VINTAGE BIKE OC NEWS

Huntington Beach, Calif. - It was a perfect January afternoon today. The clouds parted long enough for us to have a great meet. We started at 2:00 with 30 bikes but the final count was 45. The nice thing was two thirds of them were 1994 or newer. Like last month, six bikes took most of the votes, but we had a clear winner by the end of the meet.

BAM: Breakdown and Legal Assistance for Motorcyclists
Venessa, a So Cal Marketing Representative for Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys spent her Sunday afternoon with us promoting their BAM program. Learn more about it at: www.RussBrown.com

We had six bikes take most of the Bike of the Month votes. One clear winner, a Second Place and a three way tie for Third. The sixth bike was one vote away from the third place tie, so I'm giving him and honorable mention.

Bike of the Month - Ernesto Quiroga

Ernesto Quiroga of Long Beach with his 1993 Moto Guzzi 1000S

Congratulations to Ernesto Quiroga of Long Beach for winning Bike of the Month with his 1993 Moto Guzzi 1000S.

Ernesto won the Bike of the Month plaque provided by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys. www.RussBrown.com.

Ernesto has won Bike of the Month six times since November 2007. He won at the forth meet that I ran. Nearly every time Ernesto shows up, he brings a winner.

Ernesto's Past Winnings:
June 2022 1975 Moto Martini 3 1/2
September 2021 1968 Ducati 350 Desmo Mark 3
November 2018 1988 Laverda SFC 1000
May 2009 1961 Ducati 175 Sport
December 2007 1961 Aermacchi C 250cc
November 2007 1972 Ducati Desmo 450 SS

Read all about Ernesto's 1993 Moto Guzzi 1000S on our Bike of the Month page.

Second Place - Baird Bergenthal

Baird Bergenthal of Midway City with his 1978 Testi Grand Prix.

Baird always shows up with a unique small displacement bike. This time it's a moped. His 1978 Testi is extremely rare in the US.

Baird has won four times in the past:
December 2021 1963 Testi Grand Prix 50
August 2021 1958 Hercules K100 J-Be
May 2021 1963 Batavus Bilonet
December 2014 1957 Moto Beta

Third Place Tie - Bill Brewer

Bill Brewer of Huntington Beach with his 1970 Yamaha AT1.

Bill won Bike of the Month September 2019 his 1975 Yamaha RD200

Third Place Tie - Larry Thomas

Larry Thomas of Laguna Naguel with his 1969 Yamaha CT1.

Third Place Tie - Fritz Harmon

Fritz Harmon of Riverside with his 1966 BMW R60/2.

Fritz hasn't been to our meet since October 2012 but the last time he was here he won Bike of the Month with his 1913 Indian Single Speed

Honorable Mention - Jeff Moore

Jeff Moore of Corona with his 1950 BMW R51/2.

I'm giving Jeff Honorable mention for two reasons. First he was one vote away from a four way tie for Third place. And secondly he and his friend Fritz rode their BMW's 80 miles over the Ortega Highway to get to our meet today. That's some dedication.

Jeff won last month in December 2023 with his 1953 Moto Guzzi Falconi which he also rode across the Ortega.

Thanks to everyone for showing up and making this another great event. A special thanks to John Zindler for helping out with the voting. I'll see you at next month's meet, February 11, 2024.

Keep On Ridin',
Joe Kagerer