It's fine to bring prams into the museum.
June 4, 2012 4:20 AM Subscribe
The Motorcycle Collection Museum in Sollentuna, Sweden features a private collection over over 100 motorcycles beginning with a 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller, the world's first production motorcycle and including representative motorcycles from every decade.
Nice...thanks..
(however, I was disappointed that my first Bike, a 50's era Whizzer, was not represented, nor was my old Vespa scooter...)
posted by HuronBob at 5:49 AM on June 4, 2012
(however, I was disappointed that my first Bike, a 50's era Whizzer, was not represented, nor was my old Vespa scooter...)
posted by HuronBob at 5:49 AM on June 4, 2012
If Sweden is slightly too far for anyone and they find themselves in Alabama instead, the Barber Motorsports Park Museum is a fascinating place. I don't think it is quite as structured as that collection but it has an array of many bikes from a similar spread of time as that museum.
I'm not even really any big fan of motorbikes but we went there on a (tornado induced) day off a few years ago and we 'popped in just after lunch' and were there till it closed. Really interesting and some beautiful bits of engineering are there and you can get right up to most of them. There is a nice little collection of race cars, too.
posted by Brockles at 6:15 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm not even really any big fan of motorbikes but we went there on a (tornado induced) day off a few years ago and we 'popped in just after lunch' and were there till it closed. Really interesting and some beautiful bits of engineering are there and you can get right up to most of them. There is a nice little collection of race cars, too.
posted by Brockles at 6:15 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Very cool museum! As long as we are calling out omissions, I note that they need a Scripps-Booth Bi-Autogo to complete their collection.
posted by TedW at 6:29 AM on June 4, 2012
posted by TedW at 6:29 AM on June 4, 2012
Another plug for the Barber Museum. It's fantastic.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 7:06 AM on June 4, 2012
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 7:06 AM on June 4, 2012
Don't forget the American Motorcycle Association Museum just outside of Columbus, Ohio.
posted by ZureaL at 8:21 AM on June 4, 2012
posted by ZureaL at 8:21 AM on June 4, 2012
I'm partial to the 1915 Williams Clady, myself, with the engine mounted inside the rear wheel. It's a thing of beauty.
Although, doing 140 mph on a 1907 Curtiss V8 sounds rather exciting...
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:04 AM on June 4, 2012
Although, doing 140 mph on a 1907 Curtiss V8 sounds rather exciting...
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:04 AM on June 4, 2012
Also awesome is the Solvang Motorcycle Museum in Solvang, CA.
posted by mollymayhem at 12:01 PM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by mollymayhem at 12:01 PM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Capt. R, the Solvang museum has a Megola. It's a German bike from the 20s with a rotary engine. Direct drive, no clutch, no gears, no brakes. They were race winners in their time!
posted by mollymayhem at 12:04 PM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by mollymayhem at 12:04 PM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think the one bike which would make this collection complete would be a 1978 Husqvarna 390 automatic. (And get it out of my garage)
posted by digsrus at 12:29 PM on June 4, 2012
posted by digsrus at 12:29 PM on June 4, 2012
As the owner of a 1986 Honda CB450 I love to look at pictures of old bikes. Something about the lines of the cafe racers and old cruisers is so appealing.
posted by bendy at 12:42 PM on June 4, 2012
posted by bendy at 12:42 PM on June 4, 2012
My son and I were tooling around the light industrial area of Redmond near Microsoft's campus one morning a couple of years ago, looking for a a hard-edged industrial-looking spot to take a photo of the Ferrari Maranello I was driving and trying to market. We passed by one of the buildings whose doors were open a crack and we could see a lot of motorcycles inside. I stopped and reversed the car to sneak a better look and, as I came to a stop, a man walked out from between the sliding doors and waved to us with the universal "come on in" wave.
We walked in to an amazing motorcycle collection. All Triumph. In fact, as he told us, an example of every Triumph model ever made including the actual last bike to come off the original Triumph line.
The man was a Microsoft retiree and this was his passion. He took us around to each significant bike and described its importance to the collection and any special pedigree or provenance. He pointed out what restorations he had made and what restorations he had not made in an effort to preserve history. It was magic.
We spent about three hours there and, I have to note, it wasn't the collection itself that made it so great to see. No. It was the collector, a Microsoft retiree and a man clearly consumed with a passion and the means to see that passion out to the levels few can muster.
As we were leaving, I asked what was under the canvas drape in the corner. He pulled pack the cloth to reveal a red 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster with 101 total miles on the odometer.
"The beginning of my next collection," he said.
posted by bz at 7:19 PM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
We walked in to an amazing motorcycle collection. All Triumph. In fact, as he told us, an example of every Triumph model ever made including the actual last bike to come off the original Triumph line.
The man was a Microsoft retiree and this was his passion. He took us around to each significant bike and described its importance to the collection and any special pedigree or provenance. He pointed out what restorations he had made and what restorations he had not made in an effort to preserve history. It was magic.
We spent about three hours there and, I have to note, it wasn't the collection itself that made it so great to see. No. It was the collector, a Microsoft retiree and a man clearly consumed with a passion and the means to see that passion out to the levels few can muster.
As we were leaving, I asked what was under the canvas drape in the corner. He pulled pack the cloth to reveal a red 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster with 101 total miles on the odometer.
"The beginning of my next collection," he said.
posted by bz at 7:19 PM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Please dele the first occurrence of "The man was a Microsoft retiree and this was his passion."
posted by bz at 7:24 PM on June 4, 2012
posted by bz at 7:24 PM on June 4, 2012
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posted by gen at 4:40 AM on June 4, 2012