DO THE TON Mama Tried IV Oct 2013 - Barber Vintage Festival

[Drewski]

This was my first year at Mid-Ohio. IMO, Barber is better, and continuing to grow each year. From what most everyone was saying at Mid-O, it's on a downswing.

I've been to both... and I like them both. 8)

They're different for sure. Barber is certainly a "step up" from any other vintage road race event I've ever been at! I've not been to a MotoGP or WSB event, but my guess is that Barber might rival those events in terms of organization and "class". Most race tracks have a feel of being plonked down in a field with little or no thought to infrastructure, or at least very little money spent. Barber has everything you'd need and it's done in a first class manor. I LOVED that place! 8) 8)

M-O has the older, rough and tumble feel of a more traditional vintage event. The swap meet area is HUGE though and there seems to be nearly everything there for sale!! The Barber swap meet area was smaller, but still pretty good.

One other comment and I believe this relates back to the above quote. The racing at M-O is suffering!! The fields are shrinking and the level of competition seems weak. Barber had much larger fields for each class and the competition was fierce! Much better at Barber!!

I enjoy both venues and I'll consider myself fortunate to get to ANY vintage race or meet!! 8)

Have fun at "Mama Tried IV" Barber 2013! I wish I could be there! 8)

 

[CafeRacer650]

I hope they ditch the parking inside the Ace Corner this year. I didn't mind parking the bikes, but it got a little out of control, especially all the Harley and Sport-touring guys coming in. They even had Mark Wilsmore parking bikes with us because it was getting so busy.

Can't wait for this year!

 

[seviston]

I've been to both... and I like them both. 8)

They're different for sure. Barber is certainly a "step up" from any other vintage road race event I've ever been at! I've not been to a MotoGP or WSB event, but my guess is that Barber might rival those events in terms of organization and "class".

Laguna Seca Moto GP & Indy Moto GP (and now Texas) are the best MC events in the US that I have been to and I have been to most. However, they are different venues than Barber or Mid-O. Barber offers the best and most refinement of any vintage event in the US. Mid-O has turned into a down and dirty swap meet that just happens to offer both off road & road racing. It seems the racing has become a sidebar at Mid-O. I have been going to Mid-O for 20 years and the quality of vintage bikes has gradually declined to, although MO still have the most variety of anywhere.

For the best overall moto race event weekend I highly recommend Moto GP. There is nothing more spectacular than 75,000 fans coming in from all over the world and the 10's of thousands of bikes that attend. Honestly neither Barber or Mid-O can be compared. Plenty of vintage bikes and customs attend Moto GP. See you at Moto GP Indy 2013.

 

[Drewski]

For the best overall moto race event weekend I highly recommend Moto GP. Plenty of vintage bikes and customs attend Moto GP.

Hey, I almost forgot! I saw your "Buffalo" at M-O! It was raining though, so I didn't stop to look you up!



Ya, I'd love to get out to a MotoGP, but that's not going to happen this year. A good friend has been to the MotoGP at Indy and said it was a very good event! He was there with the "Ducati Guys" and couldn't say enough good things about the weekend. First class all the way!

Texas sounds like the it might be the place to go right now! 8)

A buddy has been to several GP's in Europe, and he says THAT'S the place to see a bike race! Nothing in North America comes close in his opinion.

 

[seviston]

Hey, I almost forgot! I saw your "Buffalo" at M-O! It was raining though, so I didn't stop to look you up!

Yeah that rain on Saturday sucked! I rode my GT that weekend 700 miles from Indiana and back and everywhere in between.

Saturday riding into the track from our southern based hotel. I was the only one with a rain suit and cut loose as soon as we got to the track.

Entitled: "Dumb Fockers Riding Into Storm"

 

[mothgils]

Yeah that rain on Saturday sucked! I rode my GT that weekend 700 miles from Indiana and back and everywhere in between.

Saturday riding into the track from our southern based hotel. I was the only one with a rain suit and cut loose as soon as we got to the track.

