The Petersen Museum’s New Motorcycle Exhibit Showcases a Century Of Innovation

Some of the rarest, most historical bikes will be on display starting March 15, 2025.

Photo by: Petersen Automotive Museum

By: Enrico Punsalang

Mar 12, at 7:03am ET

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It’s pretty wild to think about how far we’ve come when it comes to getting around. A little over a century ago, the idea of personal transportation was limited to horses, carriages, and maybe the occasional steam-powered contraption.

But fast forward to today, and we have high-performance motorcycles, electric hypercars, and even self-driving vehicles. The evolution of mobility is nothing short of incredible, and few machines showcase this transformation quite like the motorcycle, as they have a unique place in history.

From their humble beginnings as little more than bicycles with engines strapped to them, they have evolved into some of the most sophisticated and exhilarating machines on the planet. And if you’re a fan of two-wheeled history, there’s no better place to dive deep into its roots than the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

The Petersen Museum isn’t just any automotive museum—it’s one of the world’s premier institutions dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history of mobility. Founded in 1994, it has built a reputation for curating some of the rarest, most significant vehicles ever produced.

And this year, it’s got something special just for us bike junkies.

Photo by: Petersen Automotive Museum

Starting on March 15, the museum is taking things up a notch with a new exhibit, “The American Motorcycle: Pioneering Machines from the Bunch Family Collection.” This collection will showcase over 25 rare and historically significant motorcycles, giving visitors a chance to see the machines that paved the way for modern motorcycling.

Some of the highlights of the exhibit include the 1898 Cleveland Tricycle, which is among the oldest motorized cycles in America and features one of the first front spring fork suspensions. Another standout is the 1904 Thomas Auto-Bi, notable for being made by the first American company to fully design and build its own motorcycles.

Photo by: Petersen Automotive Museum

Then there’s the 1905 Nelk, an ultra-rare machine that was ahead of its time with a rubber-mounted engine, water cooling, and an overhead camshaft—features that wouldn’t become common for decades.

Meanwhile, if you’re into speed and performance, the 1936 Crocker Speedway Racer is a must-see. Built in Los Angeles, Crocker motorcycles were known for outperforming their Harley-Davidson and Indian counterparts. Today, they’re some of the rarest and most valuable motorcycles in existence.

And for those who love a good stunt story, the 1908 Indian Single owned by stuntwoman CeDora is on display. She used it to perform in the legendary "Globe of Death," where riders defy gravity by riding inside a spherical cage.

So yeah, this exhibit is clearly a must-see, whether you’re a motorcycle geek, a history nerd, or just a dude or dudette who appreciates the evolution of engineering. It’s a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the machines that helped shape motorcycling as we know it today.