Icons of style on two wheels

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- In the history of motorcycles, some images are enduring: Marlon Brando astride his 1950 Triumph Thunderbird in "The Wild One," or Peter Fonda gripping the ape hangers of his stars-and-stripes Harley chopper in "Easy Rider."

But who remembers Lucius Copeland and his revolutionary Star steamer?

In 1884, Copeland strapped a steam engine to a Star bicycle -- the kind with the large main wheel and a much smaller support wheel -- and roared off at speeds up to 12 miles per hour.

"It wasn't very practical, though. You had to keep a fire going," said Steve Masler, a curator who organized "The Art of the Motorcycle," an exhibit at the Memphis Pyramid through Oct. 30.

The show, modeled on a 1998 show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, considers the motorcycle as a work of art and an icon of style.

"We're trying to tell the story that motorcycles have always grabbed people's imaginations," Masler said. "They have a sense of danger and freedom."

The show features 92 motorcycles, from a rebuilt version of Copeland's antique steamer to modern 200-mph street rockets.

It's the work of Wonders: The Memphis International Cultural Series, a not-for-profit outfit begun in 1989. Past Wonders exhibits have featured treasures of ancient Egypt and the imperial tombs of China, explored the reigns of Napoleon and Catherine the Great and displayed a major collection of artifacts from the Titanic. The exhibits often have drawn more than 600,000 visitors each.

"The Art of the Motorcycle" is lighter fare, but it pulls together history and artistic achievement.

Shined up and detailed to perfection, the bikes are laid out to trace the major periods of motorcycle evolution, from the 1800s through World War II and the counterculture of the 1960s to the present.

While some motorcycles are from museums, most are owned by private collectors. Wonders is spending more than $3 million on the show with income from corporate donations and admission charges.

"We're showing the technological development of motorcycles and also that the motorcycle is a form of industrial art," Masler said.

Motorcycles are seen in most of the world as simply affordable means of transportation; in the United States, they still carry a hint of the rebel and the adventurer. As Johnny (Brando) says in 1953's "The Wild One" when he's asked what he's rebelling against as his motorcycle gang invades a small California town: "Whaddya got?"

The outlaw image has been watered down considerably today, and the exhibit shows that's largely due to the marketing tactics of motorcycle manufacturers.

Remember when Japanese bikes first started selling big in the United States? And the commercial "You meet the nicest people on a Honda"? Even with the counterculture style of "Easy Rider" in 1969, Fonda and co-star Dennis Hopper were looking for freedom, not trouble.

The exhibit bikes are production models, except for replicas of the "Easy Rider" chopper and an 1880s wooden affair made by Gottlieb Daimler of Mercedes-Benz fame to test an engine design.

Earlier motorcycles, such as the 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmuller, are essentially motorized bicycles with pedals and coaster brakes and leather straps for turning the rear wheels. But by the early 1900s, as shown by the older Indians and Harley-Davidsons, motorcycles were starting to look like motorcycles, and designers were already developing an eye for style, with bright colors, aerodynamic lines and touches of polished metal, leather and even wood.

A 1911 pale gray Harley, called the "silent gray fellow," had a small, removable cap to muffle the exhaust during in-town riding, while a bright yellow 1914 Cyclone, known as the "yellow speed demon," boasted speeds topping 100 miles an hour.

The bikes come from around the world and include a 1912 Indian 8 Valve Board Track Runner, United States; 1936 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead, United States; 1955 Vincent Black Prince, United Kingdom; 1956 Aermacchi Chimera, Italy; 1959 Honda C102 Cub, Japan; 1972 Bultaco Metralla, Spain; and 1973 BMW R90S, Germany.

A 1942 Zundapp demonstrates Germany's adaptation of the motorcycle for war. A machine gun is mounted on the sidecar and a tail hitch is for towing artillery pieces.

A limited edition 2004 Honda Rune shows a designer's mix of old and new, with an overall futuristic design accented by a chrome grill and swooping, stylized rear fender.

"At first, it's like something from a science fiction movie," said Wonders Chief Executive Glen Campbell. "But when you focus on the details, they've got lots of 1930-ish touches from the cars back them."

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On the Net:

http://www.wonders.org