Museum

After being virtually destroyed by fire, the chances of the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum in Austria re-opening seemed impossible. And yet, less than a year later, a winter opening date has been announced.

Covid lockdowns have prevented many of us travelling even within our own countries, let alone abroad. This is a massive handicap for many attractions that rely on revenue from visitors to keep the doors open. Museums have been particularly hard hit. However, if people can’t get to the museums, then why not bring the museum to the people? Digital technology allows us to virtually tour our favourite museums which experience can sometimes be more immersive than being there in person. The NSU museum in Germany is just one that is opening its virtual doors to all visitors.

A new exhibition at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles celebrating the spirit of adventure, from 1903 to the present day and beyond. Two- and four-wheeled vehicles, both earthbound and on other planets are on display, which celebrate not only the vehicles but the adventurers who rode and drove them.

If you’ve ever been to the Middle East, especially Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the Ferrari World at Yas Marina would have been the highlight of your trip. Getting on the fastest roller coaster in the world "Formula Rossa" and being surrounded by all that Red of Italy’s finest automobile maker can make you a kid all over again.

To be called as "Ducati World", Ducati laid the first stone to the world’s first theme park dedicated to all the motorcyclists, young or old, that will include a showroom, children’s attraction, roller coaster, virtual reality and many more indulging experiences fully showcasing the Ducati brand in a larger than life format.

The National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, UK, has the winter raffle contest going on for a while now and is drawing to a close. It is running for one final week, and the contest winner stands a chance to win a 2018 Triumph Speedmaster.

All you need to do is to spend £2 ($10) to buy an entry ticket for the museum, and you could just get lucky. Even if you didn’t win, you still could feel proud about having helped the museum with showcasing some of history’s iconic motorcycles to enthusiasts just like you and me.

The history of Ducati is driven by a unique engineering talent that has always generated motorcycles of unmistakable design and most profound sporting spirit. The Monster is no different. Which is why Ducati has planned a big bash for its 25th anniversary inviting all monsteristi to a Sunday Ride Classic, 24 March at Le Castellet, France.

The busy program includes many other events celebrating Ducati’s naked machine apart from the special celebratory parade. It will include the original Monster 900 MY1993 displayed at the Ducati Museum, an exhibition of special and custom Monsters and various contests.

Harley-Davidson has been giving us resilient machines ever since they began their stunt back in 1903. This year, the Bar & Shield brand turns 115-years-old, and the company plans to leave no stone unturned to celebrate it with its fans worldwide. Bikers and non-bikers alike.

Harley has always celebrated such milestones with a bang, be it their first ever one on their 85th, 100th, or their 110th anniversaries, and each has surpassed their previous celebrations by a huge way. This time too the brand plans of treating everyone with a cynosure and for the first time, Harley invites those non-riders as well to enjoy the big bash set for August 29 – September 2.

“No matter what you ride, or even if you haven’t started yet, you are welcome to join the 115th-anniversary celebrations of Harley-Davidson.”

Christmas is over, but the excitement stays on. Thanks to this custom build of the 2016 Indian Chief Vintage. Called the ‘Top Mountain,’ this over-the-top bagger is a one-off made by an Austrian Indian Motorcycle dealer, Markus Krasser from Styrian Motor Cycle (SMC).

If you’ve ever been to the Middle East, especially Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the Ferrari World at Yas Marina would have been the highlight of your trip. Getting on the fastest roller coaster in the world "Formula Rossa" and being surrounded by all that Red of Italy’s finest automobile maker can make you a kid all over again.

Now, Ducati is giving the world a theme park dedicated to all the motorcyclists, young or old, that will include a showroom, children’s attraction, roller coaster, virtual reality and many more indulging experiences fully showcasing the Ducati brand in a larger than life format.

The National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire, England, received a donation worthy of the awe of any biker among us. After careful restoration, a 1953 BSA A10 "Golden Flash" was donated by its owner to the National Motor Museum to be a part of "The Motorcycle Story" exhibition. The exhibition looks at the history of motorcycling, examining and celebrating people’s quest for individuality, freedom and the desire to go fast. It is the perfect venue to showcase the A10 and its post-war design that helped to shape the motorcycle industry in the mid-20th century.

Continue reading for more on the BSA A10 "Golden Flash."

Triumph has been the oldest British motorcycle manufacturer that has a rich 115 years of heritage. Expressing this to the world, the Hinckley firm has built a brand new Factory Visitor Center for £4million ($5.3 million) spanning across eight distinctly-themed areas that combine to create a full Triumph experience.

Showcasing the brand’s achievements in design, engineering, racing and popular culture, the visitor center will allow fans to get behind the scene through both historic and modern era of motorcycles and legends riding them.

There are few things in life I appreciate more than a well-kept, classic bike, and it really isn’t even about the object in question, but the love (read: work and money) it took to maintain it over the years. When a vehicle reaches collectible status, it can find itself at prestigious, world-wide events such as the RM Sotheby’s auction in Monaco this past Saturday. As usual, the globe-trotting auction house put on a top-notch show, with dozens of entries of various vintages in attendance. Join me while I take a look specifically at the motorcycles that changed hands this weekend.

Continue reading for my look at the bikes from RM Sotheby’s auction.

The 2015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally isn’t until August 1, 2015, but as early as now, visitors to the iconic city in South Dakota can enjoy the festivities a little early as the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame has announced the opening of its newest exhibit: “My First Ride.”

As the name of the exhibit explicitly points out, this exhibit will be primarily focused on featuring riders and their first motorcycles, as well as stories from people all over America, recounting the very first time they climbed on the saddle of a bike, beginning their love affairs with motorcycles. The exhibit will also have an online component, designed to enhance the visitor’s experience with QR codes scattered throughout the museum. These codes can be scanned with any smart phone and can be used to access additional content on the Internet to better appreciate the history and remarkable memories of the motorcycles on display.

The museum is also hoping that visitors can share their own stories and experiences with a motorcycle to help grow the exhibit with more personal tales and anecdotes from visitors who themselves have their own stories to tell. It’s about as interactive of a museum as you’ll come across these days, and the whole “share your own motorcycle story” does give visitors a chance to be part of the exhibit, however long it lasts.

It’s definitely a cool appetizer of sorts as we all count down the days to the 2015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. So if any of you just happen to be in Sturgis at this time of the year, do yourselves a solid and check out the “My First Ride” exhibit at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. Who knows, some of you might even end up having your own motorcycles partake in the festivities.

Be advised, though. The museum is open all seven days of the week during the summer. From Monday to Saturday, the musem will be open from 9 am to 5 pm whereas on Sunday, it’ll be taking in visitors from 10 am to 4 pm.

Continue reading to read more about the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame’s “My First Ride” exhibit.

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama has taken ownership of Dane Westby’s #00 Yamaha YZF-R6 race bike after being donated by Westby’s father, Tryg, the owner of the Yamalube/Westby racing team.

The decision to donate the bike to the Barber museum comes three months after the younger Westby, known by many in the motorcycle racing scene as the “Wolverine”, lost his life in a tragic street bike crash. There’s also a lot of sentimentality with that particular bike since it’s the exact racing bike that Westby rode on his way to winning both AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike races at the Barber Motorsports Park in 2014.

Now that it has a new home at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Westby’s fans who, like me, felt cheated in the manner by which he lost his life, can now visit the museum to pay homage to a racer who was in the peak of his racing powers before his untimely passing.

Westby’s bike will join more than 1,400 motorcycles and automobiles that are all on display at the Barber museum. Most of the items in the museum’s collection have their own stories to tell and Wesley’s bike is the latest one to join in the fold.

The museum even has a specific segment for race bikes ridden by some of the best motorcycle riders in history. That’s an apt place to put Westby’s #00 Yamaha YZF-R6. He may not have had the kind of career that can be compared to the likes of Jarno Saarinen, Yvon DuHamel, and Colin Edwards, all of whom have their bikes in the museum, but for what it’s worth, his contributions to the sport is right on par with the best of the lot.

Continue reading to read more about Tryg Westby donating his son’s Yamaha YZF-R6 to the Barber Vintage Motorcycles Museum.

It is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of Melbourne J. “Mike” Wilson, considered by many as the godfather of the American Motorcyclist Association. He was 94.

Wilson, a member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, is considered a titan in the motorcycle scene in America. Together with his wife, Margaret Wilson, herself a member of the AMA Hall of Fame, Wilson became a pioneer of sorts in the motorcycle business, having competed in a number of races in his time, including winning the 1956 Iowa TT State Championship. While his motor racing career isn’t as illustrious as some believe, Wilson’s contributions to the business extend far past the race track. He was also an astute businessman, opening Wilson’s Motorcycle Sales, a Harley and Honda dealership, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was also a devoted sponsor of young racers, steering the careers of fellow Hall of Famers John Tibben and Leo Payne.

It’s not a stretch to say that neither would’ve reached the levels of success they had without the help of Melbourne Wilson.

In the twilight of his life, he and his wife began focusing their efforts on preserving the history and heritage of motorcycling in the US. More than any other person, the Wilsons are largely created with the creation and promotion of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.

“As American motorcycling’s first couple and two of the sport’s greatest benefactors, Mike and Margaret Wilson were without peer,” AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman said in a statement.

“Mike, along with Margaret, not only lived life on two wheels to the fullest, but he gave back to the sport in many ways, which included their lasting contributions to the Hall of Fame, where their story will live on in perpetuity.”

Rest in peace, Melbourne “Mike” Wilson.

Anybody who’s an aficionado of Harley-Davidson knows who Willie G. Davidson is. As the driving force behind the American bike maker - his last name is literally used in the brand’s own name - Davidson is the quintessential authority on anything related to Harley-Davidson. That’s a big reason why he holds the title Chief Styling Officer Emeritus and Brand Ambassador within the company.

Naturally, his history with Harley-Davidson is unparalleled, which is why it’s incumbent upon fans of the company to pay the H-D Museum a visit when they can. From June 13 to September 7, 2015, the museum will host an exhibit aptly called Willie G. Davidson: Artist, Designer, Leader, Legend. The exhibit is dedicated to the man that carries its name and will feature a treasure trove of historical items belonging to Willie G’s own personal collection.

This includes one-of-a-kind vehicles, original designs, art, rare artifacts and media, giving visitors a chance to learn never-before-divulged information about the company’s iconic history.

The exhibit lasts a good four months so there’s really no reason for Harley fans to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Click past the jump to learn more about Harley-Davidson’s Willie G. museum.

We all have collections. Some of us collect stamps. Some of us collect Coca-Cola memorabilia. Some of us even collect bottle caps. David Silver is a collector, too, only his collection is a lot more significant than bottle caps. He collects Honda motorcycles and he doesn’t just collect run-of-the-mill types. He collects the good ones, dating back to the first Cub F engine from 1952 all the way to the first Honda Fireblade that made its debut in 1992. That and pretty much everything else in between.

Silver’s collection is arguably the most comprehensive Honda motorcycle collections outside of Honda’s very own museum in Japan. Honda said so itself and when the company freely admits as much, then it must be true.

With so many Honda motorcycles he owns, including 125 bikes he purchased from a fellow Honda bike collector in Pennsylvania, Silver’s now planning to showcase his entire collection by building an actual museum dedicated to all the bikes he has collected over the years.

As a fan of Honda motorcycles, I have to admit finding myself with my jaws on the floor on more than one occasion after watching this video. It’s not just that Silver’s got all these classic Hondas neatly tucked away in whatever space he can find in his garage; it’s that a lot of these classics appear to be in tip-top condition, which is more than what you can say for a lot of collections these days.

If you have the time, I strongly encourage all of you to watch this video prepared by Honda’s Dream magazine. At the very least, David Silver’s collection is going to blow you away.

A few years ago, riding through Ontario meant visiting Niagara Falls and get a good history lesson at the Classic Iron Motorcycle Museum. The motorcycles exposed there dated back to early 1990’s and the incursion in the past that they offered surely didn’t heart anyone. But, for no apparent reason, the Classic Iron Motorcycle Museum has now closed together with their website. This means restricting passionate people from getting a glimpse of some rare pieces of machineries such as the:

1916 Harley Davidson

1923 Indian Scout

1929 Sunbeam 500 cc Racer

1932 Harley Davidson RL

1937 BSA Empire Star

1937 Knucklehead

1940 Harley Davidson UL

1942 WLC Canadian Military

1951 Ariel Square Four

1952 Matchless GL3

1953 Triumph TR6 Trophy

1956 Panhead with Sidecar

1966 BMW R27

Among the museum’s attractions, probably the greatest were Easyrider’s “Captain America” & “Billy Bike” Replicas. They also had a 1980 Custom built Chrome & Gold Shovelhead so you can’t say that they were lacking visitors.

So the logical question here is why did they close it? Furthermore, why did they close it just when I plan to fly there?

Here’s an address and phone in case you are a very powerful man and happen to like motorcycles.

Classic Iron Motorcycle Museum
5743 Victoria Avenue
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada L2G 3L6

Phone: 905.374.8211

P.S. These days you have to reopen a museum and only then visit it.

Set up by John Burgin as a retiring activity, the hidden motorcycle museum is one of the best privately owned collections of motorcycles in the country.

It is located in Spanaway, Washington (so it’s not hidden any more?) and it includes a full set of Harley-Davidson Knuckleheads.

John passed away two years ago, but it leaves behind what could easily be the work of a lifetime gathered only during its retirement.

Here’s a great thing to do when going out riding in Maggie Valley, NC, but not before reading this guy’s riding experience:

"WOW! I had just tuned my old BMW (1995 R100RT) and decided to take a ride to enjoy my handiwork....and ended up about 40 miles away in Maggie Valley, NC. I told Donna I was going for a short ride to see how the bike ran and figured I really should turn around and then I passed the "Wheels Through Time Museum" which I had been planning on visiting, so I stopped....

The museum is a big building with a gravel lot and very modest signage. It was right at closing time but I parked and took off my helmet and walked up the incline towards the entrance. A friendly guy in an oil stained tshirt (just like mine!) welcomed me and asked if that was my airhead BMW and then asked if I would like to ride a vintage Harley that was idling next to him. Thats how I met the owner and creator of the museum, Dale Walksler, and yes, I did take the old Harley for brief ride, it was fun.

Dale and I hit it off immediately and had about an hour chat after he escorted me into the museum and then left me to my own devices. We have lots in common and I guess we are both now considered "old timers" in the world of motorcycles but he has done so much more in that world than I ever dreamed of doing. I owned a racing shop and did a small amount of racing and lots of motorcycle touring (still do).

I shot a little video and some pics while I wandered the museum and I have to tell you that Dale has put together a completely unique collection of running motorcycles and some cars and an airplane to boot.

If you get within 300 miles you need to visit. BTW, Dale is relocating the museum to Prescott, Arizona within the next year or so, check the current location before you plan your visit.

This is a "hands on" museum for motorcycle enthusiasts and it is not to be missed. I compare it to the "Silver Hill Air & Space Museum" outside of D.C. in feel.

Dale has over 250 unique motorcycles and they are not roped off, you can walk right up and caress them. He has a huge Harley collection but has many other makes too."

His website is:
http://www.WheelsThroughTime.com