The 2019 edition of Honda AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, presented by Avon Tyres, features Honda motorcycles during the 50th anniversary year of the groundbreaking CB750, which Honda introduced in 1969.

This year also marks the 60th anniversary of American Honda Motor Co. Inc., the North American subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., which was founded in 1959. And this is the 40th anniversary of Honda’s six-cylinder CBX.

The event takes place July 5-7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

“Honda changed motorcycling forever when it introduced the CB750, the original superbike,” said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “The innovation and daring that Honda displayed sparked a revolution in motorcycling that continues today.”

Grand Marshal Bubba Shobert

AMA Superbike Champion and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bubba Shobert will be the Grand Marshal at 2019 Honda AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, presented by Avon Tyres.

Shobert is one of the winningest racers in professional motorcycle competition. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

Among the original and restored vintage Hondas on display during the event will be two history-making rare bikes that will thrill race fans: Shobert’s Factory Honda RS750, owned by American Honda, and his 1988 VFR750 championship-winning Superbike, owned by Superbike collector Brian O’Shea.

A variety of classic and new-bike displays will highlight the company’s significance to American motorcycling, particularly the advent in 1969 of the legendary 750 Four.

Vintage Racing

AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days just might be the most diverse motorsports racing event in the world.

Riders of all skill levels, riding motorcycles of all types from nearly every era, dominate the racing scene at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, competing in five disciplines in addition to exhibition events.

There are first-time racers and retired pros. There are youth on vintage mini-bikes and 70-year-olds on post-vintage trials bikes. Fans will find two-stroke motocrossers and historic grand-prix road racers. There are sidecar rigs, pit bikes and street choppers doing dirt drags.

Amateur national championships—and bragging rights—are up for grabs.

Class winners in trials, hare scramble, motocross and road racing disciplines are crowned AMA National Champions in those vintage disciplines and receive AMA National No. 1 plates.

“If you love riding and racing, this is your chance to see what that old dirt bike can do,” said AMA Chief Operations Officer Jeff Massey. “If you want to fall in love with motorcycling all over again, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will kickstart your heart like no other event on the planet.”

There are a few changes to the 2019 class structure for the event.

The Non-Current classes in hare scrambles and motocross have been renamed Revolution 1, and a set of new Revolution 2 classes has been created. The Revolution 2 classes are open to production two-stroke motorcycles from model years 2008 and older.

There are youth classes in hare scrambles, motocross and trials.

To see the complete schedule, classes, rules and to pre-register, visit www.amavintagemotorcycledays.com and click on “Racing.”

More racing highlights include:

AMA Vintage Grand Championships: The AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship and the AMA Senior Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship will be awarded during the weekend to riders who excel in expert-level eligible classes.

AMA Flat Track Racing: The flat track race on Saturday night at the Ashland County Fairgrounds is the seventh round of the 2019 AMA Vintage Flat Track National Championship Series.

Exhibition races: The popular pit bike races and holeshot competition returns in 2019.

And an off-road poker run provides a lower-key competition in the infield.

Bike Show

The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Bike Show, presented by Old Bike Barn, will feature dozens of spectacular restored or original vintage motorcycles.

Participants must check in or register at the bike show tent within the Old Bike Barn Crossroads on July 6. Registration closes at 11 a.m.

Classes will include first and second place awards. A limited number customizable, special merit awards will be available for bikes that may not fall within the classes listed.

In addition, there will be a Grand Marshal’s Choice Award and a Best of Show Award.

Classes, registration and entry information is available at www.amavintagemotorcycledays.com.

Clubs

Vintage motorcycle clubs show up at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days to exhibit the machines that reflect the passion of club members.

On hand this year in the Old Bike Barn Crossroads will be Cincinnati Café Racer, the Classic British Motorcycle Club of Cincinnati, The Ton Up Club and the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club.

A specialized club making an appearance this year celebrates the made-for-TV movie and short-lived 1960s television show “Then Came Bronson.”

In honor of the show’s 50th anniversary, club members will be displaying their motorcycles, which are patterned after the Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster ridden by the series title character Jim Bronson.

Custom Builders

Check out the unique creations of custom builders Analog Motorcycles and Loaded Gun Customs in the Old Bike Barn Crossroads.

Analog owner Tony Prust offers everything from small accessory fabrication and installations to full custom bike builds at his Chicago-area shop.

Loaded Gun Customs features the work of Kevin Dunworth, of Selbyville, Del.

Hall of Fame tent

Stop by the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame display in the Old Bike Barn Crossroads for a small taste of what you will find at the Pickerington, Ohio, museum.

You also can get your raffle tickets for the Hall of Fame raffle bikes: a 1951 Harley-Davidson FL and a pair Nicky Hayden tribute Hondas—a 2018 Honda CBR1000RR and a 2018 Honda XR650L—customized by Tony Prust of Analog Motorcycles and Jason LeCavalier of Artistimo Customs. The winner of the Harley-Davidson FL will be drawn on Sunday, July 7, during AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days.

