News Room

Hershey, Pennsylvania (5/11/2009).  No one knows exactly when the first motorcycle race took place, but many believe it was when the second motorcycle was built.  It’s just that kind of vehicle.  Its speed, power, and maneuverability often bring out the competitive edge and fun-loving nature of its rider, and when two get together, that’s enough to make a race.  And it’s always been that way.  Since their inception late in the 19th century, motorcycles have been both purpose-built and modified for competitive use, a fact that will be celebrated by the Antique Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA) in its next exhibit at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum at Hershey, Pennsylvania. 

The AMCA’s first exhibit at Hershey, which opened last June, has become a very popular feature of the Museum, displaying nearly 40 motorcycles dating from 1884 to 1973.  Now, the exhibit is being updated to tell the story of the competitive tradition of motorcycling in a new exhibit entitled “Fast from the Past: The Competition Motorcycles of Yesteryear.”  The new exhibit will bring together beautiful racing machines owned by AMCA members from throughout North America, ranging from a little five horsepower 1908 Indian to later-day fire-breathing monsters capable of speeds approaching 200 mph.  AMCA Foundation President Peter Gagan says, “No matter how old or new it is, there’s a Spartan, no-nonsense beauty in any motorcycle built specifically for competitive use.  We will demonstrate this fact and show how designers have fulfilled their need for speed through more than a century of motorcycle history.”

The exhibit will also highlight the range and diversity of motorcycle competition, featuring motorcycles from the trim, light bikes used for the graceful sport of observed trials to the sleek missile-like machines used to pursue the upper ranges of all-out land speed competition.  Between these extremes are more than a dozen categories of motorcycle competition that will be depicted through the display of motorcycles ranging from 1908 to the late 1970s. 

Fast from the Past, bringing together some of the rare, beautiful, and unusual racing motorcycles of members of the AMCA, will open at the AACA Museum in Hershey in June 2009.  For more information about the Antique Motorcycle Club of America, go to www.antiquemotorcycle.org on the internet.  For information, hours, and directions to the AACA Museum, go to www.aacamuseum.org, E-mail info@aacamuseum.org, or call 717-566-7100.

The Antique Auto Museum at Hershey, a member of the Smithsonian Institute Affiliations Program, displays beautifully restored automobiles, buses and motorcycles in unique scenes representing the 1900’s – 1970’s.   This Museum is one of the nation’s newest and largest automotive museums.  Visitors are transported through eight decades in time from New York to San Francisco, making each visit a visual adventure for all ages.   Special exhibits and events change throughout the year giving return visitors something new.  The Museum is located just off Route 39, one mile west of Hersheypark Drive in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Regular admission $10, seniors age 61 and older $9, juniors age 4-12 $7, children age 3 and under are FREE.  The Museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.   For further information, please call 717-566-7100 or visit www.aacamuseum.org.