San Francisco Motorcycle Club - Est. 1904

[SFMCjohn]

Vintage (or any bike) Ride tomorrow ...

Sprucing our construction zone up a bit
for the event tomorrow ... The SFMC's 1908 Curtiss Motorcycle ...

Some of the old wooden meeting chairs and trophies ...

A t-shirt design celebrating the SFMC's 111th year this season ...

We're having a vintage bike ride beginning at the SFMC (2194 Folsom Street at 18th St.)
at 11 am. We'll be kickstands up at 12:30-ish for a
30-45 minute ride around San Francisco ...

I'm calling it a "vintage" bike ride because this is BARF Vintage Cafe,
but all motorcycles are welcome ... I'll be on my '73 Tiger, if I can
start it ... :ride :laughing

More info for Facebook types here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/569118796564590/

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[SFMCjohn]

Mr. Leno and the SFMC ...

Jay Leno showed up at the SFMC yesterday to
borrow a bike, pick up an Honorary SFMC Membership,
tape a segment for "Jay's Garage," and go for a short
ride with 300 of his vintage motorcycle pals in the
coolest motorcycle city in the universe ...

Most of the usual city vintage-bike people
were there ...

We had maybe 300 bikes parked in the center lane of
Folsom between 17 & 18th Streets ... and you thought
the bums on Haight Street were bad ...

65 dreamer's '65 Dream ...

SFMC members Purple Barry & Jen's
RZ and R5 ...

Jen and Barry ...

Onder's, IDK, I'm going to call this a Kawasaki ... maybe a Honda?

Charley's flat-head, v-twin, 1930s Matchless ...

A sweet Ducati single ...

A Harley with a super-charger and good-luck
frog high-beam indicator ... Rob D. said
he may have helped notch one of the
tanks for blower clearance ...

Pete Young's Excelsior (?), and a multi-time
Cannon Ball H-D ... you can just make out the 6" road book holder
on the H-D's bars, and the large auxiliary gas tank on the rear rack ...

A pretty Ducati 900 that's the right color ...

Forget the marque of this DKW-engined beauty, but I think
The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit had one ... nice patina
on this example ...

SFMC member Rick's old BSA ... Rick rebuilt my Tiger engine,
and I've posted a thread or two here from visits to Kustom Culture,
his shop in SSF ...

And, there you go, that's the random BARF limit of 20 images
per post ... had to go back and strip out my fav emotiecoms ... :Laughing

Here's a story about Jay's borrowing Kalle's 1948 Indian Chief for the ride ...
The club offered Jay several bikes to ride, a couple of modern bikes and the '48 ... Jay picked the Chief ...
Jay checked the oil on the Chief before starting it ...
Jay listened carefully to Kalle's starting drill, and when he heard that Kalle
usually retards the spark by 1/4, responded that he usually just starts his Chiefs
at
full
advance, ha!
Jay started Kalle's '48 Chief himself ...
and shut off both petcocks after the ride ... :Thumbs-Up!

see you out riding our old bikes,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[65_ dreamer]

Good to see you again, John. It was quite a turnout, wasn't it? I was riding in the very back - it was crazy to see so may bikes making their way through the city streets. Congrats to the Club for celebrating 111 years! Hope to see you at another vintage event.

 

[Cabrito]

What a Bike Show! I should have taken the day off...

 

[Carlo]

Great pictures, John.
I'd like to hear the story behind that flathead Harley.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Good to see you again, John. It was quite a turnout, wasn't it? I was riding in the very back - it was crazy to see so may bikes making their way through the city streets. Congrats to the Club for celebrating 111 years! Hope to see you at another vintage event.

Hey Akiko,

You are a better motorcycle person than me ... I took one look at the
crowd starting the ride and went home to take a nap ... :laughing

Thanks for the kind words ... I hope to make the next
ride-in Wednesday at Thee Parkside ...

see you in the parking lot, :ride
-- John A.

