antique

Historic motorcycles poised to visit Laguna Seca raceway

General Posts / By

by Jim Johnson from https://www.montereyherald.com County board to consider three-year pact for event A “vintage” motorocycles festival could be officially added to Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca’s “premiere” event schedule this season, serving as a bookend with the popular MotoAmerica Superbike event in July. The Board of Supervisors are set under its consent agenda Tuesday to consider a three-year deal with the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association for the Monterey Classic MotoFest event at Laguna Seca, running July 16-18 this year. The proposed agreement, which would take effect retroactive to Jan. 1, would require the AHRMA organization to pay the county $480,000 over the term of the pact through the 2023 racing season. It would last through July 31, 2023. The county board is also scheduled to consider another retroactive agreement under its consent agenda Tuesday, this one with the Historic Sportscar Racing from Feb. 1-Dec. 31, 2022 for the Pre-Reunion and Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion events set for Aug. 7-8 and Aug. 12-15, respectively. Raceway spokesman Barry Toepke said the AHRMA has rented the raceway track in the past and the “growing popularity of vintage motorcycles” has offered an opportunity to “celebrate the sport and hobby by creating a larger festival experience and developing a Bike Week following” the GEICO MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest at Monterey event set for July 9-11. Toepke said the agreement was initiated in November but the holidays, uncertainty around event dates and whether spectators would be allowed delayed finalization of the proposal. The organization touts its national and regional motorcycle road racing events ranging from motocross, dirt track and cross country to observed trials competition for historic motorcycles, as well as “alternative” modern racing with zero emissions electric motorcycles. Raceway management dubbed AHRMA the “preeminent vintage motorcycle organization” in the U.S. and produces events across the […]

Historic motorcycles poised to visit Laguna Seca raceway Read More »

San Francisco International showcases early American motorcycles

General Posts / By

by Colleen Morgan from https://www.moodiedavittreport.com An exhibition exploring the history and development of motorcycling has opened at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The SFO Museum exhibition, in the International Terminal Departures, started on 11 February and will run through 19 September 2021. According to exhibition organisers, early American motorcycles “reflect a bygone era of mechanical innovation and bold industrial design”. They are prized by collectors around the world and displayed on vintage rides, endurance runs, and at special events. The exhibition presents fourteen ‘exceptional’ examples made prior to 1916, along with a collection of rare engines and photographs from the pioneering era of motorcycling. It follows the development of the motorcycle – “one of the earliest and most exciting applications of another new invention, the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine” – from the 1890s until 1915. The exhibition highlights the progress of motorcycle technology during that period and the evolvement of riding “from a novelty, to a hobby, sport and a reliable source of transportation”. As the presentation points out, “motorcycling in the early twentieth century was always an adventure”. “Road conditions were generally poor and hitting a pothole or other hazard on a motorcycle supported by a primitive, stiffly sprung suspension could easily throw a rider off the bike”. It also underlines the need for “athletic ability” to start and ride these machines and that motorcyclists had to be mechanically minded to keep them in working condition. Early American Motorcycles is one of several exhibitions which are running for limited periods at the SFO Museum. Others include Hair Style, Instrumental Rock ‘n’ Roll, Paula Riff, Amelia Konow   and Alternative Process by the San Francisco University School of Art. The airport also offers a strong line-up of permanent exhibitions which include Pan American Airways, Harvey Milk ‘Messenger of Hope’ and Spirogyrate,

San Francisco International showcases early American motorcycles Read More »

Modified motorcycles roll into Packard Museum

General Posts / By

by Andy Gray from https://www.tribtoday.com Some people aren’t satisfied with a motorcycle straight off of the lot. Collectors and motorcycle enthusiasts often modify those dealer purchases, restore damaged bikes that look like scrap metal to everyone else or build their own motorcycles from scratch. The 21st Vintage Motorcycle Exhibit at the National Packard Museum celebrates those kinds of machines with “Roll Your Own,” which opens Saturday and runs through May 22. “Last year when we were working on the exhibit ‘Two Wheels at the County Fair,’ we realize there were a lot of bikes that were highly modified, that guys got real crazy with,” museum Executive Director Mary Ann Porinchak said. “We decided to show off some of that creativity. “The challenge was to find enough bikes, but once we started, they came out of the woodwork. It snowballed and had a life of its own, and there are some truly unique pieces that came about … One bike was built from the ground up from just a pile of parts. That shows a determination to ride and a fair amount of ingenuity.” For the restorers, it’s a point of pride. Bruce Williams, a past organizer of the motorcycle show, has reconstructed several machines from most humble beginnings. “People see you have half a motor (and ask), ‘What are you gonna do with that?’ I’ll build a bike,” Williams said. “They’ll say, ‘You’ll never do that,’ and a year and a half later, there it is.” That doesn’t mean it’s easy. For one 1906 motorcycle he rebuilt, Williams had to hire a guy in Holland who could build the rims and back pulley he needed. Since that kind of rim was outlawed in the U.S. in the 1930s, the guy in Holland wouldn’t ship it to Williams directly. The parts

