PEBBLE BEACH 2013: PASS THE POUPON

Ana Llorente and her 1956 Motobecane 175ZC salt flat racer

The 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance celebrated, among other things, French motorcycles on its infamous golf course by the sea.  I was commissioned by Pebble to write a short history of the French motorcycle industry, incorporating some of the motorcycle marques present at the Concours on August 15th. The 2013 Pebble Beach program is beautifully illustrated, and my article looks great: copies are available here.  I've included the text of my article below, with photos from this year's Concours.

'Mr. Cool Hunting' and the Best in Show winning '37 Peugeot 515SP with Bernardet sidecar 

150 YEARS OF INNOVATION:

French motorcycles are exotically mysterious to English speakers, as little is published celebrating the long list of 'firsts' credited to French ingeneurs, and the heritage of remarkably elegant machines which followed in the first half of the 20th Century. The dawn of motorcycling (1870-1920) is dominated by French inventions and experiments, and the French probably invented motorcycling; the earliest recorded concept of a powered two-wheeler, back in 1818, is an etching of a ‘Velocipedraisiavaporiana’, or steam-powered draisine (the 'hobby horse', a pedalless bicycle), supposedly demonstrated in the Luxembourg Gardens. Steam power was gaining traction all over Europe; the print may have been satiric, but the concept was right on - a motorcycle, ridden by a handsome young man, no less. 

Pebble Motorcycle Concours judges Jim Thomas, Tom Meadows, and Somer Hooker look over a second Peugeot 515, this a '38 model owned by Bryan Bossier of Sinless Cycles

The first documented functional motorcycle - still extant at the Sceaux Musée in Paris - was a combination of a new pedal-driven 'boneshaker' (invented by Pierre Michaux in 1863), and a small, single-piston, alcohol-burning steam engine built by Louis-Guillame Perreaux. Perreaux's ‘steam velocipede’ was patented in 1869, and was capable of 30km/h, as demonstrated frequently outside his Paris workshop on rue Jean-Bart. In 1874 Perraux headlined a paper discussing his inventions (also with three wheels) as 'a likely replacement for the equine species' - how correct he proved to be. 

It came late, but it did arrive: the one-and-only four-cylinder Majestic, with a Cleveland engine, the Franco-American hybrid many thought didn't exist, or was a replica.  I'll run a full article on this machine soon!

The perfection of the 'safety bicycle' in 1885 swept Europe (and the US) with two-wheel fever, and specialized racing tracks for bicycles - velodromes- became hugely popular attractions. This craze coincided with the advent of internal combustion moto-bicycles, often demonstrated on velodromes to provide a 'draft' for fast bicyclists. Crowds thronged the banked tracks, fascinated by these new 'pacers', on which riders sat bolt-upright atop an enormous, slow-revving motor of practically automotive capacity (often two or more liters), powered by a massive Buchet, Peugeot, or Marchand engine. Thus began the Age of Monsters; it wasn't long before these mighty pacers were pitted against each other on the banking, a sport which evolved into specialized 'board track' races in Europe and the US. 

1931 Peugeot P107S Tour de France in military spec

By 1896, pioneers like the Comte DeDion were building far more sensible motors of relatively high rpm (3000!) and modest capacity (400cc) which were soon powering bicycles and tricycles in France, England, and the US. The DeDion design powered the first motorcycles in the US and Britain, who copied French motors under license, or not! Engines were clipped into every imaginable position on heavyweight bicycles; above the front wheel, above the rear wheel, next to the rear wheel, beneath the headstock, under the saddle. Each of these positions shifted the center of gravity to locations with undesireable consequences, especially the 'dreaded side slip' (skidding). A dreadful combination of loose road surfaces (paved roads existed, if at all, only in the center of cities), and poor balance made falls a miserable certainty. 

Steve Brindmore points out a potential safety issue with the '31 Peugeot: perhaps 'original at all costs' has too high a price? Clearly, this machine isn't ridden, an important point given the requirements of Automobiles at the Pebble Beach Concours - every car Must be ridden on the Pebble Beach Tour prior to the Concours, in order to be considered for judging.  The same rules don't apply to the Motorcycle Concours...and why not?  If the point of the 'show circuit' is to bring history alive and to the public, certainly motorcycles should be included. Otherwise, they're a sideshow...

