What did you do in the holidays? - National Motorcycle Museum

[merv]

December January we had the pleasure of having a four week holiday in Pomgolia and Europe all in the name of attending my daughter's wedding in Zurich. Sadly this was overshadowed slightly by my brother being terminally ill back in NZ.

We had 12 days in Pomgolia and I drove North as far as Manchester and Sheffield. On the way of course is the National Motorcycle Museum near Birmingham. This is the one Bob reported on in a few threads about the devastating fire of 2003 and how it was successfully rebuilt, this time with sprinklers.

You want to see some photos eh? I'm sure Motu does.

[merv]

It was a great place to visit armed with camera with so many perfect examples of the local brands on display including many prototypes.

Look there is Bruce Anstey's TT winning Triumph.

[merv]

Funny, there are no Jap bikes but there was this wooden carved one.

Some of the mess from the fire was on display too.

[merv]

I'm amazed they were able to reopen with so many bikes on display.

[merv]

So who likes the pink bike or the Norton prototype?

[merv]

More remains of the fire were on show and there's the Triumph 1000 4 prototype - would have been a good bike back then I reckon.

[merv]

Interesting bikes everywhere.

[merv]

Two close back wheels, now that's an interesting concept.

[merv]

I like the Vincents, especially with the 150mph speedo right in front of your face, but the Black Knight - hmmm someone else can have that.

[merv]

Its quite a large collection as you can see. I saw a few of the Ariel 2 strokes going in NZ way back and thought they made an odd sound - the Japs were different.

Nice Triumph, looks a bit like a Yamaha.

[merv]

I did like the orange and gray Rocket 3 and the Triumph X75.

[Voltaire]

Great Pics Merv,
Sorry to hear about your brother.
The Norton OHC always facinated me, with the chain going all the way round in those tubes.
And the car like thing with the motorcycle attached...sort of a spin on sidecars....not a BSA taxi is it?

[merv]

More Triumphs and other bikes.

[merv]

Don't think the sidecar thing was a BSA, I'd have to go look it up.

There certainly were plenty of race bikes there.

[merv]

All gleaming from care and attention.

[merv]

Some dirt bikes are there too.

[merv]

There's the Manx Norton Barry Sheene rode in classic races as the last bike he raced befored he died of cancer.

[merv]

The three cylinder racers were good looking bikes - I remembered them sounding good too.

I've never seen a Norton Rotary go nor heard what they sound like - perhaps others can comment on them.

[Ixion]

But how often do they get out on the road (or track as the cas emay be). I'm not an enthusiast of museums. They remind me of graveyards. Bikes are for riding.

[merv]

My son reckoned I should stand by the banana looking bike, the Wooler, but I still like the Vincents.

Love the pictures on the walls too.

[merv]

Ixion some of these will be the bikes that have ventured to Pukekohe over the years I am sure. Not everyone can be a museum piece on the road huh, you've got to be old enough. I'm a bit nostalgic and don't mind looking through museums and family history has us looking through graveyards.

[merv]

Geoff Duke wasn't a bad rider in his day.

Dennis May had the right sort of record breaking gear on :lol:.

[merv]

That's all folks, at ease.

[NordieBoy]

Lots of pics = good :D

[Motu]

A Bandit and a Fury...total production volume right there.I like the Triumph four as well....nice to think they were thinking ahead,but the concept was stretched with the Trident....the Quad might have been better,but most likely worse.Nice pair of Rickman's....but you got a flattrack BSA in a couple of shots by mistake.

[merv]

Nice pair of Rickman's....but you got a flattrack BSA in a couple of shots by mistake.

Yeah some people have no taste with their photos - still wasn't a bad place to visit even Mrs merv and Son merv enjoyed it.

[Motu]

Well Southward's was something I set my heart on for a few decades,and was well worth the wait - The National Motorcycle Museum would be like winning Lotto for me.Something stable for you in the teeter tottering turmoil at that time.I hope you took your brother in your heart as you walked around.....

[Laava]

I went there in 93. Was awesome to see so many bikes but after a while it is hard to appreciate them individually. Biked out, I guess you could say. Seems ironic tho! But there are some hideous machines there, by todays std anyway. I can see past that to the engineering beauty, which it's all about, for me but hideous nonetheless. The Quadrant was of interest to me as my bro had a T150v at the time which the Q is based on essentially. I have many of the same photos incl the AJS Porcupines of which they had about 3 I think. Did they get burnt then? Also while I was in GB, the NMM was in the news for appropriating bikes from donors. Not sure if that was dinkum or how many were involved but had a very interesting conversation with a brummie bike collector who bought my Aermacchi[HD badged] 350. he was involved somehow and filled me in about it. Hard to believe that they didn't have better fire protection tho! Well done Merv, great pics!

[merv]

Yep classic story, great collection, big museum, but oh no they didn't install sprinklers first time around. They now have a sprinkler system - once bitten, twice shy.

This pic http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=117936&d=1233474511 from post 16 above has a later model E95 Porcupine in the middle (by then it had really lost its Porcupine fins). Not all bikes are on display, I gather some are stored elsewhere so I am not sure what the entire collection includes.

For those interested you can find guff on the museum here http://www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/