2009Newsletter of the Viking ChapterAntique Motorcycle Club of America Inc

Published QuarterlyMarch, June, September, December

http:www.vikingmc.orgvikingamca@yahoo.com

SEPTEMBER

DAVIDSON’S HARD TALES

1Schedule continued on back page

PRESIDENT: Paul Davidson952-941-4997/Davidsonp9@msn.com

VICE PRESIDENT: Ron Spargo952-443-2020/Ronspargo@mindspring.com

TREASURER: Linda Schunk952-831-5065/Tekki3@earthlink.net

SECRETARY: Tom Whittles651-636-5492/Threadmsters@msn.com

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Ivar Natins612-866-6069/IDN@comcast.net

GRAPHICS & LAYOUT: Your Name HerePhone Number/Email Address

CLUB HISTORIAN: Tom Jones763-533-9163

DIRECTORS:Jim Geisler

952-933-3942/Jeg1234@hotmail.comRoger Rimnac (E-TALKER)

612-825-2550/Motorog1@Yahoo.comPaul St. John

763-533-6260/Uralski@q.comJohn Ulrich

651-686-6974/Johnulrich_55123@yahoo.comDEPUTY JUDGE: Jerry Richards

651-482-0096/Trudijr@visi.comWEB MASTER: Sean O’Neil

612-870-0766/Moneil2@comcast.net

Schedule of Events

by Paul DavidsonHello Fellow Viking Chapter Members

This riding season has certainly been much too short however; if yours was any-thing like mine there was rarely a weekend without some form of riding activity. So thankfully most of the weekends were great riding weather. Hopefully there are still two good months to go before we need to start pushing the bikes into the corners of the garage.One of those great weekends happened to be our National meet. The great weather helped make it certainly one of the greatest meets ever based on the crowds and feedback received. Some of the raving reviews came from a couple of National Board members that were in attendance as well as visitors from neighboring chap-ters.The vending area outside was at full capacity and the inside was fi lled with a great variety of awesome antique bikes; 180+ and close to 200 counting the motorized bi-cycles. According to Jerry Richards, the number of judged bikes more than doubled from years past making the judges really earn their pay this year.Again, the hard work of the Planning Committee and all of the volunteers during the meet greatly contributed to the success. Thanks to all, you are the greatest!The ride to Sturgis this year offered great weather and a larger than average group of bikes compared to the last several years. With the exception of a few minor road construction detours it was a very pleasant ride. The oldest bike this year was a 1947 Harley Knucklehead ridden by Paul from Wisconsin which I later learned required a few road side repairs along the ride.Of course, the week is not complete without the annual thunderstorm during our KOA picnic. Thankfully Hostetler and Meisel rented a cabin this year complete with satellite TV so we were all quite comfort-able during the storm.Speaking of the picnic, the BOD has reinstated the chapter covering the cost of an annual picnic at the KOA during Sturgis. All members are welcome to attend. The Board has also approved to cover the camping fees for future Presidents rides.I can not forget to mention Jerry and Trudi’s an-nual chili feed which had a great attendance and the food was great as always.We already have a sizable group planning to ride to Sturgis next year which will include several newly restored Indians so put it on your schedule and join the adventure.Hope to see you down the road.

NOTE: Board of Directors (B.O.D.) meet-ings are open to all members. When held at a chapter members home, please notify the host ahead of time. Sept 2 Ride to Davenport 1 8:00 am (Wed) Little Oscar’s Restaurant 23470 Emery Avenue Hampton, MN (come earlier for breakfast)

Sept 4 Ride to Davenport 2 6:00 am (Fri) Downtown Gas Station Prescott, WI (contact Tom Jones)

Sept 9 B.O.D. Meeting 7:00 pm (Wed) Ron Spargo 8399 Bavaria Rd. Victoria, MN 952-443-2020 Sept 12 Ride to Wings & Wheels (Sat) leaves from Kerry Rasmussen’s @ 8:00 am 9282 Stonebridge Trail N Stillwater, MN 651-492-0735 Sept 16 General Meeting 7:00 pm (Wed) Fury Motors 740 North Concord South St. Paul, MN (dinner by Joe at 6:00)

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President’s Ride 09by Stan Mewhorter

Only fi ve members showed up for the ride. Some riders from Thunder Bay was going to meet us at McDonalds and go on the ride with us, but got lost and did not make it in time before we had to leave for Dean Hansens.

