Saturday, March 7, 2015

International Vintage Motorcycle Show and Swap Meet

Bike week is getting underway and that means it is time for the annual International Vintage Motorcycle Show and Swap meet in Eustis Florida.  Eustis sits in Lake County north of  Orlando.  The show is held the first weekend of bike week and is one of the nicest low key events of the year.  The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club hosted the meet and held it at the Lake County Fairgrounds, a large and clean venue.

I'll add comments and history as I sort through my notes and photos.  For now, enjoy the pictures.


Suzuki's water cooled GT 750 two stroke sometimes called the "Water Buffalo"



Suzuki's RE 5 rotary engine bike.  Displacement was about 500cc
These two mid-seventies Suzukis looked like could have just come from the showroom.  From the early seventies came another very good Suzuki two stroke, the T-500 Titan.  I owned one of these in this same orange and gold color scheme.  Put many carefree miles on it.

T-500 Titan
On the Honda side of things, we found this C110 with full factory race kit.  According to the owner it is 1 of 5 in the world.  The engine is 50cc.



 
Honda C110

Another Honda 50cc racer was this single cylinder dual overhead cam racer.  It is actually a 2004 AC15 that Honda produced to commemorate their early 60s racer.


Honda AC15
Zundapp with Steib sidecar
 





 
 



 

BSA

 

 






 




Harley Davidson 125 Hummer

Gilera 106

 
 
We had a Gilera 106 when I was young.  A relative gave it to my Dad.  I remember that it was delivered in a number of cardboard boxes.  Someone had taken it apart for a reason that was unknown to me.  We raced through the fields all year long on it, pulled each other on sleds with it in the winter and used it to ride the railroad tracks and pick asparagus in the spring.  I remember it as being nearly bullet proof.  I think both Sears and Wards sold this bike for a time.


Ducati 350
I nearly bought a 350 Ducati back in about 1970, but didn't.  I bought a Harley Davidson / Aermacchi 125 instead.  Wish I had both bikes now...

Rickman Metisse
I didn't catch up with the owner of this Rickman Metisse, but saw it cruising the grounds a couple of times.  The engine looks like a Triumph 650.




1928 Harley Davidson JD 


 
 
1963 Honda 300 Dream an early Japanese big bike.

10 comments:

  1. So much beauty... The blue/silver BSA tracker is my personal favourite.

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    1. Yes that BSA was very nice in person. I am also partial to the single cylinder engines, but there were bikes for everyone at Eustis this year.

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  2. Now that's a gathering. A couple of my friends are down to enjoy your show, looks like they've had lots and lots to admire!

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    1. It is a great show and friendly. Florida enjoys it's bikers and bikes and during bike week, everyone within 100 miles or so of Daytona turns out to welcome new and old friends.

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  3. Awesome. I am impressed you could get close enough for pics.

    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. This is one of those special meets where those displaying the bikes seem to trust those that are looking and the lookers give the bikes and the owners the respect they deserve. Many of the bikes were flawless in their restoration and others were riders that had never been restored. All in all a great meet with friendly people everywhere.

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  4. Nice Pictures! Especially happy to see a Vincent State Side, they are rare in North America! I particularly liked the Red BSA.

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    1. The Vincents have a special knack of drawing your eyes to that great big engine. I also enjoyed the BSAs as again the engines seem to be such an eye magnet.

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  6. Wow, these are some of the coolest bikes I have ever seen! My favorite one was the Zundapp with Steib sidecar. Amazing frame work and a beautiful color. What type of engine does it have?

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