An Early Morning Shot of Café Bikes

Did you know that Motorcyclist magazine was once part of the Petersen Publishing empire during the '70s. '80s and '90s? Although Motorcyclist had been in print for decades (since 1912, making it the world's first and oldest motorcycle magazine), it was a struggling entity when the late Robert E. "Pete" Petersen made the decision to buy and add the title to his group of thriving automotive magazines including Hot Rod and Car Craft. Motorcyclist flourished under the PPC umbrella and Petersen soon launched an MC spin-off called Dirt Rider along with two other titles, Sport Rider and Motorcycle Cruiser, all of which are now brands of the Bonnier Motorcycle Group.

Pete sold PPC in ’96 to focus on the development of the Petersen Automotive Museum. The Museum, located in the prime business district of Los Angeles at the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire is currently undergoing a major redesign that will soon display a more refined collection of cars and motorcycles.

The Museum remains open during remodeling and one of our favorite events at the Petersen is the Breakfast Club Cruise-In that takes place on the last Sunday of each month. It’s a casual affair for owners of any classic, exotic, hot rod, muscle car or motorcycle that can wake up early enough to get together on the Museum’s upper parking tier. Oftentimes there'll be a special theme to attract a certain type of car or bike such as this month’s Café Bike Cruise-In. Flip through our photo gallery and see the bikes and people that showed up.