When George Barber started collecting in 1988, first American Iron cars, then motorcycles, no one could have predicted how this collection would look in 2008.

Near Birmingham Alabama, USA, is a museum with one of the world’s largest and most impressive collections of motorcycles. The collection is not just impressive because of the sheer volume of motorcycles (currently standing at more than 1100); it is notable because most of these machines are running examples!

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is based in a beautiful parkland setting. The five-floored, purpose-built construction was designed by Barber, with help from local architects, and took 18 months to build. The original concept of the building was to offer a spacious facility with each machine displayed in its own right, in contrast to the typical museum style of endless rows.

From Cars to Motorcycles

It was 1988 when the idea of a motorcycle collection started to gel. David Hooper, Barber’s car restoration shop manager, suggested that he take a look at collecting motorcycles. They already had all the necessary facilities for storage and restoration from restoring 40s and 50s American iron cars in their original shop. However, as space was running out, Hooper made the very valid point that one 57 Chevrolet took up the space of six motorcycles, and perhaps Mr. Barber should consider collecting motorcycles instead of cars.

Once Barber got behind the idea of collecting two wheelers, it didn’t take long before the collection had outgrown the original shop.

It was about this time that they realized they had something unique. As Jeff Ray, the Barber Museum’s general manger put it, “Car collections were pretty commonplace in America, but no one had set out to do a legitimate period motorcycle collection.” So with this goal in mind, Barber decided to go even further. Having an impressive collection is one thing, but displaying it to its best advantage is another.

Barber decided that he was going to make his collection open to public viewing, partly to give something back to the local area where the Barber dairy business had made the family wealthy. What better way to cover all of the requirements than to open a museum that would draw crowds - one with a private race track where rare motorcycles could be seen lapping. And so began the foundation of what is now one of the world’s premier motorcycle collections and a top level national race track.

Official Opening

The race track officially opened on September 14, 2003, with Porsche North America unveiling the Cayenne to their dealer network there. The museum opened the following weekend, coinciding with an AMA national race. “We were all surprised to see an enormous crowd waiting to get in,” said Jeff. “We were still putting bikes in place 45 minutes before the opening, and Mr. Barber ended up signing autographs for an hour and a half.”

The race track and museum have gone from strength to strength in the subsequent years, with more than 60,000 annual visitors to the museum alone, and another 350,000 visitors coming to the race track and associated events each year; the facility generates over $126 million for the local economy.

So, what can visitors expect to see in the collection? Perhaps the question should be: Is there anything you won’t see?

Entering the main foyer, visitors are greeted with an open expanse with a central circular walk way – wheel chair accessible. From the walkway, visitors can gain access to the displays of period motorcycles on each floor. The museum’s collection successfully attempts to display important machines from each era; from modified bicycles to café racers and Grand Prix racing machines.

Getting to the Barber museum is an easy two and half hour ride from Atlanta (140 miles), or a full day’s ride (570 miles) for the serious biker from Daytona in Florida. For the less adventurous, the Birmingham International Airport is just a 15 minute car drive away, and the area has many hotels and motels. Further details can be found at the museum’s official web site at: www.barbermuseum.org.