Rhinebeck Show Draws Riders

RHINEBECK, NY – Bill Damian remembers the first time he came to the Rhinebeck Grand National Meet. It was five or six years ago and he rode in on a 1939 Harley-Davidson U model, coming all the way from Rhode Island.

“When I came in, I almost couldn’t get off the motorcycle,” Damian said Friday as he minded the International Chromium Plating booth inside an exhibition hall at the Duchess County Fairgrounds. “On that Harley, it was a long ride,” he recalled.

The next year, Damian drove over in a pickup. His reason for attending the annual vintage event, which is put on by chapters of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America, is simple. “We see a lot of friends; people we do business with,” he said.

Bill Damian of International Chromium Plating

The first Rhinebeck meet was held in 2007 and it has since grown into an event that attracts thousands of riders, features hundreds of old bikes, and dozens upon dozens of vendors of parts and accessories, both old and new.

“This is what an AMCA national meet is all about – not just the location, which of course is beautiful and fantastic, but the old bikes, the love that the people have for the old bikes, and the general camaraderie. That’s why this is a great meet,” said Richard Spagnolli, president of the AMCA Board of Directors.

Spagnolli talked more extensively with RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland about the meet:

The emphasis at Rhinebeck is on classic American product made by Harley-Davidson and Indian. One standout motorcycle that wasn’t all that old was a 1979 Harley-Davidson FLH / Electra Glide Classic owned by Al Gurka that only had 2,598 miles on the odometer. Stunning.

The centerpiece of the meet is a “timeline” of old bikes. While it also shows off other brands from all over the world, the brand loyalty of owners could be seen in clusters of bikes.

Other features of Rhinebeck the are oddities and the sounds. The air is filled with exhaust noises from bikes being ridden around the show grounds and being fired up. Pat Murphy of Marcellus, NY brought a 1919 Henderson “Z” model with loads of patina.

Pat Murphy and 1919 Henderson 

Here he is riding it.

More about the bike from Murphy in an upcoming post.

There were a couple of bikes that remained silent.

I’ve never seen wicker bikes before, and can’t imagine the amount of work required to construct them.

One bike was familiar – a 1929 Indian 101 Scout (pictured above) owned by Jeff Alperin, who rode it cross-country from Newburgh, NY to San Francisco in 2012 in the Motorcycle Cannonball. He’s still riding it.

It wouldn’t be a road trip for RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland without some snafus, such as forgetting to bring an SD card for the camera. A quick trip into Rhinebeck solved that problem.

Rob Gagne of Lonestar Leather Comany

Meanwhile, Rob Gange of Lonestone Leather Company helped out by modifying a belt so that my pants wouldn’t droop. Thanks, Rob.

And, as is always the case, there were also some interesting bikes found in the parking lot.