Should any of you ever find yourself in the far northeast corner of the U.S., one stop that should make it on your list is the Owl's Head Transportation Museum in Owl's Head, Maine, just outside of Rockland. For a relatively small museum, they have a terrific assembly of old cars, motorcycles, airplanes, an pretty much anything else that moves.
Once a year they hold an antique motorcycle show. Anyone with a bike that is 20 yrs old or older is invited to show theirs free of charge. I decided to dust off my old 1986 FJ1200 and ride it there to show. The weather was a little warm and sticky, but the ride was great, and there were so many classic bikes of all makes and models there. At the same time, they had an air show going on, with their own airstrip within spitting distance of the grounds where the bikes were on display. They flew a number of planes, including a Fokker Dr. 1 in Red Baron trim, a 1910 Henri Farman bi-plane, a mail plane that snagged a bag of mail from the ground with a tail hook and many more.
Getting back to motorcycles, I got an e-mail from another board member, Charlie Hoss, about a week ago reminding me that this event was coming up and asking if I would like to join him on a ride there. I figured if I was going to to to an antique motorcycle show, I should take my "antique". I hadn't ridden the FJ in a couple of years when I learned last week that the antique show was coming up this weekend. I had no idea if it would start or run, but I bought a new battery for it and gave it a try. I was amazed when it fired up without the least hesitation (score one for fuel stabilizer I guess). I looked over the basics - chain, brakes, brake lines, clutch, tires, etc. and then took it out for a test drive. Just like slipping into an old pair of jeans. Everything worked great! To be sure - my '04 FJR is far more refined, smoother, quieter, etc. But the FJ still holds its own as a classic sport touring motorcyle. Here are a couple of piccies of my ol' pride & joy.
If you are interested, there are more on my website here - clicky
And if you want to learn more about the museum, click here:
Once a year they hold an antique motorcycle show. Anyone with a bike that is 20 yrs old or older is invited to show theirs free of charge. I decided to dust off my old 1986 FJ1200 and ride it there to show. The weather was a little warm and sticky, but the ride was great, and there were so many classic bikes of all makes and models there. At the same time, they had an air show going on, with their own airstrip within spitting distance of the grounds where the bikes were on display. They flew a number of planes, including a Fokker Dr. 1 in Red Baron trim, a 1910 Henri Farman bi-plane, a mail plane that snagged a bag of mail from the ground with a tail hook and many more.
Getting back to motorcycles, I got an e-mail from another board member, Charlie Hoss, about a week ago reminding me that this event was coming up and asking if I would like to join him on a ride there. I figured if I was going to to to an antique motorcycle show, I should take my "antique". I hadn't ridden the FJ in a couple of years when I learned last week that the antique show was coming up this weekend. I had no idea if it would start or run, but I bought a new battery for it and gave it a try. I was amazed when it fired up without the least hesitation (score one for fuel stabilizer I guess). I looked over the basics - chain, brakes, brake lines, clutch, tires, etc. and then took it out for a test drive. Just like slipping into an old pair of jeans. Everything worked great! To be sure - my '04 FJR is far more refined, smoother, quieter, etc. But the FJ still holds its own as a classic sport touring motorcyle. Here are a couple of piccies of my ol' pride & joy.
If you are interested, there are more on my website here - clicky
And if you want to learn more about the museum, click here:
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