In 1901 Werner patented the 'right' placement of a motor, in place of the pedal crank at the bottom of the frame, then one-upped themselves by creating the first-ever vertical twin motor (think Triumph) in 1904, before the death of the Werner brothers Michel and Eugene in 1907 finished the enterprise. 

The judges watch John Lawless start his 1949 Peugeot 156, a 150cc two-stroke single in original paint

Innovation was the very air of Belle Époque France, and marques like Buchet and Peugeot built the fastest and most reliable motors available in the 'Noughts. They were stalwarts of motorcycle racing, which had broken out of Velodromes, and French racing engines were suddenly the hot ticket in the US and England too; the inaugural Isle of Man TT was won by a Peugeot-engined Norton in 1907. By 1901 Clément made a very popular 'Autocyclette' by clamping a small 240cc motor to their own-make bicycle frame (most early motorcycle makers built bicycles previously, or were champion cycle racers); it, too, was raced, and with little competition at that early date, it did quite well, except up hills. 

John Light shares a 1960s video of his grandmother riding his 1945 Motobécane D45A Pebble entry, in original condition

Peugeot are better known for their cars today but are in fact the world's oldest still extant producer of powered two-wheelers (since 1898 - take that, Harley D!). Peugeot designer Ernest Henry halved the engine of their 1913 Indy 500-winning 'L45' four-cylinder race car, and created the world's first 4-Valve, DOHC motorcycle (without the car's Desmo gear - which left Ducati something to boast about 40 years later), the '500M' racer of 1914, a parallel twin so technically advanced it could have landed from outer space. The French dominated their competitors in sophistication, race expertise, and sheer engineering savoir faire, at least until the First World War intervened. 

The irrepressible Bryan Bossier with his Peugeot 515.  Note the chrome tank emblem - a Deco version of the Peugeot 'lion' logo in profile

Magnat-Debon emerged with an ultra-light racer in 1906, on which their #1 racing rider, Jules Escoffier, had success at Mt Ventoux and other important events. In 1911, Escoffier insisted M-D needed a more powerful v-twin, which they refused, so he stole Joseph Magnat's niece along the chassis design of the Magnat-Debon, creating the 'Mandoline' OHV V-twin; the new Koehler-Escoffier became a French racing legend. In 1927, Raymond Guiguet designed a completely new engine for KE, with a shaft-and-bevel OHC similar to the Velocette KSS of 1925. The '500 GP' had a crankcase flat ready for drilling to create a new OHC V-twin; the resultant 1927 Koehler-Escoffier 'Quatre Tubes' (four exhausts) is surely one of the most charismatic motorcycles of all time, although little known outside Europe, one of very few overhead-camshaft V-Twins produced before 1930. Alas only 7 were built, and while all survive, their owners are understandably covetous, and they never come up for sale. 

A short lineup on the Pebble lawn: 9 entries this year.  French motorcyles weren't imported to the US prewar, and appeared mostly in the 1960s/70s as mopeds.  American consciousness of French motorcycle history is only now dawning, and a few interesting machines are trickling across the Atlantic, but the best and most technically interesting French motorcycles are in France!  And jealously guarded there as national treasures; coaxing owners to ship their machines to California for the Concours proved impossible. Pebble Beach has no 'draw' among European motorcyclists, who have their own priorities.

As the 1920s progressed, French engineers were rarely at the forefront of global motorcycling technology, and the English usurped the top spots in racing and development...but none could compete with the French for sheer style. A wave of Art Deco swept the French industry, with the most Deco-to-its-bones being the 'Majestic'. The child of Georges Roy's fertile imagination, the Majestic grew from Roy's previous project, the humbly-named 'New Motorcycle', which had a radical monocoque chassis in 1925. In 1927, Roy used a car-type chassis of box-section steel, with hub-center steering and a Cleveland 4-cylinder engine, all wrapped in curvaceous metal bodywork. Nevermind that air-cooled motorcycle engines 'cook' without decent air flow (the Majestic has plenty of louvres, but no cooling fan), nothing quite like this machine had ever been seen, and it remains unique among production bikes even today. Roy may have only built a single Cleveland- '4' prototype (which makes its first-in-80-years public appearance on the Pebble Beach lawn); 'production' Majestics used Chaise, Train, or JAP engines, usually of one or two cylinders. The Majestic's robust chassis and excellent steering makes even a 'sports' engine of the day feel grossly underpowered. With such looks, it really ought to be the fastest thing on two wheels! 

