San Francisco Motorcycle Club - Est. 1904

[elemetal]

George A. Wyman at the end of his transcontinental ride July 1903

!!?? on that bike! The original Buns of Steel!

Thanks for all the pics John

 

[SFMCjohn]

!!?? on that bike! The original Buns of Steel!

Thanks for all the pics John

thanks for reading and posting!

we're finally, slowly, getting back in the clubhouse after being out locked out of it since March, 2020, thanks to Covid ...

got a chance to install the BARF license plate frame in our collection of old plates decorating the men's room.

budman had gifted us the BARF frame in order to celebrate the connection between
California's oldest motorcycle club and the AMA's very first on-line motorcycle community: AMA O/MC #0001.

there's progress for us.

 

[budman]

Love me some SFMC

Good to hear things are coming back for the membership.
I am sure the vibe will be cool and look forward to sharing it at some point.

And Kalle rocks.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Love me some SFMC

Good to hear things are coming back for the membership.
I am sure the vibe will be cool and look forward to sharing it at some point.

And Kalle rocks.

hope to be seeing you soon!

speaking of my friend and SFMC member, Kalle, he finished his 1939 Chief, and took it to the recent AMCA Bryce/Zion/Grand Canyon Rally in the back of his recently finished vintage Chevy step-side:

he put a rebuilt straight-six under the hood, and found a Central Valley junk-yard transmission with an overdrive to replace the low-geared work-truck tranny. the white thing on the tank of the ‘39 Chief is a very small fold-down jump seat, useful if you meet a nice person in a bar, and want to bring her home. the other bike is his ‘48 skirted Chief.

the ‘39 Chief on the sidewalk in front of the SFMC last night. Kalle built the muffler, and it’s nice and quiet. notice the ball-peen hammer zip tied to the frame under the tank, and the disc front brake. he welded up the luggage rack, too.

foot-clutch, hand shift. think he has a three-speed in the ‘39. notice he has this Indian set-up for left-hand shifting. in the pic above this one, you can see that most of the linkage for the shift mechanism is on the rhs of the bike, which is the more normal side to see Indian hand shifters, I guess.

map of Marin, taped to the tank.

view of some stickers, and the front disc. he says he’ll put his Moto Melee stickers on the other side. yep, it’s a rider.

we’re by no means a vintage club, but we do have folks who ride vintage bikes, because we like bikes.

pic of my friend Jason’s 1980 Dharma-based, 900ss inspired custom, on the sidewalk in front of the SFMC at last week’s Thursday night meeting. arty

see you around the campfire,
— SFMCjohn

 

[Cincinnatus]

Nice collection of pics, John! arty

 

[bikewanker]

Always thought the Dharma’s beautiful motorcycles, Jason has improved upon that! In my post college what shall I do with my life days someone left a Dharma on the lot of a Chevy dealership for almost a week. My friend worked there and nobody seemed to know anything about it so there were discussions that involved my van.

 

[budman]

GPS taped on the tank.

Love it!!!

 

[SFMCjohn]

Nice collection of pics, John! arty

Always thought the Dharma’s beautiful motorcycles, Jason has improved upon that! In my post college what shall I do with my life days someone left a Dharma on the lot of a Chevy dealership for almost a week. My friend worked there and nobody seemed to know anything about it so there were discussions that involved my van.

GPS taped on the tank.

Love it!!!

paper maps forever, and bikewanker ... where's that Dharma?

Jason showed up with another cool bike last night, A BSA Super Rocket:

this bike somehow came along with the 900ss/Dharma ... will have to get the rest of the story ... guess he lost the front fender.

couple other bikes on the sidewalk in front of the SFMC last night:

TR6 based chopper or bobber, I guess. custom, maybe? idk.
magnito ignition and girder forks ... a city bike bar hopper, check out that tank.

Greg's 1975 Kawasaki KZ900 ... he got it in '99, and recently had Bobby Keith fix the dent in the gas tank and paint it.
Kirker, K&Ns ...

 

[killfile]

Damn, John has missed a few of the bikes that I've ridden to the club, I might have to find a replacement paparazzi.

Just kidding, great photos, brother!

Adding: On the Darmah & Super Rocket: an old professor of mine asked me to help him sell his bikes. Neither was running and he didn't want to bother with getting them ready for sale, so I offered to just buy both and get them ready for the road again, then decide what to do with them. They both have slight issues I'm trying to address.

