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Motorcycles rule at Barber Motorsports Museum
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Motorcycles artfully stacked at the museum
After a day of learning how to maneuver gracefully around a track at Porsche Driving School outside of Birmingham, Alabama, we paused for a look at the onsite museum. We were at the lovely Barber Motorsports Park, the museum was Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. I am not one to linger long at auto exhibits, but this one captivated me. This cleverly designed space reminded me of the best—the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art and, for sure, a little bit of Disneyland.
George Barber, yes, one and the same as Barber Motorsports Park, is a successful dairyman and former sports car and motorcycle racer who originally started collecting and restoring classic sports cars in 1989. Mr. Barber soon became fascinated by motorcycles, especially when he realized that there was not a museum which reflected the history of motorcycles around the world.
Thus, he began to purchase entire collections, housing them in an old building that had once been used for the maintenance of milk delivery trucks.
By 1994 a non-profit corporation had been established, creating a permanent museum that was opened to the public. When the “Art of the Motorcycle” previewed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1998, the majority of machines in the exhibit came from Barber's collection. The motorcycle exhibit, much to the astonishment of the museum world, was a huge success that helped create the need for a bigger motorcycle museum.
Thus, in September of 2003, the museum moved to a new home at The Barber Motorsports Park. And what a place it is! 80,000 square feet and five floors of 1100 vintage and modern motorcycles as well as a substantial collection of Lotus and other racecars. It is considered the largest in North American and possibly the world. The huge loft is lit by floor to ceiling windows with views of the gardens on the property. The displays hang from the ceilings or walls, are stacked in colorful sculptures or simply stand suspended from wires. Discreet works of art, like a statue of a guard standing on a landing, a race car driver playing a piano, are scattered around the space.
No need to ride motorcycles or even one ounce of gearhead installed in your coding, this museum will make you appreciate bikes for their color, styling and intricate design work. Bikes range from as early as 1904 to current-year production, from 16 countries and over 140 different manufacturers. And yes, even a copy of the famous Easy Rider bike is here.
The bikes are kept up to perfect shiny condition; all restorations are done in house. So, you say you wanna’ ride one? The claim is that 99% of the bikes in the museum can be run within an hour!
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