National Motorcycle Museum (UK)
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| National Motorcycle Museum | |
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| Established | October 1984 |
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| Location | Solihull (UK) |
| Type | Motorcycle Museum |
| Visitor figures | 250,000 |
| Curator | Nick Hartland |
| Website | Official website |
The National Motorcycle Museum opened in October 1984 on an 8 acre site in Bickenhill, Solihull, England and holds the British national motorcycle collection, which is the largest in the world.[1] In addition to over 850 motorcycles which cover sixty years of motorcycle manufacture the site has conference facilities. The main entrance is from the roundabout situated at the junction of the A45 and the M42.
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[edit] History
The founder of the museum, construction entrepreneur and self-made millionaire Roy Richards, started collecting good examples of British motorcycles in the 1970s and the museum opened in 1984 with an initial collection of 350 machines.
The museum was developed to include conference facilities in 1985. The museum has become the largest collection of British motorcycles in the world, with over 250,000 visitors a year.[2]
Sadly Roy Richards died of respiratory failure on March 29, 2008, aged 77. The National Motorcycle Museum is a fitting memorial to his passion for preserving the best of British motorcycling history.[3]
[edit] The fire
The Museum was severely damaged by fire on 16 September 2003 with the loss of 400 motorcycles. 120 firefighters were needed to put out the inferno which was visible for 15 miles. Most of the museums many of the museum's rarest and irreplaceable exhibits were destroyed.[4] Staff and peole attending a conference were able to save over 300 rare motorcycles but three of the five exhibit halls were completely burnt down. West Midlands Fire Service investigators concluded that a cigarette thrown away in a designated smoking area was responsible for igniting a pile of cardboard boxes. The cost of the fire was estimated at over £14 million.[5]
After fifteen months and a £20m rebuild (which included installation of a £1.2 million sprinkler system) the museum was rebuilt and opened again on 1 December 2004. Although 380 motorcycles were lost in the fire, 150 were fully restored for the re-opening.[6] Many of the fire damaged motorcycles were restores to showroom condition.[7]
[edit] Exhibits
All the motorcycles on display are in excellent condition and represent the best examples of all the well known makes, such as BSA, Triumph and Norton as well as less well known makers including Coventry-Eagle, Montgomery and New Imperial. All have impressive pedigrees but a few are world class and stand out from the rest:
[edit] Golden Dream Brough
One of the most valuable motorcycles in the world the Golden Dream Brough. This Brough Superior is the only example of George Brough's show model for the 1938 Olympia show.[1] Handbuilt by Brough and Freddie Dixon the Golden Dream has two pairs of horizontally opposed cylinders, one above the other, with two longitudinal crankshafts to give vibration free running. The two crankshafts shafts are geared together, with one driving the rear wheel and the other driving the oil pump and magdyno. Two Brough Dream Fours were built but World War Two stopped development. The second Brough Dream has a black and chrome finish and is in private ownership.[6]
On the 27th of April 2008 at the Stafford Motorcycle show UK the auctioneers Bonhams sold an 'ordinary' 1934 Brough Superior SS100 for £166,500 – a world record and the highest price ever paid for a British motorcycle at auction.[8] so visitors can only speculate on the value of this a 'one-off' gold painted model.
[edit] Wilkinson Luxury Tourer
Built by the Wilkinson Sword company in the run up to the First World War the first 'Wilkinsons' were aimed at military use and optional accessories included a sidecar complete with Maxim machine gun - and a steering wheel instead of handlebars. The model displayed in the museum was built in 1912 and is the top of the range four cylinder water cooled shaft drive version.[1] Originally air-cooled the Wilkinson engine was water-cooled from 1911 and described as a ‘Luxury Touring Motor Cycle’.[9]
[edit] Triumph Rocket III
The newest motorcycle in the collection is also another British World beater as the Triumph Rocket III is the largest production motorcycle at 2300cc. Road tests proved that the 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) time was quicker than most sports bikes and the weight distribution, low centre of gravity and geometry made handling easy with acceleration up to 135 mph (217 km/h). In 2004 the Rocket III set the world land speed record for a production motorcycle over 2000cc reaching its electronically set limiter of 140.3 mph.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Brooks, John (2000). The National Motorcycle Museum. Jarrold Publishing.
- ^ History of the National Motorcycle Museum. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ Death of Roy Richards, founder of the Motorcycle Museum. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ Fire destroys motorbike collection. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ £14 million bill for motorcycle museum blaze. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ a b c National Motorcycle Museum. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ National Motorcycle Museum reopens. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ Bonhams Press release accessed 2008-05-07
- ^ 1912 Wilkinson-TMC 848cc 4 Cylinder Touring Motorcycle. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
