Norton is the featured marque at the 10th Annual Bonneville Vintage GP.
The 2015 vintage show calendar is filling up, and we’re looking forward to getting out and mixing with readers and classic bike fans. Set your schedule now and join Motorcycle Classics at one of four different vintage events across the country.
On June 5-7, 2015, we’ll be at the Rockerbox Motofest at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. This will be the second Rockerbox Motofest at Road America, featuring two days of AHRMA vintage motorcycle racing on Road America’s legendary 4-mile road course. We’ll award a special Motorcycle Classics Editors’ Choice Award at the Rockerbox Bike Show (proceeds support The Steel Toe Fund), which last year drew an eclectic selection of custom vintage bikes. There will also be live music, plenty of food vendors, a microbrew tasting, plus specialty vendors, custom bike builders, and more.
On Aug. 22, 2015, we head west to Tacoma, Washington, and The Meet at America’s Car Museum, which has quickly established itself as the Northwest’s premier vintage event. We expect the biggest show yet following the decision to expand entry qualifications to allow bikes 25 years old and older; the limit was formerly 35 years or older. The Seattle Cossacks motorcycle stunt team will return to the 3.5-acre Haub Family Field, and of course there’s the LeMay-America’s Car Museum, a 165,000-square-foot facility filled with 350 vintage American and European cars. The Saturday only show features an excellent cross-section of vintage bikes, and we’ll award a special Motorcycle Classics Editors’ Choice Award. The Meet is capped off by the annual Sunday Ride, a relaxed tour through the Washington countryside.
On Sept. 4-6, 2015, look for us at the 10th Annual Bonneville Vintage GP at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. The featured marque for the 2015 Bonneville Vintage GP is Norton, with former Norton employee and current Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum restoration specialist Brian Slark as Honorary Judge for the Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show, where we’ll award trophies in two categories across five classes along with a Featured Marque award. The hyper-active Utah British Bike Club helps stage the bike show, and it’s guaranteed to draw an impressive selection of Nortons. The Bonneville Vintage GP was the first motorcycle event held at Miller when the venue opened in 2006 — it’s a favorite of AHRMA racers, who show up in record numbers every year — and this year’s 10th Annual should be the biggest and best ever.
Oct. 8-11, 2015, will have us heading back east to Leeds, Alabama, for the 11th Annual Barber Vintage Festival at Barber Motorsports Park. Norton will again be the featured marque for the Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show. It’s a fitting tribute, as 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of Norton’s last model in the U.S., the 1975 electric start Commando 850 MkIII. If the usual ingredients aren’t enough for you (amazing swap meet, incredible AHRMA racing, Race of the Century — and let’s not forget the world’s pre-eminent motorcycle museum), rumor has it Barber is looking to draw a handful of Britten V1000 race bikes to the 2015 event in honor of the 20th anniversary of the death of John Britten, the V1000’s builder. Only 10 Britten V1000s were made, and Barber hopes to have at least six of them on hand.
We’re finalizing our schedule for the 3rd Annual Vintage Motorcycle Festival at New Jersey Motorsports Park, but hope to be there for what’s turning into a great East Coast event, and dates for the 24th Annual Heart of America Motorcycle Enthusiasts Vintage Motorcycle Rally in Kansas City are still pending. Last year’s event featured an excellent Motogiro on Saturday before the Sunday show, to be repeated for 2015. Look for updated information on the Motorcycle Classics events page.
Analog Motorcycles’ fantastic Indian Scout at Rockerbox.
Photos by Richard Backus
