Coker Tire Company attends over 60 events per year. Yes, SIXTY! That busy show schedule includes swap meets, trade shows, vintage races, hot rod shows, antique military or motorcycle shows. For years, in addition to developing and distributing quality products, we have been committed to going “on the road” so we can show and deliver our products where collectors live, breath n hang out. We also get the opportunity to meet our loyal customers face to face, often see their wonderful vehicles, and get important input about the tires we should be producing or developing. We get an opportunity to solve problems and sometimes we get to find a few parts for our own projects. So.. We do shows. This weekend was an excellent one.

I love antique motorcycles. One of my favorite events is called “Davenport” by those “in the antique motorcycle know”. Officially it is the AMCA (Antique Motor Cycle Club of America) National meet in Davenport, Iowa. It is always held during Labor Day weekend at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa. Davenport is on the mighty Mississippi next to Moline, Illinois. Moline is the home of John Deere. I flew to Davenport this year which left JR Millican (one of our salesmen christened “Showtime” by some because he likes doing shows) to shepherd the Coker Tire rig with a broad selection of our antique motorcycle and scooter tires, tubes and rims. He loaded button treads n diamond treads, double whites and racing ribs, nonskids and Indian Scripts, blackwalls, whitewalls and a will to make his sales goal. Mine was to find stuff…

My buddy Dude Layne (his real first name is Orville, but don’t tell him I told you) loves to trek to Davenport too and rides with the rig as one of the team. Dude is one of the best craftsman I have ever seen. He can turn a pile of junk in the back of a pickup into a two wheel piece of rolling art! He restores my motorcycles. He’s also a good man. At Davenport this year, we found parts for my 1914 Indian single, the 1915 Excelsior twin, my 1928 Harley pea shooter and some parts for my 1916 Harley twin with commercial side car project. Set with a pocket of money, both Dude and I scowered the show field looking for goodies as well as necessieties for the projects. If its old motorcycle and you can’t find it at Davenport, it must be tough to find!

I was really saddened to hear my friend Mike Smith died of a heart attack recently. Mike was a consumate antique motorcycle guy. He lived and breathed antique motorcycles along with his sons. His boys will continue Antique Motor Cycle Supply and will do well I am sure.

One of the neatest things about antique motorcycles is the people who collect them, ride them and make parts for them. Around vintage bikes, you see all types of different folks, some who wear suits everyday or overalls and some who wear jeans. You might see long hair, short hair, goatees or scraggly beards or even cowboy mustaches. You see all types of people but they mostly seem to be just good folks. Just proves that you can’t judge a book by its cover. I like that saying. It reminds me that we need to treat everyone the same way. The way we want to be treated. My old friend Indian Joe Martin said “we should not criticize anyone until we have walked a mile in their mocassins”.

I got to see a lot of friends at Davenport. I am a friend kinda guy. I like em a lot and like to collect friends better than I enjoy antique bikes, cars n stuff. I saw the Mike Lang’s, the Lonnie Isom’s, Ziggy, and Larry Bild-a-bike, my buddy Dale who builds our Honest flathead bikes, Dick Winger,the amazing Dale Walksler of Maggie Valley and THE Time machine fame, Nick Muth of NJ…who has more projects lined up than 100 men could finish in a lifetime, the duo of Clift n Graber, John Mitchell, Breeding, the Wizzard and many more!

So whether I am working on two wheel classics or four, I am having fun! I have the best job in the world! I get to play in my work and work in my play! Wish you were here!

From the road,

Corky