THE ART OF THE MOTORCYCLE
The exhibition brings together motorbikes renowned for their extraordinary design and innovative use of technology. The selection includes one of the first motorcycles, the 1894 German-made Hildebrand & Wolfmüller; the 1911 eight-valve Harley-Davidson BTR, one of the earliest circuit racing bikes; the 1923 BMW R32, an essential German design; the 1970 Honda CB750 Four, which introduced innovative technical features, such the electric starter and front disc brakes; the 1973 MV Agusta 750S, a road use version of the classical competition motorbikes of the 60s and 70s; and the Philippe Starck-designed Aprilia Moto 6.5, a brilliant example of the degree of sophistication reached in motorcycles built in the 90s. The exhibition is arranged in chronological order, beginning with the 1868 creation of the Michaux-Perreaux, basically a bicycle with a steam engine attached, to the mechanically complex 1998 MV Agusta F4. The display highlights emblematic machines such as the BMW R32, which represented a giant step forward in engine technology, as well as serving as a template for design even today. As we look at this marvellous model, the creation of aeronautic designer Max Friz, we can see the foundations of the success of BMW bikes which has lasted throughout the century. The cornerstone for all BMW motorbikes made to date is the indestructible transversal, opposed double-cylinder engine, alias Boxer, used for the first time in 1923 in the R32. All of the Bauhaus school ideals seem to be present in the BMW R32, and its elegance is patent in its artistic triangular lines. It is a machine that seems to be asking to be ridden and admired. Subtle is not the exactly the best term to describe the Indian Chief. The ultimate in American motorbikes might better be described as big, flashy and ostentatious. Although originally designed in the Twenties, the Indian Chief earned its due recognition 1940 with the addition of its trademark fenders, deep and curvaceous. It was a bike for free spirits to take to the asphalt, never to return. It did its job on the open road, with a powerful 1206cc engine that could reach speeds of nearly 85 m.p.h. The Indian Chief was one of the original American luxury motorcycles and the mother of cruiser aesthetics, which have been imitated time and time again. Especially by Harley-Davidson, its number one rival. "You meet the nicest people on a Honda". This was the iconic strapline which completely broke the mould of motorcycle marketing in the early 1960s and, just as deftly, broke Honda into the enormous American market. Things were never quite the same after that. But it was not an enormous muscle bike which spearheaded Honda's push into the West, but a diminutive, step through 50cc motorcycle with an automatic clutch and cute red and cream styling. The kind of bike your mom wouldn't mind you riding. Come to think of it, the kind of bike your mom could ride! The Honda C100 Super Cub, to give it its grand title, was founder Soichiro Honda's brilliant little Trojan horse and paved the way for a complete revolution in motorcycle sales in the ensuing years. It's hard to believe now but, at the time, Honda 50s were laughed at. Twenty six and a half million Honda 50s later, no-one's laughing! Except, perhaps, the designers at Honda who allow themselves the wry smile in recognition of Soichiro Honda's audacity in thinking that he could change the world. Truth is, he could and did. It is somewhat ironic that Honda's success meant the downfall of the British motorcycle industry, too sluggish to react in the face of new Japanese models, designs and marketing. Among the best bikes of this sacred tradition was the Triumph Bonneville, which took its name from the salt flats of Utah where countless speed records were broken and then topped again. Triumph chose this name deliberately, wanting to give its typically British bike a clearly American sounding ring, and Bonneville was just the ticket. These motorcycles were the passion of an entire generation of Americans and the name Triumph became consecrated in movies such as The Wild One and The Great Escape. Although lightweight, fast and beautifully designed by Edward Truner, the Triumph was burdened with the curse of vibration. All vertical double-cylinder engines are; the bigger the engine, the worse the vibrations. Actually it was considered part of the charm until the Honda burst on the scene with its smooth, four-cylinder CB750 turbine engine. Honda's success sounded the death knell for Triumph and its end came fast. Today, the Triumph name has been revived, but the mystique of old is still exemplified in the Bonneville. Three Spanish motorcycles represent the brilliance and adaptability of designers of Spanish bikes: the Bultaco Sherpa T, the Derbi 50 Grand Prix and the Gas Gas. The Derbi 50 Grand Prix bike is a marvel of speed and precision. That it was based on a bike, the Antorcha, that was the most commonplace little moped of all, is even more remarkable. The Derbi 50 is a watchmaker's delight; small, light, precise. Most important, in the hands of a genius like Angel Nieto, it was very very fast -too fast for the competitors in the far richer Kreidler and Suzuki teams Two other Spanish bikes show how design brilliance can change a sport completely. Until the mid sixties, the sport of trials, where riders negotiate special tests' over difficult ground, was dominated by large, British four-stroke