Monterey 2009: Pebble Beach adds motorcycle parking
Vintage British motorcycles at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance - Click above for high-res image gallery
For the first time in its 59 runnings, the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance hosted a class of motorcycles. With a tip of the hat to the legendary Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races, British bikes were selected for this inaugural class outing.
Entrants ranged from a 1913 Premier 3-1/2 hp 3 speed to a 1957 Manx Norton Featherbed 40M (above). A gorgeous 1956 Ariel Square 4 with Garrard enclosed sidecar, 1938 Triumph Speed Twin, 1954 A.J.S. E-95 Porcupine, 1953 Matchless G45, and a pair of Vincents were among the many highlights.
The two Vincents were the 1947 Vincent-HRD Series B Rapide Special and the 1948 Vincent-HRD Black Shadow Special. "Gunga Din" and "Black Lightning," as they are better known, were truly extraordinary. They even had that famous photo of Rollie Free stripped to his bathing suit, lying flat out on the Black Lightning while he set a Bonneville speed record at 150 mph back in 1948! See for yourself in our gallery below.
Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brett MacPherson 9:55AM (8/19/2009)
Mr Rollie Free is forced to ride like that because his balls are too big to ride a motorcycle the traditional way.
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RWD fan 10:07AM (8/19/2009)
Thank you Autoblog, between this and the Porsches from Laguna Seca, you've not only given me plenty of eye candy to drool over, you've also reminded me that my own toys suck. Bad.
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Lotus Lover 10:08AM (8/19/2009)
Congratulations to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum for going to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and taking FIRST PLACE in the Class X: British Motorcycles through 1959 category with their 1954 A.J.S. E-95 "Porcupine"!!!
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John P. 10:28AM (8/19/2009)
I love the names of some of these old bikes. Matchless, Gunga Din, Porcupine!,.....
Thanks for the pics!
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