Motorcyclepedia is a motorcycle museum containing over 600 mostly American

motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, ...

, mainly from the first half of the 20th century, with a special emphasis on

Indian motorcycles Indian Motorcycle (or ''Indian'') is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by American automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

. Housed on two floors of the old Miron building, it is divided into galleries dedicated to motorcycles and memorabilia from the time periods represented; including an 1897

De Dion-Bouton De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. Steam cars T ...

trike, a 1901

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, and the marques

Reading Standard Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling) ...

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

, and many others.

Indian motorcycle gallery

The museum features over 100 Indian motorcycles, including an Indian Papoose, a 1914 Hendee Special, an Indian Ace, an M-1 Military Prototype and a timeline of Indian Motorcycles from 1901 to 1953.

Chopper City

This gallery features over 30 choppers. Some of the notable choppers include

Ed Roth Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) was an American artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder who created the hot rod icon Rat Fink and other characters. Roth was a key figure i ...

's Mail Box,

Arlen Ness Arlen Darryl Ness (July 12, 1939 – March 22, 2019) was an American motorcycle designer and entrepreneur best known for his custom motorcycles. Ness received acclaim for his designs, most of which are noted for their unique body style and paintwo ...

's Taxi and Ron Ebert's Bubble Machine, and replicas of the choppers from ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

''.

Police and military galleries

The Police Gallery features

police motorcycle A police motorcycle is a motorcycle used by police and law enforcement. They may be custom designed to meet the requirements unique of a particular use. A police motorcycle is often called a "motor" by police officers in the United States. Units t ...

s from the City of

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

and Town of

New Windsor, New York New Windsor is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. History The region was originally inhabited by the Munsee The Munsee (or Minsi or Muncee) or mə́n'si·w ( del, Monsiyok)Online Lenape Talking Dictionary, "Munsee Indians"L ...

. Also featured is one of thirteen

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

FL Police motorcycles that were used in the motorcade of President John F. Kennedy on the day he was assassinated, FLH Police Harley-Davidson that was used in a motorcade of President Richard Nixon, and a 1910 Sheriff's Harley-Davidson. The Military Gallery features Army Harley-Davidson's, an Army Indian, and a

Kettenkrad The (german: Sonderkraftfahrzeug 2) is a half-track motorcycle with a single front wheel, better known as the (), shortened to (pl. ). It was used by the military of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Design The started its life as ...

from World War II.

Circa, American and scooter galleries

The Circa Timeline section features motorcycles manufactured prior to 1930 including a De Dion-Bouton trike, Thomas, Reading Standard, Yale, Pope, Thor,

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...

, and

Flying Merkel The Flying Merkel was a motorcycle of the American company Merkel in Milwaukee, which relocated later to Middletown, Ohio.Jerry Hatfield: Standard Catalog of American Motorcycles. 1898–1981. Krause Publications, 2006, ., pp. 378–384 The motorcy ...

. This gallery includes and a large collection of

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

motorcycles. The American Gallery features over 50 different Harley-Davidson models, some of the highlights included are a

sidecar A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''. ...

that was specially constructed for James Patrick Harley, 1965 FLH Electra Glide Period Custom, and 1905 Single. Highlights in the Scooter Gallery include a

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...

with sidecar,

Monark Monark, also known as Cykelfabriken Monark AB and Monark AB, is a Swedish bicycle, moped and motorcycle manufacturer, established in Varberg, Sweden, in 1908 by the industrialist Birger Svensson. As of 2016, Monark is valued at 11.5 billion kr. ...

, Ner-a-Car, and Cushman.

Motordrome

The museum has two fully constructed motordromes, or

Wall of Death The wall of death, motordrome, velodrome or well of death is a carnival sideshow featuring a silo- or barrel-shaped wooden cylinder, typically ranging from in diameter and made of wooden planks, inside which motorcyclists, or the drivers of mi ...

, which were imported from Germany. These motordromes are fully operational and operated for special events. The motordromes have been dismantled and put into storage as of November 2020. The museum rents the space to film and TV productions.

Antique Motorcycle Club of America

The museum maintains a gallery to exhibit members' motorcycles. The exhibit is called ''Fast from the Past: Competition Motorcycles of Yesteryear''. This exhibit is broken into categories of racers; boardtrack, dirt track, hillclimber, road racing, drag racing, land speed, motocross, endurance and observed trials. This exhibit will be on until Summer 2012. All of these motorcycles are on loan from

Antique Motorcycle Club of America The Antique Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA) was founded in 1954 in New England and is now one of the largest organizations of antique motorcycle enthusiasts in the world, with membership of over 12,000 in the United States, Australia, Canada, E ...

members. The Antique Motorcycle Foundation mascot motorcycle, a Torque Four, is also on display.

Charter and educational programs

The museum has received a provisional charter from the Board of Regents of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York (state), New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it i ...

. The museum hosts Motorcycle Training Solutions, Inc., which provides a basic motorcycle rider course to New York State residents. The core curriculum is 15 1/2 hours.

Notes

External links

* {{coord, 41.49373, -74.03174, display=title Motorcycle museums in the United States Museums in Orange County, New York Transportation museums in New York (state) Museums established in 2011 2011 establishments in New York (state) Newburgh, New York Buildings and structures in Newburgh, New York Automobile museums in New York (state)