The Hanford motorcycle swap meet and vintage motorcycle show has been around in one form or another since the early 1970s and I've attended most of them going back to 1973 or 1974. It started in Visalia, CA in a shopping center parking lot and was put on by the Western States Classic and Antique Motorcycle Association. It move to a county fairgrounds in Tulare for a few years, then farther south to Lancaster, then back to Tulare and then to Hanford right on the town square. That only lasted a couple of years due to crowds and rowdy attendees. Ever since it has been at the Kings County Fairgrounds in Hanford. Over the years several organizations have put on the show/swap meet with varying results. As the people who are interested in old bikes have aged or died off, the show has become smaller and the swap meet is mainly old guys trying to clean out their garages of the bike-related junk they've accumulated over the years. Still, it was the only game in town this year since the Quail Motorcycle Gathering, which has been on the same weekend as Hanford in previous years (although not last year), is taking a year off. My friend, John, and I had expectations of a larger gathering with more bikes in the show.
On Friday, May 1 we rode down 101 from my house. Traffic was heavy south of San Jose in Morgan Hill and we split lanes off and on for a few miles to Gilroy where we took CA 25 to Hollister and then south. About 15 miles south of Hollister the fun begins with a windy road and some hills past Pinnacles National Park all the way to CA 198. John was on his big BMW Adventure and I was on my Harley Low Rider S, neither bike particularly suited to a narrow, hilly, twisty road - my bike less so than his. But, we still had a lot of fun and there was very little traffic south of Pinnacles. We turned east on 198 and there was another 60 or so miles of excellent motorcyle road over a couple of low mountains with few cars and trucks to deal with all the way to Coalinga.
The day was overcast and cool in San Francisco and stayed that way to Morgan Hill when we stopped for lunch. By the time we got to I-5 after Coalinga and stopped for gas it was hot - probably the mid 80s, so we opened the vents in our jackets. It's a boring 35 miles from I-5 to Hanford on flat, straight two-lane and then four-lane. We stayed at the Rodeway Inn in downtown Hanford, where I've stayed many times over the years with Andrew, with Carol, and with other friends. It is a two story building that looks like a small Motel 6, but without the charm. It became increasingly rundown over the years until it was purchased by Choice Hotels as part of their Rodeway chain. They did some small upgrades and repairs and the place is serviceable and cheap. We had dinner at Fugazzi's Italian restaurant a few blocks away and enjoyed a good dinner after which I strolled around a very quiet downtown Hanford. On the was back to the motel I passed the Star Restaurant, where I used to have breakfast before going to the show, but nowdays they don't open until 8 on Saturday.
When we arrived at the motel we noticed two old-school choppers in the lot - a custom Panhead with an airbrushed tank and girder fork, and a Knucklehead that was rougher with telescopic forks. Both bike had extended front ends and spool hubs - no front break. Old-school indeed. Both bikes also had a slogan painted on the oil tank: Shrik som en gris.
