The Armstrong HD set the standard for contemporary military motorcycles, and the model displayed has been ridden in the television series J.A.G.Motorcycles, gear, and memorabilia from the past round out the story in “Bikes & Badges: Motorcycles of the Police & Military.”Anne Graumlich has only ridden a motorcycle twice in her life and said it was “great!”Graumlich and John Nichols of the Sespe Group curated “Bikes & Badges” which features “a lot of really cool machines such as the one with a sidecar and the one with a machine gun in it.”A contemporary Army motorcycle sits near a World War II model that was refitted for civilian duty and “all shined up! As soon as the war was over Harley got as many surplus motorcycles as they could,” to refurbish and return to civilian life.“If everyone would ride a motorcycle it would even out the odds,” of a bad accident, Graumlich noted with a laugh.“Bikes & Badges: Motorcycles of the Police & Military” continues through February 17, 2002.The California Oil Museum is open Wednesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.For more information call COM at 933-0076 or visit the museum Web site, www.oilmuseum.net.
‘Bikes & Badges: Motorcycles of the Police & Military’ opening reception Sunday
October 31, 2001
Santa Paula News
“Bikes & Badges: Motorcycles of the Police & Military” in the latest exhibit at the California Oil Museum where the history of “the man” - cops to soldiers - and their mighty machines is highlighted.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula Times“Bikes & Badges: Motorcycles of the Police & Military” in the latest exhibit at the California Oil Museum where the history of “the man” - cops to soldiers - and their mighty machines is highlighted.An opening reception for “Bikes & Badges” will be held Sunday, Nov. 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the museum on the corner of 10th and Main streets. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children.“Bikes & Badges“ features motorcycles made for law enforcement and the military, from the 1920s to the present. The exhibit gives visitors an up-close view of the powerful machines, displayed with the equipment and gear their riders used. Many of the motorcycles on display found a new life in films and television after their police and military careers.Both vintage and contemporary motorcycles have been selected for the exhibit by motorcycle authority M. F. Egan, who borrowed the motorcycles from private collections throughout Southern California.A 1928 Harley JD74, a 1938 Harley Big Twin SV and a 1969 Honda CB750 are three more of the classic police motorcycles on display. All are outfitted with their period police equipment.One of the earliest police motorcycle radios ever manufactured, a rare “receive only” unit with an elk horn speaker, is part of the display, as are early-model sirens, tool kits, fire extinguishers and other vintage police equipment.Military motorcycles from World War II Harley WLAs to a 1980 Armstrong HD complete the exhibit. One of the rare WLAs features a sidecar, a headlamp with a blackout mask, and the Army-issued gear its rider would have carried.
