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wMelissa's AP stories |
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Here are my stories whose links are no longer available. Only the ones with bylines are included here, for the non-bylined ones that I found more interesting, go to melswar.blogspot.com. Thanks! Let me know what you think!
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wThursday, March 11, 2004 |
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March 1
Motorcycle memorabilia goes on display
By MELISSA MANSFIELD
Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ When Ken McGuire was teased about his small-engine 1967 motorcycle's reliability, he took it as a dare _ and drove 2,300 miles to California in 2001 to prove he could.
Now the Bultaco Metralla MKII is part of "Designs Through Time: Motorcycles Past, Present and Future," an exhibit at the Albany Institute of History & Art.
McGuire, 54, and two other members of the Spanish Motorcycle Owners Group arrived on the Pacific Coast 15 days after they set out. Along the way, he said, they got two reactions: apathy from those who didn't understand the significance, and complete awe.
"They would see our New York license plates and we would be riding in Iowa," the Troy-based attorney said. The 1974 Montessa Rapita and 1970 Ossa Wildfire that accompanied him are also on display.
"For collectors, the biggest pleasure is seeing the bikes used and seeing other people taking pleasure in seeing the bikes," he said.
Some of the two dozen motorcycles, along with posters, photographs and memorabilia, sit just feet from the institute's green and blue glass pieces and Scottish paintings.
Jim Prosper, collector of Wagner and Indian motorcycles and related items, filled one room with three bikes and showcases of matchbox covers, medallions and fishing reels that were given away in promotions.
The crown of the exhibit is his 1910 red Wagner that has never been seen publicly before. Prosper recently finished the six-year restoration of the track-racing bike at his Vermont home.
"They have no brakes, no clutch, and a kill button, and would go on tracks bigger than football fields," Prosper said. The machine could go 95 miles an hour.
Dick Daley, exhibit curator, believes Prosper's bikes were "restored better than when they came off the assembly line."
Prosper also showcases artifacts from flea markets and garage sales, including a shift knob with the picture of someone's girlfriend and an advertisement with Clara Wagner saying, "Women Can Ride Wagner Machines as Easily as Men," boasting a 364-mile trek through Illinois and Indiana on her own motorcycle.
A 1922 poster shows the winners of a 24-hour endurance race. "460 miles through the drifting burning sand of the Mohave Desert, with the temperature hovering around 117 degrees," it says on one side of the two smiling winners and their companions, with "24 hours winding through dangerous mountain passes on the rim of the world" on the other.
Other artifacts trace the fascination with motorcycles and racing, their documented history less precise.
An early 1970s Yamaha has the number 233 attached to it, ready for an upcoming race in New Hampshire. Max Stratton, 30, owns two BMW motorcycle dealerships and lent bikes from his showrooms.
Mark Cintulla finished restoring his 1958 Harley Davidson in May, after 9 years of work. He rides it often, has its image tattooed on his bicep, but is happy to have it in the exhibit.
McGuire is likewise thrilled. "I love sharing my toys with everybody," he said.
"When you're riding a motorcycle, you're not driving in a car," McGuire added. "It's an absolutely magical way to travel." He enjoys the smells you would miss in a car, and the views.
The exhibit runs through June 6 in Albany, then heads to Mobile, Ala., and in September to Lubbock, Texas. After that it goes to Daytona Beach, Fla.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Midland, Mich.
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On the Web:
www.albanyinstitute.org
posted by
Melissa at 9:54 AM
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