Black by Falcon Motorcycles

Immediately setting the visual tone for the Petersen’s motorcycle homage is the bike Black (2011) built by Ian Barry and his team at Los Angeles-based Falcon Motorcycles. Suspend by cables at the entrance to the gallery, the polished café racer was born from a 1952 Vincent Black Shadow and features a 1,000cc V-twin engine complemented by a chassis, exhaust, and bodywork that have all been custom fabricated.

“I was attracted to British motorcycles, I felt there was a quality that was timeless,” Barry explained at the opening reception’s panel discussion. “Through the process of dissecting some factory bikes from different eras, from the ‘40s all the way to the ‘80s, I knew there was something more that I wanted to express.”

01

Suspended by cables at the entrance to the gallery, Black (2011) was built by Ian Barry and his team at Los Angeles-based Falcon Motorcycles.

Photo by Viju Mathew.

Built by Ian Barry and Falcon Motorcycles, Black (2011) was born from a 1952 Vincent Black Shadow.

Photo: Courtesy Petersen Automotive Museum.