Dashboard of the Majestic; pure Art Deco.  The 'cracquelure' paint job was an original option for Majestics.

By the 1930s, familiar marques such as Peugeot, Terrot, Alcyon, and Motobecane built boulevardiers of breathtaking Art Deco perfection, the two-wheeled equivalents of a Delahaye or Délage, which remain among the most beautiful and stylish motorcycles ever built. Being French, the industry continued to push the limits of technology with advanced four-cylinder OHV and OHC engines (Chaise, Train, Motobecane, etc), and radical chassis design. The MGC (Marcel Guiguet et Cie - he of the Koehler-Escoffier 'Mandoline') was a glorious failure of aluminum casting technology, having integral fuel and oil tanks within a very shapely all-alloy chassis; the porosity leaks were cured by cooking the frame in resin, but fatigue cracks plague enthusiasts of these rare beasts even today. 

John Light's sons will likely inherit their great-grandmother's Motobécane

Aircraft engine manufacturer Gnome et Rhone built the advanced ABC flat-twin motorcycle immediately after WW1 (licensing the design from rival Sopwith!), and followed this design years later with a much larger flat twin of 750cc housed in a pressed-steel chassis, reminiscent of contemporary BMW practice, but revealing the Germans a somber lot, compared to Gnome-Rhone's feminine Deco extravagance, suggestive use of chrome, and swelling curves. While no longer at the cutting edge of racing technology by the 1930s, highly competetive, even awe-inspiring racers yet emerged from French workshops, as marques like Terrot, Jonghi, and Magnat-Debon built magnesium-engined racers which won European and French national championships. 

Another view of the Peugeot 515 with Bernardet sidecar...look at those cast-aluminum mufflers!

Most memorable, though, is the magnificent development of Koehler-Escoffier racing machines during this period. In 1934, the very busy Guiguet transformed his 'Quatre Tubes' into a mighty OHC 1000 V-twin of brutal gorgeousness, so inextricably linked to its pilot, Georges Monneret, the name 'Monneret' is synomymous with the machine, as he developed it to win National Championships through the 1950s. The K-E 'Monneret' remains the crown jewel of French pre-war motorcycling. 

The grass wasn't the only place to find bikes at Pebble: MidAmerica Auctions pitched its tent of bikes too

Postwar, French motorcycles were stylish albeit generally small-capacity machines, rarely larger than 250cc, excepting the flat-twin police Ratiers built along BMW lines. No equivalent of the Citroen DS emerged, although irrepressibly talented engineers blossomed in racing circles. The Nougier family but put their stamp on history by home-building the fourth-ever transverse DOHC four-cylinder racer in 1953 (after Gilera, NSU, and MV Agusta). The machine was so good, Norton's Joe Craig attempted to purchase the design...but the Frenchmen would have none of it. Two decades later, the Elf team revived the Majestic's hub-center steering for their unorthodox racers of the 1970s and 80s. The first break in a 'lightweight curse' came from Voxan in the 1990s, with a sporting 1000cc OHC V-twin, which succumbed, sadly, to the Crisis of 2009. Except for these bright intervals, French two-wheeled industry has been dominated by scooters and mopeds, as amply evidenced on every street in Paris.

Alfa Romeo 8C; part of a 28-strong exhibit of 1930s Alfa 8-cylinder cars

Alloy-bodied Rolls reflects the morning fog

1914 American Underslung - nearly a motorcycle with such big wheels!

Looking like a 1950s Barris custom car, half coach and half Rolls...

Pets allowed

Seen on the streets of Carmel; Roger Rabbit's custom trike

1920s yacht with nefarious history; ex-Al Capone

His gold LV bag matched my shoes...

In the MidAmerica tent; a Crocker speedway bike

Deco upon Deco: where's Gatsby?

They're all babes, but for the day, they became the East Side Moto Ladies

The 'Preservation' class grows each year as Pebble wakes up to the burgeoning trend for original machines.  Roger Hoffman's '55 Ferrari 250 Europa GT V12 engine, pretty much as it left the factory.  Found in Sicily at an automotive mechanic's shop.

