Motorcycle group shows off antiques
Hill Wheatley Plaza in downtown Hot Springs was filled to the brim with motorcycles from years past Saturday.
The 10th Annual Antique Motorcycles in the Park, put on by the Antique Motorcycle Club of America’s Diamond Chapter of Arkansas, showed off decades-old bikes from all over the world.
The event was put on by Mike Thomson, chapter president.
“He just wants us to get old bikes out here for people to see, because a lot of this stuff, you don’t see anywhere else,” said Scott Byrd, a chapter member whose bike was on display at the event.
Thomson said that each event averages between 80 and 100 motorcycles on display, and Saturday’s event included limited edition bikes.
Some of the featured bikes that Thomson pointed out were a 1916 Harley-Davidson Twin, a Minsk motorcycle from Russia and his own 1973 Orange Triumph Hurricane. Thomson mentioned that his Hurricane was one of only 1,200 manufactured.
“We’ve got some really cool stuff on display,” Thomson said.
The 1916 Harley-Davidson Twin belonged to Byrd, who drove the motorcycle from Atlantic City, N.J., to Carlsbad, Calif., in the 2016 Cannonball Endurance Run. His Twin traveled all 3,306 miles of the run without gaining any penalty points, earning
City, N.J., to Carlsbad, Calif., in the 2016 Cannonball Endurance Run. His Twin traveled all 3,306 miles of the run without gaining any penalty points, earning a perfect score for the event.
Byrd explained that every motorcycle in the 2016 Cannonball Endurance Run was over 100 years old. His particular model, he explained, is a “predecessor to all of the big Harleys that you see on the road today.”
“A lot of our members have a lot of these bikes,” Byrd said. “Some of them ride them; some of them don’t. Some of them are almost too nice to ride.”
The event drew pedestrians strolling through downtown to marvel at the preserved motorcycles. Many of the visitors were from the Hot Springs Rally, which was held two blocks away at the Hot Springs Convention Center and is centered around motorcycling.
Thomson was pleased with the presence of the rally goers, as he is every year.
“We’re not affiliated with the rally per se, but we get along with them,” he said. “We promote them; they promote us.”
Thomson encouraged the public to come to the event in the future.
“It don’t cost anything,” he said. We just talk about old motorcycles. That’s all we do.”