Category: What’s New

Our present exhibit Cycles & Cinema showcases motorcycles in the movies, but you’ll also see some of the collection on the small screen, appearing on such locally shot shows as The 100, Proof, and A Girlfriends Guide to Divorce.

If you watch the final episode of the hit television series, The 100, you’ll see two motorcycles from the Deeley collection – a 1941 Indian motorcycle along with a 1927 Harley Davidson perched on the bar in a very cool looking living room space.  Believe it or not, the modern looking space is actually the lounge at the Vancouver Club – a designated “A” class heritage building.  It’s an amazing transformation by the show’s set design team.

Check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cwthe100 and while you’re at it, check out the Deeley Exhibition’s page and give us a like at https://www.facebook.com/deeleymotorcycleexhibition

The Deeley Exhibition presents the Vancouver Vintage Show & Shine on Sunday June 28^th 2015 for its 3^rd year!  Everyone is welcome to come down – avid vintage enthusiasts and general public alike!  The event runs from 11:00am to 3:00pm in the Deeley Exhibition parking lot, directly facing Boundary Rd.

Since the collapse of the many local Vancouver and Lower Mainland motorcycling events, such as the Gastown and the New West Show and Shines, we feel it important to keep motorcycle related community events alive. This small but popular event typically attracts well over 100 people and 50 registered vintage motorcycles.

Several motorcycles from the collection, not seen by the public in years, will be brought out of storage and shown in the parking lot.  In addition, we welcome all visitors to visit our Exhibition for half price! We here at the Deeley Exhibition embrace all makes and models.  As our own Trev Deeley once said, “It doesn’t matter what you ride, as long as you ride!”

In our event, there is no category classes or awards – we are here to celebrate and share the love of vintage motorcycles.  Motorcycle registration is $5, which includes one lunch voucher and a chance to win one of three raffle prizes!  Come down and mingle with friends new and old while taking in all the collector bikes and vintage rides.

Raffle tickets will be drawn at 12:00, 1:00 & 1:30 for registrants. Food will be provided by Metro Catering.   Wayne is coming out with his BBQs and will be cooking up delicious burgers, smokies, dogs and ribs right in front of your eyes so come hungry!

All motorcycle registrants should enter and park in the East parking lot – entering the lot from East 2^nd Ave (off Boundary).  Cars are welcome but please park them in the designated car parking areas (just follow the signs).

The weather forecast for Sunday is mainly Sunny with temperatures up to 30°C!  Bring your awesome vintage ride, sunscreen and some friends – don’t miss a great time!

Image from 2014 Show & Shine

A Resurgence of Dirt Track Racing

2015 looks like an exciting year for Flat Track racing. There is a renewed interest in this long running racing format, from small local events here in B.C. like the Flat Track Moto Race at the Pemberton Speedway to the big races such as Return to Delmar with big names like Roland Sands. Another big name in racing getting into flat track this year is three time Superbike World Champion Troy Bayliss who recently started off the Memorial Day Weekend’s Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Mark your calendars for the X Games from June 4-7 at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. For the first time, Harley-Davidson flat-track racing will be included, joining a diverse sports lineup featuring the world’s top action sport athletes. Harley-Davidson flat-track racing will feature athletes racing high-performance motorcycles around an oval track at speeds up to 130 mph.

With the roots of flat-track racing dating back to the early 1900s, the sport is one of the most traditional motorcycle racing disciplines. Flat Track racing is intertwined with the history of board track racing.  In the early years, motorcycles were used to pull bicycles onto 45-degree banked wooden tracks for races; however, soon the motorcycles began to replace the bicycles altogether. Motorcycles kept getting faster and more powerful until the board track races had become too dangerous for both racers and spectators. In 1925 the AMA introduced a smaller, 21 cubic inch race class intended to make board track racing safer by lowering speeds. The new class did not rescue the board track but did produce a formidable new dirt track racer. Race promoters began building oval tracks with dirt banks, and flat track, or “dirt track” racing became a hit in North America.

Joe Petrali joined Harley-Davidson’s factory race team and won all 13 A.M.A. National Dirt Track Championship races in 1935 aboard a “Peashooter”. The efficient overhead valve Harry Ricardo-designed cylinder head, gave it plenty of punch, which coupled with its light weight made it capable of nearly 100 mph when race-tuned.     Fred Pazaski built this replica of Petrali’s 1935 winning machine.

It is currently on display, alongside a 1994 883R Sportster Flat Tracker and Trev Deeley’s 1949 WR Racer. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, Trev dominated flat track motorcycle racing in the Northwest. He became a factory sponsored rider for Harley-Davidson. His bikes bore the number 22 and, as an AMA expert national plate holder, Trev was the first Canadian to have this honor. After retiring from racing, Trev continued to affiliate with the sport through sponsoring and tutoring new riders.

Come see this and other motorcycles on display here at the Deeley Exhibition.  We are in the same building as Trev Deeley Motorcycles, the world’s 4^th oldest Harley-Davidson dealership and to top it off, we also have one of Vancouver’s most unique reception venues here at Deeley Exhibition.

Interesting Links

• http://xgames.espn.go.com/xgames/events/2015/austin/article/12681894/x-games-austin-2015-introduces-harley-davidson-flat-track-racing
• http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/
• http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/about/
• http://www.harley-davidson.com/content/h-d/en_US/home/museum/explore/hd-history/1930.html
• http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=54