searles · Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:25 am Post subject: Mid-Ohio

Awesome!! I am packing and will be there all weekend. Hey, Stu I will be working with you Sat. in the swap meet area. And seeing you all there for the cookout Sat. eve. social hour at 5:30 and eat at 6 PM. Display your bike at the infield area all weekend please. This will be great but HOT! PS: I just got a Kaw KE100 enduro with just 289 miles on it. I will bring it as my pit bike.

Bikegeezer · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 6:26 pm Post subject:

Steve,
The TS will be my pit bike, but I'll leave in in the infield booth area as much as possible. I'm in a motel in Indy tonight. I'll be arriving at the Comfort Inn in Marion around 1 pm tomorrow (Thursday).

Stu

dorT500 · Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 6:29 pm Post subject:

Bikegeezer · Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 6:49 am Post subject:

Update after day 1. Oppressive heat and humidity. Several folks took rides either in an ambulance or a life flight helo. Vendor product quality down and prices way up. I had breakfast with one vendor this morning who expressed the same opinion. He also said folks just aren't buying. Wonder why? Rolling Eyes

Some vendor booths look like the guy backed up and dumped a load of trash from a dumpster. Asking prices on bikes with damage and missing parts is just stupid high. It started raining buckets with lightning around 4 pm, so I skipped the flat track races.

Today is traditionally the busiest day for the vendors, so I don't expect prices to get better. Some of them may get a reality check and become a lot more reasonable tomorrow. BTW for you T500 guys, PM is selling repro air box connector rubbers for the pre-'73 Titans. They look perfect.

Stu

MR.CHocko · Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:59 am Post subject:

Stu I am glad you are alright. The heat in the Eastern half of the country is brutal. There is a reason why the vendors are showing up with the junk. To be honest with you and everyone else I saw this coming a long time ago. What you are experencing is the main reason why I started two websites and an ebay store. Japanese Bikes unfortunately do not get the respect they deserve in the United States as they do in Europe. As for the prices going up, expect that with rising inflation that is quickly approaching double digits.

Bikegeezer · Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:28 am Post subject:

Day 2. It was a bit cooler because of the rain, but the humidity was worse. I spent most of the day working the VJMC booths and be-essing with members. It was fun. The prices on vendor items started coming down. It started sprinkling rain off and on all afternoon, but nothing serious. "Serious" happened around 8 pm with lots of thunder, lightning, big wind, rain coming down sideways - it was like being in a hurricane for maybe 1/2 hour. The BBQ was fun - Steve awarded medals to some members for going above and beyond - mostly in jest, I think - and appointed one guy as official VJMC BBQ chef just as flames shot up from the grill like all the food was on fire. Very Happy

Riding around the swap area, I stumbled onto a guy selling two '72 Water Buffalos, both in junk yard fresh condition. This is similar to barn fresh condition, with the added feature of having been out in the weather for years. I swore off those bikes after riding them almost exclusively for almost 20 years, but I almost caved - almost. Memories of spending way too much time with a welding torch, sledge hammer, PB Blaster, and assorted bits of wood to remove corroded cylinder blocks brought me back to reality. He started out asking $2500 apiece and ended offering to swap both for my TS185. Pass. We'll see what today brings. I can hardly wait... Rolling Eyes

Stu

yflyer · Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 1:21 pm Post subject:

Just got back from Vintage days. We had a great time even with a little rain on saturday afternoon. Met alot of great like minded people. Can't wait for next year!

Bikegeezer · Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 4:08 pm Post subject:

Glad you liked it. The VJMC did well here. We signed up over 80 new members and sold a lot of merchandise. Meeting the guys (and gals) was the best part for me, but I think I'll give it a rest for at least next year. The manufacturers have abandoned the event, and those demo rides were a major draw. If Kawasaki hadn't been the marque of the year, they wouldn't have been here, either. That would have left KTM and Kymco scooters as the only manufacturers in the demo area. The declining attendance due to lack of demo rides causes vendors to lose money on the event, and I think that's a major reason we're seeing the quality vendors disappearing from the swap area. The AMA has to work on getting that demo area filled back up for next year if they don't want the entire event to follow in the footsteps of the Honda Hoot.

Stu

MR.CHocko · Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:29 pm Post subject:

That is only part of the story. The other part is that not much money is changing hands these days at a lot of the major meets. Trust me I know, because I have been a vendor at lot of the major meets across the country the last two years. Why should I take 4-5 days off from work, load my truck with parts that no one is going to buy, or if they are going to buy want me to sell it to them for next to nothing, when I can stay home sell it either on ebay to someone in Europe or Australia who will pay me a fair price for it. Honestly, it is a shame that the AMA doesn't get the manufactuers to support this event. But then the AMA as of late doesn't exactly have a very good relationship with some people in the industry.

Steve Searles · Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:01 am Post subject: Mid-Ohio 2011

Back to the grind after another great Mid-Ohio event. Everything went pretty smoothly and quite a few bikes were sold at our VJMC booth in the swap meet area. Had a great time talking with fellow Jap bike enthusiasts. Went out on the track for two exciting, fast laps. Went on the ride to the flat track races and then watched the races. The cookout went well despite the rain. Swap meet parts overload. Awesome event again. I will post a few pics here soon.

mopehead440 · Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:33 am Post subject: ****

Steve....Personal Email sent!!!!