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Common Tread

Mark your calendars: The 5th Annual Modern Classics Show

Feb 12, 2015

For me, Boyertown, Pa., means memories of tearing up the streets of this quiet country town on my Triumph Bonneville T-100 while finishing my student teaching assignment at the local high school as a college senior. For other riders, it's a destination because of Martin Moto, a full-service dealership catering to the motorcycling community as a whole.

Once a year, Martin Moto steps it up with the Modern Classics Show. Founded by Martin Moto’s owner, Dennis Martin, and fellow moto-enthusiast and Bonneville racer Jack Broomall, the Modern Classics show provides riders with the perfect excuse to pull those bikes out of storage for an early spring ride, or just crank up the heater in your Chevy and roll on down.

This classic Beemer was actually for sale last year. Don't forget your checkbook. Photo by Spurgeon Dunbar.

Early Yamaha production race bike. Photo by Spurgeon Dunbar.
The fifth annual edition of the show is scheduled for March 6 and 7, and this year there's a twist. The party kicks off Friday night at 7 p.m. with The Kickstart Party powered by Yamaha, including music, food, and frosty micro brews provided by Chatty Monks Brewing Company. The Friday night preview party is limited to the first 200 people and tickets for the evening's festivities must be purchased in advance online for $15. The main show runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and tickets can be bought for $8 at the door.

Martin’s normal inventory is removed to make way for the well over 100 vintage machines that will fill up the showroom over the weekend. The show features a collection of bikes from the past six generations with plenty to keep you interested all afternoon and lunch is served on the mezzanine. Motorcycles on display show up from all over the country, their owners in tow.

The changing of the guard. Photo by Spurgeon Dunbar.

My favorite part of this event last year was the fact that all of the owners hang around, telling stories of how they bought, borrowed, or built the bikes on display. In most cases, the people and their stories are more interesting than the bikes themselves. For me, motorcycling is as much about the community as it is the bikes. The Modern Classics show is a healthy mix of both.

Martin Moto has had a place in my memories ever since I got my first ride on a Italian V-twin there, a 2006 Monster S2R 1000 (the black one with the white rims is still my favorite color scheme to this day). The Ducatis are no longer part of Martin's lineup, but the community vibe is still strong, and never stronger than during the Modern Classics Show.