DUBLIN, OH (July 22, 2009) After hosting the modern missiles of AMA Pro Racing last weekend, TrueSports, Inc., owners and operators of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, will again welcome the American Motorcyclist Association this weekend for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. Following an event that saw plenty of high-speed, two-wheel excitement from their contemporary counterparts, the legends that forged the sport into what it has become today will hit the track in a prequel-esque weekend that will include vintage motorcycle racing, North America’s largest motorcycle swap meet, close to one thousand vendors as well as vintage bike shows and seminars. Action gets under way Friday morning and will run through Sunday at 6 p.m. with the Road Race Awards Presentation. BSA Motorcycles, Ltd. will be featured at this year’s event, a tribute to the bike’s prestigious commercial and racing past, which includes a sweep of the top five positions in the 1954 Daytona 200. Along with BSA as this year’s featured marque, AMA will also be honoring motorcycling legend Don Emde as this year’s Grand Marshal. Emde won the 1972 Daytona 200 and has played a prominent role in preserving the sport’s rich history and tradition. Helping to celebrate AMA’s 85th anniversary, the weekend will also play host to a classic bike parade that will feature motorcycles from the past 85 years. Saturday will also see the first of two bike shows presented by the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. American and European vintage machines will be on display before deferring to British and Japanese-built bikes on Sunday. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-MID-OHIO or visiting www.midohio.com. A comprehensive motorsports facility, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course features a permanent road-racing circuit with two primary configurations: a 2.4-mile, 15-turn, and a 2.25-mile, 13-turn circuit. The park-like, 330-acre complex in Lexington, Ohio also features an amateur motocross venue. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional drivers and riders. Fans can find tickets and more information at www.midohio.com. More, from a press release issued by AMA: AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days to feature classic bikes, new bikes, electric bikes and North America’s largest motorcycle swap meet PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports that AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, the country’s biggest celebration of motorcycling’s history, will provide one of this summer’s best opportunities to get a first-hand look at historically significant motorcycles from the sport’s past, present and future. By all accounts, this AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days is poised to be one of the best ever, with thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts descending on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, this July 24-26. In addition to activities that will celebrate the people and organizations important to motorcycling’s heritage, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days offers a number of activities that celebrate the machinery enthusiasts have come to love. These attractions include new motorcycle test rides, bike shows, the Vendor Midway, the AMA 85th Anniversary parade, the Federal/Allied Used Bike Corral, the AMA TTXGP Introduction and North America’s largest motorcycle swap meet. One of the highlights at every AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days is the swap meet. This year, vendor participation is shaping up to be particularly strong. “We have already filled more swap meet spaces for 2009 than we had at last year’s AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, and we expect even more vendors to sign up on location,” said AMA Special Events Manager Tigra Tsujikawa. “This will be one of the biggest AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days swap meets in history, and certainly one of the best opportunities to find that elusive part or project that you’ve been searching for — maybe even since last year’s event.” Test rides of new bike models are always popular, and there will be a lot of choices for those who want to take some for test rides at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. The current lineup of manufacturers that will be on hand with their demo fleets is BMW, Can-Am, Ducati, Kawasaki, Triumph, KTM, Kymco and Yamaha. “Classic motorcycles are cool, but we don’t want to take anything away from the incredible machines available in dealer showrooms today,” Tsujikawa said. “At AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, attendees will have numerous opportunities to sample some of the latest two- and three-wheeled vehicles you can buy.” A new attraction this year that is expected to draw a lot of interest is the Federal/Allied AMA Used Bike Corral, which will include primarily individual-owned, for-sale, running motorcycles. “The Federal/Allied AMA Used Bike Corral, which is available at no-charge for attendees to display their machines, is our way to help organize the numerous used bikes that are ridden to — and often sold — at this event,” Tsujikawa said. “In addition to the motorcycles you’ll still find for sale in the swap meet, we hope the Federal/Allied AMA Used Bike Corral will bring more buyers and sellers together. “The rules are simple. All motorcycles parked in the Federal/Allied AMA Used Bike Corral must be running, and contact and pricing information must be visible,” she said. With this AMA Vintage Motorcycles Days commemorating the AMA’s 85th anniversary, it also provides the perfect opportunity to highlight the massive scope of motorcycling’s heritage with the AMA 85th Anniversary Parade. The parade will feature a procession of bikes from the AMA’s nine decades, beginning with a 1924 Harley-Davidson JDCA and ending with a modern machine fresh off the assembly line. The motorcycles will navigate the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course before coming to rest along the front straight where they will create a stunning display of motorcycling’s historical diversity. “To fully understand where two-wheeled technology is today, you need to understand where it began and how it evolved,” Tsujikawa said. “There will be no better place to showcase this evolution than this living, breathing parade through time.” The AMA TTXGP Introduction, another unprecedented feature of this year’s AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, will provide a tantalizing look into the future. The AMA TTXGP Introduction will feature new-breed zero-emission racebikes circulating at speed on the sinuous 2.4-mile Mid-Ohio track. The electric bikes will perform spirited exhibition laps during breaks in the vintage road-race program that will run as part of the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships. The Introduction marks the first international gathering of high-tech electric road-race bikes in the U.S. in the 21st century. “As the AMA celebrates its first 85 years, it seemed appropriate to glimpse into what the next 85 years of motorcycling may bring,” Tsujikawa said. “The AMA TTXGP Introduction will display the cutting-edge technology that will drive one aspect of motorcycle development for years to come.” Other popular attractions include the Vendor Midway, which is located on the Mid-Ohio infield and features new products; bike shows featuring original and pristinely restored classic bikes; and the popular Ride ‘Em Don’t Hide ‘Em guided ride and bike show from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to