Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition: End Of Empire

I routinely visit local Harley-Davidson dealerships, pilfering their parts departments of any Buell Ulysses turn signals they happen to be stocking. Today, I made my way through the doors of Trev Deeley Motorcycles, and after picking up a pair of turn signals (thanks Nick ), I decided to stroll through the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition ($5 donation/admission).

Boy, am I glad I did!

The current exhibition is called End of Empire, and it chronicles the forces that led to the collapse of the British motorcycle industry. The bikes are laid out in chronological order, starting with pristine examples of early British bikes, then to the war era Triumphs and BSAs, and concluding with bikes from the last half century. There are also bikes of non-British origin — their stories intertwined with the destinies of their British counterparts.

Nothing is left to argumentative conjecture here because every bike is relevant. The exhibition draws the visitor in not only with the bikes, but also by providing short stories detailing events that led to the rise and death of many of the British manufacturers throughout the ages.

I spent about an hour marveling at all the bikes and chatting with Terry Rea, the exhibition’s historian. The Visitor Log Book is mostly filled with international entries, with every corner of the globe having representation.

The Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition must surely be one of Vancouver’s best kept secrets.

Click the image to launch the gallery

2010_07_16_deeley_exhibition_end_of_empire