Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance 2016

The 2016 Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance celebrates Lancia, Mercedes 300 SL, and previous winners for its 20th Anniversary. Additionally, Mid-Century Modern Motorcycles, Japanese Motorcycles and Competition Motorcycles were honored. Special Guest for the 20th Anniversary show was AMA Hall of Fame member, Steve McLaughlin, former Butler & Smith BMW and Yoshimura Suzuki factory rider.

Steve McLaughlin presenting trophy for the RR Competition
Class to Chris Candy on the ex-Gary Nixon Triumph.

Motorcycling in the pre-World War II era was a mixed bag. Rigid frames, girder forks and sprung saddles limited both comfort and performance. Of course, that didn’t stop folks from enjoying their two-wheeled adventures before the war, but things were about to change.

Once the clouds of war cleared, many manufacturers embraced the Jet Age with a clean sheet of new technology, fresh styling and an improved understanding of what their customers were looking for. It didn’t always result in immediate financial success for manufacturers, but the path was cleared for innovation as the market picked up steam with pent up buyer demand for something new.

Soldiers returning from the war brought the wanderlust of travel with them back home. Motorcycles could provide a way to help satisfy the need for speed and mobility to move beyond their local hangouts. The GI Bill provided a means to higher education and affluence for these wide-eyed men who rightly felt they’d helped conquer the evil that had thrown the world into turmoil. Their optimism fueled many trends that we still revel in today. When Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin squared off in the 1954 film The Wild One older Americans cringed and worried their babies would grow up to be big, bad bikers rampaging through their small towns causing havoc and stealing their women. Some of them did. Most of them didn’t. That image of black leather jackets, denim jeans, work boots, booze and bad behavior would be tough to shake.

Elvis, Chuck Berry and the early Kings of Rock n’ Roll provided the soundtrack playing on AM radios in garages as a variety of motorcycles and scooters moved in and out. The Beach Boys and The Beatles took over as Harley-Davidson and Indian were pushed aside for shiny new Hondas and European imports of the 1960’s. English motorcycles, in particular, seemed to have the swagger and style motorcyclists wanted to be associated with. Sales were at an all-time high in the two decades that followed the war. Italian motorcycles were not as readily available until the mid-1950’s in the USA, but were recognized them then as now, as beautiful and exotic.

The continued evolution of motorcycle styling and engineering would continue unabated past our mid-century mark, but that Golden Erahelped broaden our world view with Euro imports and those from the Far East, which brings us to our next subject: Motorcycles from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Japanese Motorcycles first began to appear in the USA when soldiers brought them home in minute numbers in the mid-1950’s. This trickle turned into a torrent once Honda USA was firmly established and dealers embraced the idea of selling these two-wheelers in 1960. Soichiro Honda must be credited with the expertise and wisdom of understanding the global need for transport more than any other man in the post-war period. His inquisitive nature and unrelenting commitment to better technology would forever change the opinion of what “Japanese Motorcycle” meant to buyers in America. The image of poor quality and copy-cat designs were soon replaced by superior technology and engineering offering previously unknown levels of reliability. It was all presented in advertising that stepped beyond the norm of what the industry had thought possible previously. He cleverly began advertising, You meet the nicest people on a Honda to the masses, not just to established motorcyclists. By expanding the market and making it acceptable for mom, dad and little sis to want a Honda motorbike, he changed the world forever.

Not only did Honda expand the sales for consumer bikes to record numbers in the 1960’s, his team came to dominate motorcycle racing at the top level, too. Once Honda opened the floodgates, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki all made bids for sales and race supremacy. Along the way, a whole generation of riders grew up with the Japanese machines as part of their experience, which enabled Honda and Suzuki to make the move to successful manufactures of automobiles as well. Because Motorcycles have enriched our lives and filled our memory banks with so many life changing motoring moments, Radnor Hunt Concours celebrates the best of Japanese motorcycles this year.

The Japanese were and still are fierce competitors when it comes to racing in all forms. Not content to dominate the world of FIM Grand Prix racing in the 1960’s, although the Italians fought valiantly on a considerably smaller budget, the Japanese then decided to try off-road racing via Motocross. They’re still winning in that arena after 40 plus years.

Whether competing for a mate, for food, for shelter, for sport, competition is inevitable. It’s why we’re here. Competition breeds innovation. Innovation breeds success on track. Success at Sunday’s race brings new sales on Monday. This line of thought is why we are where we are in the motorcycle world today. It’s how we moved from 50 horsepower sporting machines to today’s 200 horsepower road burners in a very short time.

Competition brings out the best in us, putting all our skills and resources to the test. We love competition and always will. Competition motorcycles have long been recognized by Radnor Hunt Concours as the ultimate expression of the Art of Motorcycles. Is there anything sexier, more deadly, more real than racing motorcycles? As automobile racing has become more sanitized, more distant from what we can drive and desire, racing motorcycles still offer the thrill of real danger.

Over 100 years ago, men made the jump from pedal powered bicycles to motorized two wheelers competing on oval dirt tracks and board tracks. It’s just as thrilling today as it was then. Turn on your IPad and catch the action. American Flat Track racing is as real as it gets. Not your style? Then try a Moto GP race. Today’s roadracing heroes; Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo will have you spellbound. 220 Miles per hour is now common at many of the top tracks in the world for these talented athletes. All of it on a vehicle that has the contact patch the size of a credit card. Glory Days? Golden Era? You’re living in it friends.

Dawn Deppi, our featured Artist for the 2016 Radnor Hunt Concours with her Red Bikes Exhibit at the AMA Hall of Fame Museum. This year, Dawn photographed our featured motorcycle, Loren Hulber's 1947 Indian Chief Roadmaster for the Radnor Hunt Concours event magazine. Ms. Deppi also created the slide-show for the Classic Motorcycle exhibit at the nearby SImeone Museum from August - September of this year.

You can find her work at http://www.eyeofthebeholderinc.com/collectibles/