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Motorcycle Museums and Shows

The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee

Had an opportunity to visit the Harley-Davidson Museum.  It's been on the bucket list.  Highly recommend it.

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Harley-Davidson Museum  -  The Main Hall Entrance

Harleys from the 1950s to the Nova Concept Bike in this section

Motorcycle Museums and Shows

The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee

Had an opportunity to visit the Harley-Davidson Museum.  It's been on the bucket list.  Highly recommend it.

MC Museums and Shows: Latest News

Harley-Davidson Museum  -  The Main Hall Entrance

Harleys from the 1900s to the 1940s in this section

Motorcycle Museums and Shows

The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee

Had an opportunity to visit the Harley-Davidson Museum.  It's been on the bucket list.  Highly recommend it.

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Serial #1

The first Harley.

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Scott Parker's helmet

The real thing

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Knievel jump bike

Iconic

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440 Snow mobile

Harley was in the market for a very short time.

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2015 Seige MX Show

The Seige MX Show was held in the Pacific North West and featured a nice collection of vintage dirt bikes.

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Monark MX

Powered by Sachs

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Bultaco Boat Tail Pursang

This one has lots of modern upgrades.

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Indian Mini

Every little racers dream

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Yamaha XS650 based MXer

Lots of mods to make this open class racer.

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2017 Frederick Colorado Vintage Motorcycle Show

This a great local show in the town of Frederick.  These are just a few of the great motorcycles on display.

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Stretched Shovelhead

Someone's pride and joy.

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Yamaha XS650 chopper

A good platform for so many custom builds.

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BMW R100CS

The gentleman's cafe racer.

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Harley-Davidson XR1000

A very nice example.

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2015 Portland International Motorcycle

Portland used to be a regular stop on the Annual International Motorcycle Show circuit.  The motorcycles on this page are a few examples from the 2015 show.

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1976 Honda CB400SS

Some of the sexiest pipes ever put on a stock motorcycles.

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2015 Indian Chief custom

The is a Roland Sands build.

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1968 BSA B44

Nice example of the BSA single cylinder work horse.

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2015 Harley-Davidson Street Tracker

Nice build based on the liquid cooled V-Twin.

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2018 Sante Fe Motorcycle Show

Held Annually in Sante Fe New Mexico NM.  This is a great show which features some really great motorcycles.

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Moto Guzzi Falcone

The versatile horizontal single was popular for years.

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1973 Norton Hi Rider

Norton's version of the custom.

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1968 Chang Jiang

Never know what you might find for sale at a motorcycle show.

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1985 Italjet Roadmaster 350

The Italian interpretation of a custom.

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Motorcycle Museums

The Annual Bonham's Auction, Las Vegas

Like Mecum this also not a Museum.  The annual Bonham's Auction sells a lot less motorcycles than Mecum.  Primarily because it only runs for one day.  But the overall quality is very high end.

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1933 Sunbeam Model 90

A very nice example of the early British single.

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1913 Thor Model K

Thors were assembled from parts manufactured by others.  This didn't stop Thors from being very high quality motorcycles.

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1938 Moto Guzzi Stradale

These were very successful production racers.

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1960 Harley-Davidson FLH Police Model

The Harley-Davidson twin staple in police departments for decades.

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The Annual Mecum Auction, Las Vegas

It's not technically a museum, but there are more museum grade motorcycles sold here each years than exist in the majority of motorcycle museums.  If you're looking for it, you may just find it at Mecum.  Below are a few of the examples from past auctions.

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1911 Harley-Davidson 7a.

Motorcycles like these put Harley-Davidson on the map.

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1969 Bultaco El Bandito

A highly desirable model.

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1975 Yamaha TZ750 based flat tracker.

Inspired by the one that Kenny Roberts road to victory at the Indy Mile

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1978 Benelli 900 SEI

The Italian in-line six.