Modified motorcycles roll into Packard Museum Read More »

The Motorcycle Australian Exhibit

General Posts / By

Passion, Desire and Action Curated by US-based design curator and physicist Professor Charles M Falco and writer and filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with QAGOMA Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) opens the world exclusive exhibition ‘The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire’ tomorrow, featuring 100 exceptional motorcycles from the 1870s to the present. Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines said ‘The Motorcycle’, showing until 26 April, 2021 celebrates 150 years of motorcycle history and included multiple interactive experiences for all ages. ‘Curated by US-based design curator and physicist Professor Charles M Falco and writer and filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with QAGOMA, the exhibition features pioneering motorcycles and classic commuters, off-road bikes and speed machines, as well as custom creations and numerous electric bikes heralding the future,’ Mr Saines said. Click Here to Read this Photo Feature on Bikernet. Join the Cantina – Subscribe Now. https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

The Motorcycle Australian Exhibit Read More »

1931 Harley-Davidson V

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Back in the years before the Second World War, Harley-Davidson was, like all other companies, fighting for its survival. Little did it know that the changes and decisions it made during those times would make it the only other bike maker, alongside Indian, to survive The Great Depression. But it was not a smooth ride. In the first years of the period, Harley’s sales dropped by about seven times, and as a result so did production. That means finding motorcycles made from 1930 to after the war is not an easy task today. On the other hand, those who own such a two-wheeler often find themselves sitting on a real treasure. A large pack of such motorcycles was scheduled to go under the hammer this month, but due to the ongoing health crisis, it will do so in April. The pack is called the Legends Motorcycles Museum collection and comprises a total of 36 bikes, many of them coming from the time of the Great Depression. The 1931 V series model we have here is one of them. Wearing an olive and orange color scheme on a body that looks refreshingly vintage, it is part of the side-valve engined family of bikes that replaced the J series produced up until the start of the 1930s. The new series comprised the standard V line, of which this here motorcycle is part of, the VL and the VS. They were all powered by the new Harley powerplant that, coupled with a host of other improvements, made the V series a very fun to ride family of bikes. A number of them survive to this day, and according to Hagerty, a concours condition one can go for as much as $28,000. The one here seems to fit the

1931 Harley-Davidson V Read More »

10 Massively Collectible Motorcycles to Watch

General Posts / By

Check out these Beauties and the Price Tags Just like cars, motorcycles are treasured collectibles. Despite their desirability, however, they trade hands on average at far lower values than cars. The car auction record, too, is nearly 50 times that of the motorcycle auction record. Generally, the lower end of the bike market is full of nostalgia-driven purchases; the top is littered with historical significance and racing pedigree. Based on digital views of our newly-released Hagerty Motorcycle Price Guide, here are the 10 bikes in which Hagerty is seeing the most interest, arranged by price from low to high. Click Here to read this Photo Feature on Bikernet. Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today. https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

10 Massively Collectible Motorcycles to Watch Read More »

New Auction World Records Set at Successful Bonhams Motorcycles Winter Sale

General Posts / By

from https://www.bonhams.com/press_release/31428/ The Winter Sale including The National Motorcycle Museum Reserve Collection – Bicester Heritage 11 – 12 Dec 2020 Bicester, Bicester Heritage Offered from the National Motorcycle Museum Collection,1936 Brough Superior 982cc SS100 Registration no. VD 6582 Frame no. M1/1661 Engine no. BS/X 1001 £3 MILLION TOTAL REALISED WITH 92 PER CENT SELL-THROUGH RATE 1936 Brough Superior 982C SS100 from the National Motorcycle Museum Reserve Collection, SOLD for £276,000 Two world auction records for a Sunbeam and Norton F1 motorcycle were set over the weekend at the successful Bonhams Motorcycles Winter Sale at Bicester Heritage, which realised more than £3 million and had an impressive sell-through rate of 92 per cent. A 1928 Sunbeam 493cc TT Model 90 Racing Motorcycle, which had raced at Pendine Sands, powered through its top estimate of £24,000 selling for £41,400, while a 21,188-mile 1990 Norton F1, the roadster inspired by the sporting partnership with John Player Special, made £40,250, both setting new world auction records. However, the name dominating the sale was Brough Superior, with no fewer than five examples featuring in the sale’s top ten, led by a highly original 1936 Brough Superior 982cc SS100, bearing the earliest engine number in a production model, which sold for £276,000. All three machines were offered direct from the National Motorcycle Museum’s Reserve Collection, an exclusive selection of 52 British motorcycles – and motorcycle-related cars – presented on the first day of the two-day sale. A brace of 1937 Brough Superiors offered from The Connoisseur Collection – comprising blue-chip examples from the estate of a late motorcycle enthusiast – also featured in the sale’s top ten, a 982cc SS80 and a 1,096cc 11-50hp which both exceeded their top pre-sale estimates selling for £73,600 and £71,300 respectively. The Connoisseur Collection also offered an example of one

