ATLRetro

Different nationalities have had their own takes on the 20th century motorcycle. Harleys were rugged outlaw machines built for the likes of Marlon Brando and ready to go the distance of Route 66. British Triumph “choppers” dominated the post-war market until under the practical workmanship of the Japanese, Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha bikes ascended as more mainstream, recreational and affordable. Leave it to the Italians, masters of modern design, to remake motorcycles into sleek and sexy objects of desire that also raced like speed demons.

Or so goes the premise of PASSIONE ITALIANA: DESIGN OF THE ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE, the special exhibition chosen to premiere Museum of Modern Design Atlanta’s (MODA) dynamic new Midtown location at 16th & Peachtree. On display will be 11 “masterpieces” of Italian motorcycle manufacture spanning five decades including bikes made by MV Agusta, Ducati, Bimota and Moto-Morini on loan from the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Ala. The opening night party is this Sat. March 19 at 7 p.m. and the show runs from March 20-June 13.

'64 MV Agusta 500cc is one of 11 vintage and contemporary Italian motorcycles on display at MoDA. Photo courtesy of Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

Who’s the lucky easy rider steering this Italian job? Twisting the wick as curator is Joe Remling, a founding principal at Atlanta architecture firm ai3, with a passion for world travel and global design, as well as an independent streak.

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