Entitled: "Dumb Fockers Riding Into Storm"

Seviston...where do you live in Indiana? 5 of us rode (3 on bikes, 2 in a truck) from Indy. Only got a little wet on Friday and good weather on Sunday. We opted to drive to Mid-O.


We should try and have a DTT gtg or meet up at Moto GP.

 

[seviston]

Seviston...where do you live in Indiana? 5 of us rode (3 on bikes, 2 in a truck) from Indy. Only got a little wet on Friday and good weather on Sunday. We opted to drive to Mid-O.


We should try and have a DTT gtg or meet up at Moto GP.

From Ft. Wayne. My buddy and I rode over Wednesday night while our other buddy from New Zealand drove the truck with trailer and 3 more bikes one of which I sold. We brought back 2 more bikes than we took and they are now crated and on their way back to NZ.

 

[J-Rod10]

I've been to both... and I like them both. 8)

They're different for sure. Barber is certainly a "step up" from any other vintage road race event I've ever been at! I've not been to a MotoGP or WSB event, but my guess is that Barber might rival those events in terms of organization and "class". Most race tracks have a feel of being plonked down in a field with little or no thought to infrastructure, or at least very little money spent. Barber has everything you'd need and it's done in a first class manor. I LOVED that place! 8) 8)

M-O has the older, rough and tumble feel of a more traditional vintage event. The swap meet area is HUGE though and there seems to be nearly everything there for sale!! The Barber swap meet area was smaller, but still pretty good.

One other comment and I believe this relates back to the above quote. The racing at M-O is suffering!! The fields are shrinking and the level of competition seems weak. Barber had much larger fields for each class and the competition was fierce! Much better at Barber!!

I enjoy both venues and I'll consider myself fortunate to get to ANY vintage race or meet!! 8)

Have fun at "Mama Tried IV" Barber 2013! I wish I could be there! 8)

Lot of the race guys we talked to complained about the AMA, and blamed it for the drop in racers.

 

[tonuptom]

Yes! I'm local to Birmingham and I would love to ride and hang with other ton up folks from DTT & I've been building my CB 750 sohc since right before barbers last year, Got a TON of killer stuff from the swap meet For the build for cheap and am excited about going this year with my bike finished! Hit me up if you are going to be in Birmingham in October and we'll hang out and I'll show you a killer place to ride And maybe we could go shoot some guns or something?

 

[Tim]

OK folks, so shit's starting to get real and I want to take the temperature of the folks who will be attending, and get input from those who were with us in past years, in particular 2012.

As a refresher, last year we were a part of a major addition to the Barber Vintage Festival - the Ace Corner. The brainchild of Dime City Cycles and the Ace Cafe, it brought together our community in a previously closed off area of the Barber grounds which offers premiere track viewing at Turn 17. Truly a spectacular vantage point to view the track and enjoy the airshow.

We formed an entry-way into the Ace Corner, welcoming those who had purchased the upgraded ticket. We had a few pop-up tents, a bunch of DTT banners, our awesome 16' tall feather flag and best of all, dozens of members and their bikes hanging out.

Some members brought parts and assembled a bike right there for people to watch, all the way from lacing wheels to dropping the engine in. Members volunteered their time and directed ticket holders who were on bike to parking areas. Other friends organized and led a ride out of the park, making arrangements with a local restaurant and guiding riders through the Alabama twisties.

All in all a large number of some of my closest friends who happen to also be members of DO THE TON put out a ton of effort and represented the best of what our community is all about.

It was a load of work, cost a lot of money, and was a ton of fun. The big question is, are people interested in doing it again, of course taking the lessons we learned in 2012 to reduce the 'work' part of it and make it a much more enjoyable experience.

Looking for your thoughts. I expect the general configuration and setup of the Ace Corner to be the same as last year. They're already selling tickets.

For those who have forgotten or weren't there, head on over to last year's event thread for loads of pics to get an idea.