 

[cloval]

Greetings,

How often do you have meetings? Can non-members stop by to check out bikes? My Sportster is on Non-op status at the moment, but I may get it registered and insured in an effort to move it along and focus on other projects.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Greetings,

How often do you have meetings? Can non-members stop by to check out bikes? My Sportster is on Non-op status at the moment, but I may get it registered and insured in an effort to move it along and focus on other projects.

we have meetings every Thursday night here in SF since 1904, and at Folsom and 18th since 1947. the clubhouse is usually open by 7:30pm.

anyone with an interest in motorcycles and/or motorcycling is always welcome.

there’s a guestbook by the door to sign, and if you tell the person at the fountain at the back that it’s your first visit you get a free beverage of your choice.

we have a Roberts Rules of Order style meeting that starts promptly ar 8:30pm that’s usually a bit of silly fun, and when it’s over we always give the guests that evening a round of applause. arty

we’ve been back open now for a couple weeks having regular meetings again after SF lifted Covid stuff. we’re also there on MotoGP Sunday afternoons at 4pm - 7pm showing MotoGP.

come by any Thursday night that works, we’d be happy to see you and hear about your old TR6 bobber or the progress you’ve made with the Sportster and your other projects ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

Damn, John has missed a few of the bikes that I've ridden to the club, I might have to find a replacement paparazzi.

Just kidding, great photos, brother!

Adding: On the Darmah & Super Rocket: an old professor of mine asked me to help him sell his bikes. Neither was running and he didn't want to bother with getting them ready for sale, so I offered to just buy both and get them ready for the road again, then decide what to do with them. They both have slight issues I'm trying to address.

always enjoy your cool bikes ... see you Thursday!

 

[cloval]

we have meetings every Thursday night here in SF since 1904, and at Folsom and 18th since 1947. the clubhouse is usually open by 7:30pm.

anyone with an interest in motorcycles and/or motorcycling is always welcome.

there’s a guestbook by the door to sign, and if you tell the person at the fountain at the back that it’s your first visit you get a free beverage of your choice.

we have a Roberts Rules of Order style meeting that starts promptly ar 8:30pm that’s usually a bit of silly fun, and when it’s over we always give the guests that evening a round of applause. arty

we’ve been back open now for a couple weeks having regular meetings again after SF lifted Covid stuff. we’re also there on MotoGP Sunday afternoons at 4pm - 7pm showing MotoGP.

come by any Thursday night that works, we’d be happy to see you and hear about your old TR6 bobber or the progress you’ve made with the Sportster and your other projects ...

Thanks for the friendly welcome, I will try to stop by soon. My grandpa rode motorcycles from the 30s thru the early 60s, his most noteworthy bike being a 1942 FL aka Knucklehead. I have some of his memorabilia that the members would appreciate seeing.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Thanks for the friendly welcome, I will try to stop by soon. My grandpa rode motorcycles from the 30s thru the early 60s, his most noteworthy bike being a 1942 FL aka Knucklehead. I have some of his memorabilia that the members would appreciate seeing.

hey cloval, we'd love to see your memorabilia, someday ...

we have an opportunity this Sunday, 11/14/2021, when--starting at 4pm--the SFMC will be watching Mr Rossi cap off his historic career. We'll be showing the MotoGP race at 6pm, and having a BBQ. Motorcyclists, welcome!

we had a fun business meeting last night, now that we're back in the club, post covid. we'd helped the SFO museum with their recent "Early Women Motorcyclists" exhibit, and they gave us one of the displays they had made with one of our old photos, I guess:

not sure what we'll do with it, other than maybe take it out and try to put it up at motorcycle rallies ...

anyway, hope to see some BARFers at our clubhouse at 18th and Folsom, this Sunday, to help Mr Rossi celebrate his career, and final race, should be historic ...

and, oh yes, guess the club wants to see masks and vaccine cards.

 

[cloval]

Thanks for the update. I have free time on Sunday evening, so I should be able to make it. My girlfriend may join us and I will bring some MC memorabilia as well.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Thanks for the update. I have free time on Sunday evening, so I should be able to make it. My girlfriend may join us and I will bring some MC memorabilia as well.

Hey cloval,

very nice to meet you yesterday, and Ms Amy, and super-cool to have a chance to see your grandfather’s Bay City Motorcycle Club memorabilia:

our club Historian, Brian, especially enjoyed the original 1939 SoCal panoramic group pic, and your grandfather’s two Perfect Score trophies from the 1940s.

hope to see you again at the clubhouse, and thanks again for sharing your family’s motorcycle history with us!

 

[cloval]

John,

We missed you on the way out. Thanks again for inviting us to the clubhouse! Amy and I had a great time talking to you, Brian, James and some of the other members. It was nice to finally learn something about the rich history surrounding Bay City MC and SFMC. The extensive collection of club memorabilia is a lot to absorb in one visit and incredibly impressive.

My dad and Uncle enjoyed the photos I sent them throughout the evening; my grandpa's riding days mean a lot to them. We will definitely make an effort to visit another time. Ride safe and see you soon.

