VINTAGE BIKE OC NEWS

Huntington Beach, Calif. - Can there be too much of a good thing? Our second meet at Mr. Pete's Grill went a little better than the first. The weather was perfect, typical So. Cal. February - 70 degrees and sunny. We had 74 bikes in three different lots before 2:00 and when I counted again it was 131 and many had already left. I'm putting the official count at 140 bikes.

Riverside County German Invasion
It's probably not politically correct to call Mike Dunn's family and friends an invasion, but they were here in force today. They brought at least eight excellent examples of German motorcycles, Including two Zundapps and one Auto Union DKW an extremely rare bike. Mike Dunn is the owner of Vintage German Motorcycles in Riverside. He has won Bike of the Month three times, first in March 2009 with his 1939 Indian Sport Scout, in June 2013 with his 1937 Zundapp KS500, and November 2013 with his 1939 Zundapp KS600. He had the 1939 Zundapp KS600 with him today.

Triplets Anyone?
Tom Barclay of Fullerton showed up with his brother and son all three riding identical 1976 Honda CB360Ts. I felt like I was back in 1976 in a Honda showroom. Tom warned me in an email that they were coming, but I had no idea they were identical triplets.

Bike of the Month
With so many bikes to choose from it was a fairly close contest today. Six bikes took the popular votes. We had a tie for third and a tie for forth place which was not mentioned. Bikes #46 and #62 came in one vote behind third place. I'm not sure which they were. I think they were both German motorcycles.

First Place
John Calicchio of Costa Mesa won first place with his 1971 Triumph Bonneville Super Moto. John won a $10.00 gift certificate to Mr. Pete's Grill provided by Mike Dunn of Vintage German Motorcycles. John is the owner of Triumph Classic Motorcycles in Costa Mesa. A new shop specializing in restoration and modifications of classic Triumph motorcycles. This Super Moto is his prototype for his line of custom Triumphs which also include a Street Tracker and Flat Tracker. John's Grand Opening is Sunday March 1st at his new Costa Mesa shop. Check out his website for all the details.

Second Place
Tony Sambrano of Long Beach came in second with his rare 1928 JAP. JAP is a British brand named for it's Company owner J. A. Prestwich. It has a 600cc single side valve four stroke engine. It was Tony's first time at our meet, and he has only owned the bike for a few months. I hope Tony brings it again so I have a chance to check it out again.

Third Place Tie
Alexys Boonkokua of Riverside and Dick Holt of Westminster tied for third place. Alexys brought her pristine 1954 BMW R51/3 and Dick was down and dirty with his 1950 BSA B34 period correct T. T. Racer.

Alexys is Mike Dunn's daughter, I wonder if her father had any influence on her choice of bikes, I'll bet he did. I think it's great how his entire family seems to be into motorcycles. Thanks Alexys and Mike for sharing your passion with us.

Dick's 1950 BSA B34 is what he called a "Poor boy's Gold Star" 500cc Single, gas fueled, no brakes Short Track (1/4 Mile) and T. T. Racer.

I was really hopping today, next month Debbie and Tom Hopkins should be back helping out, and hopefully we'll have a better plan for the "Vintage Corral". We ran out of space in the drive thru pretty quickly today.

Thanks to everyone for showing up and making this another great event. Thanks to Hobo John and Brian Tink Tinkler for helping with meet. I'll see you on March 8, 2015.

Keep On Ridin',
Joe Kagerer