STREAMLINERS - The Story of motorcycle land speed record competition The National Motorcycle Museum at Anamosa, Iowa, (owned by John Parham of J&P Cycles fame) is to stage a new exhibition about motorcycle streamliners and the world land speed record, and has issued a call for exhibits.In a recent announcement, the museum’s Special Projects Director Mark Mederski said that “the great Vincent tuner Rollie Free taught us that in land speed record runs, streamlining is of the utmost importance, even if that means simply "tucking in" one's head, torso, arms and legs. Land speed record competition is focused on top speed. Eclipsing Rollie's roughly 150mph run in 1948, the big guns of the unlimited class are now knocking on the 400mph door, but watching the 50cc machines can be almost as exciting.”
To help record the history of land speed record competition, the technology involved, what it is like to squeeze into a land speed record motorcycle and hurtle down the Salt at 200, 300 or more miles per hour, the National Motorcycle Museum is in the research and planning phase for a new exhibit entitled Allstate Motorcycle STREAMLINERS presented by J&P Cycles. The exhibit is set to open June 4, 2016.
Many machines are already committed for display, but the Museum is looking for additional LSR bikes, riding gear, film footage, models, photos, fine art, stories from tuners and riders and land speed record parts like engines, wheels, frames and more to help tell this exciting story. These items would be on loan for the exhibit, returned afterwards.
Bikes recently confirmed for the show include Salt Ghost from Lowbrow Customs, the Rick Vesco Yamaha twin XS650 powered streamliner, Tina, a Vincent single from the Big Sid and Matthew Biberman collection, the World's Fastest Bagger from Klock Werks Kustom Cycles, the J&P Cycles Streamliner, the Bakker Motorsports Hyabusa sidecar rig, an unfaired, pre-unit supercharged Triumph, plus interesting Howard Allen Knuckle and Panhead Harleys. A machine powered by a pre-war Plymouth flathead six-cylinder engine, Monster, and Tramp III from the S&S Cycle Museum are also expected to be part of the exhibit, and there are more land speed record bikes coming on line.
The STREAMLINERS exhibit will be curated by John Stein, an expert on straight line motorcycle competition and author of two books: “World’s Fastest Motorcycle” and “Motorcycle drag racing – a history.”
“If you have land speed record bikes, items to loan or a story to tell, you can be included in this one-year exhibit running from June 2016 to May 2017. Please contact us at mmederski@nationalmcmuseum.org, or call 614-551-0960.
“We appreciate the support of our sponsors, Allstate Motorcycle Insurance and J&P Cycles. And we wish Allstate Motorcycle HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, because as of this year, Allstate has been insuring motorcycles for 50 years!”
www.nationalmcmuseum.org
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| "The Salt Ghost" will be on loan from Lowbrow Customs, Brunswick, Ohio. This Triumph 650 has a long history on the Salt, and the patina and trophies to prove it" |
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| The Vesco family is well known for their two- and four-wheeled land speed record work. This Rick Vesco dual XS650 Yamaha powered LSR machine will be part of the STREAMLINERS exhibit |
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| The record setting Bakker Motorsports machine. Larry Coleman piloted this Suzuki Hyabusa-based sidecar class machine to set records |
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| Laura and Brian Klock of Klockwerks Kustom Cycles - they built this machine, which set records in 2006, 2007 and 2008 when piloted by Laura Klock |