Show Me Bike Show - Sedalia, Missouri

During the afternoon, I enjoyed a visit with Sedalia Motorcycle Association members Rick Yeager and Jeff Arnwine.

CC: First, let’s talk about your club.
Rick: The club that started as the Iron Horsemen M/C and is now the Sedalia Motorcycle Association has been around for 52 years continuously. The membership has varied from a base of about 30 members to more than 70. We meet twice each month at Yeager’s Cycle Center to talk about motorcycles and whatever else comes up and to have a beer or two. Three of the founding members of the group - Wayne Butterwick, Ward Wollard, and myself - are still active. Our purpose is to promote and support the sport of motorcycling in all its forms including street riding, off-road riding, and racing. We also try to contribute to the good of the community by supporting charities and helping those less fortunate than ourselves. We are a non-profit organization, and we put on this show to promote motorcycling, not to make money.

CC: You’ve been doing the show for several years.
Rick: This is our tenth year. We consistently have between 70 and 90 entries. We’re happy with the turnout. Our goal is to maintain the show, and we have not tried to make it huge or fancy. We appreciate the patronage of exhibitors from the surrounding area.

CC: I noticed several Kansas City area people had entered bikes. They told me they enjoy coming to this show every year.
Jeff: We call them our “Kansas City Connection.”
Rick: Jeff has worked his rear off and done a wonderful job of coordinating our show for the first nine years. This year, I volunteered to head up the show and give him a break. He’s still been my right hand and has shared his experience, wisdom, and ideas with me.

CC: Is the show held at the same time and place each year?
Rick: It’s always late January or early February. We’ve had it in this building for the last eight years. We have a good relationship with the State Fairgrounds people. They are always good to us. This time of year, a lot of people are getting cabin fever. We like to get them out of the house to look at motorcycles.

CC: They see friends they would otherwise miss during the winter months.
Rick: We tell people all the time that this isn’t just about the motorcycle show. It’s about camaraderie among friends. I walk through here and see people I haven’t seen for years. I had a guy over there tell me an old war story about when I rode a TM 400 Suzuki back in the 70’s. It’s interesting to catch up with those people and reminisce. We have a lot of fun.

CC: You open your show to all brands and have some off-road machines as well as the street bikes.
Jeff: That’s representative of our club. Our members have street bikes, off-road bikes, and quads. We have two big off-road events every year. We’re just all about motorcycles and helping people less fortunate than we are. The club also promotes motorcycle racing such as supporting the vintage class at LA Raceway and here on the half-mile before that.
Rick: We also helped Chris Fry who runs a motorcycle race at the fairgrounds.

CC: Are your bike show awards sponsored?
Rick: We solicit sponsors from the community for the plaques. Many are our members. We also have some great vendors this year. They get some business out of it and help attract visitors to the show. They offer merchandise at discounted prices. We’re especially happy to have Stone Laser Imaging doing our award plaques. Every winner gets a plaque and a photo of the winning motorcycle to personalize it. The Entrants Choice winner gets a plaque with the bike's image laser-engraved. The process takes only about 15 minutes.
Jeff: Another thing we are proud of is that various motorcycling organizations can promote their clubs like Legion Riders, FORR, CMA, Full Circle, and Ministries of the Son without charge.
Rick: Another reason for our success is that it’s only $5 to get in. Parking is free, and it’s only $10 to enter ($20 for pro class). Food and beverages are also reasonably priced. It’s not about making money. It’s about making sure everybody has a good time.

CC: What’s the evening schedule?
Rick: Live music begins at 7:00 with a local band called Bone Cuzzi. At 8:00 p.m. the awards will be presented. Then the entrants are free to move the motorcycles out if they want to. If they prefer, the motorcycles can be parked in a secure area and be loaded out between 9:00 and 11:00 tomorrow morning. After the awards, the band will play until midnight.

CC: Who judges the show?
Rick: I have recruited motorcycle builders or mechanics that have good knowledge of what they are judging. There are four judges. Exhibitors vote for their favorite bike. It’s special to get the recognition of peers.

CC: The judges will have a tough job. There are a lot of sweet rides entered. Thanks, guys.

I spent the rest of the day checking out the bikes and visiting with people. The music was good, and so was the food. Congratulations to all of the award winners, and thanks to the members of the Sedalia Motorcycle Association for putting on a great show.

AWARDS:

Entrant’s Choice
Mitch Caponetto, Oak Grove
2001 Harley-Davidson Softail Standard

Sportster
1st Donnie Batman, Sedalia
2003 Harley-Davidson
2nd Rob Parkhurst, Sedalia
1996 Harley-Davidson

Harley Rubber Mount Stock
1st Bill Heishman, Kansas City
2006 Harley-Davidson Dyna
2nd Kyle Moberly, Florence
1994 Harley-Davidson FXLR

Harley Softail Stock
1st Jackie Shelledy, Sedalia
2002 Harley-Davidson FXST
2nd Larry Koeller, Sedalia
2005 Harley-Davidson Night Train

Harley Cruiser Mild Custom
1st Doug Summers, Warsaw
Harley-Davidson FLST
2nd Brian Arrono, Kansas City
2007 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

Sport Dresser Stock
1st Scott Phillips, Sedalia
2004 Harley-Davidson Road King
2nd Brian McCarthy, Marshall
2007 Harley-Davidson Road Glide

Sport Dresser Mild Custom
1st Dave Kerwan, Gladstone
2002 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide
2nd Kevin Samson, Marshall
2005 Harley-Davidson FLRT

Dresser Stock
1st Mike Smith, Sedalia
2006 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic
2nd Mike Closser, Sedalia
2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra

Dresser Mild Custom
1st David Bower, Sedalia
1997 Harley-Davidson FLHTC

Metric Stock
1st Mark Stockhurst, Sedalia
BMW
2nd Lucas Ast, Warsaw
2006 Yamaha V-Star Midnight

Metric Mild Custom
1st Terry Reed, Sedalia
2009 Yamaha Raider
2nd Mike Lenger, Cole Camp
1972 Honda Custom 750

Sport Bike/V-Rod
1st Ghetto Superstar Cycle Center, Thor Knutson, Tipton
Suzuki Hayabusa Turbo
2nd Ghetto Superstar Cycle Center, Shannon Maylee, Tipton
2000 Suzuki Hayabusa

Lady Stock
1st Stormy Allen, Sedalia
1978 Harley-Davidson Sportster
2nd Kathy Smith, Sedalia
2010 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail

Lady Mild Custom
1st Misty Kerwan, Gladstone
2004 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider
2nd Gina Robinson, Liberty
2001 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

Trike/Side Car
1st Amber Stanford, Columbia
2001 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
2nd Dan O’Brien, Otterville
Harley-Davidson Ultra Trike

Classic 1965 – 1985
1st Tim Foster, Sedalia
1984 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead
2nd Mark Conclenne, Oak Grove
1979 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead

Production Custom/Harley CVO
1st Mike Ostertag, Independence
2009 Big Dog Mastiff
2nd John Sites, Sedalia
2007 Harley-Davidson Screaming Eagle Ultra

Special Interest
1st Rosie Verts, Sedalia
1977 Harley-Davidson Champion 250
2nd Herman Fortman, Pilot Grove
1966 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi

Pro Class
1st Marty Petree, Green Ridge
2009 Special Const Chopper
2nd Tim Foster, Sedalia
1981 Harley-Davidson Sportster

Article and photos by Stripe