National Motorcycle Museum

[flying_hun]

I just returned from a visit to the town of my birth in Iowa. On the way back I visited the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. What follows are the photos of some the bikes that most got my attention. If you are at all familiar with the work of Grant Wood, Anamosa is in the part of Iowa where Wood did much of his painting, and his works evoke the countryside.

Let's start with the exterior.

The first bike that caught my attention was this lovely Norton International.

As you'd expect in the land of largely straight roads, Harleys are heavily represented. These are what Harleys looked like when I was a kid.

With the influx of European bikes in the post-war era, and Japanese bikes in the 60's, HD was able to provide their dealers with competitive bikes by acquiring 50% of Aermacchi in 1960. One of the most iconic of these Italian Harleys were the Sprint models. Quite reminiscent of the Guzzi singles of the era.

Ever hear of the Roadog? One man's obsession to build a bike his way. Makes a Boss Hog look like a mini. I've seen pictures before, but this was the first time I'd seen it in the flesh. :wow

More very early Harleys. Before the first world war, one of their most successful bike was a single called The Silent Gray Fellow. Hard to imagine the current HD market being addressed with a bike known for being quiet.

More to come.

 

[flying_hun]

These guys have some really cool stuff! Located with pride of place the bike that I think can be called Craig Vetter's masterpiece, the Triumph X75 Hurricane. It's a stunner! Yeah, that's a JPS Norton right behind it.

Another angle.

How about some British Army despatch bikes from the WW2 era. I love that flathead Triumph twin!

Let's return to the pre-WW1 era with a collection of Flying Merkels! Yep, there was a fast Merkel prior to Fred (ask your dad), and one that made no base running errors (ask your great granddad).

They have a huge section celebrating board track racing. It's easy to believe that the only important form of racing to come out of the US was flat track racing, but there was another hugely popular form of racing that was an outgrowth of bicycle racing, and that was board track racing.

This display was built using original board track plans. It would be easy to think that it was just a gimmick to include the biplane models, but there is more to it than that. The curator was talking with me about the technological importance of the bicycle industry to the foundation of both the aircraft and motorcycle industries all over the world. Remember that the Wright brothers built the Flyer in their bicycle shop. Manufacturing bicycles required solving materials and engineering problems that later were used to make both motorcycles and early airplanes.

Up through the 20's, board track racing was HUGE! It came from velodrome racing, and like flat track and velodromes, no brakes were used. The bikes were incredibly fast, lapping at over 100 mph. Ultimately, it was so dangerous that it faded from the scene, but while it was operating it was some of the greatest racing ever.

Speed has always been a big part of the appeal of motorcycles. Here we see three different early speed machines. In the foreground there's a Scott Flying Squirrel from the UK, an early watercooled two-stroke. Behind that is another expression of Glenn Curtis' passion for speed. Land, sea, or air, that guy was all about hauling ass!. Behind that is a Brough Superior Pendine Sands. Calling it the Pendine Sands was roughly equivalent to calling something newer a Bonneville. The Pendine Sands is on the coast of Wales, and when the tide goes out, it was common to use the firm sands of the intertidal area as a place to attempt speed records (more pics to follow).

Two more pics of the Brough. These were the favorite motorcycles of T.E. Lawrence. He was riding one when he was killed. The bikes were warranted to run a steady 110 mph in 1927. The bikes were so impressive that Rolls Royce allowed Brough to advertise them as "the Rolls Royce of motorcycles". Think about the brand power of RR, and that they would happily lend that to Brough because it so positively reflected back on Rolls.

More later.

 

[Johndicezx9]

Nice!

 

[bmwbob51]

If you were in Anamosa you should have had a sit down Amish meal too. Big plate of pork chops, peas and mash potatoes passed around the table family style!

 

[gixxerjeff]

Sweet pics, Hun.
Thanks. :thumbup

 

[mosquito]

Nice!

 

[89fj]

the Hun delivers :thumbup

 

[TheRobSJ]

Wow the board track display gives me deja vu of the Barber museum in Alabama.

Has anyone been to both?

 

[flying_hun]

If you were in Anamosa you should have had a sit down Amish meal too. Big plate of pork chops, peas and mash potatoes passed around the table family style!

If you're talking about the Amana Colonies, they're not Amish, though it was founded as an intentional community by a German religious minority that was persecuted there. That said, there are a lot of Amish in Iowa. However I went to the Amana Colonies for lunch at the Ox Yoke Inn, just like my family did when I was a kid.

Jaeger schnitzel with spaetzle and green beans. Followed by rhubarb pie ala mode.

 

[flying_hun]

Ever wonder what happened to Steve McQueen's old bobber? Now you know.

Gonna go to Mardi Gras!

Captain America

More to come.

 

[budman]

Very :cool

:thumbup

 

[flying_hun]

The fun continues. One of the bikes that I've always lusted after was the legendary BSA Gold Star. They had a couple of great examples, starting with this old roadracer.

One of the delights of the Gold Star was that it could be a competitive platform in so many types of competition, including flat track where they were particularly effective on 1/2 miles and short tracks under greats like Dick Mann and Sammy Tanner. Here's just such an example.

More Brit bikes, you say? Okay, how about an Ariel Square Four with a Red Hunter behind it and a Velocette beside it. Such elegant bikes!

They had a nice collection of BSA's. One not pictured here was a late 60's Spitfire, for a time the fastest production 650 in the world. Such cool bikes!

Another Brough Superior. This one an SS80. Speaking of elegant.

When the time came for me to buy my first brand new bike, the looks of Brit twins were heavily imprinted on my brain, but I wanted the reliability of the Japanese, so it had to be an XS650. So many great adventures on that bike! :ride

One more Brit bike to wrap up this post; a Vincent engined dragster. How badass is that? The curator told me that they possess Rollie Free's Vincent on which he set the record shown in the famous swimsuit photo, fully laid out atop his Black Lightning wear nothing but swim trunks as he sped across the salt, legs trailing behind. There's some real history here!

 

[Mellowtonin]

I see you've found the motorcycle time machine, Kurt :laughing

 

[flying_hun]

I see you've found the motorcycle time machine, Kurt :laughing

I have, and I'm willing to share it. :cool

 

[flying_hun]

What About Dirt Bikes?

I'm so glad you asked. Let's get to some legends here. Starting with a 450 Husky autographed by Malcolm Smith! :wow

Followed by a 360 Cross, a late-60's world beater ridden by the likes of J.N. Roberts, Torsten Hallman, Malcolm Smith, Steve McQueen, Bengt Aberg, and more. Behind it, a classic, pre-unit Triumph desert sled. Behind that, you can just glimpse a Jawa to be discussed later.

Even before Lorenzo and Marquez, the Spanish were all about going fast. The Ossa Phantom was a true speed merchant.

There was a time when FIM regulations required that for a nation to field a Trophy team in the ISDT, they had to be riding motorcycles from their own nation. The great John Penton wanted to ride the Trophy class, so he private labeled an obscure Austrian brand as Penton enabled that. (this is history according to Kurt's memory, but I believe it's accurate) All you KTM fanbois, pay attention. This is where it started, with the Penton Berkshire - named for the mountains of western Massachusetts where the USA hosted the ISDT.

Back to Spanish hotrods, here's a Montessa Cappra. These were ridden by greats such as the legendary Flyin' Hawaiian, John DeSoto.

As promised, here's a peek at that Jawa. Jawa was the sister brand to CZ. CZ's were motocross bikes, and Jawa made street bikes and trail bikes. This one in particular is an ISDT competition bike, and in the late 60's these were world beaters. Both Jawa and MZ were from Warsaw Pact nations, and incredibly effective in enduro type competition.

Back to the Spaniards, weren't Bultacos gorgeous? This particular example is a Pursang (pure blood) MX bike made famous by the likes of Jim Pomeroy. Yeah, that's a Maico in the foreground, and a Rickman Metisse in the background.

And there's that Maico, an early leader in the development in long travel suspension. Greats included Adolf Weil and Ake Jonnson.

It wasn't just the Spaniards, the Swedes, and the Germans who made great MX bikes, the Brits got involved too. That leading link front fork looks funky as hell to us, but in the days before long travel, they were particularly good for desert racing, dealing with rough ground at high speed.

I always dug Can-Am's and their superb Bombardier motors. I seem to recall a story about Magoo breaking one in half over a double. :laughing

If you wanted to go fast offroad using a Brit twin, you really couldn't do any better than to slap it in a Rickman Metisse' chassis. If you weren't the fastest, at least you'd have the prettiest bike. It featured a nickel plated cromoly frame with oil in the backbone, replacing the external oil tank of the dry sump motor. Exquisitely balanced. Behind it, a Triumph ISDT bike, and if you got tired of all the four stroke weight, you could just chuck it in, and get a race ready Bultaco Matador, and be competitive in any enduro.

Lots of manufacturers played the enduro game back then. It was a great way to establish the robust reliability of your bikes. Here's just such a Sachs entry.

One more dirt bike, this one is especially for Butch! How many people were introduced to dirt biking by Hodaka? This was truly the everyman's dirt bike in the late 60's and early 70's. Light, simple, reliable, and cheap to buy, plus there was a huge aftermarket industry to make them faster. For awhile, that was enough.

More coming.

 

[flying_hun]

How About One More?

If Don Vesco isn't mentioned in that thread about badass motorcycle racers, he should have been. This is a streamliner he built and raced at Bonneville. Vesco had a long relationship with Yamaha, and this one is powered by two supercharged XS650 motors. The curator told me that Vesco lost control of it at well north of 200mph, and tumbled it down the salt. It took them two days to re-skin it, then Vesco went back out and broke 300mph in it! Badass indeed.

Thanks for coming along with me. I was pressed for time while I was there. It would have been nice to have had more time and a better camera, but it was a real pleasure to spend some time in there drinking it all in.

Regarding an earlier question, I have not been to the Barber Museum, which I hear is amazing. However, I have been to more than a few moto museums in Europe and North America, and IMHO it is a useless exercise to compare them. Enjoy the one you're in while you're in it.

Now, be glad you're in California where you can get out and ride! :ride

 

[budman]

Awesome. :applause

The commentary/history along with the pics make this awesome. Rekindled lots of fond memories. Total lust for the Pursang my old CZ and the ultimate Hodaka... the Combat Wombat!! Hodaka had some killer names. :laughing

Thanks man.

 

[flying_hun]

Awesome. :applause

The commentary/history along with the pics make this awesome. Rekindled lots of fond memories. Total lust for the Pursang my old CZ and the ultimate Hodaka... the Combat Wombat!! Hodaka had some killer names. :laughing

Thanks man.

Thanks right back! Part of sharing the moto love. :love

 

[bikeama]

Enjoyed the tour. Hope to get there one day.

 

[Butch]

Thanks Kurt!
There is a moto museum in our backyard I must visit...
https://www.mototalbott.com