In History

As you can imagine the Bikernet Headquarters receives press from all over the world. When I recently received notice of the new Petersen Museum, Harley vs. Indian exhibit, I immediately reached out to my resident antique motorcycle guru, Don Whalen, a master curator. “Are you involved?” I questioned. “Haven’t heard about it,” Don responded and […]

Jug Junky Vintage Motorcycle Gallery   From 1931 to 1969, a definitive list of some of the most legendary bikes whose wheels ever graced both highways and backroads. Read to the end to vote for YOUR top pick! 1969 Honda CB750 FourPhoto: Motorcycle Classics Inducted into AMA’s Motorcycle Hall of Fame, this model became the

It was late August 2013, and I had nothing to do that Saturday, so I took a look on the internet for motorcycle events that day. I discovered a “Big Bad Motorcycle Show” at the NW Harley dealership in Lacey, Washington. I decided to ride my recently painted 1946 Chief (jade green and crème) just

  You can spot a vintage Indian board tracker racer a mile away thanks to its drooping handlebars as well as spindly “hardtail” bicycle type frame and narrow 2 ¼ inch tires. With clutchless ferocious motors and minus brakes, you counted on your feet when trying to come to a stop after 100+ mph. A

This is a strange one. I’ve witnessed the rise and fall of numerous businesses in the Chopper Kingdom in my 45 years of drinking Jack Daniels, riding choppers, and chasing redheads. I’ve seen the changes, felt the pain of losing brothers, and watched the Chopper world crumble again in 2008. Now we look at a

    It was 1911 when brothers Tom and William started in the manufacturing business. They built their first four cylinder motorcycle in 1912 with a long wheelbase. The ads of the day stated “The long wheelbase of the Henderson, 65 inches, permits the riders to sit between the wheels, reducing road shocks to the

I’ve been around motorcycles, custom motorcycles and motorcycle restorations all of my life. I’ve been very fortunate to witness many of the best builders in the field. We have all witnessed greatness when it comes to motorcycling. I didn’t intend on blowing smoke. But you know the drill. Some builders reach way beyond the notion

The Trailblazers held its 71st annual banquet on Saturday, April 11th at the Carson Center in Carson, CA. The club has a long and rich history of motorcycling in Southern California, dating as far back as 1936 when A.F. Van Order put out the call for racers of the early boardtrack racing era to get

    As one of England’s oldest motorcycle companies, BSA grew out of a consortium of firearms manufacturers who first expanded into bicycles, then into the fledgling “motor bicycle” market by fitting a stronger frame with a Belgian-made Minerva engine.            That was 1905. By 1910 Birmingham Small Arms was building

    They called him “Wild Bill” and he was one of the best to race the 2nd generation American resurgence of those wild 500cc, alcohol powered, brakeless beasts we call Speedway Motorcycles.                                    

  For many years, the local Sturgis newspaper (Meade County Times) put out a special edition newspaper after each Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.  Looking through the archives at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame, we found a stack of these special editions from various years starting in 1984.  Each edition was a full newspaper

    The Indian Papoose motor scooter was developed after World War II and was based on an earlier motor scooter called the Welbike, which was actually built for the British Army.  The Welbikes were designed to fit into a standard parachute airdrop container 51 inches long, 15 inches high, and 12 inches wide.   

It has become something of lore, something to talk about, something that still today is remembered by many. It was the day the Hells Angels came to Porterville. But, it is not that the Hells Angels converged on the town of only 8,000 residents at the time. It is that Porterville stood up to the

People ride for all sorts of reasons – transportation, relaxation, just pure fun. It’s probably been true to some extent from the advent of motorcycling. But you have to imagine that in 1914 and 1915, it must have been more about transportation and maybe about fun than it was about relaxation. Ah, but there was

  Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame recently acquired another treasure to add to its diverse collection of motorcycles.       Dave Barr traveled from his home in Bodfish, California with his children, Luke and Jillian, to enjoy a road trip while transporting his 1996 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 to Sturgis, SD.     In

I’ve known Bob Clift for a decade and we recently hung out at his Las Vegas home. He was the friend of a friend who worked Las Vegas casinos in sales as a VP. He’s perfect for the sales world, good-looking, sharp-witted, and a fast talker. But there’s another grease-stained edge to Nevada Bob, and

  When you’re looking for a motorcycle today, you will most likely take yourself off to one or more local motorcycle dealers, look at what they have on the showroom floor, maybe take one or two for a test ride, then make your purchase. Today, part of the process might be doing a little initial

Editor’s Note: Ujjwal Dey is our Bikernet Emperial Wizard Editor from India. His notions of American history are slanted by a couple of salty oceans and a culture tainted by curry powder, so cut him some slack. We all love our rides. Whatever they may be. A cruiser, a sports model, a stock bike, a

In 1993, Dan Hanlon had a dream to design and build brand new American made motorcycles, and secured the names Excelsior and Henderson previously owned by Schwinn. Hanlon set out to raise funds and to design and build cruiser and touring motorcycles. Early on, the company secured nearly $100 million in start-up money, and built

In 1993, Dan Hanlon had a dream to design and build brand new American made motorcycles, and secured the names Excelsior and Henderson previously owned by Schwinn. Hanlon set out to raise funds and to design and build cruiser and touring motorcycles. Early on, the company secured nearly $100 million in start-up money, and built

While there are plenty of great motorcycles to see when you visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame, there are also lots of other historic items and memorabilia on exhibit in the museum. Memorabilia includes motorcycle parts, toys, publications, posters, fliers, and lots of terrific motorcycle artwork. Three pieces of art that stand

The year 1938 was a significant year in the history of Sturgis – the year of the first AMA sanctioned race conducted by the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club, which is the event widely recognized as the beginning of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. At that time, nine racers took part in the races in Sturgis, and

Starting in 1908, brothers Joe, Walter and John Michaelson opened a manufacturing operation in Minneapolis and manufactured Minneapolis motorcycles. The brothers later added the Michaelson motorcycle. The brothers originally used a proprietary Aurora single engine. By 1911, though, the company was making its own motor and had engineered significant technological innovations. The company was the

Way back in 1938 when the first race was held at Sturgis, no one could have possibly known what the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally would become. Even so, at least one person was thinking ahead and keeping track of some of the history of the event. Pearl Hoel was the wife of J.C. “Pappy” Hoel, the