-Lawrence (and Amy)

 

[SFMCjohn]

John,

We missed you on the way out. Thanks again for inviting us to the clubhouse! Amy and I had a great time talking to you, Brian, James and some of the other members. It was nice to finally learn something about the rich history surrounding Bay City MC and SFMC. The extensive collection of club memorabilia is a lot to absorb in one visit and incredibly impressive.

My dad and Uncle enjoyed the photos I sent them throughout the evening; my grandpa's riding days mean a lot to them. We will definitely make an effort to visit another time. Ride safe and see you soon.

-Lawrence (and Amy)

Hey Lawrence, sorry I missed you and Ms Amy on the way out, and hope to see you again, soon. Thanks again for making the effort to share your family's motorcycle memorabilia with us!

 

[SFMCjohn]

We rode down this weekend to the Pasadena Motorcycle Club to give them a check toward their project to get water and a ladies room into their clubhouse.

When the SFMC was flooded and needed a new foundation the Oakland Motorcycle Club donated to the cause, and we were pleased to have a chance to pay it forward (since Oakland wouldn't let us pay them back ).

if you squint, you can make out the big presentation check we handed off at Pasadena's regular Monday night meeting ...

The OMC presenting the SFMC with a check back in 2015 ... they made us come and get it at their clubhouse.

we were grateful to be back on our feet after the flood/foundation/Covid stuff, and to be in a position to pay OMC's generosity forward to one of our fellow AMA sweater clubs this week.

it turns out that a big handful of the oldest motorcycle clubs in the USA are here in California (Yonkers still has us all beat) ...

between Stockton MC, Oakland MC, Pasadena MC, San Jose MC, Port Stockton MC, the Richmond Ramblers MC and Capitol City MC there's a pretty big network of us to try to support one another, when necessary. sure I'm leaving someone out ...

in any event, progress! Pasadena hopes to have the permit and water/sewer part of their upgrade done, soon,
and will then tackle phase II of their project, getting a rest room built.

 

[SFMCjohn]

we seem to have gotten our act together a little bit for 2022, riding wise, and last night was our last Omni COVID Zoom meeting, so we’ll be back at the clubhouse, in person, on 2/10/2022. here’s our ride calendar:

2022 SFMC Calendar

Greetings,

IN PERSON meetings and events will resume at the San Francisco Motorcycle Club on February 10, 2022 with the following requirements.

Proof of vaccination + one booster

Masks are required during meetings

We invite you to review our 2022 ride calendar. We look forward to seeing you soon.

All rides leave from San Francisco Motorcycle Club, 2194 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94110

2022 SFMC Ride Calendar
3/6 Season Opener to Pescadero
3/20 SJMC BBQ & Spring Run
4/17 Easter: Mt. Tam Sunrise
4/24 First Aid & CPR
5/15 SFMC D36 - Coastal Cruise
5/20-22 Pointsapalooza II: SheetIron/StreetIron/PMC Greenhorn/Ft. Bragg
6/12 Captain's Ride: Historic Club Crawl
6/25-26 Bungee's Backwoods Bash
7/10 Club Ride with Curve Unit (East Bay)
7/24 SF Marathon Volunteer Breakfast
8/13 RRMC Poker Run
8/20-21 Frank 'n Beans
9/2-5 D36 Hey Day
9/17-18 Longbarn Weekend
10/8-9 R-Ranch Weekend
10/30 Blind Run

Special Dates:
12/3 Old Timer’s Dance at SFMC Clubhouse
12/17 OMC Appreciation Ride and Annual Tourney

2022 MotoGP
3/6 Qatar GP - Losail International Circuit
3/20 Indonesia GP - Mandalika International Street Circuit
4/3 Argentine GP - Termas de Rio Hondo
4/10 Americas GP - Circuit of the Americas
4/24 Portuguese GP - Algarve International Circuit
5/1 Spanish GP - Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto
5/15 French GP - Le Mans
5/29 Italian GP - Autodromo del Mugello
6/5 Catalunya GP - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
6/19 German GP - Sachsenring
6/26 Netherlands GP - TT Circuit Assen
7/10 Finnish GP - Kymiring
8/7 British GP - Silverstone Circuit
8/21 Austrian GP - Red Bull Ring
9/4 San Marino GP - Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
9/18 Aragon GP - Motorland Aragon
9/25 Japan GP - Twin Ring Motegi
10/2 Thailand GP - Chang International Circuit
10/16 Australia GP - Philip Island
10/23 Malaysia GP - Sepang International Circuit

(All rides are subject to change for possibly multiple reasons)

see you around the campfire,
—SFMCjohn