Charlotte Museum of History/Mac's Speed Shop (July 4, 2010)

Interesting Fourth of July, actually went out in the car with Patty on this day, and we rode out to The Charlotte Museum of History, which is located at 3500 Shamrock Drive in Charlotte , NC. Free Admission and being curious brought us there, which was a good thing because it was a very interesting place indeed. Lots of great historical items (and which will be posted on my other blog...Richmond and Me, as well as my photo page). The oldest house in Charlotte (built in 1774) is there, plus many other items of interest are there. Among the displays was a police display of very interesting items of many types. I noted this Outlaws MC jacket, as they have been in the news lately both in Richmond, VA and Charlotte, NC. A few blogs ago I mentioned seeing some bike club members at a bike show in Richmond; got to say in Charlotte I have seen very few if any actual outlaw bikers, though learned from the story in the paper that...yes, they are there. The Outlaws were a common sight in Louisville, Kentucky when I lived there some years ago.

Also at the museum was a display of Motorcycle Police gear as seen here. Looked to be right out of the early days of police motorcycling, but was cool to see those items. I read the other day there is now a police version of the Kawasaki ZX-14 superbike. Police in North Carolina seem to favor either Harley-Davidsons or BMW motorcycles (in fact I have a few photos of those bikes in some of the blog posts here.
After the museum visit, went by Mac's Speed Shop with Patty where I saw this "not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle" at the restaurant. It was Patty's first visit there, I have been there a few times with friends on motorcycle rides. Great BBQ and very biker friendly, and in a very interesting area of Charlotte on South Blvd. A very fine day, though spent on four wheels today. I plan to get a good ride in tomorrow!

Carolina Classic Bike Show (May 1, 2010)

A mixed sort of day; on the bad side, planned to ride my motorcycle to the Carolina Classic Bike Show in Spencer, NC, which was held at the NC Transportation Museum, but seem to have a charging problem. Bike will be going into the shop later this week, but from what I am told is not a major repair problem. Things do happen, but can be fixed. These bikes are a prime example. Had a great time at the show, where I saw bikes such as the Triumph at left. Museum has a number of "planes, trains and automobiles" plus a few bikes as well. It is a great museum to visit (was once a working train yard) and you can see one of the trains (which offer rides) also in the photo.
Bikes in the show covered a wide range, being many from Italy (Ducati, and Moto Guzzi), and a lot of German and British bikes, plus some great Japanese bikes. The Japanese bikes included a number of classic two-cycles such as RD-350's and Kawasaki triples, and other bikes such as this Honda CB-X inline six. Most were ridden in (in fact in the background you can see a Kawasaki 900 and a Kawasaki triple). I posted a lot of other photos at the photo page; but what I enjoyed a great deal was hearing these bikes running...really brought back some great memories of some fun bikes. Many of these bikes I had ridden back in the day.
Bike shows are a great way to see some great old motorcycles, and to get into the history of some great motorcycles. In fact, not only was the show great, but had a fun time exploring the NC Transportation Museum. Just outside of Salisbury, NC it is a great place to visit if you are interested in transportation of all types.

Classic Bike Shows

You know, this photo makes a good point. Its a Honda VT500 Ascot, around the 1980's, and is in beautiful condition. Classic design with a V twin engine, though was not made very long by Honda. I looked at this bike at a Classic Motorcycle Show in Salisbury, NC on May 17, 2008. Right behind it is a 1970's era Suzuki Titan 500; one of the great two-cycle motorcycles of that era.
Classic bike shows are a great way to see the past, and even to a degree the future of motorcycles. You can not really know where you are going, if you don't know where you began. Many motorcycle companies have an amazing history. Many brands from the past are no longer made; and some of the old manufacturers have been made a long time. This year Harley-Davidson is 105 years old, but Triumph is celebrating 106 years, and a manufacturer called Royal Enfield has been making motorcycles since 1901!
Classic shows can celebrate all brands, or a specific brand. For instance the Salisbury show had NO Harley's on hand, but it was mostly Japanese and European motorcycles. Many of them looked just as I remembered, right off the assembly line in many cases, while others showed they had been ridden (and many were ridden in).
On June 28th, I rode out to Gold Hill, NC for the 2nd Classic Motorcycle Show. There the bikes were mostly Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles. Many of them were in remarkable shape, and most were in running condition. It was fun to hang out with the owners of the bikes, riders of other motorcycles (most of us who came, came on two wheels), and to see what has led to the bikes of today. Some of the motorcycles were amazing for the time, and a few of them would hold up well against the bikes of today. Some have concepts and designs that are being re-explored in today's motorcycles.
Not only can you see classic motorcycles at bike shows, but many locations have motorcycle museums. We are blessed with two good ones in North Carolina, one which sadly will be closing, and another which has been updated since my last visit. I will be rolling there in the next few weeks, and will cover that in an upcoming post to the blog.