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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Motorcycles at the LeMay

As mentioned in my previous post, the lure for us to return to the LeMay museum was a reference to a vintage scooter display.

Not only did they have a scooter display, but also over a dozen more vintage motorcycle scattered through the four floors of the museum.  First up the motorcycles.  I realized I had enough pictures to split this into two posts, one with motorcycles and the other with the scooters.

As we walked in the front doors we were greeted by a grouping of vintage motorcycles.

(1915 Excelsior Autocycle)

(1910 Sears model)

(1915 Harley Davidson)

(1940 Indian 440B with original sidecar)





(1924 BSA, single cyl, 175 cc, 3.5 hp)

(1959 Ducati 125 cc Formula 3)

(1965 Ducati 250 cc Mach 1)

(1951 Moto Guzzi Falcone 500 cc)

(Derby Express 50cc - no year listed)

(1938 Triumph Speed Twin)

(1970 Yamaha and 1971 Yamaha)

(1956 BSA - single cyl, 499 cc, 42 hp)

(1962 Norton Atlas Cafe Racer - 745 cc twin, 55 hp)
While not technically a motorcycle I had to include this little rig that was at the front of a row of electric vehicles.

(1958 Nelco Solocar Electric Tricycle)




Since I am saving the scooters for the next post here is a little teaser to tide you over.  Any idea what it is exactly?

(What am I?)

- Au Revoir

" In every man's heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty." - Christopher Morley
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33 comments:

  1. Nicely photographed bikes. The Indian hack is quite the eye catcher in this eclectic collection. And the scooter might be a... Lambretta? Looking forward to your next installation.

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    1. Thank you Sonja, and you are correct. The scooter is a Lambretta - but do you know the year?

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    2. Now you got me. I am taking a wild guess and say 1958.

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  2. Great job with these pics.....the Indian with the sidecar still looks the best to me, I wonder if that's where URAL got their inspiration for the Sage Green Patrol color option.

    thanks.

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    1. Thanks Dom. You may be on to something with the color of the Indian being Ural inspiration. I wonder if it is an original color for that year.

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  3. Possibly there is no year listed for the Derby is because it is timeless. :^)

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  4. Replies
    1. Thank you! Hard to get a decent photo with the lighting and the fact they are all roped off so you can't get right in close.

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  5. Really nice photos! I must admit that the Indian really stands out and not just because it has a sidecar. The electric trike is interesting as well. I would've thought that there would be more such things around these days. At the local car museum (another post I'm still working on), there must've been a dozen electric vehicles and many of them had cruising speeds and range comparable to anything today.

    No guesses on the scooter...

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    1. I found the electric trike captivating. Why did these go away?

      They had a whole row of electric vehicles dating back pretty far. Seems time has come a long way as has technology but not necessarily distance and speed for mainstream electric vehicles.

      Sonja guessed the scooter was a Lambretta, but she doesn't know it has a sidecar. (unless she reads this, then she does)

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  6. A Sears motorbike... Man, one really could order anything from that catalog.

    Though I'm with most of the others here, simply in love with the Indian sidecar setup, I'm also fond of that '65 Ducati, mostly for its stout tank and kickin', old school headlight--great style. Lookin' forward to the scooter edition.

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    1. I am pretty sure we've seen a Sears bike at our local Vintage motorcycle show too, but they are rare.

      I was partial to the '59 Ducati, but maybe it was the color scheme that drew me in.

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  7. I quite the two little Ducatis but the Norton looks really tidy!

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    1. I was surprised at the great shape the Norton was in. At first I thought it was one of the new ones.

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  8. I think the mystery bike is a TV175 Lambretta but I can hardly tell one from the other. I wonder what scooters they have on display if this beauty is representative?

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    1. I was thinking if anyone would guess the school, you would. It is in fact a Lambretta (Sonja also guessed that) According to the info tag it is a 1960 Lambretta L1-150 complete with sidecare and gold seats.

      The display was mostly Lambrettas with a few Vespas and even a Sears scooter thrown in for good measure.

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  9. Mighty Fine Brandy, these have been shared!

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    1. Glad you liked them. I like it when they are showing something you don't see everyday.

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  10. Awesome pics! i love looking at vintage bikes & scoots. The electric trike is pretty cool. Can hardly wait to see the scooter pics!

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    1. Yeah, I am surprised we don't se electric trikes out there. If they did it 50 years ago....mind you we don't know how well it worked.

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  11. There's been an awful lot of work go into some of those bike cept the last one of course. Nice collection.

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  12. Wow, great pics! The Indian is awesome, but I don't love the color. Reminds me of my ugly pie safe before I painted it. 😄

    The electric trike is very cool. Looking forward to the scooter shots.

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    1. Thanks Kathy. I never thought of the pie safe until you just mentioned it, lol

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  13. The side light on the front mudguard looks curious for an LI 150 but haven't seen an original one with that lamp before....

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    1. I was going off the display card since I know nothing about Lambrettas. I wonder if it was registered wrong in this country or maybe the lamp isn't original.

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    2. The light looks like a hand operated spot light like police cars used to have back in the 50s & 60s. On/off switch plus steerable side to side.

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  14. Great photos! I'm with everyone else - that Indian just looks cool!

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    1. Thank you. And regarding that Indian, you sure don't see any like that on the road.

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