On Saturday December the 11th Millthorpe's quiet streets will be thrumming with the guttural sounds of motorcycles as lovers of all things vintage converge for the first Millthorpe Bike Show.
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Organised to celebrate the love of the art of motorcycles one collector is looking forward to showing off his pride and joy.
Like all collectors Chris Moloney has had fleeting affairs with bikes from around the world, but his overwhelming love is for an old Italian brand that left his first love, a British BSA B50, consigned to the history books.
I used to always have English bikes, but I was always fixing them.
- Chris Moloney
"I used to always have English bikes, but I was always fixing them," he said.
"My BSA would break my heart every week," he said. "Back in the 70's I'd go for a ride every week and as soon as I'd turn to come home, it would break down."
"I'd then have to get it home somehow where it would sulk in the shed for a few weeks as I tinkered with it before it would miraculously start again and the whole process would repeat."
"I was frustrated by that because when everyone was out riding, I was in the garage fixing it."
As manufacturers of farm machinery they had this genius of design and a mentality where it mustn't break down
- Chris Moloney
It was during this time period of constant repairs that Mr Moloney discovered the Laverda range of high performance Italian motorbikes and his love affair for Italian styling and engineering begun.
"They just have this magic," he said, "They're sensuous."
Designed by two brothers and an engineer who came from a family that designed tractors, Mr Moloney's Laverda motorcycle is a raucous yet refined bike whose engine note has a reassuring heavy confidence.
"As manufacturers of farm machinery they had this genius of design and a mentality where it mustn't break down," he said.
Like all collectors once you own one of something, the disease, as Mr Moloney describes it, sets in.
"It's like porcelain or anything really where you see its intrinsic beauty and the aspiration of the designers who achieve something without a committee of designers," he said.
"It's just three people working together to share an idea and raise it as high as they can lift it."
Mr Moloney rides his Laverda whenever the opportunity arises and explains the appeal of hopping on his café racer and taking it for a spin.
"When you're riding a motorcycle it's all about balance," he said. "It's the one moment in your life when you're balanced and there's a lot going on to unbalance you."
"It's a whole of body experience where your bum is talking to you, your back and legs are talking to you. It's all about synchronicity at an intuitive level."
The Millthorpe Bike Show will be held at Station Square outside the Millthorpe Railway Station from 9am - 2pm on Saturday December 11. All bikes and riders are welcome.
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