 

[SFMCjohn]

What a Bike Show! I should have taken the day off...

Hi Cabrito,

I was surprised at how many guys in the SFMC did take the day off ...
only reason I could make it is my days off are Tue-Weds ... :laughing

Great pictures, John.
I'd like to hear the story behind that flathead Harley.

Hi Carlo,

Nice catch, I went back to the post and stopped calling it an Indian ...
I guess it says something about the SFMC that when dummies like me
see a flat-head we assume it's an Indian ... arty

That's why I like posting pics of vintage bikes, I'm often able to
learn a bit ... maybe someone will recognize if the Kawasaki is a Honda ... :laughing

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[Carlo]

I wasn't trying to call you out on that, John. I was looking at those pics on my ipad, and couldn't read the captions, cause the text shrank so much. So if you misnamed it, I never caught that.
I really would like to hear the story about who built it, how it goes with a setup like that, etc.

BTW, check yer PM's...

Hi Cabrito,

I was surprised at how many guys in the SFMC did take the day off ...
only reason I could make it is my days off are Tue-Weds ... :laughing



Hi Carlo,

Nice catch, I went back to the post and stopped calling it an Indian ...
I guess it says something about the SFMC that when dummies like me
see a flat-head we assume it's an Indian ... arty

That's why I like posting pics of vintage bikes, I'm often able to
learn a bit ... maybe someone will recognize if the Kawasaki is a Honda ... :laughing

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[Carlo]

Oh, I'd also like to hear how the builder got the drive to that blower rotated around so the blower could be tucked in lengthwise like it is.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Oh, I'd also like to hear how the builder got the drive to that blower rotated around so the blower could be tucked in lengthwise like it is.

Hey Carlo,

I'll keep my eye out for this bike and the owner ... I didn't get a chance to speak with him about the bike at all last time ...

see you soon,
-- John A

 

[SFMCjohn]

SFMC meeting at OMC tonight!

Hey BARF Vintage Cafe-ers,

Here's some short notice for all you
East Bay vintage riders ... arty

The San Francisco Motorcycle Club will be holding its
weekly business meeting at the venerable
Oakland Motorcycle Club tonight.

The OMC is located at:
742 45th Avenue, Oakland, CA.

The Oakland Motorcycle Club was established in 1907
and is over 100 years old. They have a really nice
clubhouse down near the Fruitvale BART station
and near the Oakland Coliseum ...
very fun place to visit if you like motorcycles. :ride

Here's directions:
http://oaklandmotorcycleclub.camp9.org/maps.google.com

Anyway, I guess it is the first time in 111 years that the SFMC
is having a business meeting at the OMC.
Super cool and nice of them to offer us the
space while we struggle with our flood-damage
reconstruction project (still no end in sight) ...

We may be voting a new member into the club at
tonight's meeting, which is fun ... since I last posted
we've voted in four new members, two of whom are
female motorcycle riders ...

Anyway, we're meeting in front of the SFMC at 18th
and Folsom in the city and riding over to Oakland
at 6:45 pm. Guess things get started at the OMC
around 7 pm ...

I'll be on my 1973 Tiger, if I can get it to start ... :laughing

See you at the OMC,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[SFMCjohn]

So, we had a fine time tonight in Oakland's wonderful clubhouse ...
Thanks to the OMC for their kindness and hospitality! arty

BARF-er and City Bike editor-in-chief Surj made an appearance ...
that's him on the right ... :ride

The bikes in front of the clubhouse ...

... and the OMC's meeting space ...

We're all looking forward to our next motorcycle outing with our friends at the OMC ...
big thanks to them for their kindness and hospitality!

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[augustiron]

No mention of how many were killed in the massive brawl and shootout that always happens when "rival gangs" of bikers cross paths...?

/sarcasm

cool to see folks getting along, as it should be.

 

[SFMCjohn]

No mention of how many were killed in the massive brawl and shootout that always happens when "rival gangs" of bikers cross paths...?

