Full of surprises, full of the most coolest bikes per acre, full of racing, showing, riding, glowing, and the best mix of machines and mankind per any motorcycle event in the USA—that’s the Barber Vintage Festival. And best of all: the people.
Taking place at the 750-acre Barber Motorsports Park, the racing is sanctioned by AHRMA, supplying three days of motorcycle music that gives the beat to wandering this sea of motorcycling history.
Everything in the paddock is there to race, most doing it with personality.
Everything from sidecar monkeys to spectator apes.
He was getting on the tram, so what do I know?
Found at the Skull Canvas show sponsored by Icon and founded by Lawrence Gardinier, the awesome and unnerving “Baby” helmet by Portland, Oregon, artist, Jason Prouty. www.garage31.com
Side view of the “Baby” helmet by Jason Prouty.
Had enough yet? Rear view of the “Baby” helmet at the Skull Canvas show, created by Jason Prouty.
A former racer who is still racing, Carry Andrew. He’s also a performance motorcycle builder who is still building. At Barber, he raced the motorcycle that he built for Nick Ienatsch to race.
Name that carb!
A happy Eric at the swap meet, finding a nearly perfect 1972 Honda CB350 fender.
That awkward moment when you meet someone in person who you’ve only known as a Facebook “friend.” It’s Terry Cavender, owner of The Biker’s Garage.
A hand-drawn helmet by Devil Chicken Design.
Mr. Devil Chicken Design man, from Buffalo, New York. www.devilchickendesign.com
Mr. Devil Chicken does paintings too, many with motorcycle themes. Me thinks this was a famous motorcycle jumper, but who’s looking a bit gaunt.
From left to right, it’s Patty (mom), Grace, and Ava, looking for stuff at the swap meet.
A Honda mini over-restored in an excellent way by Tony Congiardo.
Tony Congiardo from Nashville and the Honda mini he restored and personalized. It’s a winner.
Racer John Kern and his Ducati 250.
A partially completed very custom Honda CB350-powered motorcycle.
The kid building this unique Honda CB350-powered bike. If you know him, please tell him I’m sorry I don’t have his name.
The only knitter I found at Barber, doing the classic paddock race-day sport.
A stripped-down and customed-up Moto Guzzi by Moto Studio.
The shock on the back of the Moto Studio Guzzi; it’s off of a racecar.
I didn’t take this picture, and you can’t prove otherwise.
Famous moto-journalist Nick Ienatsch was there! I think he was doing a feature for the Cycle World print magazine. Yes, I’m being coy; look for it an upcoming CW.
Nigel Patrick, builder of many things that go very fast and win national championships.
It’s simple; just divide by four, like it says. The speedo on one of Rick Booth’s unusual creations.
Rick Booth, who builds engines like others build bikes. Lots of aesthetics here, because he likes them that way. We need to do a feature on this guy.
There is no guessing what this engine started out as.
Under those parts sits a Suzuki single. Really.
A Suzuki single with a suit on, just for fun and style.
This is not as it seems. A Japanese single hides inside there.
More jello than Velo. It’s a custom custom that’s as much fiction as fact.
Rick Booth builds the chassis and bodywork and engine overlay, for a creation unlike any other.
One The Edge trials stunt show riders performed next to fire trucks, just because.
Too much fun! Acmephotobooth.com is driving Francisthebus.com across America, earning travel money by taking pictures for donations. Find them. Do it.
What happened to Damon, Peter, Steve and Eric, when they got in francisthebus.com.
Sidecars aren’t just for racing.
It’s happy bikers Stevie and Clay Burrows, swapping money for parts at the BVF swap meet.
One of my childhood heroes, Reno Leoni. For the kids, Reno built the Ducatis that Jimmy Adamo raced against the big superbike teams, and in the Battle of Twins against Lucifer’s Hammer, banging wheels with Gene Church.
They insisted I get a pic with Reno. Why not; I can show my kids.
Driver Nicholas Bailey and passenger Brian Bailey stole this rig. But they say they will be sidecar racing next year.
The coolest couple at the Barber Vintage Festival, Pat Rogers and John Richards (or maybe they’re both Rogers and my hearing is failing.) Watch the video of them starting his race bike; such a team effort. Plus, there’s nothing sexier than a woman who pull-starts a motorbike.
It’s Makoto Endo, doing motorcycle portraits while you watch and wait. www.makotoendo.net
To me, he’ll always be Tyrone, but he’s actually famous flat-tracker Tyler Porter.
It’s the Vanson kids, who sponsored the Highside paddock vendor area that featured the most eclectic collection of sites at Barber. She’s Mindy; he’s got his eyes closed. Sorry, in the second image I took, she had her eyes closed; the guy loses.
Motus had an open house and actually allowed us to take pictures showing the intimacy of its production line. We rode the bikes too. Look for the video and print story in CW, coming soon.
Met this BMW rider next to the paddock and then lost his name. But I didn’t lose his picture, so here it is.
It’s not what you think. It’s a sidecar thing. And the monkey in this case is a woman. Maybe we should just let this end here.
The answer to the question you never asked. How would it be if I suck a Yamaha XS650 engine into a Norton chassis? Ta Da!
Even Soichiro Honda was there.
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