machines: Ariels, Matchlesses and Nortons. Sammy Miller, the best and most complete racer at the time, decided that these engines were too heavy to have much of a future, so he went to work with Spanish designer Paco Bultó and come up with the first Bultaco Sherpa in time for the 1965 trial season. This bike not only revolutionised motorcycle trail competition in Great Britain, but turned out to be the most successful design for trial bikes to date, opening the sport up to the rest of Europe and the United States. In Spain, inspired by men like Sammy Miller (and Malcolm Rathmell on his Montesa), Jordi Tarrès wanted to ride trials, but he was too young. Instead, he rode Trial Sin, the bicycle version of the sport where he developed his trademark acrobatics; the bunny-hop, to jump over obstacles, and the art of moving the bicycle around a single spot while remaining in complete control. When it came to riding motorcycle trials, Tarrès brought all this ability to bikes that were too heavy for his liking. The Gas Gas on which he won his world championships is little more than a perfect bicycle with an engine (how motorcycle design has come full circle in a hundred years!). It is incredibly light, has no seat (trials riders perform standing up!), and can be made to vault up seemingly impossible vertical sections with the flick of a wrist. The Britten V-1000 is shrouded in mystery, partly due to the tragic death of its designer, New Zealander John Britten, the nonconformist genius of modern motorcycle design. From the end of the 80s until he died of cancer in 1995, Britten was at the forefront of the motorcycle design world thanks to his successful revolutionary competition motorbike. Britten's machine was hand-built, and assembled around his own 1000cc 60E V-twin engine. Beautifully designed, the engine is light, immensely strong, incredibly smooth for a V-twin and powerful, developing 160 brake horse power at 11,500 r.p.m. The engine is the heart and soul of the Britten and all the external design decisions flow from it. Most radical of all was Britten's decision not to use a conventional frame. Instead, using Kevlar and Carbon fiber, everything from seat to wheels to suspension was bolted to the engine which became the central stressed unit. The seat itself is simply a carbon fiber beam extending rearward from the cylinder head. The rear suspension is actually mounted in front of the engine, and connects to the rear swingarm, again a composite, via a long rod. The intention was to cluster as much of the weight as possible around the engine, giving a short-coupled and quick-handling motorcycle. All of this engineering magic could have ended up in a technological nightmare. With a compact, almost organic spiral spring, Britten managed to turn his dream into a beautiful piece of machinery and a competition winner-and perhaps the racing bike which has had the most influence into the Nineties. The Art of the Motorcycle takes us through a chronological journey divided into several different sections. The first section, Inventing the Motorcycle: 1868-1919, takes a look at motorcycles in the context of other significant inventions of the times: the railroad, electricity and cinema. The Machine Age: 1922-1929 sketches the rapid acceptance of motorcycle aesthetics, with technology as the focal point of modern culture. New World Orders: 1930-1944 uncovers the genius of these machines in the 20s, taking on a totally different scale and appearance. Freedom and Postwar Mobility: 1946-1958 explores the advent of the motorcycle as a means of fleeing from the anonymity of the postwar society. Popular Culture/Counterculture: 1960-1969 focuses on motorcycles as a critical cultural icon of the times, as well as a symbol for rock music and street protest. Getting Away from It All: 1969-1978 examines the growing unrest of a generation and the desire to get away from it all. The Consumer Years: 1982-1989 looks at the boom in the stock market and the growing middle class, giving rise to a ever-increasing interest in leisure activities and, hence, motorcycles. And lastly, Retro/Revolutionary: 1993-1998 explores the latest trends in motorcycle design: from "grunge", where motorbikes are shed of their traditional adornments, to the more personalised machines by designers such as Massimo Tamburini of Ducati, Erik Buell of the Buell Motorcycle Company, and David Robb of BMW. In Frank O. Gehry's unique idea for the installation, visitors follow a circuit while observing the motorcycles installed on pedestals or islands arranged throughout the route. A double ramp leads from the Atrium to Gallery 104 (the so-called Fish Gallery), winding its way up and down through the Snake, Richard Serra's enormous sculpture created specifically for this awesome space in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. After passing by the Snake, the two ramps cross each other and rejoin on a horizontal platform at the back of the gallery. Visitors move along the one-way ramps, beginning and ending in the atrium. The motorcycles have been placed all along the circuit on platforms so as to allow visitors to walk around them, and on large pedestals or "islands" that can be seen from the ramps but not touched. The chronological transition is further enhanced by large-scale images displayed on the gallery walls of the most symbolic motorcycles of each decade, associated with personalities or phrases that flash back to other times. |