Our local Harley-Davidson dealership, Tucson H-D, held a Spring Car & Bike Show today. Mr. Sandi and I hopped on our Harleys and rode there to meet up with a friend. It was absolutely packed! Clearly everyone was thrilled to be back at an honest-to-goodness community event with a focus on wheels. The last MC event that we were at Las Vegas Bike Fest way back in October of 2019--19 months ago! That's my Low Rider S in the bottom left corner--and my hubby in the red baseball cap to the right. Between our state governor lifting all restrictions about a month ago and the CDC's recommendations regarding Covid protocol outdoors, it barely seemed like there's still a pandemic going on. But, thankfully, Arizona's numbers are very low. According to COVID Act Now, Arizona currently sits at 9.7 cases per 100,000 and our county, Pima, is even lower at 6.5 / 100,000. It was very clear that people were happy to be at an event like this again. We arrived at 10:30am-- just a half an hour after the show started--and there were very few places to park. And there were numerous entries for both cars and motorcycles. Be warned! I took a LOT of photos so will probably post 35-40 photos across four posts. I did organize them so that this first post has mixed pics, the second one will be bike, the third cars, and the fourth is pickup trucks. And the posts after this one will be pretty much pics only. I'll "shut up" for a change. LOL This was one of the most fun entries in the entire show. The dog was awesome--completely calm and took everything in stride. There was one token Triumph at the show--that I saw anyway. I know the guy that owns this bike. In fact, he bought my 2016 Thruxton RS! He changed a bunch of stuff then turned around and sold it. Sigh.... He turns over his bikes so much he makes me look lazy (or conservative, depending on your perspective). Check out his license plate frame. What's funny is that he owns several Harleys, too. And the pink bike in the following photo is his girlfriend's. We saw this guy digging around in his trunk and when we walked over he pointed out some trunk art that he'd added to his already very cool car. There were several dogs at the show today. This little guy was particularly cute and friendly. Motorcycles, cars, dogs....life is good. This woman has regularly set up shop sewing on patches in this space at the dealership. Not so regularly during Covid but she's back in action now. She does all sorts of beautiful leatherwork, too, and even does customizes motorcycle seats. That's her faithful pooch lying next to her that we've all watched grow up from a pup.
One quick comment in this post then I'll stick to photos. THD finally got one of Harley-Davidson's new adventure bike, the Pan American. One of our best riding buddies has one on order and hasn't even seen one in person yet! So Mr. Sandi took this photo so I could text it to our friend. I have to say it does look (and feel!) really cool in person. Of course, this bike wasn't in the show, it was on a special display platform set up with a front wheel chok so folks could sit on it easily. And here's a subset of the bikes in the MC show. The ones that stood out to me for one reason or another.
Just some of the many cool cars in today's show. I haven't yet learned which cars and bikes won awards but will check into that with THD this week. It's probably on their Facebook page but I'm not on Facebook. I have a bunch more car photos so if anyone would like to see more, just let me know and I'll share them!
And last but certainly not least, the trucks and pickups..... There are three photos of this last pickup because it had a really cool stingray "Low Rider" bicycle in the truck bed! I don't even remember which pickup this is but both Mr. Sandi and I oohed and aahed over the gear shift knob. It's the details that count, right?
What a day @Sandi T ! I too could spend hours just wandering around and soaking in all of those details! Like you said, that’s what counts but I’d definitely have had a taco on the way home still…. Thanks for sharing of course!
Yes, I could look at motorcycles and cars all day. Mr. Sandi tires of it far before I do. But he does enjoy it and is a good sport about staying longer than he would on his own. I didn't get a taco on my way home. But.....something even better! We went to dinner with two friends, one of whom used to be the service manager and then the sales manager at Tucson H-D. We were planning to get take-out sushi and sit on our friends' porch. But instead we sat outdoors on the patio at a great Mexican restaurant called "Blanco" that's only 5 or so minutes from their house. I had a margarita and three fish tacos (on corn tortillas). Delicious!
Amazing pics Sandi, for me you can post as many car, truck n bike ones as you want. Real class. A great day.