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The Vespa Museum in Pontedera, Italy

This is the Vespa side of the Piaggio Museum.  The museum features the history of Vespa. It includes Art Scooters. Road Racing Scooters, Off- Road Scooters, as well as the history of Vespa production.

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1943 Piaggio Paperino

The beginning of a long line of Vespa production.

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Off-Road Rallye Vespa

This model competed in the deserts near Egypt.

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A Road Racing Version

Scooter racing is quite popular in Europe.

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Military Vespa

This one was built as a concept model.

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Forney Transportation Museum -- Denver, Co.

The museum features locomotives, automobiles, and a nice collection of motorcycles.

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1918 Excelsior Henderson

The 4 cylinder, 3-speed Henderson set several long distance speed records in its day.

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1979 Honda CBX

Six cylinders, dual overhead cams, and 24 valves.  The 1,000cc Honda could run through the quarter mile in 11 seconds setting a new standard for production sportbikes.

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1936 Indian Flat Track Racer

Typical of the period.  45 cubic in. flat head motor with rigid frame.

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1965 Sears Puch 250

Built in Austria and rebadged as a Sears.  Sold through the Sears retailer.

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LeMay - America's Car Museum -- Tacoma, Wa.

Yes, it's a car museum but it's so much more.  Displays are regularly rotated.  Our last visit was 2018.  We'll be back as soon as things open up again.

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1963 Honda CR-93 Twin Cam Race Bike

Honda also made a street legal version that is obviously very rare.

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Ducati Scrambler

Yes.  Ducati made scramblers back in the day.

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Yamaha RZ350

The pinnacle of  street legal Yamaha two-stroke twins.

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Hodaka 100

One of the first Hodakas with a painted tank.

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Fay Myers, Greenwood, Co

Maybe it doesn't fit the strict definition of a museum, but the Fay Myers dealership in Greenwood, Co. has several nice vintage motorcycles in its collection.  A few are captured below.

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Early Harley-Davidson Single

One of the models helped establish the Harley-Davidson reputation for reliability.

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Triumph Bonneville Based Drag Bike

Typical of drag bikes in the 1960s.

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KTM 80PL

Primarily known for dirt oriented motorcycles, KTM also produced street bikes like this little 80.

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Honda CB92

Honda's 1960s jewel.

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The Ducati Museum, Bologna Italy

We visited this museum in 2018.  If you like Ducati motorcycles, you'll love this museum.  In the early years Ducati was known for cameras and precision instruments.  After World War II Ducati started producing small engines that  could mount onto bicycles.  This grew into small displacement, high performance motorcycles, and eventually the some of the fastest motorcycles money can buy.

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Line-up of Ducati racers

They illustrate the technological advancement of breed.

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The little Cucciolo

Humble beginnings for today's high performance machines.

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Ducati SS125

The little bevel heads that started the Ducati reputation for performance.

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1971 Ducati GT750

Considered by many to be the first superbike.

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The Penrose Museum, Colorado Springs

This museum was established to celebrate Pike's Peak and the annual race up the mountain.  If you're in the area it's a great place to visit and learn the history of this one of a kind race.

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Ducati Multistrata

Ridden by Carlin Dunne in 2012 this Multistrata was the first motorcycle to make it to the top in less than 10 minutes.

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Wood Rotax Flat Tracker

Racers were available in displacement from 500cc to 676cc.

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Classic Triumph Flat Tracker

Models like this raced up the mountain before it was paved.

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BSA A65

A non-racer on display at the Penrose.

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Erico Moto Sports, Denver, Co

It's not really a museum but more of a collection of motorcycles within the dealership.  Regardless, it's a great collection worthy of a stop if you're in the area.

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Ducati Mountaineer

Nice little four stroke Ducati.

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MV Agusta

A small bore four-stroke.

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Moto-Guzzi V7

Custom Scrambler version of the modern middleweight.

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Vespa Scooter

An all time classic.

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The Buddy Stubbs Museum in Phoenix, Az.

