The Antique Motorcycle Club of America was founded in 1954 and has over 11,000 members and growing! From the AMCA website: From the beginning, the purpose of the club has been the “preservation, restoration and operation of old-time motorcycles.” Members of the AMCA own, restore, preserve, study or just admire motorcycles that fall into the antique category, meaning they are at least 35 years old. Although the Club is based in the United States, fans of motorcycles from all countries are welcome, and ownership of an antique motorcycle is not required to become a member.
The AMCA holds rallies around the world and they have an annual rally in Oley, PA each April. The Oley rally, run by the AMCA Perkiomen Chapter, has been running almost as long as the AMCA has been around and it is packed with vendors. You can find anything there you may want to purchase; new, old and super rare alike the amount of parts and pieces can be overwhelming. I typically go on Friday to look at the parts and try to find something I like, but this year the rain was monsoon like and I decided not to go on Friday. Instead, Eric and I rode my two BMW R27’s over from our place in Harleysville and showed both of them very successfully. Eric was riding the unrestored German Military Border Patrol R27 and I was on my fully restored R27.
Eric was originally coming on Friday so we could get some time together on the motorcycles and have a nice ride around town, but the rains stopped that from happening. A good dinner Friday evening was the substitute. On Saturday morning we awoke to a beautiful and very sunny day. The temperature was a bit chilly but that was fine as there was no rain in sight! I had prepared the motorcycles the day before and they were ready to go. We started them up and packed all the other items in the suburban that was driven by Jill (Eric’s wife) as our chase vehicle in case anything happened. What could happen I thought?
Off we rode from Harleysville on our 1 hour long trek to Oley, PA. About 20 minutes after leaving the exhaust nut fell off of Erics motorcycle and knowing the R27 I always carry the wrench with me! The R27 loves to vibrate and the exhaust nut is known to get loose. When we stopped to tighten the nut I asked Eric what he thought. His first comment was; “This thing has no power and it vibrates like mad.” Welcome to the world of the 250cc R27 Eric, with it’s very over-estimated 18 horsepower! He did add; “I love the Earls fork though, it is so nice to ride with.” I agree.
After tightening the exhaust nut off we rode with a thump-thump-thump. About half way through the ride Eric figured out 
that you need to keep the revs way up on the singles and plan for the hills! We started to make better progress and increased our speed slowly. The wind was blowing very strong and at times the little motorcycles would get pushed around by the cross wind we had, but the baby BMW’s kept chugging. Until… The exhaust nut fell off 3 more times on Eric’s motorcycle. By this time I was good at it and was able to get it back on quickly and back on our way.
We arrived at Oley a bit late due to the exhaust nut issues but on the way into the judging area Eric was swamped but at least 20 people surrounding the military R27. Even though its not the coolest thing there (not by the least), it is something they have not seen before. Interesting and never seen before are two things that attract the people and the little green bike did just that. We got into our parking/show spots and got settled in. There were a ton of people at the event. A nice day drags them all out so it seems. Many people came by and they took many pictures of the two R27’s. The amount of motorcycles at the show was overwhelming, and the number of BMW’s were more than last year. It was a great event and Eric and I enjoyed answering as many questions as possible.
I walked around the vendor area and tried to find anyone who had BMW parts but was unable to find anything. I had money burning a whole in my pocket and nothing to spend it on. I am going to need to go to another AMCA meeting in a different area to see if they will have more BMW parts.
After looking around I came back to find Eric holding court with a group of people looking at the two motorcycles. He was really enjoying himself and we both had a great time answering as many questions as possible.
When the awards were handed out the military motorcycle won the AMCA Perkiomen Chapter Period Award 1 (first place)
which is high praise from a great group of people. They really liked the motorcycle and enjoyed having it at the event! The military motorcycle scored a 96 out of 100 in the unrestored category and won a Junior 1st award. My other fully restored (black) R27 scored a 97.5 out of 100 in the restored category and the judge (who is an expert in everything BMW) kept saying “exquisite”. That motorcycle is now a “senior” and I just need to make it a tad better! It was a great day with a great group of people at the show! Wonderful and cool motorcycles on display as well.
Eric and I were a bit sunburned and ready to go home. We started the little R27’s and pointed them towards Harleysville. About 2 miles outside of Oley the military bike decided it had enough and simply shut off. It kicked over fine, the fuel was on but would not run. No hiccup when it died either, it just stopped. I believe it to be electrical but it will need to wait until my R69S is complete. As we were standing on the side of the road, with the suburban guarding us with its flashers, a wonderful BMW knowledgeable person stopped to help and chat. We chatted for about an hour before my cousin with his trailer showed. We loaded the BMW on the trailer and I rode the other one home.
As it turns out the battery in the suburban is a bit “soft” and the hazard flashers ran it down. Thankfully my cousin had jumper cables.
We got everything home and put away nicely and went out for another wonderful meal. The weekend was enjoyable and anything but boring! Thanks to Jill and Eric for coming out to enjoy the weekend with me. Next year both bikes will make it there and back without fail!