/sarcasm

cool to see folks getting along, as it should be.

Hi augustiron,

I guess I've seen more aggro behavior amongst motorcycle people over the years at AFM races ... certainly come across more tough guys on the Internet than at AMA motorcycle clubs ... :laughing

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[budman]

Very cool stuff John. :thumbup

 

[SFMCjohn]

Very cool stuff John. :thumbup

Thanks, budman! :thumbup
Missed you on July 4th ... see you soon ... :ride

-- John A.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Lanesplitters and Oakland MC, 7/16 ...

Hey BARF VCers,

We'll be at the Lanesplitters right near
Hwy 24 and Telegraph tonight at around 6pm,
and then heading over to the Oakland Motorcycle Club
for an SFMC meeting that starts around 8:30 pm ...
the OMC clubhouse is at 742 - 45th Ave., directions here ...
If you can't make Lanesplitters the OMC will probably be open around 7:30 pm ...

I'm going to try to be riding my '73 Tiger ... we'll see if it starts ... :laughing

I know all you East Bay BARF Vintage Cafe types are
always looking for any excuse to get out and straddle a vintage ... :ride

The OMC clubhouse is really cool and about 80%
of the people there tonight will be OMC guests ... arty

I think the last time we tried this 99% of the bikes there
were modern bikes, so don't let that slow you down ...

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[SFMCjohn]

We had fun at Lanesplitters last night and the meeting at the
OMC was epic!

BARF Vintage Cafe-er Kalle and BARFer and City Bike editor-in-chief Surj ...
Surj was at the OMC showing off
the cast he earned at Bungee Brent's Backwoods Bash a few weeks
ago ...

We made OMC member Bungee Brent an Honorary SFMC member for
his contributions to the motorcycling community regarding his
fun Backwoods Bash dual-sport ride that he's been putting on for years,
his contributions to the Sheetiron as their photographer and
his help documenting the SFMC's history with his video skills ...
Brent was also taking portraits last night ... I'll try to post
mine here when I see the one he took of my Tiger ... :ride

Purple Barry's clean Yamaha RZ 350 ...

God bless the Oakland Motorcycle Club, I say ...
Not only are they kind enough to offer their cool
clubhouse so we can have our SFMC meetings while
our clubhouse is being repaired, but they presented us
with a wonderfully generous check last night to
help us with our construction expenses ...

In expressing the SFMC's gratitude and thanks, our
club historian, Brian, stood up and reminded us all of how
motorcyclists from San Francisco and Oakland were riding
together before either the SFMC or the OMC were established,
and how many of the same people and families were
members of both the SFMC and the OMC back when
each of the clubs started holding meetings, and how
the OMC's generosity last night was really a reflection
of how these old AMA clubs are all a part of the same family.

We see the same motorcycle fellowship here on BARF ... arty

see you around campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[budman]

That is really cool :cool :cool

Got to give the OMC props for doing that! ort

 

[SFMCjohn]

That is really cool :cool :cool

Got to give the OMC props for doing that! ort

Hey budman,

Yes, it was amazingly generous and, of course, totally
unexpected, on the one hand ... but completely in
accord with the Oakland Motorcycle Club's reputation,
on the other ... :thumbup

In comparison to the SFMC the OMC is totally organized
and on the ball, with their Three Bridges Run (today!), the
Sheetiron, and the enduros they put on ... arty

Anyway, we were very touched by the OMC's kind
donation to our building fund ... tears were shed! :laughing

We're going to try to make a good showing at their
Three Bridges Run today ...

A group of us is heading over today from the SFMC clubhouse at
18th Street and Folsom at 11:30 am, kick stands up at noon
and arrive at the OMC at 12:30 pm ... of course any BARF Vintage Cafe-er, BARFer or
motorcycle person in San Francisco is welcome to join us for the
ride over to the OMC ... :ride

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn