Situated in beautiful parkland setting just 12 miles from the Birmingham International airport in Alabama, the museum is the conclusion of many years of hard work by the staff and proud owner, George Barber.
Motorcycles More Practical
Barber originally collected and stored 40s and 50s American iron cars, but when space became short, David Hooper (Barber’s restoration shop manager) suggested that motorcycles would be more practical. Before long, the motorcycle collection also outgrew the premises they were using and Mr. Barber decided it was time to do something special with his quickly expanding hobby.
Putting the collection into a museum format was the obvious way to go, but Barber decided he would take that one step further and build a race track alongside a museum.
Race Track Opens
The race track officially opened in 2003 (Porsche North America was the first to use the track, unveiling their Cayenne to the dealer network). The museum opened a week after the track. The staff had no idea how many people would show up for the first day, but as Jeff Ray (the general manager) put it in a recent interview with Suite 101, they had a pleasant surprise: “We were all surprised to see an enormous crowd waiting to get in. 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.”
Every Known Make
Spread over five floors, the museum’s exhibits are all placed on individual display plinths, the majority offering visitors’ 360 degree viewing. In general, the displays are arranged according to the most important bikes from each era. A circular central walkway (wheel chair accessible) gives access to the five floors. Almost every known make of motorcycle is represented, offering a something for everyone approach.
Bikes range from the early twentieth century up to current models. And although solo motorcycles represent the majority of exhibits, the museum also has examples of both street and track sidecars. The museum endeavors to have all of the machines in running order, and to achieve this they have full engineering and workshop facilities.
Purists will be pleased to note that many of the machines on display are in original condition – some pristine, some showing a life time of hard use.
Vintage Festival
Seeing some of the exhibits doing demonstration laps adds a new dimension to the museum displays, and one of the most popular track events is the annual Barber Vintage Festival held in October. The festival has vintage races on the track complemented with lapping displays of some of the museums bikes and cars. Occasionally former international riders will demonstrate the bikes they made famous - John Surtees lapped on his original MV Agusta on one occasion.
One section of the museum is dedicated to Surtees’ achievements and has displays of both his 1958 world championship winning MV 500 Agusta and also his 1964 F1 GP Ferrari’s.
Rare Honda
For those interested in the technical development of motorcycles, the museum covers almost every aspect: from wooden wheeled cycles with an engine bolted on, to Grand Prix motorcycles with contra rotating rotors! A new display for 2009 will be a Honda RC161 250 four cylinder GP bike. The museum will have one of the few surviving bikes on display and an exact replica (using a spare original engine) will be demonstrated on the track (a 250-cc four cylinder using open megaphones at 16,000 rpm has to be heard to be believed).
Although Barber has concentrated on collecting motorcycles for more than 20 years, visitors may be surprised to see a number of rare street and race cars around the museum (the museum has one of the largest collections of F1 Lotus racecars in the world).
With so many bikes and cars to choose from, Mr. Barber must have a favorite? When asked this question, he has a standard reply: “Do you have children? Do you have a favorite?”
The Barber Motorsport Park track and museum have become a mecca for motorcycle (and car) racing fans since its opening. The race track has more than 350,000 visitors a year, and the museum 60,000. Placed in such a beautiful location, with helpful friendly staff in all departments, the success of both the track and museum is guaranteed.
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