The 2018 show season is fast approaching, making this the perfect time to start making plans to join us at our favorite annual events.
First up is the annual Vintage Motofest, June 8-10, 2018, at Road America racetrack outside Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, featuring AHRMA vintage racing and the Rockerbox Bike Show. The bike show happens Saturday, and we’ll be there heading up judging and awarding, bestowing the Motorcycle Classics Editor’s Choice award along with trophies for the top bikes in five other categories. Nicknamed “America’s National Park of Speed,” Road America is one of the most historic tracks in the U.S., if not the world. The AHRMA racing on the 4-mile, 14-turn road circuit is spectacular, plus there’s live music, a Saturday microbrew tasting, and an opportunity to lap the track on your own scoot Saturday. If you’ve never been, this is the time to go.
Two weeks later we’ll be in Chicago, Illinois, for the Motoblot Urban Motorcycle & Hot Rod Street Rally, June 22-24, 2018. First held in 2014, Motoblot has rapidly grown into one of the largest vintage motorcycle, scooter and hot rod rallies in the U.S. A street show with a great urban vibe, it draws bikes from across the region and the U.S. for a great weekend of live music and cool bikes. Motorcycle Classics will sponsor the Motoblot Vintage Bike Show, with a special Editor’s Choice award and trophies in six other categories. Plus, ice sculpture artist extraordinaire Nate Johnson of Johnson Studios Ice Sculptures, Chicago, will give an on-site, live ice carving demonstration. Nate hasn’t yet said exactly what he’s going to carve, but you can bet it’ll be motorcycle related and, well, cool. Given the street theme, you can expect the bike show to be a pretty relaxed affair, with daily riders and well-preserved originals side by side with perfect restorations. Don’t miss it. The Motoblot Film Festival runs all weekend, and there’s a beer hall, plenty of food trucks and vendors galore. Definitely not to be missed.
Two weeks after Motoblot we’ll point our scoots toward Lexington, Ohio, and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Vintage Motorcycle Days, July 6-8, 2018. The granddaddy of all vintage motorcycle events, VMD has been mecca for vintage motorcycle fans since its founding in the mid-1990s. Regularly drawing crowds of 40,000-plus, it’s second only to the Barber Vintage Festival in size and scope. Vintage racing fills the weekend, with riders competing on the 2.4-mile Mid-Ohio track in the AMA Vintage Grand Championship and out in the field in great motocross, hare scrambles, trials and dirt-track racing. VMD also hosts the largest swap meet in North America, covering some 35 acres! The amount of vintage gear being traded boggles the mind: If you’re looking for that last obscure part to complete your restoration, chances are good you’ll find it at VMD. We don’t have a final schedule yet, but look for the return of the Motorcycle Classics Ride & Show on Saturday, July 7. This is truly one of the greatest events of the year, and as always, proceeds from the event benefit the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Labor Day weekend will see us heading west to the Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele, Utah, for the 13th Annual Bonneville Vintage GP, Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2018. As always there’s great AHRMA racing, plus the ever popular Battle of the CB160s LeMans Start at noon on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll host the annual Motorcycle Classics Vintage Bike Show, with trophies in five classes including awards for Best Restored and Best Rider in each class. Top tip: Come early for the 2018 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Aug. 25-30, for an experience you’ll never forget.
Rounding out our year is the 14th Annual Barber Vintage Festival, Oct. 5-7, 2018. This is the single largest vintage gathering in the U.S., with attendance breaking 70,000-plus the past few years. We’ll hold technical seminars Friday and Saturday, with the Motorcycle Classics Barber Vintage Bike Show on Saturday. We’ll finish off the weekend with our Sunday Morning Ride, a leisurely run through the beautiful Alabama countryside. There’s also great AHRMA racing on the incredible 2.4-mile Barber track, and the excellent Barber Swap Meet returns, as does the Ace Corner, the Century Parade for bikes 100 years old and older, the Globe of Death stunt show and much more. We’ll post more info as it becomes available. Don’t miss it! MC