skip to Main Content

Wauseon National Motorcycle Show and Swap Meet 2014

Pope at Wauseon

We didn’t know much about the annual show n’ swap in Wauseon, Ohio, but we’d heard enough good stuff about it to give it a shot. Turns out, it’s stellar. It’s big. And it was chock-full of motorcycle Americana and a sprinkling of other makes, models and memorabilia. Here, let us give you a photo tour…

harleydavidson2_sidecar

Sure, you may not have tens of thousands of dollars burning a hole in your pocket for a well-worn Pope or a rare Indian sidecar, but it’s fun to look. Don’t let our pics of unobtanium deter you, the Wauseon National Motorcycle Show and Swap Meet is like a rolling museum, but there are some deals to be had and cool stuff to find in the swap meet.

Talking Shop
In case you’re wondering, yes, Matt Olsen kick-started that bike in sandals.

Indian Board Track Racer

Unlike a museum, you might see an early 20’s motorcycle putt right passed you, carrying its owner to the bathroom or to a food booth. You’ll see the various twists and turns and other methods of firing up and operating such antiquities every where you look.

Vintage Iron

Wilkinson Brothers W650 Cafe Racer
The Good Spark Garage W650 carried Corey Wilkinson from Indy to Wauseon, a three-hour trip.

Though it’s been around for a good while (32 years!), we hear this big meet has grown quite large in the last handful of years. It’s another fine example of a Midwestern gathering of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts set in an inviting venue, the Fulton County Fairgrounds.

Vintage

Walksler
Matt Walksler and crew running errands on their vintage iron.

The event hosts Friday night flat track races, boasts 500 vendors in the swap area all weekend, field games, tech seminars and an antique motorcycle show on Sunday. All of this makes up one of the many Antique Motorcycle Club of America’s National Meets.

Harley at Wauseon

“An AMCA National Meet can be a weekend escape from the modern world to a simpler, more relaxing time.” –AMCA Website

Kawasaki For Sale

Trailer-o-Bikes

Doing the Dance
Bikes, beards, beer n’ bluejeans.
Rusty Gold
Put away wet. This beast competed in the field games.
Cleveland At Wauseon
This year’s event celebrated Cleveland Motorcycles.

trailermotorcycles

indiansidecar_patina_wauseon
If there was a “Best Patina” award, we’d give it to this Indian sidecar.

harleypair

Unlike AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio, there is a smaller percentage of Euro and Japanese bikes at Wauseon, though there are some great examples of many origins to be found.

HarleyDavidsons_wauseon

harleydavidson1_wauseon

FlattrackWauseon

cleveland_wauseon
Ridden, not hidden.

ChopperSwapMeet

bmw_wauseon

Motorcycles aren’t the only vehicles turning heads at Wauseon. Here’s just a sampling of some of the funky vans, campers, cars and trailers found in the fairgrounds.

Microbus

airstream_wauseon

GMC Camper

Camper Trailer Wauseon

Wauseon Custom Car

Sprint Car

Beer Run

As with many shows we attend, people-watching is a fun aspect of events that revolve around nostalgia. It brings out a lotta characters with interesting and wonderfully atypical fashion sense.

Wauseon Lounging

Chauffeur

Field Games

Good Times

Swap Meet

people_swapmeet_wauseon

Wauseon Swap Meet

The swap meet area is spread out. Really spread out. You could spend hours winding around the gravel and blacktopped lanes and grass fields to find any and everything.

schwinnbicycles_wauseon

Wauseon Swap Meet

From hard-to-find parts to cheap knickknackery, you gotta keep your eyes peeled. Something will speak to you whether it’s old bicycles, lineman boots or a turn signal from a 40s Knucklehead.

fenders_swapmeet_wauseon

Shopping Cart
Shopping cart.

Vintage Gear

Picking Wauseon

Plucked from the AMCA website, “the heart of most National Meets is the vendor field, in which AMCA members can offer for sale parts and even entire motorcycles over 35 years old. It can take a keen eye to spot the truly significant piece among the acres of parts offered by vendors, but many award-winning restorations have begun as piles of parts found on an AMCA vendor field.”

Vintage Motorcycle Skeleton

Vintage Harley Davidson Wauseon
Alright, so this would come in a close second for our “Best Patina” award.

Servicar Police

Servicar Stunting

Servicar Patina
Okay, maybe this should win our “Best Patina” award. Too many beautifully original finishes to choose from here!
Flare
Loud pipes and bright lights save lives.
Corbin Electric
This 1970s orange Corbin was green long before this recent wave of electric motorcycles.

Pyrene

Parts a Plenty a the Wauseon Swap Meet

Location Badges

Indians At Wauseon

Indian At Wauseon
Had to wait for just the right moment to take a pic…so many people in the way circling this bike.

Honda Wauseon

Harley Hummer

Harley Davidson Detail Wauseon

Harley at Wauseon

Excelsior Wauseon

If anyone ever asks what the Wauseon National Motorcycle Show and Swap Meet is like, send ’em a link to this photo review of our experience. Of course, this is just a fraction of the happenings to be found there.

Indian Sidecar

If you find yourself motorcycling in the Midwest looking for something to do in July, this is definitely a place to drop in on. To get through the gates and mosey around is free (which is very cool). Parking outside the gates cost five bucks at the time of this post (which is more than fair).

If you wanna camp, it’s cheap, but you’ll need to be an AMCA member, which has its membership fee requirement. Learn more at the event’s website: wauseonnationalmeet.org Or learn more about the Antique Motorcycle Club of America at their site: www.antiquemotorcycle.org

This Post Has 7 Comments
  1. You guys are awesome for posting all of moto-culture stuff and the photos of these great events. Keep up the good work! Ridden not Hidden.

  2. Some great photos thanks for sharing them they really make me look forward to next year and realize how great of a time it is.

  3. Very nice photos, captures the feel of the place well. I went with a buddy for the first time last year. Loved the flat track races, swap meet, and everything except the camping. We’d read the guidelines ahead of time and knew what to expect, but thought.. “really?” We were staying one night. Free to come in and walk around but $35 each to camp, plus $30 each to join the club, which is required for camping. So $130 for one night of tent camping. Would have loved to stay at the fairgrounds but just couldn’t do that. I understand that this is really a club meet that is open to the public, that we should be members anyway, and all that. But at twice the price of a local hotel..? Wish it was different. Still might go back this year, but again will stay at a hotel. Toledo area is 20 minutes away and has some nice breweries to visit.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Back To Top
×Close search
Search