The inside of Roger's Ferrari 250 Europa, complete with priapic shift lever.

Twin superchargers for this '35 Frazer Nash TT Replica; Prewar Preservation class

The Indycar display's pop graphics helped banish the grey weather

10 vintage Indy racers, which sounded amazing when fired up

Can you hear me now?

Yes, your nails match the Ferrari; yes, you should buy it.

Styling does not equal Function, but it can raise a smile

Cool gear; vintage '24 Heures du Mans' Hermés tie, vintage Steve McQueen Persol sunnies

Euro-cop: Dutch 'Rijkspolitie' '74 Porsche 911 Targa.  Owner Guus Reinerink was blasting Euro-disco from the loudspeaker...

Porsche 911 Competition class

Even Indycar collectors enjoy a nice bottle of vin rouge now an then

PreWar Preservation Voisin Clairiére Berline from 1935, without the eye-watering Art Deco interior fabric designed by Paul Poiret... owner Bill Pope claimed not only that the leather interior was correct, but that many 'Deco' interiors were added much later...scandal!  Voisins have come out of the woodwork in the past two years, after winning Pebble Beach and other Concours...

Would you like your Indycar in yellow?  What shade?

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BROUGH SUPERIOR 'RETURN TO THE SALT' PREVIEW

Rider Eric Patterson aboard the 1150cc Brough Superior 'Roadrunner' with new, shapely streamlining, similar in feel to the 1930s Brough record-breaker 'Leaping Lena'

The Ace Café sponsored a preview party for Brough Superior's second Bonneville invasion at the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA yesterday, bringing along the pair of salt flat racers they'll be campaigning.  Jay Leno hosted the event, and unveiled a surprise - a completely new all-carbon-fiber sports machine with a Brough Superior logo!  I'll get the full story on this machine, and BS Chief Mark Upham's intentions, when I head to Bonneville next week.

Here's Mark's note on last night's event: 

"Dear Paul,

 I am sorry you were not able to come across to the party; here are a few words and pictures.

The revamped Brough 1150 'Roadrunner', showing the minimal streamlining allowed for specific categories of record.

Mark McKee very kindly hosted the Ace Café/Brough Superior Party "Return to the Salt".

Unveiled was the redesigned and very radical streamlined Brough Superior  1150cc formally known as the Retro Brough, now renamed "The Roadrunner". This bike is campaigning for 4 class world titles at BUB 2013.

The 'Baby Pendine' Brough Superior, with a 750cc MkII engine

The second bike unveiled - formally known,as the 'Baby Pendine', is also fitted with a MKII engine but of only 750cc capacity. Due to its manorial type windshield, holding the coat of arms of the Brough family, it is been renamed "The Black Knight", and is campaigning for 2 categories of titles, two FIM and 4 AMA.

 

The previously unseen Brough Superior entry into Moto2 GP racing, built by John Keogh and Paul Taylor

The 3rd motorcycle unveiled, and a great shock for many there, was the extremely radical Moto2 carbon-fiber Brough Superior. This motorcycle has a full monocoque chassis, designed by John Keogh, and was engineered by Paul Taylor of Taylor Race Engineering, USA, specifically to race in the Moto2 GP Class, and will be entered in the GP series as a wild card in 2014.

The bike is tried and tested, it was seen at Goodwood [Festival of Speed] in demonstration runs, driven by Alan Cathcart. No one knew it was a Brough Superior, since until now it is only ever been raced and tested without any Brough Superior livery. The bike was unveiled by Jay Leno.

Thank you,

Mark Upham"


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'TON UP!' - CAFE RACERS IN STURGIS

When photographer Michael Lichter invited me to co-curate a show of Café Racers for Sturgis Bike Week, I immediately said yes.  I'd met Michael while he was the official photographer of the Motorcycle Cannonball last September, and have been constantly impressed by his good nature, the his amazing photography, and his renown in the motorcycling world.

Riding around Sturgis; Bear Butte state park - South Dakota's Black Hills are amazing

I had no idea he'd been putting on exhibits at Sturgis for 12 years, as I'd never been to Bike Week, and didn't follow the press surrounding the event...it's safe to say I'm a fish out of water among 250,000 Harley touring rigs.  But Café Racers are very much the waters I swim, and I've long wanted to mount exhibits of motorcycles and related art...and almost as soon as he brought me on board as co-curator, he'd secured a deal with Motorbooks to produce a coffee-table book (called, naturally, 'Ton Up!') documenting the exhibit, with my writing on the genre and its 50 year development.  My dedication to the project was secured.