Paul led us by all back roads to a little town by Sleepy Eye to meet Dean Hansen and have lunch. Dean and his son were both riding Indians. Then we rode to Dean farm to see his great collection of Indians and Cushman scooters.

Then Paul took us to Fort Ridgely State Park to camp. Paul’s arm was to sore to camp and Craig Kotval had to go back home for his anniversary, so only three of us camped in the great campground. After a cold nights sleep Cal Spooner went home and Bob Zick and I went to New Ulm, then home.

Stan Mewhorter 1971 Triumph Cal Spooner 1973 BMW R60/5 Craig Kotval 1999 Honda Aero 1100 Paul Davidson 2003 Harley Bob Zick 2008 Triumph Thruxton

Don’t That Just Bust Your Nuts?!submitted by Ron Spargo

Machinist’s Workshop magazine actually tested penetrants for break out torque on rusted nuts.

Signifi cant results! They are below, as relayed by an ex-student and professional machinist, Bud Baker.

Don’t forget the April 2007 “Machinist’s Workshop” magazine comparison test.

They arranged a subjective test of all the popular pen-etrants with the control being the torque required to remove the nut from a “scientifi cally rusted” environment.

Penetrating oil .......Average load None ........................516 pounds WD-40 .....................238 pounds PB Blaster ...............214 pounds Liquid Wrench ........127 pounds Kano Kroil ..............106 pounds ATF-Acetone mix ....53 pounds

The ATF-Acetone mix was a “home brew” mix of 50 - 50 automatic transmission fl uid and acetone. Note the “home brew” was better than any commercial prod-uct in this one particular test.

Our local machinist group mixed up a batch and we all now use it with equally good results. Note also that “Liquid Wrench” is about as good as “Kroil” for about 20% of the price.

Kennedy High Fab Class Open House(May 14)

Garage-Get-Together at the Ulrich’s(May 27)

Editors NoteYou will notice this issue of the Re-Cycle is a bit lite on copy. I didn’t get a “ton” of submissions from the member-ship, and I’m too busy riding to write. Lots of good photos though... Enjoy!

Thank Goodnessfor this class,

all my friends are so old...

all they’ll do is eat the covers...

Brrrrr...

3

Crow River HD Spring Ride(May 30)

B.O.D. at the Jones’(June 3)

18 riders, 88 bikes, and 1 bubble car thing...

Garage-Get-Together at the Prez’s(June 25)

Garage-Get-Together at the Moot’s(July 28)

July General Meeting at the Vet’s Home(July14)

Old Guyson Old Bikes

bring Ice Creamto other Old Guys...

Nice,but he needs

more pegboard...

next time, I’ll do the talkin...

Hmmm... was the door in the back and the engine in the front?

Woah! You can hide stuff under the seat?

4

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity greeted our visitors. The theme this year was Competition Bikes so the call went out to all two-wheel fanatics to bring their old racing iron. The club invited racers from the golden age of Drag Racing, Land Speed Records, Motocross and Flat-Track to share their old bikes, photos and memories. The bikes came by the dozens and joined the Viking Chapter’s display to top over 180 antique bikes.

Marvin “Thunder” Klunder brought four of his Harley KR’s that he campaigned through the Midwest in the ‘60s and a rare fl at-head hillclimber. Not to be outdone, Jeff Phil-lips (who has been tweaking British Iron in the Twin Cities for 30 years) brought his Triumph hill climbing beast known as “The Stone Axe”. Bob Crawford, who founded St Paul Harley Davidson after he hung up his racing boots in 1986, brought his factory racer. Gary Landeen displayed his 1939 “Big Base” 648 Indian Scout and fi red it up for the crowd. That old side-valve was originally piloted by West Coast legend Ed “Iron Man” Kretz in the ‘40s but won hundreds of races all the way up to 1967 ridden by pretty much a “who’s who” of racing. The fl oor was packed with race bikes from the rare – Rickmans, Gileras, and NSUs – to the classics like Harley KRs and BSAs. One BSA that drew a lot of attention was the battle-scared mount of two-time world motocross champion and AMA Hall of Fame member, Jeff Smith. Jeff’s health prevented him from making an appearance, but his daughter Chris (a vintage motocross racer in her own right) brought his bike and a pile of old magazines from back in the day to share with the retired racers.