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=35779.855

 

[Mr.E]

Well, I'm not exactly sure where to start, Tim. I guess first of all, I'd love to be a part of it again for Do the Ton. Helping wherever possible, that sort of thing. However, there are a lot of elements about last year that left a very sour taste in my mouth. I understand that not everything will ever go as planned during events of this magnitude, but there are a few ways I think iit can be made better this time around.

Keep the Dtt setup outside of the Ace corner ticket gate. Dtt is free, why should people have to pay extra to come find out about a free community of bikers?

I really didn't think Ace corner was worth the $25 dollar fee for the weekend upgrade. I could see buying a day pass, but that's all. Far better food was available out in the vendor area. The only reason I purchased the upgrade last year was to ensure I was able to enter the area to hang out/help with Dtt. This year, ill only upgrade one day so I hope its a good one. The whole concept of paying more money to have access to more places to spend more money is rather silly.

I guess what I'm really getting at is that being inside the premium area could have been great, but I really feel like we missed out on meeting a lot of great ppl who passed by the ace corner for the price. Then there was the confusion over how many bikes they tried to cram inside the green, keeping it civilized, DCC doing what they did, etc. But I won't get into all that, I know things happen with events that just have to get ironed out through experience.

So how can I help?

 

[Flugtechnik]

My sentiments pretty much follow Ephraim's. I liked having one spot where we could park and meetup as a group or where we knew we could find other DTTers. And I would gladly do "work" again if people were needed to man the booth or whatever so that we could have that spot. I would even be willing to donate money to help secure a location like that. But as E said, we should be in a free to visitors area. I had a couple friends that could not come see or help with Nixon's build because they did not buy Ace Corner passes.

I don't plan on buying and Ace Corner pass this year. To me it wasn't worth it (other than to hang out in the DTT area). There are so many bikes at Barber, I don't care if I miss the ones on display there, and I don't want to pay to get access to more vendors. I should also say that I plan on spending less time at the actual festival this year since I plan on doing more riding, you know, since I will have a running bike this time thanks to my friends.

We truly appreciate all that you do for the group Tim and we know that the lessons learned from last year will make this year even better. We will gladly support DTT so don't hesitate to call on us.

 

[Tim]

I'm humbled by the offers to help out, and agree with the sentiment around DTT being a free, open to all community. The DO THE TON area was originally intended to be outside the paid Ace Corner area, with our understanding that ticket validation would be done at the tunnel, not at the road. It made sense to all of us for it to be that way but literally the day we were setting up we learned it would not be so.

That was out of any of our controls (i.e. DO THE TON, Dime City Cycles or Ace Cafe). It was a Festival decision and I can only presume it had to do with logistics, safety etc. But we were not privy to any decision making on that and our protests fell on deaf ears in the larger context of such a massive festival organization.

The first year we participated officially was with Dime City, Loaded Gun, Ace Cafe etc. and it was a more casual affair, only at the top of the hill and it was open to all. We had a single 10x10 tent and not many people came up the hill or even knew we were there. There was little to no signage, the tram didn't stop at the entry point.

We also rented a swap meet spot that year, which I thought would be a cool place to converge and hang out, and members could sell parts etc. I think it's too late for that this year tho, as it's likely sold out.

Anyhow - keep the comments coming, but I think in general we all feel the same about last year. Had lots of potential and was ultimately a great time, but could have been better and more suited to the ideals of DO THE TON.

 

[cyclefreak]

