CALGARY – Brock Downey has owned about 50 motorcycles since he started collecting them as a teenager, but never anything quite like his 1953 BMW.
It is on display this week as part of an exhibit of vintage bikes, and Downey enjoys sharing its surprising story that started 12 years ago when he travelled to Vancouver to purchase it from the family of a recently-deceased mechanic.
The family sold it only on the condition that the man’s ashes always remain with the bike.
The ashes are with the bike to this day, inside a small tool compartment above the gas tank in a Tylenol bottle with his name on it, “Ed.”
“This was a passionate individual that loved to ride motorcycles and race them,” said Downey.
“He’s the spirit behind the motorcycle. Ed’s part of the machine. The ghost in the machine.”
Along with two dozen other vintage bikes, it’s on display through Sunday, Sept. 27 at Torch Motorcycles – 906 Centre St. North.
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