Topic: Davenport Ia Swap meet

[Don R]

 (last year) it's Sept 1-3 and as always at the Mississippi valley Fairgrounds. If anyone goes let me know. I'm hoping to sell the stuff I didn't sell last year. Makes sense, right?

 I'm taking the 76F and 77 FnK projects and the 80 kz1000 I don't intend to bring them home.

[cb350twin]

I’m here and should be there tomorrow too

[Don R]

 I caught a nasty cold and was worried I'd spread something. Just took a covid test and I'm negative. If I go I'll mask up anyway. I have a set of carbs to clean now to get my kz1000 running and there.

  Edit; I didn't get anything running and stayed home. Parts for the kz came wrong and both of the cb's want more work. 

[Don R]

 Here it is, a year later. I'm not sure I want to sell there this year, I had a good buyer a couple years ago but last time there, he didn't like what I brought. My brothers trailer still has the same old tires, I'm a little afraid to tow on them with a nice bike or two on it.
 That said, my buddy Mick has reserved a couple of the spaces, I think he would like me to use one.

[ekpent]

A guy I have met recently from New Zealand was poking around my shop yesterday and there is a bike in there he wants to buy. He is staying here in Kalamazoo but was headed for Davenport. He also is big into antique Indian 4 cylinders and was going to be hanging out a little with Mike and Robbie from the American Pickers show. Maybe you will see them roaming around. Word was that maybe Mike's recent big auction at Mecums might have something to do with a certain divorce in 2021 - Hmmm- gotta love a little gossip 

[Stev-o]

A guy I have met recently from New Zealand was poking around my shop yesterday and there is a bike in there he wants to buy.

What bike, Eric?

[Don R]

A guy I have met recently from New Zealand was poking around my shop yesterday and there is a bike in there he wants to buy. He is staying here in Kalamazoo but was headed for Davenport. He also is big into antique Indian 4 cylinders and was going to be hanging out a little with Mike and Robbie from the American Pickers show. Maybe you will see them roaming around. Word was that maybe Mike's recent big auction at Mecums might have something to do with a certain divorce in 2021 - Hmmm- gotta love a little gossip 

 I passed Robbie and Dave on a golf cart a couple years ago, they were a row behind their swap space and I overheard Robbie say holy #$%*, Mom's here! The girlfriend was there too. I casually drove past and it was all smiles.

[ekpent]

A guy I have met recently from New Zealand was poking around my shop yesterday and there is a bike in there he wants to buy.

What bike, Eric?

He was eyeballing a Suzuki GT550 and Kh400. Liked the 750's.Might let the 550 go for the right price but a local guy from South Africa I have become friends with and I have sold a couple bikes to kind of wants it also.  Bidding war ??

[Don R]

 I spent two days at the Chief Blackhawk swap meet in Davenport. I'm 70 and my brother is 83 now, it seems like more work than it used to be. Our friend asked us to help fill his expanded space so we did, we took a few boxes of parts and two ragged bikes Thursday, and the nugget on Friday.
 Thursday first thing I headed right to the Honda vendor. I missed it last year when I was sick, He sold me a K0 JDM rhino triple tree for $100. When I got home the new one I ordered from Yamiya was here too. Today, I got a like new Lockhart oil cooler for $40, I traded a box of Kawasaki Z1? front brakes and handlebar switches for a pair of cb750 manuals K0 and K2.
  I talked to quite a few Honda guys after the nugget got there. Possibly a guy from New Zealand, a couple Europeans, I didn't sell anything but had a good time.
  Today we loaded two bikes and the golf cart and headed home. Since I had the golf cart in the truck, a two-bike trailer and three bikes there my brother drove the Dually and trailer and I rode the nugget. About halfway home it got wobbly in the wind when behind trucks. I was wondering about wheel bearings and neck bearings, on the next to last off ramp is was squirrely, there are some big dips in the road and it came down weird after them. On the last ramp it was obvious the front tire was going flat. I made it onto a motel frontage road. No way would the portable air pump blow it up. We took the Louisville bike off the trailer and loaded the Nugget. It ran about 100 yards before it ran out of gas due to the petcock being off and refused to re-start.
 By then we were a couple miles from home, so I called my wife to bike sit we went home, unloaded the F'nK and went back for the Louisville bike. Of course, it started when we got back so I loaded it anyway. After we got home we realized we hadn't eaten all day so we got some Al Pastor  (sp?) tacos and a beer.
 I almost forgot, at the gas station we bumped into the young man that we helped with his Honda wiring a few years ago. His Dad is still riding and he was on a K4 750. (If you are still on here send me a PM)

[ekpent]

My friend from New Zealand reported he was back. He said his impression this year was that the crowd and maybe vendors was down, bike prices high and buying was generally slow. He bought a few tid bits and some antique signs.

[Don R]

 The buyer crowd was for sure down, the vendor count was reportedly up although I saw empty areas that were always full. Two guys were interested in the nugget, one took my phone number.