Well said there Mr.E and I must say I agree with most everything you said. There were some things last year that was awesome, mainly having an area that all of DTT could park, meet, and hang out at during the event. It was also nice being able to leave riding gear, coolers, etc in a secure spot so you could carry more loot from the swap meet area. I do not recall anyone having anything come up missing after leaving personal items at the pop ups. However it was a lot of work, not just for the volunteers who worked the gate, but also a huge amount of work for Tim. The cost (along with other things you mentioned) did leave a sour taste in my mouth as well, Barbers is not cheap! People having to travel, take off work, food, fuel, lodging, BEER, buying parts and swag adds up to a pretty penny. I know a lot of this does not apply to me being a local, but there is also a big cost helping host the festivities each day after the event. (Not complaining, Kiley, Denise, Melissa, and myself love hosting you hooligans). Again I think it is more the principal of paying money to get in the area for the opportunity to spend more money once inside. I have always had a great time at Barbers, but to me the best of times are away from the track at the post day gatherings. There have already been suggestions of just going and having fun, no "official" DTT presence, just enjoy. And I am cool with that. But you can bet if it is decided for DTT to participate in a more organized way, you can bet your ass I will be there in the middle of it. So I guess my opinion is rather neutral, just trying to offer some things for the decision makers to consider. Thanks Tim and Kiley for all y'all do to make this happen every year. Can't wait to see all of you guys and gals!

 

[VonYinzer]

I'm up in the air about my ability to make it this year, but if I can I'd be more than happy to assist in any way possible. I agree that paying extra for Ace Corner seemed a bit... Off? Thats how things work nowadays though, I suppose.

I guess all I'm trying to say is that between Tim and the Bama local folks a MASSIVE amount of time, effort and money get spent to give us mooks a few days of moto heaven. No matter what the organizers and Barbers itself decide on doing, DTT and its members make it an event worthy of praise.

That said, if there is ANYTHING needed that I can take care of consider it done. Whether or not I make it down.

 

[Maritime]

I'm with Mike, I will not know until days before if I can make it but I will pitch in anyway I can to help, I'll work a shift at a booth etc. for sure. I was there the year we had the swap meet booth, it did work out well and took a shift helping folks sell stuff. I had nothing to sell but it was a spot to meet, drop gear etc and worked. I wonder if we could get something similar, is there a club section we could get a spot to put up a tent and banners and meet inside the park? That being said I would be happy just to ride to the waffle house with Y'all, have breakfast, ride around Bama and end at Kiley's for the rest of the day. The festival is awsome but I go for hanging out and wrenching with the people of DTT more than to see show bikes etc. If I get there this year I think I will only get a one day pass to check out the park a bit and then spend the rest of the time with the folks who want to ride and at Kiley's

 

[cyclefreak]

Re: Re: DO THE TON Mama Tried IV Oct 2013 - Barber Vintage Festival

if there is ANYTHING needed that I can take care of consider it done.

Mike, take care of getting your ass down here. Same also goes for you Mike, err ah, the other Mike.

 

[Redbird]

I'm with the others in saying the DTT area should be free, but I understand that thing are beyond our control. Having said that, and that I've already paid for my Ace upgrade, I don't mind paying to get in to the Ace area. If for nothing else, it's fun for me to ride in and park my "bucket of bolts" next to the shop built "poser" bikes, and let them figure out who's making who "look bad".

Tim, as always, I'm in to help. So, whatever you need, don't hesitate to ask

 

[john83]

I'm with E and Flug. Having a place to park, stash my gear and congregate with other DTT members was great BUT don't think the rest of the Ace Corner was worth the price. Even though I don't have the same travel cost as many of you I am working on a students budget at the moment and I don't think I'll be springing for the Ace upgrade this year. The Festival is fun and all but the most fun for me is seeing all this crazy group and, hopefully, riding a few miles together.

All that being said, if DTT has some kind of official presence at the event I'm more than willing to help out in any way I can. Hanging at the tent/booth for a while or whatever needs to be done. As has been said before, Tim and the local folks do a lot to make this happen for us every year and I'm happy to help out in any way possible.

 

[Clutch48]

I myself like jared being local is an advantage when it comes to travel and such that yall guys/gals are already dishing out a ton of money. I dont have to travel and I did not like paying extra I am on board for whatever tho as long as I get to hang out with all of yall. I can already see that my attendance will be shorter at the park because of a new business venture me and sheila are getting started so my man focus is going to be seeing yall at kileys anyway and plus well the new business venture has left the XS in a million pieces but it will be worth it in the end. I am just ready to see you all and hang out. Mikes hope yall make it! Looking forward to it. Be safe all!

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