Motorcycle Collectors Meet and Dream : Hobbies: Easy riders gather to show off their classic Harley-Davidsons and Indians, including a circus performer’s mount, custom-built in 1908.

More than 3,000 people saw the “Globe of Death” in Harley Heaven on Sunday at the San Buenaventura Antique and Classic Motorcycle Show, a celebration of black leather, tattoos and chrome.

About 200 mostly British and American bikes were on display at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, ranging from a 1969 Harley-Davidson worth $800 to the Globe of Death, a 1908 Indian 500cc custom-made for a circus performer who rode it in circles inside a steel-framed sphere.

As buffs took snapshots and praised the bikes’ fuel pumps, chains and motors, the proud owners sat on beach chairs drinking beer, smoking Marlboros, eating beef jerky and listening to a rock band while taking in the sun. Many of them said their bikes were not for sale, only on display.

Craig Dillman and David Weidner sat beside their bikes, a red, 1945 Indian Chief and a gray, 1955 Triumph, respectively. Like many other exhibitors, they said it would take a lot to get them to part with their machines.

“We’re just hanging out, looking at all the old bikes you wish you owned when you were a kid but couldn’t afford to buy,” Dillman said.

Mike Hughes, 46, did make a purchase at the show, paying $11,000 cash for a maroon, 1947 Indian Chief, his first classic motorcycle.

“If you’re going to collect something, it might as well be a toy you can have fun with while its value goes up,” he said.

The collector who sold the bike could not be found. “He’s got cash in his pocket, so you know he’s shopping around,” said Gary Ziegler, a friend of Hughes.

One of the most valuable bikes at the show, a brown, unrestored 1942 Crocker 1,000cc in mint condition, belonged to collector Gordon M. Clark. His was the last Crocker to come off of the assembly line before the factory closed, Clark said.

Only two ’42 Crockers were sold last year--a wrecked one went for $50,000 and a good one for $100,000, said Clark. He said he owns more than 30 classic bikes and knows almost every bike collector in the country.

Dean Hansley, 40, who owns the “Globe of Death” bike--a slender, unpretentious machine that looks like a sturdy bicycle with a small motor under the frame--said it is one of only four ever built. His was made for a circus performer named C’Dora.

“It’s the only one known to still exist, so anywhere around the world it would bring a lot of money,” said Hansley, who sported a “Globe of Death” sweat shirt and matching baseball cap and vowed to never sell the motorcycle.

Hansley, a retired graphics designer from Pasadena who was paralyzed in a motorcycle racing accident 20 years ago, sat in his wheelchair with a broad smile as a parade of collectors came up to congratulate him on his find.

Hansley, who no longer rides, said he spotted the dilapidated “Globe of Death” bike two years ago at a motorcycle show in Hershey, Pa. He bought it for just over $10,000, completely restored it and added it to his 24-bike collection.

Event sponsor David Hansen said the Ventura show, which began two years ago, was a success and is quickly becoming one of the premier motorcycle exhibitions in the country.

He said he was particularly pleased with the variety and price range available to prospective collectors. Glancing at the relatively inexpensive ’69 Harley, he said, “There’s a collectors’ item right there. Everything’s collectible after enough time goes by.”

MULHOLLAND HIGHWAY

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