Chesterwood Welcomes Vintage Bikes

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Chesterwood in Stockbridge, MA opened its grounds to car and motorcycle enthusiasts on Sunday for a vintage show that featured autos, motorcycles and fire trucks. While there were only a handful of vintage bikes on display, there was one that stood out and even overshadowed the Vincent next to it – a 1933 Scott Sprint Special.

The Scott is owned by Andy Sekelsky of Croton-on-Hudson, NY. He’s had it for close to 10 years. It’s a 600cc, water-cooled, two-stroke. “It’s got a wonderful sound. It’s very fast,” he reported. “It weighs about 300 pounds and has a low center of gravity. It’s a wonderful bike to ride.”

The Scott Motorcycle Company was founded in England from 1908. The company’s most famous model was the Flying Squirrel, and Sekelsky also owns one of them. Only about 35 of the Sprint Special model were ever built. “It does run well,” said Sekelsky.

Chesterwood, if you’ve never been there, is the one-time country home of sculptor David Chester French, who created Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial. It is a National Trust Historic Site.

The classic car show began 1974 and was revitalized in 2010 after a seven-year hiatus. The cars on display covered decades of automotive history. Where else could you see a Franklin (above on the left) or a 1910 Rover (left).

In addition to all the vehicles, there was great food to be had from local establishments. The Berkshire Mountain Bakery in Housatonic made pizza and the SoCo Creamery in Great Barrington dipped ice cream.

The cars on display stretched from pre-Model T to the muscle cars of the 1960s and 70s. There were American, British and German.

RIDE-CT’s favorite, simply because you don’t see one very often and because the company has long been defunct, was a 1965 AMC Marlin.