Great question, Ade. Here are the current numbers for Arizona overall and for Pima County where we live. Number % in Populaton - Arizona People Vaccinated with at least One Dose 3,065,521 44.13% People Fully Vaccinated 2,273,527 32.73% Here's info on cases that I put in my first post but it seems appropriate to include it in this post as it's relevant to your specific question. According to COVID Act Now, Arizona currently sits at 9.7 cases per 100,000 and our county, Pima, is even lower at 6.5 / 100,000. And related to your comment re. the pink bike, I concur!!
What a great day out, love some of those old cars i see the Rocket has an aftermarket exhaust on it, I've yet to see one that looks as good as the original, the Rocket is crying out for a better sounding exhaust to give it a bit of character if they could make one that looks like the original it would be perfect. when i was young i used to have the same mock up picture as the one in the boot/trunk with Elvis, James Dean, Bogey & Monroe up on my wall
Some nice pics there Sandi and a sign of a return to some sort of motorcycling normality! That new Harley Pan Am really suits you, will there be one in your garage in the not too distant future....possibly....maybe? A mate of mine who I went to school with and lives just round the corner has also ordered one to add to the V Rod he's had for years.
While I don't see a Pan Am in my future, @Pegscraper, one of our best buddies has a black Special version on order and is eagerly awaiting its arrival. I do have to say that I like the bike more than I thought I would and the reviews it's getting so far from multiple sources are quite good. That said, I have very little interest in the ADV world. And there's no room in the garage for an additional bike and I've no desire to trade any of the bikes I currently own. But, as I've said before, one of my mottos as I get older has become "Never say never!" Which version and color did your neighbor order??
Not sure, he didn't mention colour or anything other than it's the "full spec" one so I guess it'll have all the electronic gizmo's. ADV bikes are not really my bag either but It certainly is getting some great reviews.
Wow, such great customs, at a local dealers show too. At the last dealers show I went to - Fowlers - there were two custom bikes, and one of them was mine. Luv the Shovel and especially the Knuckle. If only I had more money. For interest here's the original Hogslayer, a twin engined Norton by TC Christensen. A Norton dealer from the US. It had twin 810cc motors that pushed out 320 BHP. I saw him mash the top fuel HDs at Santa Pod in the 70s - they were also beat up by the great John Hobbs on his twin engined Westlake - The Hobbit.
Love the info on and photo of the original Hogslayer, @Iron! I may do a little research and additional reading on this beast and TC Christensen. Here are another couple photos of the knuckle and also one of another bike that I didn't include in initial photos. Check out the custom license plate on the knuckle. And it's a handicap plate which is pretty interesting! This bike belongs to a guy that worked at THD for years (internet sales). I'd not seen him around in awhile and learned that he finally decided to retire--I think so he could work on his bike.
Cor, overall a complete set of HDs. Would like either the Pan or the Knuckle but deep pockets required here just to keep them going. The Knuckle looked a bit weird at first with a hand clutch and a suicide, but it's the front brake on the left with the hand shifter. Has normal twist grip and back brake. Did you meet the owner? Must be strange braking with left hand. Like that the Pan owner hasn't gone with the normal zorst set up. Looks to have one each side (we'll call it Triumphlike I think). Good man.
Another stunning set of pictures. I love those old USA cars and trucks, beautiful . Thanks for sharing @Sandi T
John Hobbs, now there's a name from the past. Saw the Hobbit a few times at Santa Pod. Ian Messenger on "Pegasus" was another top runner back then, as was the late Henk Vink on his "Big Spender" kawasaki with two supersharged Z1 engines before he moved on to rocket power!!
Love the old American cars and trucks! Why can't anybody build anything these days with even half as much style? Had to laugh at the pan america, sitting with a big picture in front so you can sit on it and pretend like your on an adventure
I thought that big picture in front of the Pan America was pretty funny, too, Andy. Maybe typical Harley riders need a concrete "view" what category that bike fits into? And I can tease about that since I am a Harley rider.
I do like most of the bikes (and trucks...) but I just don't get the fascination with those massive front wheels... just me, I guess. But to each his (or her's) own...