Next lesson: 1912 American Motorcycle Competition

The Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., will hold another historical seminar on motorcycles Feb. 26, 2011, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

After the large success of Marty Christopher’s “History of the Motorcycle” in 2010 ,he has decided that this years' theme would be “American Motorcycle Competition of 1912”. Christopher said a seminar about competition motorcycles would be a great tie-in with the museum’s existing exhibit.

The exhibit opened in October of 2010 and will be open until May 1, 2011. There are several bikes on display for visitors to take a look at. From Asphalt to Ice is the title of the exhibit and is the third one that the Museum has put together since they decided to make motorcycles part of their changing exhibit series. Christopher has been instrumental in assisting the Museum in locating motorcycles for each exhibit and he has said that he will use the motorcycles on display as models for his seminar.

The Museum invites everyone to join in on our “American Motorcycle Competition of 1912” seminar. Spend your day finding out what motorcycle racing was like in America back in 1912. Christopher promises to have hand-outs, photos, movies on hand. Christopher says that he will make a full attempt to put every member of the audience there, back in time on the sidelines of some of the greatest races in history.

Participants will learn about the types, tracks, bikes and, of course, the riders, along with what rules were in 1912, performance tricks, engine configurations, nick names of riders and how the riders earned their names.

The who part of this seminar may be the most interesting. “These motorcycles have been stripped of all excess and have no comfort. There are little to no decorations and safety is always in question. The rider is exposed right down to their nerves as they pull back on the throttle on the green and speed forward.” Said Christopher when asked to give a brief description about what racing was like in 1912.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located at: 110 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Hours of operation: 7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Adults - $8, seniors and students - $5 with children under 6 free.

For more information, visit www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

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