The museum is located inside the Buddy Stubbs Harley-Davidson Dealership.  This museum has a large collection packed into a very tight space.  Great collection of Harley-Davidsons and a large assortment of British machines with with several Vincents.  A few samples of the collection are shown below.

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A little bit of everything

British, Eastern European, and American

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Collection of Vincents

At least six in this group.

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1950 Douglas 80 Plus

This modification goes back to the origins of the motorcycle, it made a mid-century comeback, followed by another recent comeback.

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1968 Triumph Bonneville

Purported to be Evel Knievel's Caesar's Palace back-up bike.

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The Western Aeroplane and Antique Auto Museum in Hood River, Or.

This is a nice museum museum located near the Columbia River Gorge.  It not only features a great collection of Aeroplanes, but also a small but diverse collection of antique and vintage motorcycles.

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1926 Sunbeam Model 5

Great representation of the early U.K. motorcycle industry.

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1924 Douglas

Boxer motor, but unlike a BMW the cylinders are deployed front to back.

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1948 Schwinn with Whizzer conversion

This modification goes back to the origins of the motorcycle, it made a mid-century comeback, followed by another recent comeback.

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High-Wheeler Trike

This one is powered by a Maytag Washing Machine motor.

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The Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian is a great museum system.  Two of the museums have motorcycles; the Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum.  Even though there are not a great deal of motorcycles the few they have are very nice.

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1906 Curtiss V8

This may be the most collectable motorcycle ever built.

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Kawasaki Police Motorcycle

Immortalized in the CHIPs (California Highway Patrol) television show.

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Indian Four

The iconic four was very advanced for its day.

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Harley-Davidson Knucklehead

A very popular Harley-Davidson model.  The pre-World War II years bring the most money.

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The Piaggio Museum in Pontedera Italy

This is a great museum. It is split into two major parts;  the motorcycle section which is mostly Gilera, and the Vespa scooter section.  This post highlights the motorcycle section.

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1909 Gilera VT317

The first motorcycle built by Giussepe Gilera.

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1936 Gilera 500 Rondine Carenata

Winner of multiple land speed records, including 750 and 1,000 classes,

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1979 Laverda 1200

Only 200 were built.  And 171 were purchased by the Italian police.

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Moto-Guzzi Falcone Sport

Produced from 1950 to 1967 the Falcone was the most sought after Moto-Guzzi.

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The John Burgin Motorcycle Museum

I visited this little museum tucked away over a garage in Spanaway Washington about a decade ago.  It had a fantastic collection of  knuckleheads, one from each year of production.  Unfortunately Mr. Burgin has passed away and I think the museum has closed.

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Line-up of Harley-Davidson Knuckleheads

Each year of production on display from 1936 to 1947.

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Harley-Davidson WR flat track racer

Fantastic tank-shift racer.  These are still raced in vintage tank-shift flat track and road race competitions.

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Early Indian Twin

One of several Indians displayed at the museum.

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Excelsior Four-Cylinder

One of the great American made four-cylinders produced prior to World War Two.

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Located inside the Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson Dealership in Colorado Springs.  This is a small museum with several high quality motorcycles.  Normally open during the dealership hours.  The museum is free of charge, but donations are always welcome.  A few of the motorcycles on display are shown below.

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1929 Harley-Davidson Model DL

The 45 cubic-inch flathead motor was introduced on the 1929 D.  Derivatives of  the motor were used in various Harley-Davidson models for decades.

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1930 Indian Four

The four was a very luxurious motorcycle in its day.  This luxury came at a price.  It was expensive to build and many feel it is partly to blame for the demise of the original Indian Motorcycle Company.

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1999 Harley-Davidson MT500

Built for the U.S. Military, the motorcycle is propelled by a 500cc Austrian made Rotax single cylinder engine.

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Yamaha two-stroke flat tracker

World Champion road racers like Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson learned their craft on racers similar to this example.

