Driving 250 miles for hopes, dreams and a basket of junk?

I seem to be in a constant state of hunting for a good motorcycle deal. I may have mentioned in previous posts the scientifically derived equation that answers the question "how many motorcycles in your garage is the perfect number?". Where the variable 'N' represents the current number of motorcycles currently in your garage and 'P' is the perfect number of motorcycles the equation is P = N + 1. This equation requires you to run the numbers, acquire a bike, deal with the aftermath and start over again. My current quest is for a nostalgia bike that would take me back to my days spent running around the Arizona countryside on my first motorcycle a Yamaha MX100. I had the opportunity to go to the monthly Long Beach Motorcycle Swap Meet a few weeks ago hoping for the chance to score a bargain. Read on to see how it went.

Do you see the main brand of bikes in this picture, well this theme was repeated early and often throughout my visit to the swap meet. The bar and shield brand was very well represented at the swap meet. From the bikes in the parking lot to the customers walking between the stalls to the merchandise on display, Harley Davidson branded objects were plentiful. The swap meet is at the Long Beach Veteran's Stadium parking lot. There was plenty of parking for cars and bikes. The vendor space was pretty large as well. I paid my admission charge and excitedly began to scope out the rows of stalls. It didn't take long to get the feel for the place and create a search pattern that would leave no stall unturned. The feel of an old school swap meet is equal parts treasure hunt, yard sale and trip to a junk yard. Every vendor had their own style from dump a box on the ground and wait to neatly organized and price labeled items. I was eager to get started shopping.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Harley's. I do get rubbed the wrong way by some Harley riders however. You know the type. The "get a real bike", pudding bowl helmet, live free or die vest wearing rider that can't see that motorcycles of any type are awesome. I consider myself a motorcyclist first and foremost. The two pictures above and the one below are of a Harley that I could definitely see myself going for. This 1969 350cc Aermacchi Harley single fully kitted out in flat track form greeted me right inside the entrance. This biked looked lithe and fast. I have heard that these engines are good for flat track racing, at least the vintage kind. They are a bit unique these days at the track from what I have seen so far. Most racers go for DTX bikes like my CRF450R and Hooligan Sportsters are also plentiful. Bikes like this one used to be more common in the 1970's heyday of flat track.

Speed holes and right sided shifting, the mark of a purpose built race bike. Whenever I see a bike like this out in the wild, I like to take a bunch of pics for my own future projects. I don't have a garage full of machine tools handy. Many of these older race bikes are hand built and finding parts made in a way that I could replicate with my own meager skill set is awesome. This bike doesn't look like it has been on the dirt for a while. A shame really. Its like seeing an old race horse being used for advertising out front of a used car dealer. You can almost feel the bike wanting to get out there and rip with the other bikes. I for one would love to throw a leg over this bike at the Milestone practice track.

If you are putting together a Harley project, this swap meet is a must. Plenty of selection of parts for everything from a custom bagger to a stripped down chopper could be had at what I assume are decent prices. I don't know the Harley market well enough to comment on the price of the parts, but I did see lots of patrons wheeling wagons full of treasure back to their cars. Aside from the lack of Japanese bike parts, there was also a small selection of parts of a vintage nature. Most of the parts I saw were take-offs of more modern equipment. Maybe it is my inexperienced eye for theMotor Company's various domestic bike models, but I was hoping to find more older stuff on display. Since this swap meet happens once a month, maybe I need to come back and try again.

Even when the Harley's weren't Harley's they were Harley's. Does that make any kind of sense? While the cool flat track bike above is an Aermacchi single with Harley badging, this hunk of junk is a genuine AMF Harley single cylinder, import re-badge of some type. I have no idea of its origin or history. I don't know if the $400 price tag taped onto the tank represents a good value or a ripoff. This is what I was hoping to find at the swap meet. Crusty old forgotten projects that I could adopt for a reasonable price and work on myself. Sadly this was about the only bike in this state that I could find. While I was initially intrigued, the dubious nature of future parts availability kept my wallet firmly in my pocket.

This was an interesting find. It was a display for a bike built for the Born Free show and was being raffled off to one "lucky" winner. It was based on the Revel model that can be seen under the actual bike on the trailer. Seeing it in person, I was awed by the builder's ability to build a life sized replica of the model. I was also in awe of the complete lack of practicality of this bike. If you were able to actually sit on the bike without falling off, a doubtful prospect due to the seat slope, forward controls and a normal human's lack of simian upper body strength, you wouldn't be able to see through the gas tank enough to avoid hitting something. This bike was birthed to forever be a trailer queen and display model. I applaud someone building a bike like this to showcase their talent, but my wallet would not go near it with a ten foot pole!

After the hour spent searching for a diamond in the rough, I loaded up and headed home. My drive would take about 90 minutes. I stopped at a rest stop with a wild idea. I had found an older Yamaha MX100 for sale in San Diego on Craigslist, a further 45 minute drive from my house. I contacted the seller and arranged for a meet. An hour later I was presented with a rolling chassis and a milk crate with a large portion of an engine, but definitely not all of an engine. I pretended to look over this heap of trash with a discerning eye to stall for a bit of time. I wanted to form my words to not insult the seller on his ad creating skills. I decided that I would just walk away and look for my nostalgia ride another day. All told I drove 5 hours and 250 miles with nothing to show for it except this post. I did have a good day and hopefully you enjoyed the recap of the day's events. As always, ride safe friends!

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