No display of competition bikes would have been com-plete without the bike known in its day as the “World’s Fast-est Standard Motorcycle” – the Vincent. Any motorhead that lived through the ‘50s and ‘60s will tell you that the Vincent was perhaps the most famous racing bike of the 20th century and epitomized the ideal of raw power and beauty. There

Viking Chapter National Meet Wrap-UpIt was a Super Duper Event! - A REAL MOTORCYCLE EXTRAVAANZA!

by Sean O’Neil

were fi ve Vincents at the meet – three everyday riders (if you can get away with saying that about a Vincent) and two highly modifi ed competition bikes. One was a completely lowered, stretched and supercharged drag bike, and the other was the current Class C world speed record holding Vincent of the gifted local builder, Steve Hamel. But before we talk about that bike, we need to talk about its most famous pilot – Marty Dickerson.

The Viking Chapter fl ew Marty to St Paul to give the crowd a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hear what it was like breaking speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in the ‘50s and ‘60s and hanging out with guys like Rollie Free and Burt Munro (of World’s Fastest Indian fame). Rollie was a world record holder when Marty met him at Bonneville. Rollie took Marty under his wing and schooled him on all the ways to squeeze the maximum speed out of a motor-cycle. It was time well spent being that Marty broke Rollie’s record the next year. Marty’s stories twisted through time like a corner-hugging sport bike and kept the crowd wrapped around his every word. Like his stories of Burt Munro’s quest to run the World’s Fastest Indian. When Burt found out about nitro, he had to bring some back to New Zealand, so he smuggled a gallon of the explosive concoction in a wine bottle - stashed under his bunk on the boat! Good thing it never got bumped! Marty consulted for the World’s Fast-est Indian and helped recreate that exciting period in racing history. He even lent old voice recordings of Burt to Anthony Hopkins so that he’d accurately recreate Burt’s Kiwi accent and vocal style. Recently, Marty’s Minnesota connections have returned him to the Salt Flats to race at the age of 81. This time, he was aboard Steve Hamel’s record setting Vin-cent. In 2007, Marty ran a two-way average of 151.685 with an astonishing 154.456 on the return run. At 81 years old! Steve brought his Vincent to the meet and let Marty rev the engine for the crowd. What an amazing sound!

WOW! Just Move the Damn Jack Boy!

5

Serious FeedbackJust wanted to somehow tell the Viking Chapter that you

did a really great job with the swap and especially the show. Wow - it was better than Davenport. Real quality array of motorcycles on hand. Great job - the ride to Porkys was fun too. Perfect weather. Nice campground - cool people - quiet - nice showers . . . I don’t miss Farmington as much. If I see any old vendors who haven’t been here yet - I’ll tell them to get “their ass back” - defi nitely missing out on a great venue. Plus, the roads around the fairgrounds are great to ride old bikes on.

See you every year,Rick Nootnagel, Charles City, Iowa

Paul, a tip of the hat to all the Viking Chapter offi cers and members who made the June meet a great event. The mix of professionalism and laid back attitude made this year’s meet one of the best ever. Everyone who participated should give themselves a pat on the back too!!

Many thanks,Mark Backlund AMCA #9030

What a fantastic show that was - I look forward to more and bigger next year. I’ve never been to a nicer venue - the building housing the bikes on show was amazing. You guys do a great job with the period decorations, the quality of ma-chinery, and the friendly club members. And the MN State Faigrounds is a top notch facility. Well done!!!!

Thanks,Chris Motorsport

Paul, On behalf of myself, Marlyn Klunder, Billy Hoh, Billy Hoffmiester, Buzz Arndt, Al Burke, Mark Howe, Bar-ney Larson and all the other invited guests unable to attend, we thank you for providing us the opportunity to get to-gether, show our race bikes, share experiences and reminisce about the fun we had racing back in the 1950’s through the early 1970’s. All who attended had a wonderful time and we hope we helped contribute to the Viking Chapter’s successful 2009 meet.

Sincerely,Tom Robertson

Nice Work Everyone!

Lost & FoundA jacket was found at the registration desk at the National Meet. It’s an XL navy Blue & Gray windbreaker (without any money in the pockets). If this belongs to you please con-tact Linda Schunk at tekki3@earthlink.net or 952-831-5065.

It’s a Giant Beer Can!

TeamField Games?

