Featured Eye Candy For Motorheads: Tucson H - D Annual Car & Bike Show

This past Saturday morning Mr. Sandi and I hopped on our bikes--he on his Street Glide and me on my Fat Boy--and pointed them towards our local Harley-Davidson dealership where the annual Spring Car & Bike Show under way. I reported on the 2021 version of this event on the forum, too, and even though this years event had fewer bikes and cars entered (surprisingly), it was still great fun with lots of eye candy. Although some of it not necessarily very rideable.




This is the tank on the bike in the above photo.


Mr. Sandi keeps threatening to get a Ural so he can take Ellie along on our rides. I use the word "threatening" because these things are so wide that I'd have to give up a bike in order to have space for it in our garage! I think he'd forgo the gun, though.


The type of bike in the next photo is known as a "vicla". This style is fairly common around Tucson as there is a large Mexican-American population here and a strong Hispanic cultural influence across many areas of life, including motorcycles. https://www.dailychela.com/viclas-motorcycles-chicano/









Some of the bikes in the show were even for sale. I really liked this old school Harley. But not enough to buy it! Besides, there's "no room at the inn". (Nor enough money in the piggy bank)




CONTINUED.........

 

I took a shine to this sweet little bike. And I got a chance to talk to the builder/owner about it (the guy on the left) and he pointed out some of the cool details on it for me. Most things about it look old school--but it has a honkin' 124ci S & S engine in it! He said that for him it's comfortable enough to ride it to from Tucson to Oakland where his motorcycle club is based. That's a haul! The most direct route on mostly freeway (affectionally referred to as "the slab") is 890 miles!




This is the oil dipstick. I guess you could call it a multi-tool of sorts.


And the top of the dipstick / dagger has a tooth in it! I'm not sure whose tooth this one was but there was another place where he had similarly included a tooth and that one was one of his daughters baby teeth!


When I asked him what the bike weighed, he encouraged me to sit on it to see how easy it was to pick up off the side stand. So, no, I didn't ask to sit on his bike, even though I wanted to, but I was lucky and got invited to. Those apes are HIGH! My hands were certainly well above my shoulders--a position that used to be against Arizona state law until a few years ago.


I always enjoy checking out the bikes in the parking lot that AREN'T in the show, too. And there were a number of bikes here today that weren't Harleys. Or even motorcycles! Case in point.......


There were a couple of Triumphs there, too. A Thruxton......


And a Rocket 3. This bike was here last year and I know who the owner is. He's the guy who bought my 2016 Thruxton R when I traded it for my Speed Triple RS! He did a bunch of stuff to it then turned around and traded it for the Rocket! If he had been nearby I'd have asked to listen to this aftermarket exhaust.


Another non-Harley in the Harley parking lot today.


All this gawking was making us hungry so Mr. Sandi got in line to get us chili dogs and chips--while I continued gawking. I never seem to tire of looking at motorcycles whether they're entered in a show or simply parking in a parking lot.


CONTINUED.....

 

The local H.O.G. chapter (Harley Owners Group) provided the burgers and hot dogs and chips for a donation. We opted for the chili dogs and they were excellent! There was also a food truck which mostly had snack stuff like Kettle Korn and a little tent business that was selling a variety of drinks. It was a family who ran this one. They explained they are of Italian heritage so the "Family Business" (wink, wink) was their theme.






There was also live music in the form of a guitar-playing vocalist and a drummer belting out classic rock covers. Perfect for an outdoor motorhead event.




After lunch and before making our way to the cars in the show, Mr. Sandi and I went inside the dealership to say hi to our buddies that work there and to see what there was to see. What there was to see was a TON of bikes! Although most of them are used or are new but prior year models, there were a handful of the 2022's. Evidently, like it seems like is the case everywhere, new bikes are currently in short supply. But this is the most motorcycles actually on the showroom floor that I have ever seen at Tucson H-D!


And there were lots more outside on the side patio and in the breezeway.


And now on to the cars! Mr. Sandi zoomed through the automobile entries and had his fill long before I did. But he's a patient man (probably no surprise to many of you) and found a nice spot to hang out and wait until I had had my fill. Those are our two bikes in the foreground.


CONTINUED........

 

There were far fewer car and truck entires than at this show at years past. But nonetheless, as always, there were some cool ones and some fun (and sometimes funny) ones. Case in point...

The front of this "car"...


And the back.... Now look back at the photo of the front again and see if you can find the skull. Hmmm, I do hope that's for decorative purposes only.


A few pickups






A few cars






And one truck-car!


All in all it was a delightful motorhead event: bikes, cars & trucks, rock & roll music, and chili dogs. Plus some fine--and quite interesting at times--people watching, too! I welcome the post-Covid (nearly) return of rallies and bike weeks and shows like this.

 

There definitely does seem to be "car show exhibitor etiquette", @Iron! I've been to car shows in town organized by other group and most everyone seems to lift the hood (many anyway) and put out their canopied chairs at the back of their cars. Yep, that oil dip dagger was so cool. One of my favorite observations on the day.

 

Why am I not all that surprised by your favorite, @Octoberon.

 

@SleepyOwl
Yes, that Rocket 3 does belong to William (Bill) Mooney, SleepyOwl. And he's the guy who bought my 2016 Thruxton R when I traded it for my Speed Triple RS. Wow, what a small world it is! Please tell Bill hello from me when you connect on the Rocket FB group. I think he will remember who I am although I haven't seen him in quite awhile.

 

I'm with you on the super high apes, @beerkat. In fact, a number of states have laws that your hands/grips can't be above your shoulders. I'm not sure but I think Arizona used to have that law but that it was taken off the books a few years back. I've had mini-apes before--my first bike, a 2010 H-D Street Bob--had them but the mini's were a far cry from the types of ape hangers I've seen on some bike. The most extreme ones I've seen have always been on bikes in bike shows or at motorcycle rallies.