Antique & Classic Cars Blog

The fact that this is Minnesota and it’s 2009 has no bearing on what you can find here in terms of amazing cars and bikes. Hidden behind the anonymous facades of houses scattered throughout the state are vehicles of all ages from all parts of the globe.

Last Saturday, Gene, a bike owner going into my current book project, Survivor II: The Unrestored Collector Motorcycle, invited me to see some really great bikes he’s accumulated over the years. He has roots tracing to the very heart of the American auto industry–his grandfather started working for Henry Ford pre-Model T. In the shot above, Gene’s grandfather is on the far left with moustache; Ford is on the far right in topcoat.

Gene has an extremely original, unrestored 1938 Velocette he bought at the St. Paul auction. (I’ve included my feet because I don’t have Photoshop.) That bike came over from England for the event.

The Norton International below is also an incredible bike. His father Lee had one in 1949, which he raced with a partner in Michigan. When Gene went hunting for this rare model several years ago, the one he found worth buying–in England–was also a ‘49. It still wears the original paint. The pinstripes have been redone–but by an original factory pinstriper whom a prior owner of the bike had do it before the man retired.

The Honda Dream was a bit nerdy in ‘66, but today it’s pure classic cool. For a 43-year-old sheet of plastic, the original windshield still looks great. This bike has less than 3,000 miles and, like all of Gene’s bikes, runs like new. That’s thanks in part to his tuner, ace mechanic and Bonneville recordholder, Steve Hamel, another valuable asset in the Twin Cities bike community.

It’s not just bikes at Gene’s place. He also loves E-type Jaguars and has one of the best 3.8’s in the world. You would never want to set a sandwich on this engine as oils from the bread might get it dirty. Calling this car immaculate is like saying Usain Bolt is quick.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 7:31 pm and is filed under Motorcycle tales. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.