Swap meet

The AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days Swap Meet, brought to you by Federal Motorcycle Transport, covers 35 acres and features more than 800 vendor spaces offering everything from obscure parts to running motorcycles.

The largest vintage motorcycle swap meet in North America attracts vintage motorcycle collectors, restorers, racers and enthusiasts from across the country.

Music

Six bands will perform on the main stage at Old Bike Barn Crossroads, providing people a chance to listen to some great music while enjoying food and a cold beverage before diving back into the action.

Performing Friday:

Folquinox, a three-piece band from Columbus, Ohio, weaves individual styles into a cohesive body of folk-rock sound.

Honey and Blue, from Columbus, Ohio, features singer/songwriters Adam Darling and Stephanie Amber performing a mix of pop, blues and soul.

Performing Saturday:

Hot Rod Deluxe is a nine-piece band that brings rock, blues, funk and Latin rhythms from their hometown of Riverside, Calif.

Ramey is an Ohio band that plays Americana music inspired by such artists as Avett Brothers, Ryan Adams and Hank Williams.

Parker Louis, from Columbus, Ohio, offers a smooth, pop R&B sound.

The Spikedrivers, from Columbus, Ohio, belts out bluesy, upbeat, country-fried rock.

Trials Exhibition

Xtreme Trials riders will exhibit their extraordinary balance, patience and control as they maneuver motorcycles and bicycles over challenging obstacles to the delight and amazement of spectators.

Trials competition is an exercise in defying gravity, so prepare to be awestruck.

 

Wall of Death

Throughout the three-day event, motorcycle daredevils will be thrilling crowds every hour by riding vintage bikes on a vertical wall inside the American Motor Drome Wall of Death.

These shows feature a motordrome—a silo-shaped wooden cylinder 30 feet across—and motorcycle riders performing tricks and acrobatic riding along its vertical wall.

Spectators stand at the top of the 14-foot wall and look down as the riders speed around the cylinder, passing within inches of the crowd.

Have a dollar bill handy to pass to the riders as they speed past.

Community garage

Skidmark Garage, a Cleveland-based community garage for motorcyclists, is setting up a three-bay workspace near the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days Swap Meet.

Attendees can use the garage for just $5 an hour.

The shop area at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will be a small version of Skidmark Garage’s Cleveland, Ohio, facility, where members can use a bay, bike bench, tool bench and a large bin for parts. Membership also means members get to store their bikes at the garage.

 

 

Ashland Dinner Ride and Vintage Flat Track

The Ashland Dinner Ride is an annual tradition that benefits the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

On July 7, the group ride will take motorcyclists through Ohio’s scenic countryside from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, to the historic half-mile track at the Ashland County Fairgrounds for Round 7 of the AMA Vintage Flat Track National Championship Series.

For a $45 donation to the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, participants may join the ride, have dinner at the track and then move to their grandstand seats to watch a round of the AMA Vintage Flat Track National Championship Series.

Dinner ride participants also receive a pit pass to get a close-up look at the teams and racers. And riders receive special parking at the track.

Smokin’ Bros BBQ, of Mansfield, Ohio, will be catering dinner at the track.

Seminars

A highlight of the 2019 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days seminar schedule will be three presentations by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Mary McGee.

One of the early women motorcycle racers, McGee road the 1975 Baja 500 solo on a 205cc Husqvarna and finished ahead of several two-man teams.

She is the first woman to hold at FIM license in the United States.

Since she left racing, McGee has continued to ride trails and has become an avid motorcycle ambassador, encouraging others—particularly women—to get involved.

McGee is among several experts from various segments of the motorcycling community who will present free seminars at a tent in the Old Bike Barn Crossroads.

Other presenters include:

Phil Waters, owner of ClevelandMoto and Pride Of Cleveland Scooters: “Carburetors—They are out to get you!” and “Gas—It’s just not dead dinosaurs anymore.”

Ben Rich, electric motorcycle rider: “High voltage road trips: 48 states on a Zero SR” and “Electrifying riders: From the Harley Livewire to Zero SR/F.”

Author of “Discovering the Motorcycle,” Armand Ensanian: “Motorcycling: The first 100 years of motorcycles from 1869 to 1969.”

Brian Schaffran, owner of Skidmark Garage: “MOTOGO Cleveland—Bringing back shop class.”

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Scot Harden: “Adventure motorcycling and Plus 1 Rider: The growing adventure motorcycle segment and inspiring the next generation of riders.”

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Peter Starr presents tales from his motorcycling adventures in Taiwan, Thailand and Israel.

Mike Sayre, Greg Pecoraro, Steve Salisbury of the AMA Government Relations Department: Motorcyclist rights roundtable.

Check www.amavintagemotorcycledays.com for the latest lineup, including dates and times.