Have you been to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum just outside of Birmingham, Ala.?

I hadn't until the 2nd Annual Barber Vintage Festival rolled around this past October. First of all, if you haven't seen the museum, you're missing out. The collection, the presentation and the sheer number of stunning motorcycles is nearly too much to comprehend.

And if the museum alone isn't enough reason to jump on a bike and head south (it is), the Vintage Festival may truly be the best thing to happen to the vintage bike scene since Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio. The facilities are phenomenal for the racers and spectators alike, the swap meet has shown steady growth and the bike shows (such as the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club show, shown above) are just lovely.

Then there's the area roads, including the many we traveled on our Motorcycle Classics 29 Dreams Charity Ride. I could go on and on. My point is now is the time to mark Oct. 19-21 on your new 2007 calendar so you can come join us. Want more? Check the upcoming March/April 2007 issue of Motorcycle Classics for more information on and photos of the 2006 show.

All I know is I'll be at the 3rd Annual Vintage Festival. Will you?

-- Landon Hall

Quick, I need a 5/16 Whitworth, STAT! And where, WHERE, are all our Ziploc bags?

Ah, the fine art of organized destruction.

Attentive readers may remember we're in the middle of tearing down a 1971 Triumph TR6C Trophy Special for a bit of "rejuvenation." If you haven't already heard about our plans for the bike, check it out in the January/February 2007 issue or online here.

Day One of the tear down has already happened. As you can see, the seat and all the painted bits are off. Next to go was the carb, the rear shocks, the pegs and various fuel and oil hoses. After a handful of engine mounts were removed, the engine made it's way out the right side of the frame with surprising ease (even though our manual explicitly said it should come out the left side).

We've been careful to bag and label the majority of the parts (all except for the obvious ones) and we've only added a few washers and bolts to the list of needed pieces.

Our next day will focus on taking apart the electronics and the wiring harness. We may also remove the rear swing arm and the head stock, as we've got someone who has offered to sandblast the frame for free. (We like free!) But first we have to find out how affordable it would be to powdercoat the frame. The paint on it isn't terrible now, and with a bit of touch up work it would look great. But if we've already got it down to the frame, we might as well consider it, right?

Check out the upcoming March/April 2007 issue for further updates on this ongoing project, and check back next week for another updated blog!

-- Landon Hall

The time has come. The Motorcycle Classics blog, tenatively titled The Classic Life, is alive.

We've been itching to get this thing going for quite a while, and we've talked about all kinds of great ideas for things we hope to share with our readers.

We're hard at work on the March/April '07 issue, and we look forward to giving you an inside view into what's coming up in future issues.

This will also be a forum for all sorts of things we'd love to cover in the magazine, but that never seem to fit. It will also be a place where you'll get to see and hear about some of the obnoxious projects our editors and friends always seem to find themselves entagled in.

We hope to update the blog at least once a week, especially during these winter months. After all, if you can't be out riding motorcycles, at least you can be inside reading about them!

- Landon Hall