Willie G's 1975 blueprint (with talking points) of his 'XL- Café Racer'

Michael's reputation in the Industry meant word leaked quickly of our subject matter, and Custom builders clamored to have their machines included,  among whom were Willie G. Davidson himself, who brought his 'Serial #1' XLCR, and his successor at H-D, Ray Drea, who built an updated version of Willie's machine - his 2013 'XR Café' - just for 'Ton Up!'  Also, BMW promised 'Ton Up!' would be the US début of their 'Concept 90', built in conjunction with Roland Sands.

I used my contact list for the historic bikes - the BSA Gold Star, Velocette Thruxton, Egli Vincent, Triton, and other seminal machines, to lay the foundation for our historic survey.  While the name Café Racer conjures repeated images of English riders from the 1950s/60s - the 'Ace Cafe/59 Club' era - the style didn't freeze in 1969. We love those Gold Stars and Tritons, but riders have carried on modifying all sorts of motorcycles with Café Racer cues for 50 years now.

The '21 Helmets' display, which grew to 27 helmets!

Sorting through the dozens of bikes offered to us, we had to set down 'The Rules' - what makes a Café Racer.  We boiled it down to the look of a 'racer on the road', with clip-on 'bars, rearset foot controls, a humped racing seat, and performance modifications.  Every Café Racer has most if not all those boxes ticked.

Mark Mederski's low-mile, original-paint '62 Norton Manx, included as the benchmark against which all Café Racers were measured...

The point of 'Ton Up!' was never 'how to make a proper Café bike' - we showed examples from 50 years of Café Racing, 1962 - 2013, to showcased the development, changes, and growth of the genre over several generations of rider/builders. A few of the machines were factory-built Cafés (BSA Gold Star, Velocette Thruxton, and Harley XLCR), but most were modified to achieve 'the look'. The 35 bikes we eventually displayed came from England, Germany, Italy, the US, and Japan, and ranged from 1950s Triumph motors in Tritons, to 2013 Triumph, Victory, and Harley-based customs.

Kevin Dunworth of Loaded Gun Customs with his 'Bucephalus' with unique alloy-plate chassis

As I installed the exhibit, with help from the Buffalo Chip's excellent crew, I heard nary a peep of criticism for bringing an 'it ain't a Harley' collection to Sturgis for Bike Week, and when the show was up, even the most inebriated accidental viewer was agog at the display of beautiful bikes.  While 35 motorcycles and a dozen artists sounds tiny in the context of the hundreds of thousands of bikes outside, the show was too much to take in a single visit.  Each of our motorcycles deserved close study; the ideas explored were sometimes radical, and generally quite beautiful.  The exhibit was an oasis of calm in the midst of Sturgis, a pleasant spot to hang out, and thousands did just that.

Mars Webster's Godet-Egli-Vincent

Here's a gallery of the bikes exhibited, followed by a bunch of random photos from my Sturgis expedition:

- Alain Bernard (Santiago Chopper)' 1996 Moto Guzzi 1100 'Patton Café'

- Arlen Ness; 1987 HD-XR 'Ness Café'

- Brad Richards (Ford Motor Co); 1999 HD 'Sporty TT'

- Brandon Holstein (Brawny Built); 2003 HD 'Brawny Sportster'

- Brian Klock (Klock Werks); 2013 Triumph T'Bird 'Café Storm'

- Bryan Fuller (Fuller Hot Rods); 1974 Ducati 750GT 'Full Sport'

- Chris Fletchner (Speed Shop Design); 1965 BSA 'Beezerker'

- David Edwards (Bike Craft editor, former Cycle World editor); 1975 Triumph T140V
                    'Trackmaster Café' (built by Danny Erickson)

- David Zemla; 2003 HD 883 'DZ Sportster'

- Deus ex Machina; 1978 BMW R100S 

- Dustin Kott (Kott Motorcycles); 1969 Honda CB450 'The 69'

- Gordon McCall (McCall Motorworks); 1965 Dunstall Norton Atlas

- Greg Hageman (Doc's Chops); 1982 Virago SV920

- Herb Harris (Harris Vincent Gallery); 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star

