Classic and Vintage Motorcycles
Hollywood's Leading Motorhead: For Steve McQueen, Racing Motorcycles Was No Act
By Ben Marks — Despite slumping sales in the United States during 2016, motorcycles are having a moment. According to a recent article in the “New Yorker,” a number of Silicon Valley plutocrats have made motorcycles key components of their preparations for Armageddon, be it biblical, biological, radiological, climatological, or the result of good-old-fashioned populist rage. These well-heeled survivalists have figured out that when the end times come and the freeways clog with Teslas and Priuses heading...
Steve McQueen, Mike Wolfe, and the Husky 400
By Ben Marks — When some people think "motorcycles," the first name that comes to many minds is Mike Wolfe, the co-host of "American Pickers" who's made no secret of his love of just about anything on two wheels. But even Mike would probably agree that the name that's even more closely associated with motorcycles is Steve McQueen. On May 14, 2011, Bonhams will offer one of McQueen's bikes in an auction of motorcycles and motorcycle memorabilia in Carmel, California. The marquee McQueen bike that's...
American Picker Dream, Part II: Mike Wolfe On Enduros and Land Rockets
By Ben Marks — I was 13 when I saw my first motorcycle. I was walking down the sidewalk when this guy who was like the high school champion stud—he was the team quarterback, got all the chicks, everything—did this incredible burnout on his Honda 900. I can remember the day so clearly, how warm it was, and him looking at me as I walked by. I thought, “Oh, man. That is the coolest thing in the world.” That's what started me on my journey of wanting a motorcycle. That year I got my first bike. It was a...
Harley-Davidson, Before and After the Knucklehead
By Jessica Lewis — I’ve been a lifelong motorcyclist. I started riding a motorcycle when I was 11, and I started writing for magazine after I got out of school in the early ’90s. While I was working for them, I wrote a book called , which is sort of a motorcycle life manual. I’ve written a bunch of other books since then on cars and motorcycles. Obviously, if you’re interested in the motorcycle industry and the motorcycle culture of America, Harley-Davidson plays a pretty prominent role, but I’m interested...