Short Course in a Long History: The Art of the Motorcycle Opens at the Las Vegas Guggemhelm Museum.

Publication: Rider

Publication Date: 01-JAN-02

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COPYRIGHT 2002 Ehlert Publishing Group

Imagine that there was a place in which you could, for an afternoon, study and enjoy many of the most important models from motorcycling's history. Here, in one area, you would find a Michaux Perraux Steam Velocipede from 1870, an 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmuller, a Neracar, and a liquid-cooled Scott Squirrel. You would step this way to view some pre-World War II Harleys, a yellow Cyclone racer, a West-German DKW, a French Majestic; and that way for an MV Agusta GP bike from Italy, then a Vincent, AJS and Triumph from England.

By the wall is Ernst Henne's 174-mph pre-war BMW streamliner. And a Megola with a five-cylinder radial engine built into the front wheel. The exhibit would rake you all the way up to modern times with a Honda VF750 Interceptor, Ducati 916, Britten V1000 with gummy racing tires still attached, and a Suzuki Hayabusa.

Well, such a place exists! After its very successful run at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1998-'99, The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition traveled to Spain. Then, after another very...

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