Although the theme of the meet was Competition Bikes, that wasn’t all there was on display. We “Pegged the Needle” with yet another amazing display of antique machines. The high quality and diversity of the display had something for everyone. There was everything from beautifully restored American Iron like Indian Chiefs and Harley-Davidson Knuckleheads, to British bikes like Triumphs and Nortons. The scooters were out in force this year with Vespas, Doo-dle-bugs and Cushmans. And the Japanese bikes were very well represented with vintage Yamaha racers and immacu-lately restored Honda Dreams and Scramblers.

In addition to the amazing indoor display of bikes, the Vi-king meet is also famous for their huge outdoor swap meet. This year the swap area completely fi lled up with high qual-ity parts with vendors from all around the country swarming to St Paul. But the Viking Chapter’s bikes aren’t just for show, their meet also presents ample opportunity to shut up and ride. They upheld their tradition of cruising down University Avenue to the famous ‘50s era Porkey’s Drive-In on Friday night. On Saturday, they hosted an organized ride through the tree-lined parkways along the Mississippi river and held fi eld games to test the skill of visitors on their old iron. In spite of all the action during the day, the camp-ground (pronounced “The Compound”) was still hopping each night with AMCA members kicking back and socializ-ing until the wee hours of the morning.

6

A new Black Hill’s “Breakfast Tradition”by Paul Meisel

For several years now Viking members have enjoyed a Black Hills breakfast at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lead, SD. Besides their handy location – only 3 miles from the KOA Campsites where many members stay, the breakfast is one of the best values going. Scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee, juice and all the pancakes you can eat for $5.00. The food is always tasty and always served hot. Even the maple syrup is served warm!

Besides the food being of excellent quality and price, the service is instant. Your breakfast is put in front of you almost the minute you sit down. And always from an extraordinarily friendly staff of volunteers.

I talked to Reverend Bruce Adams, (better known as “Pastor Bruce” to his congregation) to learn more about the inside workings of this great breakfast treat.

One of the secrets to their success is the quality of quantity of people who help. This year there was 79 volunteers – all of them friendly and eager to please. I talked with one boy who I believe said he was 8 years old. He was bussing dish-es. Pastor Bruce told me the youngest helper was 4 years old! At the other end of the spectrum there were people in their eighties helping.

In all, a total of 2,267 meals were served from Sunday through Friday.

Besides great food and friendly service, I like the fact that they use real plates and real silverware. Although I know this does require church members more work washing, it cer-tainly beats paper plates and plastic forks.

Pastor Bruce told me that the number of breakfasts served has increased each year, an fact he attributes mostly to “word of mouth” advertising.

The Back Hills Motor Classic 2009(“Sturgis” you dog)

While in Sturgis, a group of Viking Chapter members rode the wildlife loop in Custer State Park. They stopped at a rest area and got this in creditable shot. The timer delay on the camera was set and just before the shutter closed a prairie dog jumped up in front of the lens. We don’t know what the odds of that happening are, but we understand the photo has made national news and has been viewed by millions on the internet. Front row – Ivar & Dena Natins and Gene Hostetler Back row – Paul & Pat Meisel, Keith & Gloria Peters, Paul Davidson and Bob Heeter. (We named the gopher Timmy.)

Pans and Pans and Pans (of chili)by Trudi Johnson Richards

Hi All, We want to thank you for coming to the 13th Annu-al Richards Sturgis Chili Feed on August 3, 2009. A special thank you to Coco Villard for taking photos for us to remem-ber in years ahead. Riders were from The AMCA-Viking Chapter and Black Hills Chapter; St. Paul Harley-Davidson H.O.G.and elsewhere around the U.S.A.

We do not have email addresses for everyone who rode in so feel free to visit PhotoCoco’s Picasa Web Album athttp://picasaweb.google.com/cocovilla/ChiliFeed2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCMvOg_T5kpv6XA&feat=email#.

Coco

Ya gotta break allot of eggs...

7

North American Vincent RallySaturday, September 12

The best time for the general public to view “The Worlds Fastest Standard Motorcycle” would be between 5:00 and 6: p.m. at Grandpa’s Garage in Cannon Falls. South of town on Hwy 52. More info at http://vincentrally2009.blogspot.com

RIVER RUN hosted by the Hopkins LionsSaturday, September 12

Hopkins American Legion Post 10 - 12th Ave. S. Ride the MN side of the Mississippi River Valley - at the peak of the beautiful fall colors, then back along the WI side.

Registration starts at 8:30 am, ride leaves at 10:00 amCost is $30 per bike and $20.00 per passenger.

