The Buffalo Chip at this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will host the annual "Motorcycles as Art" exhibit.
Titled "Ton Up! — Speed, Style and Café Racer Culture," the exhibit focuses on the origins and continuing popularity of the café racer movement worldwide.
Co-curators Michael Lichter (LichterPhoto.com) and Paul d’Orléans (theVintagent.com) have assembled a comprehensive display of 32 machines from 12 makes and six decades, plus never-published photography from the original café racing scene in 1960s England to the present. Other features include paintings by Triumph resident artist Conrad Leach, images from the Ace Café Collection, vintage leather ‘rocker’ jackets from the Lewis Leathers archive, the “One-Show” 21-helmets display of custom painted helmets, paintings by Andrea Chiaravalli and photography by Erick Runyon with other artists to be announced.
The 30-plus confirmed bikes for this exhibit include premium examples of ’50s/’60s café racers (Gold Star, Norvin, Triton, Dunstall, etc.) from Herb Harris (Harris Vincent Gallery), Yoshi Kosaka (Garage Co.), Mark Mederski (National Motorcycle Museum), Gordon McCall (Quail Motorsports Gathering), plus Willie G Davidson’s #0001 1977 XLCR, and other machines from numerous builders.
Included in the show are original or modified machines by BMW, BSA, Ducati, Honda, Harley-Davidson, Moto Guzzi, Norton, Rickman, Triumph, Vincent and Yamaha.
The exhibit will be open Aug. 3-9, and will be located next to the east gate of the Buffalo Chip. Admission is free to the public.
