There’s a little museum tucked away in Leeds Alabama that should be on everyone’s list to visit - The Barber Motorsports Museum. Although by little I mean it’s the worlds largest motorcycle museum, with over 950 bikes on display in the 5-story 230,000 sq ft facility. The museum also has almost 2000 more bikes in storage and possesses the worlds largest collection of Lotus race cars. The museum itself is part of the 14 acre Barber Motorsports Park, which has its own track that hosts the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Alabama, American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA), GT World Challenge America, and MOTOAmerica races, along with the being the home of the Porsche Track Experience. Every year during the first weekend in October, they have the Barber Vintage Festival, a 3-day extravaganza of all things motorcycle. If you haven’t been to one of these, it’s time to mark your calendar and make the trip to Alabama. You definitely won’t be disappointed. These are just some of the photos I’ve taken during some of the festivals I’ve attended.
If some of these photos look a little “off”, it’s because I was using a lower resolution camera at the time.
Welcome to the Barber Motorsports Museum.
This is the new wing they added in 2016.
The "wine rack".
1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmuller.
Early Board Track race bikes.
1935 Crocker Speedway.
1927 Ford Model T Truck.
1911 Flanders "4".
1917 Indian Model "O" Light Twin.
1923 Ner-A-Car.
Part of the Lotus collection
More Lotus race cars.
1956 M. V. Agusta.
1954 M. V. Agusta 500/4 (L), 1972 M. V. Agusta 750 Daytona (C), 1967 M. V. Agusta 500/3 (R).
1973 Ducati 750 SS
1935 DKW SS250
1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertable.
1958 Ariel Square 4 4G MK II with Enclosed Sidecar.
1943 BMW R75 3 x 2
1937 BMW R17/Steib
1938 Zundapp K 800
1920 MARS Type A20.
1962 Norton Manx.
1971 Munch Mammoth T. T. S.
1970 Indian Enfield.
1971 BSA Rocket 3.
1960 Vincent Black Lightning.
1963 Yamaha Ascot Scrambler.
1974 Triumph / Redline.
1998 Jawa Ice Racer.
2007 KTM 660 Rallye
1950 Triumph TRW
1940 Indian Junior Scout (L). 1940 Indian Four (R).
1990 BMW R100GSPD
1965 Cushman Super Silver Eagle.
1998 Kawasaki KZ1000P
1962 Pannonia TLB250.
1972 Suzuki RE-5.
From the genius mind of Alan Millyard.
2012 Kawasaki Z 2600 V-12.
1974 Honda SS100.
1974 Kawasaki 1600 V-8.
1990 Kawasaki W650.
1997 Ducat 916 Senna.
1969 Bridgestone 175 Dual Twin Scrambler.
1960 BSA Gold Star Clubman's
1957 Harley Davidson XL Sportster.
1969 Honda CB750.
1977 Harley Davidson XLCR.
2005 Orange County Choppers CAT bike.
1976 BMW R90S.
2006 Ducati Paul Smart 1000 LE (L), 1974 Ducati 750 SS (R).
1938 Triumph Speed Twin.
1983 Benelli Sei.
1946 Indian Chief.
1964 MZ 250 G. P.
2008 Christini/KTM.
2016 Christini AWD 450 II-Track.
1964 Royal Enfield 750 Interceptor.
1994 Goodman 1200.
1962 Honda CL72 Scrambler.
1961 Parilla Wildcat Scrambler.
1961 Maserati 50/T2 SS
1924 Sunbeam Model 9.
1922 Triumph Ricardo.
1982 Hesketh V 1000.
1953 Victoria Bergmeister.
1979 Yamaha RD400F.
1996 Britten V-1000. This is #7 of 10.
The ground floor contains various road and race cars, along with the restoration shop.
The storage room. These are bikes that are either waiting their turn to be on display or restoration.
Some of the park landscaping. The footbridge on the right crosses the track to to a path that leads to another footbridge over the track, offering great viewing spots.
Every year the VJMC (Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) takes over one of the fields and puts on a great show of their own.
Vintage Yamahas at the VJMC meet.
1974 Yamaha DT-125A.
The swap meet area. Bring money.
If you need it, it's probably here.
How often do you see a Vincent at a swap meet?
Somebody went home with this Guzzi police bike.
All sorts of stuff for sale here.
One of my favorite parts of the Vintage Festival - the Ace Corner.
Sadly, they don't have it anymore.
The Triumph Rocket III Streamliner.
The work of Makoto Endo. He uses nothing but ink & a pair of chopsticks to create amazing artwork.
Another group of vintage bikes.
The Globe of Death. This you have to see to believe.
The Wall of Death.
The start of one one of the Motocross race heats.
Starting the next heat.
The track at Barber.
During all 3 days of the Vintage Festival, you can watch AHRMA racing.
The starting grid, and paddock.
The view from the (former) Ace Corner.
T Globe of Death show. If you look closely, you can see a person standing in the middle of the globe on the inside.
The Wall of Death. Turn up the sound, as part of the experience is hearing the bikes & go-kart on the wood boards.