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The San Diego Auto Museum

Located in Balboa Park, the museum is much more than an auto museum.  The motorcycle collection is quite extensive, featuring early twentieth century examples from America and Europe as well several classic road racers.  You'll also see dirt bikes, sport bikes from the 70s, and sidecar rigs.  A few of the motorcycles from the collection are shown below.

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1926 Harley-Davidson Model A Peashooter

The Peashooter was a factory built Board Track Racer.  With its smallish 350cc engine this bike raced in the lowest displacement class.  The small displacement was intended to keep speeds down on the high banked tracks, but tuners still found ways to extract enough horsepower to reach top speeds near 100 mph.

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1970 Kawasaki 500 H1

Considered by many to be the fastest production motorcycle available to the general public when it debuted in 1969.  With the 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine making 60 horsepower over a narrow power band the H1 was not for the inexperienced rider.

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1982 Suzuki High Mileage Special

Powered by a 124cc Suzuki GN125Z the street legal stream lined motorcycle was capable of 215 miles per gallon.  It is in the Guinness Book of Records for going the furthest distance on one tank of gas, 2,443 miles on 11.83 gallons.

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Husqvarna's at Steve McQueen Display

This Husky is purported to have been ridden by McQueen in the film "On Any Sunday".  The movie is considered by many to be the most iconic motorcycle movie ever produced.  In the early 1970's Husky's were one the top off-road racers and did especially well in long distance desert races like the Baja 1000 and The Mint 400.

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The St. Francis Motorcycle Museum

Located in St. Francis Kansas this museum has about 115 bikes on display.  The majority are early American makes such as Indian, Harley-Davidson, Pope, and Merkel.  There is also a nice selection of Japanese motorcycles with a few interesting mini-bikes thrown in.  Volunteers help run the museum.  If you're in this part of the country it's definitely worth a visit.  A few of bikes from their great collection are featured below.

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1922 Harley-Davidson Board Track Racer

Board Track Racing was extremely dangerous.  The tracks were built of wood with high banking.  At the time this racer was built top speeds were close to 100 mph. This racer has a 71 cubic inch engine.  The color is Brewster Green.

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1923 Indian Isle of Man TT Racer

Running a special built 500cc engine, "Flying Freddie" Dixon raced this Indian to a 3rd place finish at the 1923 Isle of Man TT.  He averaged over 55 mph.

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1973 Yamaha RD60

The smallest of the RDs, the RD60 is very capable.  Rare by Japanese motorcycle standards, this one is painted Butterfly Blue.

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1947 BSA M20 Military Model

Powered by a 496cc 4-stroke, side-valve engine that produced 13 peak horsepower.  The M20 continued production as a civilian model until 1951

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Motorcycle Museums

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum located in Leeds Alabama is one of my favorites.

One of the largest motorcycle collections in the world.  Housed in a modern multi-story building with large glass windows letting in an abundance of natural light the Barber has a little bit of everything; from the very beginning of  motorcycles to the latest in technology,  scooters to road racers, and commuters to off-road racers there is something for everyone.  The photos below are intended to capture a small sample from the collection.

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 1938 Crocker V-Twin

Based in Los Angeles, California; Crocker motorcycles were in production from 1936 until 1942.  Today Crocker is one of the most sought after collector motorcycles.

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1953 Honda Dream Type E

The 145cc Type E followed the Type D.  This was Honda's first Four Stroke.  Honda went with an overhead valve engine when most other Japanese manufacturers were using side-valve four strokes of two stroke engines.  This is one of the motorcycles that set Honda on it's course of being an innovator in engine development at an affordable cost.

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1981 Morbidelli 500CC GP Racer

Just a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.  Graziano Rossi (father of 9 time world champion Valentino Rossi) raced Morbidelli GP bikes in several displacement classes.

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Eddie Lawson's 1986 YZ490 Superbikers racer

The Superbikers was a made for TV event that pitted the top motorcycle racers from Road Racing, Motocross, and Dirt Track against each other on a race track that combined dirt and asphalt sections.

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