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 On
my first BikeShare to England, Tony Wood, #K100 took me to Birmingham
to see the British National Motorcycle Museum. I'll admit to
having a weakness for British bikes. However, I lack the bravery
to take the leap of owning a piece of British motorcycling history.
I keep thinking there is a Norton Commando out there somewhere
with my name on it
About 80 miles from
my house in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio you will find the
American Motorcyclist Association. The "AMA" is the
dominant motorcycle organization in the U.S. They work for motorcyclist's
rights, monitor legislation and are the primary motorycle racing
governing body.
Back in the early
90's the AMA and some its members began working to establish
a motorcycle museum. There was not a significant museum at that
time. Since then, the Barber family has opened a very large
privately owned muesum in Birmingham, Alabama.
The focus of the
AMA museum is very much about the history of motorcycles and
motorcycling in the U.S. However, this does not mean it only
has displays of American Made motorcycles. The museum is not
near as big as the British Motorcycle Muesum, but the quality
is very nice. Additionally, the displays change and address
different eras, manufacturers, events and motorcycle activities
from days gone by. The oldest machine there is the Daimler wooden
motorcycle built in 1885.
I had the good fortune
several years ago to visit with, then AMA president, Ed Youngblood.
He gave me a tour of their facility and explained the plans
for the museum. They were very restricted on space at that time.
It was more of a large "lobby" than it was a museum.
Since then the AMA has moved to a very nice facility. It was
formally the corporate offices of an Insurance company. It is
more of a campus or park setting with a building set aside just
for the museum. Just like so many trips, I have put off a visit
to their new location as it is so close.
This summer my brother-in-law
said he and some other motorcyclists were going to ride up to
Columbus to the museum. So at the last minute, I jumped in.
 The
museum is not a static collection of displays. They change from
time to time to follow different themes. One that I missed was
"Your First Motorcycle." I think that would have been
a great display. During this visit there were a couple of featured
displays. One was covering the products and designs of Craig
Vetter who designed fairings and tourng accessories for motorcycles
in the 70's and 80's. Many a motorcyclist and I have logged
miles behind a Vetter fairing. In their day, I think they were
the standard.
Also there was a
display featuring ""Board Track" racing motorcycles.
I always thought Board track racers were a little whacked. After
seeing the bikes in person, I know this to be fact!
There is always a
display of historic motorcycles and racing motorcycles there
also. These also change from time to time. On this trip they
had one the motorcycles that made dirt track history.
For years, American
dirt track racing had been dominated by Harley-Davidson and
British 750c twins. Yamaha had tried to mount an attack using
their work horse XS650 as a foundation. It was a logical choice,
but never seemed to make the impact they wanted. Yamaha decided
to pull out all of the stops. As the rules then only dictated
a 750cc limit Yamaha thought they might find the cure in their
TZ750 2-stroke road racing engine. They put together a dirt
track frame, wedged the 4 cylinder,liquid cooled engine into
the frame and handed it over the "King" Kenny Roberts.
The rest is legend. The TZ based racer was a rocket down the
straights and a wiggling, snarling beast in the corners. Roberts
would blast into the lead on the straights and then pitch the
4 cylinder sideways into the soft powder to slow it down. In
the end Roberts said, "They don't pay me enough to ride
that $#@%^&$ motorcycle." I don't remember if "King"
Kenny won that event, but a friend of mine that was there said
it was worth seeing in any case.
If you find your
BikeShare will bring you to Ohio, make the effort to stop by
the Motorcycle Heritage Museum. It can be covered in an hour
or so and it will give you a nice glimpse of American motorcycling.
Motorcycle Heritage
Museum
13515 Yarmouth Drive
Pickerington, Ohio 43147-8273
614.856.2222
www.motorcyclemuseum.org
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