20th Annual Ralph Wayne's Vintage Backyard Nationals 2012

Heck yeah! I've been super stoked about hookin up with some buds to ride to this show for the last couple of weeks. Most of that fell apart with the deteriorating forecast as we got closer to today. Left my house around 8:30am to meet up with Pops and Argo. It was 39*, cloudy, with a 100% chance of shrinkage, frozen sac, and numb face and fingers. Sooooo worth it! I took somewhere around eleventeen-thousand pictures, saw some sweet custom and stock classic bikes, and had my mind blown by a 1925 Henderson. Shovelheads made a strong ride-in showing, Pops rode ours. Rumor has it, this will be the last Backyard Nationals. Let's hope that's not a fact.
- First round of pics are of bikes that made it into the yard and may, or may not, have been ridden in. New post later with bikes on the streets that you know were ridden to the show.


Argo's "sub-40*" riding gear.

 

 

 My big bike, Pop's 79 shovel, Argo's Heritage.

 

 

 

 Cool old Vincent. Sounded great!

I bet this thing could run under water.

 There's alot goin on here; gauges, knobs, hand controls...

 Water cooled two stroke.

 

 

Couldn't decide if this is a flat tracker or a hill climber, Japanese or British? Maybe all of the above?

 Don't know if I would trust my foot next to that primary, or that rear shock gettin hot!

 

Who wants to go fast! Looks like a Harley Evo, salt flats, speed machine! Alot of fabrication, engineering and aluminum went into this creation... and you have to trust your life to all of it.

 

I like this pic. Clean bikes and shows the evolution of Harley... Knuckle, Pan, Shovel.

 

 

 This is the 1925 Henderson that held my attention for some time. Can you imagine this thing being engineered and built almost a century ago? Wow! There are so many guages, levers and pedals that it seems you would need a degree to operate it. I wish I could've heard it run and ride. Enjoy these pics!