45th Annual Chief Blackhawk Antique Swap Meet and Show
By Bill Graham
Jim Shaw and I rode our new BMWs to the annual Labor Day Chief Blackhawk Antique Motorcycle Club Swap Meet and Show, an 80-acre swap meet at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, with over 1000 flea market spaces filled with vintage motorcycles and parts. We decide whether to go every year based on if it is stifling hot or cooler, and this year in Davenport it was slated to be in the 70s for highs and mid 50s at night. Both the weather and the rally did not disappoint.
We left at 9:00 on Thursday morning, and, with a stop for lunch, we were at the rally grounds around 2:00. As they don’t let attendees into the fairgrounds until 6:00 am Thursday morning, little did we know that it would be totally packed already by early afternoon. We later learned that quite a few people stake out in the parking lot Wednesday evening and rush in for the best pickings the first thing Thursday morning. After searching a while for a camping spot, we ended up staking our tents out in the field, fairly far from all the action.
In addition to vendors swapping and selling, scattered throughout the fairgrounds are tons of vintage and antique bikes to view. There are also a few food vendors, and the fairgrounds serves a $7 scrambled egg, hash brown, toast and coffee breakfast. I drooled over winning a new Indian that the National Motorcycle Museum was raffling off and bought a ticket, hoping to have Judy’s luck. The Vintage Bike Show (top) competition was in an enclosed building, some-what like a large warehouse. With bikes of “45” (in metric, about 750 cc’s) being the focus, there were a lot of vintage Harleys and Indians, as well as many vintage scooters, many tricked to the max, but only a few vintage BMWs.
We were pretty much hooked on spending most of our time strolling and looking at all the vintage bike eye candy and kibitzing with owners and restorers. So, there were some things we didn’t do – Friday night a $20 ticket privately sponsored vintage race with amateur riders on a quarter mile flat track, and Saturday, a Ladies Craft Fair (now, if Judy had been there…), a few technical seminars, and a field event with bikes over 35 years old. On Thursday evening I wish we could have seen the 90-minute newly released documentary, ‘The Indian Wrecking Crew’ (an Indian racing team of the late 1940s, interviews with the surviving crew members, and extensive racing footage), but we missed looking at our program until too late. Three of the original Indian Scout bikes used by the Wrecking Crew were on loan and displayed throughout the evening. Machine Gun Willie, the band that played the music for the movie soundtrack performed. Phooey for missing that opportunity!
Friday, we took off to see the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa (middle), 75 miles from Davenport. It was elected the Iowa Tourism Out-standing Attraction in 2015, with over 450 motorcycles and 100 years of memorabilia on display. Also in the area is the American Pickers Shop in Le Claire, Iowa, not too far from Davenport. We stopped by, but we got there at 9:00 and it didn’t open until 10:00. Rather than waiting, we peeked in the windows at some of the pickers’ great finds. Friday for dinner, we found a good Mexican restaurant in Davenport, minus the margaritas, darn it, but we had best make it back to the fairgrounds safely.
The swap meet rally has changed over the years. It used to be free when it was much less commercial with few vendors and swappers, then it progressed to a few bucks, and this year, it was $35, which only bought a spot to pitch a tent for the weekend, $20 a night for RVs, most with no hookups.
The meet is also different in that rather than all weekend with Saturday being the main day, Thursday and Friday are the two main days for viewing and vendors. Some people begin packing up even on Friday night, and by Saturday afternoon, half the people and vendors have left. That is a bit strange, being as vendors came from as far away as California and Canada.
Due to that, Saturday morning Jim and I went to breakfast, packed up and headed home. All in all, it was a short trip, but jam-packed and very enjoyable. Side notes – I suppose no one can escape political doings before a presidential election. Some attendees put up Trump for president signs with wording not mentionable here. I snapped a picture of a couple that I’ll be happy to show to anyone who asks at our club meeting.
Aside from the rally, our new bikes handled like dreams (My 2015 GSA is the best bike I’ve ever owned). Jim and I both purchased the Sena 20S communication system and linked them up on this trip. Talking while on the road was as clear as if we were standing next to each other in a room! And, as an added bonus, I used mine two days straight without a charge!
FYI: The theme for Chief Blackhawk’s 2017 meet is “Motorcycles of the 70’s.” To attract attendees, the following is an interesting blurb in this year’s swap meet brochure: The seventies represent a decade with huge change. On the early years, the British were strong and varied, the Germans and the Italians were also a big presence. Harley was steady. The Japanese were here and gaining ground, but had yet to own the market.
By the end of the 70s the British were all but gone, the Italians were weak, and Harley had yet to explode. Motorcycles were starting to have more plastic. As 1980 approached the Japanese were filling the market with affordable quality bikes in sizes and models to bring huge numbers of new and returning riders into the sport. So dig that 1970 motorcycle out of your barn, basement, garage or shed and join us in 2017.