Iowa Motorcycle Adventure

[Nelsdou]

This past August a local KC motorcycle club offered a weekend ride up to   Alantic, Iowa for a bike show and  a nearby motorcycle museum tour,   along with a festival thrown in for good measure. Having some family   roots in Iowa how could I resist?

 During the Saturday  Atlantic vintage motorcycle show I was told that   one can't go home without seeing the vintage machines being prepared for   a web-auction at Baxter Cycles located a few miles away in Marne,  Iowa.

 Some very rear and unusual stuff in this place. Walking around in the   shop a guy showed me an alloy cylinder head to an Ariel Square Four, a   fairly complex casting that channeled intake and exhaust to four   cylinders. The Ariel is a British bike going back to the early '30s.

 Then off for a late afternoon-evening relaxation and refreshments at   Danfest, a Danish community festival a few miles up the road outside   Elkhorn, Iowa.

  There a group called the Polka Police had the crowd in stitches with a   comedy act and abusing every rock song you could hold dear with a  polka  rendition. A good time had by all. Never thought I'd ever be  partying  with Vikings like this in a cornfield.

   Next day we were on the road again to the secret location of the   Kamikaze Museum, where a stash of older Japanese motorcycles were   reported to be on view and possible sale. Turns out it is mostly a   motorcycle salvage site with some of the best specimens obtained shown   in the museum.


 Fortunately, I didn't dragged anything home with me except good memories.

[gitano]

I had a 1953 Ariel Square Four!


Actually, what I should say is that I had a 1953 Ariel Square Four ENGINE, that I put in a chopper. I bought the engine, "in a basket", for $150 in 1973. Had a motorcycle mechanic named Shooty from Jamul, California, put it in a chopped frame. Sold it when I left San Diego in '78, for $4500. (Had about $2000 in it when it was finished.) Strange I didn't kill myself with that bike.


Also had a '39 Indian Chief engine. Exact same story. Bought in a basket and built into a chopper. (It was the "Easy Rider" era.) I rode the Indian almost exclusively. Also sold it when I left San Diego, for the exact same price - $4500. Didn't cost as much to make the Indian chopper.
 

Paul

PS - This is in general what my choppers looked like. Different head light, rising handlebars, bigger saddle, not as wide rear tire, but the rake on the forks is about right, the chrome, and 'low ride' are very similar.

Paul

[Nelsdou]

I thought I saw a couple of Ariels in the Baxter sale room but when I checked the VanDerBrink auction listing there was only one sold, a 1956 Hunt Master 650 twin that was "customised" to look more modern.
After seeing a number of these old hard tail bikes, particularly the choppers, I can understand the need to wear the kidney belts!
I'm working on another trip report where we ride to the National Motorcycle Museum at Anamosa, IA, then on to the HD Museum at Milwaukee, WI.