The long-departed Steve McQueen is still the coolest man on two
wheels. Get an intimate look at his coolest bikes right here, right now,
in McQueen's Motorcycles.
Even thirty years after his death, Steve McQueen remains a cultural
icon. His image continues to appear in advertising and pop culture and
his fan base spans from car lovers to racing enthusiasts to motorcycle
obsessives.
In his movies, McQueen's character always had an envy-inducing
motorcycle or car, but in his personal life, motorcycles were always
McQueen's first true love. McQueen's Motorcycles focuses on the bikes
that the King of Cool raced and collected.
From the first Harley McQueen bought when he was an acting student
in New York to the Triumph "desert sleds" and Huskys he desert raced
all over California, Mexico, and Nevada, McQueen was never
without a stable of two wheelers.
His need for speed propelled him from Hollywood into a number of
top off-road motorcycle races, including the Baja 1000, Mint
400, Elsinore Grand Prix, and even as a member of the 1964 ISDT
team in Europe. Determined to be ahead of the pack, McQueen maintained
his body like it was a machine itself. He trained vigorously, weight
lifting, running, and studying martial arts.
Later in his life, as he backed away from Hollywood, his interests
turned to antique bikes and he accumulated an extensive collection,
including Harley-Davidson, Indian, Triumph, Brough
Superior, Cyclone, BSA, and Ace motorcycles.
Today, McQueen still has the Midas touch; anything that was in the man's
possession is a hot commodity. McQueen's classic motorcycles sell for
top dollar at auctions, always at a multiple of what the same bike is
worth without the McQueen pedigree. McQueen's Motorcycles reveals
these highly sought-after machines in gorgeous photography and full
historical context.
