Rice-O-Rama Draws A Large Crowd

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

They came by the thousands to the Singletary Rod and Gun Club in Oxford, MA on Sunday to inspect the finest two-wheeled machines ever made in Japan. The show ground, the vendor areas and the parking lots were all  packed for the sixth annual Rice-O-Rama meet, which event organizer Mike Hayes called “a motorhead paradise.” He estimated the midday crowd at “a few thousand,” but his assessment may have been low.

“People come here because that’s what they like,” said Hayes, referring to the Japanese nameplates. “This meet has bikes that you don’t see at other meets, and contraptions.” Particularly eye-catching were the customs and cafe bikes.

One of the custom cafe entries had a leather seat that pointedly provided the attitude of its owner.

Ben Chovnick of Motoconsult in Mansfield, CT was a first-time vendor having attended the meet a year ago. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm for this show. Everybody’s talking about it,” he said.

Nelson Davis of Putnam, CT (pictured at left) brought a collection of small cc bikes to sell, including a 1982 Honda MB5 (which was only sold in the U.S. for one year), a 1972 Honda CL70, a 1972 Honda XR250, a 1972 Honda Cub/Passport, and a 1970 Honda CL70.

“I fix them up and then I sell them,” said Davis. “These are toys kinda.”

This was Nelson’s first time to set up a tent at Rice-O-Rama. “I didn’t know what to expect. “A lot of people are looking but nobody’s serious about buying.”

This was the second year the Singletary Rod and Gun Club provided the venue. The first four years Rice-O-Rama was staged at the North Brookfield Sportsmen’s Club in North Brookfield, MA, but it outgrew that site. “We’ve got more room. It’s a much more central location,” said Hayes of the new venue. “It’s improved the attendance.”

Here’s are more pics from Rice-O-Rama: