Staff photo / Andy Gray Ron Otte of Poland, a member of the motorcycle show committee, at the National Packard Museum, talks about some of the features on the 1955 Victoria Bergmeister. Behind him is Ken Sampson of Sharpsville, Pa.

WARREN — It turns out that variety is the spice of life, at least when it comes to motorcycles.

Last year, the National Packard Museum changed the format of its annual motorcycle show. Instead of selecting machines to illustrate a particular theme, the show took a more all-encompassing approach.

Executive Director Mary Ann Porinchak said, “We went away from themes, because when we had themes like the race bikes, it only appealed to that group, and if you weren’t into bike racing, you weren’t that interested.”

The switch worked. Last year’s show was so successful, the museum met its yearly attendance and merchandise sales goals by Thanksgiving, Porinchak said.

That approach will continue for its 23rd Motorcycle Show, which opens Saturday and runs through May 20.

“Now we have a good balance — earlier bikes and later bikes, bikes for on road and bikes for off-road, flat track bikes. There’s a lot of applications, a lot of different types.”

This year’s show does have a sub-theme. Eight of the 35 motorcycles were made by BMW and were chosen to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

Tony Parish of Girard is showing his 1983 BMW R100 RT, which was released by BMW to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Only 300 were made.

“I’ve only had this two years,” Parish said. “I disassembled it and refurbished it, but it’s 99 percent original. I just touched it up a little bit. I’ve always wanted one, but when they were new I couldn’t afford it. I finally found it.”

It wasn’t love at first sight when Ken Sampson of Sharpsville, Pa., got a look at the 1990 BMW K-I that he is exhibiting in the show. He met the previous owner in Canton when it was listed for sale.

“I saw that thing coming up the road and thought, ‘That’s the ugliest motorcycle I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” Sampson said.

The previous owner encouraged him to take the futuristic-looking, aerodynamically designed bike for a ride before leaving empty-handed.

“It was smooth and had all kinds of power, and I ended up buying it,” Sampson said. “It’s a good machine.”

Along with the BMWs, the show features everything from super rare motorcycles to a 1972 Honda CT 70, a 70 cc, 5 horsepower mini trail bike that may have been the gateway drug for generations of future motorcycle enthusiasts.

The oldest bike featured this year is a 1912 New Era 2-Speed. The newest is a 2022 Royal Enfield INT650 created for the 120th anniversary of the world’s oldest motorcycle company.

The most rare is the 1955 Victoria Bergmeister. About a thousand of the motorcycles were made in Germany before it was discontinued because of its high cost, and it wasn’t exported to the United States, so only a few ever made it to this country.

Ron Otte of Poland, who is on the motorcycle show committee, praised the design of the motorcycle.

“It has kind of an art deco look,” Otte said. “It’s an example of beautiful workmanship from the early 1950s.”

If you go …

WHAT: 23rd Motorcycle Show

WHEN: Saturday through May 20

WHERE: National Packard Museum, 1899 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren

HOW MUCH: $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens, $5 for children ages 7 to 12 and free for children ages 6 and younger. For more information, go to packardmuseum.org or call 330-394-1899

SPECIAL EVENTS: Programs planned at the museum in conjunction with the exhibition include a movie night at 6 p.m. Feb. 7 featuring three short films presented by the Pirate Motorcycle Club and an evening with artist / pinstriper Guy Shively at 7 p.m. March 22.