THE SPOKES MAN 16TH ANNUAL BARBER VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE FESTIVAL GREG ARNOLD A lifetime motorcycle-collecting hobbyist, Greg purchased his first motorbike at 11 years old from a neighbor in 1965 for $10. With his career background primarily rooted in the construction industry, Greg initially joined the Mecum team in 2011 to help remodel and expand Mecum Auctions’ Headquarters. In 2014, he put his passion for motorcycles to good use joining the Mecum motorcycle division as auction manager. Greg has two grown children, Ben and Violet, and lives with his wife, Cindy, in Mecum’s original hometown of Marengo, Illinois. For the fifth time in six years, I’m lucky enough to have recently attended and displayed motorcycles at the Barber Vintage Festival in Birmingham, Alabama, as a part of my official capacity with the Mecum Motorcycle Division. Having to miss the 2020 event along with everyone else was a disappointment, to say the least, but it made this year’s event just that much more enjoyable. It’s no accident that this is one of the premier vintage motorcycle events in the world; it’s extremely well run, and the setting, activities and displays are unsurpassed by anything on the planet. Simply saying it takes place at the Barber Motorsports Museum—which is impressive in its own right—doesn’t even begin to describe this annual event or its majestic setting in the North Alabama woods. Besides the fact that the Barber grounds are home to the world’s largest vintage motorcycle museum, they also feature a world- class, 2.38-mile road racing course along with motocross and trials tracks. The entire location comprises some 900 acres, and a good deal of it is in use at festival time. There are myriad activities that take place over the course of the three-day event, including racing of all types, technical and historic seminars, entertainment like the Wall of Death and live music in the Fan Zone, multiple displays by motorcycle clubs like the VJMC, and “Parade” laps around the road course, which I’ve been fortunate enough to experience firsthand. The festival is attended by about 75,000 people over the three days, and I’d estimate that about 90% of them are true-blue enthusiasts, although there’s a chance that some of them show up just for the massive concentration of highly varied food trucks, as it makes for one impressive rolling buffet. If you’re interested in any or all types of vintage motorcycles, or delicious eats, clear your calendar for early October 2022 and go to this event. Now that I’ve convinced you to attend, be sure to also stop to see us in the Mecum Motorcycle tent in the Lower Swap Meet Area where we’ll have fine examples of antique and vintage motorcycles on display to promote our annual January Las Vegas Motorcycle auction, the largest such event in the world. We can discuss the upcoming auction and how to consign your motorcycle to it, how to register to bid or just how to attend what amounts to the largest live display of every type of motorcycle imaginable anywhere—and it’s a dynamic display no less, one that allows attendees and viewers to find out the value of each bike on display in real time. We can also just shoot the breeze talking about old motorcycles—I famously never tire of that. I look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas this January and hopefully later next year in Birmingham. 72 // MECUM.COM
