The Antique Motorcycle Club of America Chapters are sponsoring the 26th annual Antique Motorcycle National Meet the third weekend in July at the Fulton County Fairgrounds in Wauseon, Ohio. This club has over 12,000 club members internationally.
This is the second largest swap meet in the county. There will be over 500 vendor spaces occupied that are packed full of old parts and motorcycles. The parts and bikes must be over 35 years old, so if you are looking for some old, rare stuff this is the place to find it.
The fairgrounds are located just north of the Ohio Turnpike at the RT 108 exit. You can’t miss it once you get off the Ohio Turnpike and head north. The fairgrounds property is huge with lots of nice buildings and half mile dirt oval race track with grandstands.
The dates of the meet are July 18 through 20, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There are many different things going on each day. The meet opens to the public on Friday at 9:00 am. There is no admission charge. There is a $4.00 charge for parking for all three days. You can wander and view acres of parts and bikes for sale. Bring your walking shoes.
There are several different food vendors on premises serving a variety of plates. There is the usual breakfast available under the grandstands. Then for lunch you will find various menus from burgers to fish and Mexican specialties. There is something for everyone. Even an ice cream and shake shack.
Friday night at 6:30 pm there will be AMA sanctioned Motorcycle Racing on the half mile dirt track. Sponsored by Applied Innovations/JAWA, Barnett Clutches, Ben Breece Harley-Davidson, Bonnie’s Engraver’s Gallery, Cycle Trader, Dixie International, K-K Motorcycle Supply, Lake Erie Chapter of the AMCA, Moose Racing, Oury Grip, PJ’s Fabricating, Wheel’s Through Time Museum and Wiseco Piston.
Admission is $15.00 for adults. Practice runs start at 2:15 pm and at 4:30 pm the heat races will begin. Opening ceremonies at 6:30 pm and the mains will follow. There will be over 100 antique cycles racing in 10 events on the dirt oval. Some of the classes include Board Track – Teens thru 1928 (some of these actually raced on board tracks back in the day), Handshift – 1936 thru 1951, Brakeless, Open Twins-Pro and more. Plus the Ohio Speedway Long Track Championship, Speedway bikes run on alcohol and have no brakes.
At last years races the action was so frantic the crowd was standing and screaming as the old bikes were flying by … Lots of excitement was in the air. Various makes such as Indian, Harley, Merkel, Cyclone and Yale were competing. All were beautifully restored and were running loud and fast. Don’t miss the races this year.
Race preregistration is available online at www.bikedays.com. Scotty and the Bike Days Motorcycle Club promote Bike Days in Canton, Ohio in May over Memorial Weekend that features the AMA/USA Speedway Long Track National Championship along with a two day swap meet and flat track racing. For more information on Canton and Wauseon go to www.bikedays.com
Saturday, July 19 the swap meet opens again at 9:00 am. There’s millions of part there so there will be lots of hard to find items still available. Vendors will be there all day. At 10:00 am there is a bike parade for antique bikes. The tour goes out in the countryside and ends in the historic downtown Wauseon. The locals love to come in town to view the bikes.
At 11:00 am there are field games for cyclists in a large grassy area within the swap meet grounds. The spectators love to watch the bikers carrying a cup of water on their heads across the finish line without spilling a drop. Or wait out the slow race results. Bikers are lined up 200’ form the finish line and the slowest or last bike to cross the finish line wins. This is very exciting to watch. Several other games like the tire toss, barrel wind, hotdog bite, etc. are played also.
Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm in the Arts and Crafts Building, a speaker will discuss how to properly prepare for cross country trips on a bike. Travelling tips will be given. Our speaker has travelled all 48 states and has plenty of experiences to offer to biker that yearn to travel big time.
At 3:00 pm a seminar will be put on to recruit new bike judges. Show bike judging takes some know how even if you think you are an expert on certain bikes. Spend an hour here and learn some judging techniques and secrets plus the correct scoring system. It will probably take longer than an hour! Actually show bikes will be on display and the Chief Judge from the Antique Motorcycle Club of America will be on hand to guide you through judging procedures. This event will also be in the Arts & Crafts Building.
Saturday night there will be a hog roast. The hogs will be roasted outdoors all day. The aroma will be fantastic. Line up at 7:00 pm with your tickets for a great barbeque dinner of roast chicken or pig and all the fixins including beverages and dessert at a cost of $15.00 per person. If good weather, we will be picnicking in an open pavilion with music. If it is inclement, we can dine indoors at the Jr. Fair Building with music.
All weekend long a silent auction benefiting the Alzheimer’s Foundation will be going on. Motorcycle items are up for bid. The top winning bids will be announced after dinner in the Junior Fair Building.
Sunday morning there will be a large antique cycle show on the grounds. Over 100 restored classic bikes of all makes, BMW, Horex, Vincent, Indian, Mustang, etc, etc. The bikes will be fully judged and awarded points. The top finishers will receive trophies at noon.
The marquee of the meet is the Harley Davidson Panhead model. We celebrate the 60th anniversary year. The first Panhead motorcycle was introduced in 1948. Another new engine for Harley following the Knucklehead engine. The Panhead was produced up to 1965. It was a great engine and during that period also the Hydroglide front forks, electric starter and rear suspension was developed and incorporated into Harley motorcycles.
Everyone who brings a Panhead and puts on display at the meet will receive a free commemorative meet pin. The Panhead theme will be evidence on all caps, t-shirts, and pins on sale at the registration tent. Come get a souvenir!
