The Paris Scene

Guest Post by Francois-Marie Dumas

For its 40th birthday this year, Rétromobile, which has presented some fantastic exhibitions in the past, seems to have forgotten about motorcycles completely, with only a few examples hidden between the cars.  As late as 2011, terrific motorcycle displays dotted this enormous show, and made the trip worthwhile for hardcore vintage riders.  There are still a few bikes on display in the stalls, and plenty of moto-mobilia (posters, parts, etc), but don’t come expecting much of a two-wheel show. The cars are, of course, fantastic.

The contrast with Retromobile could not be more stark at the Bonhams Grand Palais sale; the motorcycle has returned to its origins! Among the first-ever exhibits at this magnificent Art Nouveau masterpiece was a car and motorcycle show back in 1901.  There were actually two shows that first year, and the second one gathered 556 cars, 21 three-wheelers and 81 motorcycles, with 190,000 visitors passing under those glazed arches.

The big Paris Auto Show was held at the Grand Palais from 1901 until 1961, and until 1950 for the Motorcycle Show, followed by decades of little use for the building, as the car shows moved to the outskirts of town, into large purpose-built exhibition halls. Which are pretty uninspiring architecturally.  Thanks to Bonhams, both cars and bikes are back at the Grand Palais for the past three years, under that astounding glass roof once again, for the annual Bonhams auction of exceptional cars, motorcycles and ephemera.

This year 48 motorcycles were presented, the oldest being a French Griffon 2hp from 1907, but the most interesting machines included the seriously exclusive 1974 Bimota 750 HB1 (serial #3), and the almost unique prototype of the Benelli 750 Sei, which was exhibited at the famous “Art of the motorcycle” exhibition at Bilbao Guggenheim museum.