Motorcycle, a perfect symbol of modernity
Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post, Las Vegas
Tracing the history of the motorcycle is like tracing that of modernity as the motorcycle is tantamount to modernity.
The history of the motorcycle started long after the steam engine was invented and patented by Thomas Savery of England in 1698 -- later modified to make it efficient and made popular by James Watt of Scotland in 1763 -- which marked the beginning of modern life.
It was not until 1868 that a steam engine was used to power a bicycle.
French engineer Pierre Michaux, a leading bicycle innovator of the 19th century, and colleague Louis Guillaume Perreaux designed and patented in 1868 a steam engine, which was installed in the first commercially successful pedal bicycle.
This very first motorized bicycle could make a short-range maximum speed of 19 miles per hour.
By 1894, the Hildebrand brothers and Alois Wolfmuller patented a water-cooled, two-cylinder gasoline engine in a bicycle-type frame, the first commercially produced motorcycle with an internal combustion engine.
During this period, tremendous experimentation and innovation were under way in all industrialized countries of that time.
Entering the 20th century, the technology of motorcycles reached its maturity. Essentially all of the features of today's machines were in place in practically all models in production.
Starting this period, innovations in motorcycles started to enter into competition for high speeds. Broad-track motorcycle racing at that time attracted large audiences.
Then came the era of design, with BMW coming out as a proponent of design with its Model R32, rolled out in 1923. Consequently, all motorcycle producers took care of art in design, besides engine power.
All of sudden came a tiny 50-cc engine Honda Super Cub in 1963 which changed the whole competition in the motorcycle industry.
It was not a muscle bike that spearheaded the arrival of Honda Super Cub.
"You meet the nicest people on a Honda," was the tag line that completely broke the mold of motorcycle marketing in the early 1960s.
With an automatic clutch and colorful red and cream styling, the Honda Super Cub beat most competitors in all the markets, from the U.S. to European countries.
From that time on, production, design and marketing have continued to affect competition among motorcycle producers until today.
One can see how the motorcycle has evolved, from the very first steam-powered bicycle to the latest edition of motorcycles at the Guggenheim Museum Las Vegas, located at the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, through some of the world's most significant motorcycles displayed at the Art of Motorcycle exhibition.
The Art of Motorcycle, the inaugural exhibition of the Guggenheim Las Vegas, occupies a 63,700-square-foot exhibition hall, designed by Dutch architect Rem Hoolhaas.
The Art of Motorcycle was first presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1998.
The exhibition was wildly successful and broke the attendance records at the Guggenheim. Thus, it was later reassembled and shown at the Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain, and then for a brief time at the Field Museum in Chicago.
The exhibition was disassembled, but when the Guggenheim decided to open the Guggenheim Las Vegas it was determined that the Art of the Motorcycle would be the most appropriate "first" exhibition.
According to a Guggenheim Las Vegas spokesperson, Sasha D. Jackowich, the Las Vegas exhibition has 120 motorcycles, dating back to 1868 (the world's first patented motorcycle) up to the present. All 120 motorcycles are on loan to the museum from private collectors from all over the world.
The writer traveled to Las Vegas upon the invitation of Singapore Airlines, which flies direct from Singapore to Las Vegas, via Hong Kong.