AMCA Legends Chapter Meeting

By: Wa y Wer ching

he A ntique M otorcycle Club of A merica

(AMCA) was formed in 1954, and now has over 12,000 members in the USA, Canada, and Europe. The AMCA’s goal is to restore, preserve, and operate motorcycles that are at least 35 years old. To be a member, it is not a requirement that you own an antique bike (or any bike for that matter) – just have the enthusiasm for, and love of old bikes. On the AMCA website www.antiquemotorcycle.org, there are over 60 chapters listed, and the number is constantly growing.

I attended the first meeting of the Legends Chapter in Upstate South Carolina on September 19, 2015 at the Peach Blossom Diner in Spartanburg. The article I wrote about the meeting was also the first article that I had published in the Carolinas’ Full Throttle magazine.

Over the years, I have come to know the members of the chapter by attending their events. I enjoy seeing and talking about the old bikes. It reminds me of the time when I used to ride my old Harleys. It was a different time in my life – a fun time!

I went to the chapter’s website (amcalegendschapter.com) to learn about their upcoming meeting on Sunday, May 31st at the Grapevine Restaurant in Boiling Springs, SC. I decided to

go.

I awoke early on Sunday morning, and after eating breakfast, I headed south to get on I-85. I-85 was beautiful with almost no traffic early on a Sunday morning. I followed I-85 until I exited onto Rte. 9 north. The Grapevine Restaurant was on the right after a mile or so. I pulled into the back parking lot and parked along the back curb where the club usually parks.

I was early about 8:20am. They don’t go in for breakfast until 9:00am and have the meeting at 10:00am. I wanted to greet them as they rode in and give each of them a copy of the April and May issues of the Carolinas’ Full Throttle magazine.

The first club member to arrive was the Vice President, Ken Berry, riding his old Flathead Harley. I knew it was him even before I saw who it was. His bike has a distinctive sound.

We talked for a while until he had to go inside to set up for the meeting. Then a couple rode in - the husband on his old Shovelhead Harley, and the wife on a Harley trike. We talked for a while until they went inside to meet a friend who had come earlier. They were going to attend the meeting and join the chapter.

Next, the president of the chapter, Bud Blair, rode in on his classic Knucklehead. He and his old Harley are sort of celebri-

ties. Their picture was on the cover on a magazine published out of Asheville. He stayed in the parking lot greeting all the other bikers who rode in.

Soon the chapter treasurer, Amy Jackson, rode in. After she got off her bike, she was signing up new members. More bikers rode in, and I gave every one of them copies of the Carolinas’ Full Throttle magazine.

At about 9:00am, we all walked into the restaurant - all the way through to the front porch where the chapter had set up for the meeting. Usually, the meeting was held in one of the small banquet rooms. The porch was perfect.

As they were all sitting down to order their breakfast, since I had eaten earlier, I said my good-byes. As I was leaving, I bumped into Pete Hill, and his wife Jackie.

Jackie had been designated the 2020 AMCA Legends Chapter “Legend of the Year”. In 2018, the book “Pete Hill- A Legend on Two Wheels: World’s Fastest Knucklehead” was written by his one-person pit crew, his wife, Jackie. The book follows Pete’s career from his first Knucklehead-powered four-wheel dragster to his ascension to motorcycle Top Fuel. Jackie tells the story like it was. She did all the traveling, racing, and running a business while raising a family. She was right there in the middle of it all, helping with many technical decisions from measuring the highly volatile nitro-methane, gapping plugs, staging, and strategies that would make Pete a winner. She’s a truly amazing person. At the age of 84, she is also the owner-manager of Pete Hill Motorcycles - one of the best known vintage Harley-Davidson shops in the world. She really deserves the honor!

I walked through the restaurant back to the parking lot. I checked my pack and realized that I still had one set of magazines left.

I pulled out of the parking lot, and headed north on Rte. 9 through Boiling Springs, SC, which is a very large town compared to Boiling Springs, NC. I stayed on Rte. 9 until I turned right onto Rte. 11. After a few miles, I stopped at Strawberry Hill Produce stand to get a couple cantaloupes for Cindy. They have the best and sweetest melons around.

When I pulled in, I parked next to a couple on a full dress Harley. The wife was filling the saddlebags with a basket of peaches. There was also a bucket of strawberries too. We talked for a while, and I gave them the last set of magazines that I had. I knew that I had saved them for a reason!

After I bought a couple cantaloupes, I continued on my way home – east on Rte. 11. I turned left onto Rte. 221A after passing through Chesnee. I turned right, and went through Boiling Springs, NC. I was home at about 10:30. Cindy was surprised to see the cantaloupes on the counter when she came home from shopping at Lowes. I always like to surprise her.