J.B.’s Drive-In in Lexington, Ohio, and back. More information can be found at AMAVintageMotorcycleDays.com. More, from another press release issued by AMA: MetroRacing.com backs dirt-track racing at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is pleased to welcome MetroRacing.com’s support of the dirt-track races at the inaugural AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships, which takes place Friday, July 24, in Ashland, Ohio, as part of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. The AMA Racing Vintage Dirt Track Grand Championship, presented by MetroRacing.com, will crown AMA Racing National Vintage Champions on the Ashland County Fairgrounds half-mile. Dirt-track racers also will accumulate points toward one of the weekend’s highest honors: The AMA Track Racing Vintage Grand Championship, which will be won by the rider with the highest cumulative point total in dirt-track and road-racing events. “With their period gear and T-shirts, MetroRacing.com not only sells some of the coolest threads in the industry, but they are one of vintage motorcycling’s staunchest supporters,” said AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley. “They are a perfect fit for the first-ever AMA Racing Vintage Dirt Track Grand Championships, presented by MetroRacing.com.” MetroRacing.com Owner Don Miller said he has been a motorcycle enthusiast as long as he can remember and, in fact, counts as one of his greatest memories, “hanging over the fence at an AMA flat-track race in Delaware as Kenny Roberts sprayed dirt all over us through Turn 1.” Miller said that he is a long-time supporter of vintage racing, whether through his business or as a racer himself. “After riding motorcycles my whole life, I started vintage racing in district events, and I’ve been hooked ever since,” Miller said. “I love vintage racing and vintage motorcycles. It’s easy to explain to a motorcycle person how cool it is to hang around with Don Castro, but to non-riders I just say it’s like having Reggie Jackson come to your house to play catch.” Miller was excited when he heard about the inaugural AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships. “It’s perfect that the AMA is going back to its roots with vintage racing,” Miller said. “The AMA’s history goes way back, whether it’s gypsy tours, protecting riders’ rights or competition, the AMA is everything motorcycles. There’s nothing more fun than racing on period-correct machines. Everyone is out to have fun racing, and it’s just a big party afterward. I’ve met some of the greatest people in the world racing vintage motorcycles.” The AMA Racing Vintage Dirt Track Grand Championships, presented by MetroRacing.com, are part of the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships, which also feature competition in motocross, trials, hare scrambles and road racing, all of which will go down at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington this weekend, July 24-26. The dirt-track program will start Friday evening a short drive north on I-71 in Ashland at the Ashland County Fairgrounds. Gates will open at 4 p.m. Box seats can be reserved by calling (419) 289-0466. General admission tickets also are available for $15 per adult. Senior tickets are $10 and kids 12 and under get in free. Directions and additional schedule information are available at AMAVintageMotorcycleDays.com. More, from another press release issued by AMA: Used Bike Corral at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will be a bike trader’s delight PICKERINGTON, Ohio — Buyers and sellers of used motorcycles will have an easier time finding each other this July 24-26 at AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) Vintage Motorcycle Days in Lexington, Ohio, thanks to a centralized location where traders can market currently owned, for-sale, running motorcycles. “Anytime you get a lot of motorcyclists in one location, such as what we see at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, you also attract a large number of used bikes for sale,” said AMA Special Events Manager Tigra Tsujikawa. “The AMA Used Bike Corral is our way to help organize the process and bring more buyers and sellers together. We simply ask that motorcycles parked in the AMA Used Bike Corral be runners, and that contact and pricing information be visible.” There is no pre-registration or fee for parking a bike in the AMA Used Bike Corral, although donations to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum are encouraged. Space is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. AMA members can put up to two bikes in the corral; non-members are allowed one bike. Any motorcycles left overnight will be the owner’s responsibility. No security will be provided. “The AMA Used Bike Corral is an area where sellers can park their for-sale motorcycles, and we believe it will become another top attraction at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days,” Tsujikawa said. “I know I’ll certainly enjoy walking through the Corral just to see what’s available.” Tsujikawa added that the AMA and the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum are neither parties to, nor the guarantors of, any transaction, and that parts bikes, rolling chassis, and parts or assemblies must still be sold in purchased space in the swap meet area. The AMA Used Bike Corral will be located on the Mid-Ohio grounds where the auction was conducted in previous years. Anyone wishing to include his or her bike at the AMA Used Bike Corral should bring it to the infield location, fill out an information tag, and park it where instructed. Standardized for-sale information tags will be provided. About AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days includes national-championship vintage racing, North America’s largest motorcycle swap meet, bike shows, demo rides of current production bikes, motorcycling seminars, stunt shows, the new product Manufacturers’ Midway and club corrals featuring marque and regional clubs. The Marque of the Year for 2009 is BSA, whose bikes became synonymous with racing in the United States when the brand swept the top five positions at the Daytona 200 in 1954. The Classic Clubs this year will be the Sandcast Only Owner’s Club (SOOC), and the International CBX Owners Association. This year will be particularly special because it commemorates the 85th anniversary of the AMA, and will feature a parade of classic motorcycles representing the past 85 years. Volunteers are encouraged to contact the Museum for information about participating in the parade. Information is at MotorcycleMuseum.org. About the American Motorcyclist Association Since 1924, the AMA has protected the future of motorcycling and promoted the motorcycle lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of life, and they navigate many different routes on their journey to the same destination: freedom on two wheels. As the world’s largest motorcycling organization, the AMA advocates for motorcyclists’ interests in the halls of local, state and federal government, the committees of international governing organizations, and the court of public opinion. Through member clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more motorsports competition and motorcycle recreational events than any other organization in the world. AMA members receive money-saving discounts from dozens of well-known suppliers of motorcycle services, gear and apparel, bike rental, transport, hotel stays and more. Through its Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, the AMA preserves the heritage of motorcycling for future generations.