Antique Motorcycle Club, Magazine Features: Return of the Redskins

Magazine Features

	Return of the Redskins Perkiomen Chapter National Meet Oley, Pennsylvania, April, 2007 By Douglas Strange Dedicated to friends lost to the antique motorcycle hobby this past year: John Bowman, Richard Davies, Perry Gerhart, Robert Romig, Clark Spencer and Robert "Snuffy" Smith. The stars of our Perkiomen t-shirts, Bob and Kay Markey, on Bob's Sport Scout racer. (Click for complete gallery) The little corner of the world in eastern Pennsylvania that we call home has had a rich motorcycling history. As diverse a portrayal we claim, nothing beats the admiration for Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles. They've provided our best national meet themes. We didn't have to dig deep this year to honor the Indian Sport Scout, looking no further than our own Bob Markey. Bob's Indian (Etters, PA) is a functioning Indian dealership to this day and some 50 years ago as a younger man, Bob raced Indian Sport Scouts in earnest. Old motorcycles and friendships. That's what we're all about. We kept a little secret from Bob since last year. He was featured on the artwork for this year's Perkiomen National Meet shirts, astride one of his dirt trackers in the early 1950s. His wife, Kay, differed however on the ownership of the bike. Seems that when the two love birds were first married, Bob spent their furniture down payment to purchase his racer. Personally I didn't see a problem with that. Kay insisted at that point, the racer was her bike. Our Indian Sport Scout display on Saturday was a hit, featuring examples from all periods of Sport Scout history, only lacking a military example. Perhaps the sweetest bike was a 1935 Sport Scout restored by Randy Zorn for Russ Christian. Competition Sport Scouts were well represented from the preserved old racers to Butch Baer's Daytona-ready vintage racers. A couple of Dispatch Tows from Perkiomen's Tom Baker and Bob Terdeman of New York, completed the display. John Rhodes and his exquisite 1931 Henderson KJ. I love the growl of a good four-cylinder motorcycle. We had plenty to enjoy at Oley this year. Frank Westfall brought his 1912 Henderson out for its first public viewing. This machine is actually a replica fabricated by Mike Smith before he passed away last year. Next were Mike Terry's immaculate Cleveland Four and his white Ace which he allowed me to take on a little buzz around the grounds. I do love my Aces! Hendersons were further represented by the KJ and KL of John Rhodes and Marty Megregian. I also spied Doc Patt's venerable 1928 Henderson DeLuxe inside a trailer. All things must come to pass and his favorite bike went to a very appreciative home, but it still saddened me to see it go. The oldest motorcycle at Oley last year was Brian Budkin's 1903 Indian. The oldest motorcycle at Oley this year was a 1903 Indian owned by Brian Bodkin. The ancient Indian was originally owned and raced by Gus Chelini, and Brian had photographs of Gus with his Indian as a young man. The machine had been updated by Gus over the years and represented our earliest Period Modified entry. Another great early Indian was a 1911 Small Twin owned and restored by Bob Alexander. Always one for the oddball, Bruce Linsday displayed his 1907 Curtiss. Perhaps the most unique motorcycle at the entire show was Gene Payne's 1961 Harley-Davidson KR. What made this bike so special was its original owner, #55 Roger Reiman. There's a lot of history in that motorcycle. It was great to see it up close. A Water Buffalo is my ride. The most fun moment for me was getting a ride on Tom McKee's 1972 Suzuki GT750. Odd…all the great old bikes at our meet and I'm smiling ear to ear on a vintage Japanese motorcycle. I had forgotten how nice it was to ride those old "Water Buffalos." The Suzi and I took a spin away from the fairgrounds and I reveled in the sweet smoothness of its water-cooled two-stroke triple engine. Tom is lucky I came back. "Some assembly required." Our banquet was a lot of fun. Usually the Colonial Chapter maintains the honor of, shall we say, levity but they were rather quiet this year. Must be getting older. In their stead was the Badger Heritage Chapter from Wisconsin. Every time one of their members won a door prize, which was quite often, the entire chapter donned masks and went to receive the award as a group. Not only did the masks all match but they were all wearing replica 1950s riding shirts. I was so impressed that I awarded the chapter our award for Best Costume 1. They were definitely a lot fun and I hope they come back next year. Winner of the 2007 Charles L. Wolverton Memorial Award was Bill Woodcock's 1971 Rupp Black Widow. One of my favorite times at the Perkiomen National is to present the Charles L. Wolverton Memorial Award which is presented to the best-restored motorcycle of the meet based upon national judging. This year was a very surprised winner, Bill Woodcock, for his 1971 Rupp Black Widow mini-cycle. Bill brought four restored mini-cycles to Oley and each was meticulously restored. A tidy 1932 Harley VL sidecar outfit. With all the good times we have at Oley each year, there is bound to be someone who wishes to spoil the party. A non-AMCA visitor was caught stealing parts from a flea market table. However, this person was brought to our meet by a vendor. The thief was given a one-way ride out of town courtesy of Oley's Finest, and the vendor was asked to leave. Vendors and members should remain vigilant to prevent these unfortunate incidences from happening in the future. Antique motorcyclists are generous and great people. We don't need bad visitors to become a cancer at any of our shows. This eye-catching 1935 Sport Scout ended up on this year's calendar. Russ Christian is the owner. On the other side of the coin we have real angels at Oley. A gentleman suffered a heart attack during the meet and, hopefully, it wasn't from sticker shock in the flea market. Nancy Davis of Wakeman, Ohio, was nearby and applied her CPR training to the stricken member. Assisting Nancy were Brian Kohlmann and Don Dzurick from the Badger Heritage Chapter. If it weren't for their willingness to step up and help, our visiting member may not have survived. From the Perkiomen Chapter and the AMCA, we thank Nancy, Brian and Don. They are truly heroes. Until next year, keep the shiny side up and the diamond treads down. See you in 2008! © 2008 AMCA