Classic Velocity

It was the best of bikes, it was the worst of bikes…..Saturday’s trip to New York for the NYC Motorcycle show (see preceeding post) was followed by a trip to a very different kind of show. The Potomac Vintage Riders host an annual swap meet and bike show in York, PA. It is mainly vintage dirt/trail/dualsport/trials machines, but a lot of other machines and parts show up. I had planned to make this event last year, but did not make it, so this was my first time. What the NYC show had in shiny chrome, plastic and carbon fiber, was matched by what the York show had in rusty parts. My kind of event, but you could not draw a more striking contrast if you tried.

The main venue is indoors at the York Fairgrounds, but as with any such event, the parking lot can be almost as interesting. In this case, many a pickup bed and trailer was adorned with the rusted hulk of a Bultaco or a Penton. Hondas were present in force including a nice early goldwing, many CB350s, a few 550s, and enough Trail variants to start a standalone dealership. Triumphs and BSAs were also present in force as they were among the motocross leaders of the era. Other marques present in force were Hodaka, Ossa, Husqvarna and Yamaha. The Hodaka club had an impressive stand, and I saw my first combat wombat in the flesh. The Penton brigade was also present. I saw more Ossas in one place than ever before, as well as a few other marques hailing from Spain. You never know what may show up, and I almost scored a set of Krauser bags in good condition. I did find a Clymer BMW R-Bike manual, and departed considering it an interesting tale of two days and two Yorks…