- Jason Paul Michaels (Dime City Cycles); 1968 Honda CB450 'Brass Cafe'

- Jay Hart; 1972 HD XL 'XLMPH'

- Jay LaRossa (Lossa Engineering); 1967 Honda CB77 'Lossa CB77'

- Jonnie Green (Ton Up Classics); 1965/7 Triton

- Kevin Dunworth (Loaded Gun Customs); 1967 Triumph 'Bucephalus'

- Kim Boyle (Boyle Custom Moto); 1971 Norton Commando 'Ed Norton'

- Mark Mederski (National M/C Museum); 1962 Norton Manx, 1970 Velocette Thruxton

- Mars Webster; 1950 NorVin Comet, 2002 Godet-Egli-Vincent

- Ray Drea (H-D head of design); 1984 HD XR1000 'XR Café'

- Richard Varner (Champions Moto); 2004 Triumph Bonneville 'Brighton'

- Roland Sands/BMW (RSD); 2013 BMW prototype 'Concept 90'

- Shinya Kimura (Chabott Engineering); 1974 Ducati 750GT 'Flash'

- Skeeter Todd (OCC); 1979 HD XR1000 'American Café'

- Steve 'Carpy' Carpenter; 1969 Honda CB750KO 'Tenacious Ton'

- Steve 'Brewdude' Garn (Brew Racing Frames); 1974 Yamaha RD350 'Streak'

- Thor Drake (SeeSee Motorcycles); 1985 Yamaha RZ350 'BH347'

- Willie G Davidson (retired head of H-D design); 1977 HD XLCR Serial #1

- Yoshi Kosaka (the Garage Co); 1967 Triumph-Rickman Metisse

 - Zach Ness; 2013 Victory Judge 'NessCafé Victory'

I'd like to thank the Buffalo Chip for opening their wallet big-time to ship over 30 bikes from around the US, and paying a crew to help me push 35 bikes and plinths around a 7000 square foot hall.  It was exhausting even with the help of four strong men!  I also need to thank Keyboard Motorcycle Shipping for their amazing flexibility in picking up all the non-Cali bikes from their owners, and bringing them all in perfect condition.

Zach Ness' 'Victory NessCafé', Shinya's 'Flash' Ducati, and the SeeSee '21 Helmet' display

Gordon McCall's '66 Norton Dunstall with the BMW/Roland Sands 'Concept 90'

Wild variations of feminine dress - and occasional undress - at Sturgis

Brad Andrews' 'SportyTT' faces off with Mark Mederski's Norton Manx

Closeup of SpeedShopDesign's 'Beezerker' - jewel-like precision

The full shot of the 'Beezerker' by Chris Fletchner, the only Anglo bike customizer currently working in Japan!

'Bikini Bike Wash' was among the most tame entertainments in town...$20 for a wash, which seemed a bargain to me - they were doing a great job!

My '65 Triumph Bonneville; not part of the show, just a helper for an easy commute thru Sturgis traffic

If you want to go around the incredible congestion at the heart of Sturgis, there are plenty of roads through the fields and parklands, all dirt.  The Triumph didn't mind, and the Black Hills are full of wildflowers

Portable art-hanging table, a job Edward Turner never envisioned. 'It's easy on a Triumph!'

Herb Harris' BSA DBD34 Gold Star and Dustin Kott's CB450 Honda

Loaded Gun Custom's 'Bucephalus' being un-loaded, from Keyboard Motorcycle Shipping, who did a terrific job hauling 35 bikes from around the country

One of the most popular machines in the show, judging by the reactions I gauged: the 'Tenacious Ton' by Steve 'Carpy' Carpenter, a very early Honda CB750 'KO', but not a 'sandcast'

Silkscreens from Conrad Leach, courtesy Subvecta Motus Gallery

A few of the 1280 people Michael Lichter and I addressed at the show's opening; kinda cool discussing Cafe Racers with Willie G Davidson in the audience!

The temporary HQ of The Vintagent while installing 'Ton Up!', keeping all the shipping boxes straight with the art we unpacked, where the bikes needed to go, press releases, etc.  Not a bad office.

David Zemla's 'DZ Sportster' in Michael Lichter's photo studio

One of my Tintypes on exhibit, of Shinya Kimura's 'FireBall' HD-based special, which now lives in England, so couldn't make 'Ton Up!'

