Wild Ones; A Short
History of Racing Motorcycles
~ Walnut Creek, California ~
[Bedford Gallery @ Dean Lesher Regional Center For The Arts -
March 30 - June 1, 2003]
Pix courtesy: Steve Allen - updated 4/5/03
Good fun was had by all at the opening
party for the Bedford Gallery "Wild Ones - A Short History on
Racing Motorcycles" motorcycle exhibit in Walnut Creek, CA.
Saw a couple listers there - John Goldman had a couple of his bikes on display..... I forgot to write down the specifics so John, will you chime in here? Anyways, a Mondial and a Moto Guzzi..... beautiful bikes. Ran into Hans Mellberg and Keith Hale as well. Ivan Thelin, myself and our buddy Fredrik took a nice ride previous to the show. Ivan on his GT me on my NCR Replica and Fredrik, well, he suffered along on his H*nda but we don't hold it against him.. The East Bay hills are green as green can be, everything is blooming - it was 73 degrees. Oh what fun it is to ride.... About 30 or so bikes on display including Kenny Roberts TZ750 flat tracker, Nicky Hayden's RC51 superbike, a Brittin, a few Harleys, Cyclone, Indian, Ceccato, Laverda, Ducati, Benelli, Girela, Motobi Zanzani, MV Agusta, Vincent Black Lightning, Parilla, Norton, Bultaco, BMW, BSA, .... All race bikes, all beautifully taken care of. A foto exhibit by Tom Riles, video.... The exhibit will be on display for a couple of months and is located on the corner of Locust and Civic in downtown Walnut Creek.
I have some pix of the event posted below, please send yours in as well and I will add them. Bevel Content - Ivan and I parked out bevel drives right by the front door - Ivan got a door price as BEST RESTORED and I think won a Guggenheim ART OF MOTORCYCLE book. Pantah Content - none. There wasn't one at the show [inside or in the parking lot] which bummed me out, the only thing missing. Come on guys, get those bikes fixed up and take them out for a ride! |
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Hi, Steve and others:
I have three bikes at the show: 1951 Moto Guzzi Dondolino (which is a flat 500 single long distance road racing bike); 1951 Mondial 125 double overhead cam Grand Prix (this is Carlo Ubbiali's world championship winning Grand Prix bike) and a 1979 Laverda Formula 500. The Formula 500 is a parallel twin 500 designed for the Laverda Cup one marque racing series. I was happy to see so many bikers show up - must have been at least 200 bikes in front at one point. A fun time was had by all. . . John Goldman [email protected] |
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Viewing Tip for images on this page: For Internet Explorer, click an image below and a new window will open up. Resize the new window so the picture fits nicely. Close the window after viewing it and click on another image from the gallery. The new window should open up the same size as the picture each time.... | |||||
Outside the gallery, a couple hundred bikes parked on the sidewalk |
John Goldman in front of his 1951 Moto Guzzi Dondolino |
HD XR750, 1971 450 Desmo [top, center] |
Bird's eye view down into the gallery |
John's 1979 Laverda Formula 500 |
Rich's SD Darmah |
Britton #8 |
Bird's eye view down into the gallery |
1951 Moto Guzzi Dondolino & 1951 Mondial 125 in the background |
Nicky Hayden's 2002 RC51 |
1921 Indian & 1914 Cyclone |
1962 Parilla Gran Sport & 1966 Bultaco TSS |
1951 Mondial 125 |
1956 Gilera Saturno Piuma Electron |
1914 Cyclone, 61ci |
Guy Webster's 1959 100cc Ceccato GS |
Mike Baldwin's 1975 Kawasaki KR750 |
Kenny Robert's TZ750 dirt tracker |
1957 MV Augusta CSS Squalo et. al. |
1957 MV Augusta CSS Squalo |
1941 HD XR750 |
Harley Davidson superbike |
1921 1000ccc Indian |
1914 Cyclone |
Bird's eye view down into the gallery |
HD Superbike w/Nicky's superbike in the background |
1951 Moto Guzzi Dondolino |
1914 Cyclone |
1951 Moto Guzzi Dondolino & 1951 Mondial 125 in the background |
Bird's eye view down into the gallery |
Bird's eye view down into the gallery |
Bird's eye view down into the gallery |
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Wild
Ones: A Short History of Racing Motorcycles
presents thirty magnificent historic racing motorcycles.
Each one of the bikes in this international selection was chosen as
an object of beauty, as an extraordinary performer, and because it
occupies a significant place in the development of motorcycle design. Most
of the bikes are on loan from California�s community of collectors, who
range from the owner and former racer of a single, well-cared-for,
meticulously restored 1981 speedway bike to the passionate enthusiast
whose 75 rare and valuable bikes comprise what amounts to a private
museum. The
earliest bike in the exhibition is the Cyclone, a legendary American
pioneer, built in 1914. Next
in line, a beautifully restored 1921 American Indian, was modified and
raced by Noel McIntyre and won so many races against its chief competitor,
it was known as �The Harley Eater.�
Other American bikes in the show include Harley-Davidson�s 1975
XR750 flat-track racer, the overwhelmingly dominant bike in its genre,
which was a dedicated factory racing motorcycle, never produced for street
use. Italian
bikes from a well-known California collector include a rare 1955 Ceccato
GS that set a world record as the fastest 100cc bike of its time.
The other Italian bikes include a 1956 Gilera Saturno Piuma
(featherweight) Eletron factory race bike, which is one of only four in
the world, and a 1957 MV Agusta CSS Squalo, the winner of 37
championships. English
bikes include a 1950 Norton Manx 500, the bike that dominated racing
worldwide in the 500cc class. Among
other English bikes are a 1957 BSA 500cc Gold Star Flat Tracker, and a
1960 Matchless G50, a magnesium-cased, single-cylinder motorcycle capable
of sustaining speeds of 135 mph. The
Japanese bikes in the show include a 1982 blazing yellow,
championship-winning Suzuki that was raced by Brad Lackey and a 1975
Kawasaki KR750 raced by Mike Baldwin.
Notable bikes from other countries include the 1966 Bultaco TSS from Spain; a highly modified 1978 R100S Bonneville BMW racer (a land-speed-record challenger) from Germany; and the exotic Britten motorcycle #8, one of the few hand-built Brittens designed by the late brilliant John Britten of New Zealand. Special
Events Opening Art
& Wine with Vicky Jackson Bell, professional racer
Art
Morning for Seniors About Bedford Gallery Bedford Gallery, a program of the City of Walnut Creek, also receives substantial funding from Diablo Regional Arts Association. Bedford Gallery is located in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts at 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, four blocks south of the Walnut Creek BART station. Bedford Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The gallery is also open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings 6�8 p.m. and other evenings 6�8 p.m. when there are theater performances in the Regional Center. Call 925/295-1417 for information about specific evenings. |
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