The National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio, is celebrating the best of British motorcycles – some more than 100 years old.
Running until 27 May, the 17th annual Antique Motorcycle Exhibition features 31 British-made motorcycles manufactured between 1912 and 2006.
Triumph, Norton and Birmingham Small Arms company machines are on display, alongside Sunbeam, Velocette and the more obscure Abingdon.
Twenty-eight of the 31 exhibit motorcycles are owned by North-east Ohio residents.
Bruce Williams, exhibit curator, said each year the museum creates a motorcycle exhibit with a different theme. Past years have focused on American-made motorcycles and famous movie motorcycles. This year’s theme – “British Invasion” – focuses on the rise, fall and resurrection of British motorcycles’ popularity among American bike enthusiasts.
Williams said the interest in British motorcycles began in earnest after the Second World War, when returning soldiers — who had experience with the motorcycles while overseas — began buying and importing the British models. They gained further popularity as off-road motorcycle racing became popular in the 1950s. The British bikes were lighter and faster, making them better suited to riding on rough terrain.
Some of the motorcycles on display are over a century old, such as the 1912 Abingdon. The Royal Enfield WD/RE was actually dropped from airplanes in a metal box alongside paratroopers during the Second World War, earning it the nickname “Flying Flea.”
Throughout the duration of the exhibit, experts and motorcycle enthusiasts will periodically lead seminars on a variety of topics related to motorcycles and motorcycle collecting.