Jonnie Green's Triton, a lovely machine, and excellent example of the species

Like schools of fish they stood, waiting for their final placement, being herded from this side of the hall to the other as plinths were shifted to and fro, finalizing the layout for the show

Such variety!  Arlen Ness' 'NessCafé', Mars Webster's NorVin, Mark Mederski's Manx, Webster's Godet-Egli Shadow

More variety; David Edwards' 'Trackmaster Café', Champions Moto 'Brighton', Boyle Custom Moto 'Ed Norton', Skeeter Todd's 'American Café', Carpy's 'Tenacious Ton'

Bryan Fuller's Honda CB550 with amazing Ukiyo-E engraved bodywork and chassis

Herb Harris' Gold Star with Jay Hart's XLMPH and Brawny Built 'Brawny Sportster' in back, with a Triumph tank on a Sporty - a combo I've never seen before...

The fantastic Buffalo Chip crew who helped install the show; Everett, Kevin, Kevin, and Dave

Jason Paul Michaels (Dime City Cycles) chats with Steve 'Brewdude' Garn...it turned out 'Ton Up!' was a good place to introduce builders for the first time

Lovely Michael Lichter shot of filmmaker Karen Porter in front of the Ace Café, part of his display of photography, which I hung next to David Uhl's fantasy painting of a Triumph-riding woman in the very same spot. 

Michael Lichter with Mars Webster's Godet-Egli-Vincent in his temporary studio

Michael Lichter in action with Shinya Kimura's 'Flash' Ducati 750 round-case

Cyril Huze stopped in to say his and discuss the show; here with Michael and the 'Beezerker'

Michael, Willie G Davidson, Nancy Davidson, the Vintagent.

Mars Webster's NorVin Comet and Bryan Fuller's 'Full Sport' Ducati 750 round-case

Wetplate shot of Ola Stenegard, BMW chief of motorcycle design, taken in Strugis: I brought my mobile darkroom hoping to shoot a few images for my 'MotoLand' project for MotoTintype.com

Roland Sands and Ola Stenegard, in town to premier their 'Concept 90' BMW at 'Ton Up!'

Hilarious reminder of the 'redline' on Mark Mederski's Velocette Thruxton.

My Wet Plate shot of Ray Drea and his 'XR Café' outside the exhibit hall at the Buffalo Chip: thanks for being so patient Ray!

Ray Drea, the Vintagent, and Willie G: present and past Directors of Styling at Harley Davidson

Ray Drea and Willie G discuss 'Ton Up!' as they exit the opening party

Wet Plate shot of Roland Sands in Sturgis, part of the 'MotoLand' series for MotoTintype.com

Bright spot in a tough work week; Sarah Brunner of the Buffalo Chip on her 'Ton Up!' favorite, the Champions Moto 'Brighton'

The 'SeeSee' Portland sisters team checking out the 'Beezerker', which plenty of other people checked out too!  It was the most radical expression of a Cafe Racer we exhibited in 'Ton Up!'

Shinya Kimura's 'Flash' Ducati in Michael Lichter's studio

Brad Richards' 'Sporty TT' in the studio; a truly professional job, and no wonder, since he designs Ford trucks by day

The Buffalo Chip crew in action, giving a sense of how easy it is to completely fill up a 7000sq' exhibit hall...we were tucking bikes everywhere while sorting out the display order

1280 visitors for the exhibition opening, August 5th, 2013

Willie G Davidson with his 1975 concept for a Harley Café Racer: universally agreed as a design ahead of its time, and ahead of the capabilities of the machinery inside all that excellent styling.  His concept was right on, though: 3000 examples were sold in 1977/8, a sales 'failure' in HD terms, but any European factory in '78 would have been thrilled with such numbers...

My Wet Plate shot of Willie's 'Serial #1' HD XLCR, taken outside the exhibit hall, on the exit road to Sturgis, for the Mototintype.com 'MotoLand' series

Click here for Michael Lichter's gallery of the ART displayed in 'Ton Up!'

Click here for Micheal Lichter's gallery of the MOTORCYCLES included in 'Ton Up!'

Click here for  Michael Lichter's gallery of the 'Ton Up!' Exhibit INSTALLATION



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