New Auction World Records Set at Successful Bonhams Motorcycles Winter Sale Read More »

Marlio Escobar Converts Vintage Motorcycles Into Custom Electric Motorcycles

General Posts / By

by Susanna Schick from https://cleantechnica.com Like many CleanTechnica readers, Marlio Escobar wanted an electric motorcycle, but not an ugly, expensive one. He wanted a cool electric motorcycle that fit within his budget. So he built one. And he’ll build you one too. Marlio takes vintage motorcycles (sometimes nothing more than an old frame!) and remakes them into cool electric motorcycles. He looked at the prices of electric motorcycles and thought “there’s no way I’m spending that much money on a bike I can build!” The first one cost him $60,000 to build, but now he builds them for $5,000. That cost includes the motorcycle, because vintage bikes are practically given away thanks to a dearth of parts. He bought a Honda CB200 frame for $100. But he will happily fix any bike, vintage to modern. Marlio has even converted a Suzuki Hayabusa. Four years ago, Marlio started this endeavor to save on gas money. He wanted something that would get him to and from work, a 60-mile commute round-trip. At first, he planned to build an electric bicycle for this purpose. As part of that project, he went to get a tire changed on a set of electric hub wheels. The mechanic was interested in his project and invited him to build an electric motorcycle together for display at the Philadelphia auto show. And now Marlio has kits that can work on many frames, to make an electric motorcycle capable of up to 200 miles per charge at 75-80mph. The Kawasaki Ninja 250 he converted is now a 550-pound electric beast. Marlio explains that by keeping the gearbox, he gets 40-50 lbs of torque per gear, which helps enormously with the range. This is on a 3 kW motor with a 4-speed transmission capable of a 90-mph top speed. Here

Marlio Escobar Converts Vintage Motorcycles Into Custom Electric Motorcycles Read More »

Unrestored 109-year-old motorcycle sets auction record at $225,000

General Posts / By

by Mike Hanlon from https://newatlas.com An extraordinary 109-year-old motorcycle that looks new but has never been restored, has sold at auction for US$225,500, setting a new world record price for a Pierce Arrow Four-cylinder motorcycle. The new record once more shows a marked trend towards complete authenticity by the motorcycle collector market, with unrestored motorcycles now fetching higher prices than bikes returned to showroom condition. The Pierce was America’s first four-cylinder motorcycle, built to unfeasibly high standards that ultimately made it too expensive and led to its demise. Less than 500 were built between 1909 and 1914, they rarely reach auction and when they do, they invariably command high prices. Recent Pierce Fours to sell at auction have fetched $99,000, $104,500, $115,500, $161,000 (the same bike also sold for $137,000 and $143,354) and the record for the model until a few days ago was $192,500, paid for a 1913 model that had been restored to Concours standards over 40 years and had spent most of its life in the world-renowned MC Collection of Sweden. This latest Pierce to reach auction has a remarkable level of originality and authenticity that is almost without peer – the paint still shines like it is near new, but it is the original 109-year-old paint, testimony to the extreme quality of the Pierce marque, also known for producing some of America’s finest pioneer automobiles. This price further confirms the trend in motorcycle collector circles towards exceptionally original motorcycles. In recent years the highest prices fetched at auction have tended to be unrestored, totally original motorcycles with their original paint. Some perfect examples of this include: The most valuable Crocker The most valuable Crocker ever to sell at auction: an unrestored, totally-original 1935 61ci (1000cc) Crocker V-twin. The most valuable vintage Harley-Davidson The most valuable vintage

Unrestored 109-year-old motorcycle sets auction record at $225,000 Read More »

Garage Brewed Motorcycle Show Brings Custom, Rare and Vintage Bikes to the Rhinegeist Taproom

General Posts / By

by Maija Zummo from https://www.citybeat.com/ Hosted by the Cincinnati Cafe Racers, this curated invitational showcases 50-plus odd and awesome motorcycles and bikes The sixth-annual Garage Brewed Motorcycle Show returns to the Rhinegeist taproom for an afternoon of paying homage to unique bikes and unique builds. Hosted by the Cincinnati Cafe Racers, this is a curated invitational that showcases “custom, rare, antique, collectible and just plain odd bikes that are hidden away in garages and basements,” according to the event descriptor. The 50-plus rare bikes on display are whittled down from an ever-increasing pool of nominations and include everything from choppers and custom cafe racers to rat bikes and restored Indian motorcycles. In addition to the art on two wheels, local artists have hand-painted Biltwell helmets, which will be auctioned off to benefit Operation Combat Bikesaver. Noon-midnight Saturday, Feb. 8. Free admission. Rhinegeist, 1910 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, garagebrewed.com.

Garage Brewed Motorcycle Show Brings Custom, Rare and Vintage Bikes to the Rhinegeist Taproom Read More »

Scroll to Top