Come for the music of HEADBAND following - 8:30 pm

FLAT TWINS DAYSaturday, September 19, 2009

9:00 am-8:00 pm at Diamond’s Coffee Shop1618 Central Ave NE Mpls.

Fall Flood RunSaturday, September 19, 2009

Only 2 more shots at Cycles and Coff ee for 09Saturday, September 19, 2009

Saturday, October 17, 20098:00-11:00 am at the Auto MotorPlex in Chanhassen, MN.

Jack Crane Motorcycle Museum Open HouseSaturday, October 3, 2009

Saturday, December 19, 20099:00 am-noon, 1301 East Cliff Road Burnsville, MN

952-927-8126 (if necessary)

RAT BIKES AND MODIFIEDSSaturday, October 17, 2009

9:00 am-8:00 pm at Diamond’s Coffee Shop1618 Central Ave NE Mpls.

Bits and Pieces

In the Next RE-CYCLE...WILL KERRY MAKE IT “ALL-THE-WAY” TO OSCEOLA?• NEW CLUB OFFICERS INTRODUCED (read ridiculed)• WILL JESUS SHOW UP AT THIS YEARS SWAP MEET?• NUMEROUS CANDID PHOTOS OF MEMBERS EATING• WILL SOMEONE HOST A “HEATED GARAGE” GET TO-• GETHER OVER THE WINTER MONTHS?WHERE IS DAVE MOOT GETTING ALL THAT CANDY?• WILL THE EDITOR GET ENOUGH ARTICLES TO ACTUAL-• LY FILL THE RE-CYCLE WITH SOMETHING OTHER THAN THIS MIND NUMBING FLUFF?

OH THE SUSPENSE!

Annual Club Picnic was “Grate”Perfect weather, lots of folks (like 90), and super chow... (al-beit our crack kitchen staff had to “Jerry” rig the park’s grill as many of the grates had disintegrated). Special thanks to Cheryl and Tom Whittles for getting the groceries this year (no small task) and to Sean O’Neal for bringing 322 lbs of drinks and ice.

In addition to voicing nominations for next years Board of Directors, the following items were voted on (and passed) by the contented group for 2010 (see what can happen when you feed people fi rst). Please remember that all of the events the club has chosen to help fund are open to all Viking Chap-ter members:

Club will foot the bill for camping fees for all members that attend the annual President’s Ride

Club to donate $100 to help defray the expense of the annual Sturgis picnic at the KOA

Club to donate $200 to the town of Wessington Springs SD for camping and hospitality

Club to donate $200 to the city of Chaska MN to help repair the grates on the grill in Fireman’s Park

Nominations for 2010 Offi cers President .................. Paul Davidson Directors (2 reqd) ..... Deb Riggs Roger Rimnac Treasurer .................. Dena Natins Roy Williams

Let the Campaigning Begin!

The membership in attendance at the September General Meeting will be voting to select the new board members. Please plan to attend.

Hungry EditorFuture Graphics Guy?

New Members

Future Director?Future Treasurer?

FutureAstronaut?

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 894 MINNEAPOLIS MN

Viking Chapter AMCA, Inc. Antique Motorcycle Club of America, Inc 5065 Nine Mile Creek Circle Bloomington, MN 55437

Sept 20 Viking Chapter (Sun) Fall Swap Meet MN State Fairgrounds St. Paul, MN (North parking lot) Oct 7 B.O.D. Meeting 7:00 pm (Wed) Diamond’s Coff ee Shop 1618 Central Ave. No. Mpls, MN Oct 14 General Meeting 7:00 pm (Wed) Motoprimo 16640 Kenrick Ave. Lakeville, MN

Nov 4 Volunteer Appreciation (Wed) Dinner 7:00 am Old Country Buff et 9 East 66th St. Richfi eld, MN (check in by 6:30) Nov 11 B.O.D. Meeting 7:00 pm (Wed) Taste of Scandinavia (Festival Foods) 401 West 98th Street Bloomington, MN Nov 18 General Meeting 7:00 noon (Wed) Leo’s South 16375 Kenrick Ave. Lakeville, MN

WANTEDIndian Side Car

Frame or parts to fi t post WWII ChiefKerry 651-492-0735

Attention BMW Fans:Viking Chapter member Mark Ryan would like info on restoring a 1967 BMW R50/2. If you are knowledgeable on these machines and could be of some help please call or e-mail Mark at 218-287-6023; mozzhead@hotmail.com

Schedule of Events (continued)