Frank47
XS650 Enthusiast
Oct 6,7,8. Anybody on here going? Supposed to have special display of Japanese Vintage Bikes this year. Always a good time & the museum is well worth the trip. Leeds, AL just outside Birmingham.
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Barber’s Vintage Festival
- Thread starter Frank47
- Start date
I go every year. This year will be no different.
Sparkyduc
XS650 Addict
I’ll be there!
Man I wish I was closer, I'd love to go to this.
In fact, I've been watching past years that are posted on youtube the last few nights...its pretty entertaining to see the stuff that's for sale there.
The difference between the crowd at Barbers and at Mid-Ohio sure seems vastly different too, based on what I'm seeing in the videos anyway...I haven't been to the Mid-Ohio event either.
In fact, I've been watching past years that are posted on youtube the last few nights...its pretty entertaining to see the stuff that's for sale there.
The difference between the crowd at Barbers and at Mid-Ohio sure seems vastly different too, based on what I'm seeing in the videos anyway...I haven't been to the Mid-Ohio event either.
Post covid, it’s still a good event, but a shadow of what it was.
hovel
ol' stupid
I've been going since '08. Yes, many changes. No more century race, fewer vendors, Backus and the Mo'cycle Classics folks don't show up any more, the list goes on. VJMC usually has a good showing. Last year they had a "sounds of Jap horsepower" ( or something ) contest that was pathetic, really lame. A couple of years ago the flea market expanded up behind parking lot 'D' but it is really spread out and I find it a P.I.T.A. Stroll through the paddock. The racers are a friendly lot and it's often a better show than the fan zone. Barber tip No. 1: get a cold beer and ride the tram for a coupe of laps. Tip no. 2: towards the end of the day, find a shady spot to sit, have another beer, and watch the parade on the perimeter road. It's as entertaining as anything else.
Four hours farther south, the Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola is hard to beat. Barber is gonna really have to go some to get even close. Whenever.
Here's an XS 650 side hack in the paddock.
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I don’t know how many of you are here, but I crossed paths with no one in the XS650 community that I didn’t arrange to meet beforehand. It definitely got bigger this year, however less that interests me. BMW showed up huge. They took up almost the entire fan zone. Triumph took over the former Ace Corner. Lots of demo rides. VJMC got pushed into a corner. No choppers, no cafe racers, no young people. I bought a tail light lens. The swap meet is mostly junk.
It has been great getting with my friends.
It has been great getting with my friends.
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hovel
ol' stupid
JetmechMarty pretty much nailed it. Sometimes I am just looking for junk so the swap meet did not disappoint. What did disappoint was flat track racing on asphalt. I thought it as kinda lame even though it is way beyond my skill level. The museum has this wonderful hand carved wooden motorcycle (700 hours !) and I found an XS 650 side hack in the paddock. Barber Vintage continues to be one of my favorite weekend outings.
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It's much like that at the big hot rod show's in Daytona. I'm 65 and I'm the kid. The swap meet is the same stuff that I can buy at Harbor Freight and worse. Quit going years ago as it was the same ole' same ole' year after year.
I spent the weekend on Neely Kelly lake just north of there. Had plans to visit the museum with my traveling companions but because it was an "event weekend" it's their policy that to enter you have to pay for both the museum visit and the event entrance, $60 per was too steep for us for a few hours the one day.
The David Keith bike I've seen, he lives not far from me in Gainesville GA and is a frequent participant in vintage racing.
We rode over Friday afternoon, just shy of Rome on GA20 I leading could see rain ahead so we all pulled over to don rain gear. When ready one of the gals with us her Honda Shadow 750 refused to start, bad battery, and with slick pavement it refused to bump start.
I called around and found a replacement 18 miles ahead in Rome at Batteries Plus, her husband and I pulled the original out, rode there got the new one, rode back, installed it and continued our trip, making into our destination just ahead of dark, barely.
The gals maiden name is Murphy, and as we all know Old Murphy is a capricious and ironic bastard. Where we pulled over to don gear and the battery crapped the bed is right at one of the construction entrances to the new Hyundai Battery Plant they're building
The David Keith bike I've seen, he lives not far from me in Gainesville GA and is a frequent participant in vintage racing.
We rode over Friday afternoon, just shy of Rome on GA20 I leading could see rain ahead so we all pulled over to don rain gear. When ready one of the gals with us her Honda Shadow 750 refused to start, bad battery, and with slick pavement it refused to bump start.
I called around and found a replacement 18 miles ahead in Rome at Batteries Plus, her husband and I pulled the original out, rode there got the new one, rode back, installed it and continued our trip, making into our destination just ahead of dark, barely.
The gals maiden name is Murphy, and as we all know Old Murphy is a capricious and ironic bastard. Where we pulled over to don gear and the battery crapped the bed is right at one of the construction entrances to the new Hyundai Battery Plant they're building
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