I went to my first Motorcycle Swap Meet & Bike Show in Howard County, Maryland today. Considering the size and participation I have seen at other motorcycle events; my expectations were high. However, I was a little disappointed with this particular show. The Facebook post suggested it was the best motorcycle swap meet this side of the country. Everything was in one big shed and the 'bike show' element consisted of around a dozen or so bikes randomly positioned and crammed into the back of the shed. The display looked more like an exhibition of what you can do with a Harley. The swap meet itself was also about Harley's. It was all about the Harley here today. You could buy a third gear for your gearbox or a valve set for your knuckle head engine or even a part worn tire for your Soft Tail. If you couldn't afford any Harley parts you could have bought a Harley lookalike; a Yamaha Virago. Indeed, you could have had three Virago's for $600. The incentive for buying the Yamaha's was that they were runners when they were bought! You could have traded just about anything for the red trike, except speeding tickets apperantly. Most of the apparel was for Harley's, but to be fair, it could have suited other biker tastes. I looked hard and eventually found a Triumph part and a few stalls that had Triumph drinking mugs. It wasn't all about the bikes though, I could have had a bathroom makeover, bought some weed, had a vintage photograph taken or got some pain relief. I came away with a pair of Levi jeans for $10 and almost bought a pair of funny socks, but I didn't want to go crazy first time out. It was not a wasted trip by any means. Any time spent around motorcycles is time well spent, even if they are Harleys, or parts therof!
