A story about the swapmeet at WIEZE on 8 and 9 February 2003

By Jean-Paul Piron.
 
One of the best swapmeets in Belgium, as big as Mannheim, Utrecht or Beaulieu among others, but hey, Belgium is a small country but after all: we do have the best beers of the world, the finest cheese and the french fries were invented in Belgium. (Glad to hear about the fries, not so sure about the beer, Ed)

About the swapmeet; at Wieze they organise twice a year a nice motorcycle swapmeet solely for old and classic motorcycles and at the same time hold an exhibition on a particular theme. This time it was based on Harley-Davidson, as you can see on the poster. Believe me, when I saw the motorcycles they brought in, I was breathless! What is there to say about a 1907 single, a 1917 model J, a Peashooter racer or a Sport Twin or several sport Twins or Knuckle', Pans, Flatheads, a JDH and all the others? (Judging by the photo’s, a truly spectacular display of machines, Ed).

They also mounted THE shack, or at least a copy of the original, but not only the outside. The inside was also equipped with a lathe, drill press, tools, a stove, a desk and a lot of parts and other stuff. Very nicely done!

Some very desirable motorcycles were for sale. My only problem; my wallet is always to thin. (Mine too, Ed) Because of the Harley exhibition, a lot of salesman brought in lots of Harleys for sale with some prices very high and other prices on a more acceptable level.

The next Retro Wieze in September will be showing Scooters. (See the diary page for the dates).
 
I also happened to meet Jan Van der Werff, who is also a member of AMCA and country rep for The Netherlands. He is a very likeable man and a big collector with some splendid machines. Bumping into him just goes to prove that the world is small and you always meet the best people involved in the Old Motorcycle World.
 
Jean-Paul Piron

AMCA Country Representative, Belgium