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Riding the Past at Barber’s Vintage Festival
22 Oct 2008 by Snakebit Sam in Events / 11 Comments
LEEDS, AL – This past weekend, Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL hosted their 4th annual Vintage Motorcycle Festival. The festivities included vintage road racing, moto-cross racing, bike shows by brand, swap meets, an antique fire truck display, a vendor area, restoration seminars, Ducati & Triumph demos, and to cap off the fun Rhet Rotten was on hand with his “Wall of Death.” Talk about a kid in a candy store!
Growing up in the late 60’s and early 70’s it was so cool seeing all those “brand new” bikes from that era. They were all in show room condition too and just gleaming in the afternoon light. ( photo gallery )
If you have never been to Barber, this world-class race track and museum will blow you away. Built by Birmingham businessman and former owner of Barber Dairies, George W. Barber, the museum houses one of the largest motorcycle collections in the world in a five-story 80,000-square foot facility. At last count Mr. Barber has accumulated approximately 1100 motorcycles from 140 manufacturers – Harley of course is well represented. The track is 2.38 miles long complete with 16 turns and an 80-foot elevation change. It is one of the most technical tracks in existence by all accounts.There are year-round events at Barber, including the annual Honda Superbike Classic in April, the Vintage Festival in October, the Porsche 250 Grand-Am Rolex Series in July, and various schools and club events for both motorcycles and cars.
Barber’s Motorsports Park Vintage Festival 2008
Video Part 1 of 2Check out www.barbermotorsports.com for more information about events and tickets; visit www.barbermuseum.org to see pictures of the museum, find out hours of operation, and learn how to become a member.
11 Comments
brad
This was an awesome festival. I had a great time. I came across many bikes that I have never seen or heard of before. Also the racing was so fun to watch. Rhett Rotten put on a great show. He road two bikes, an Indian and a Harley. Im not sure of the models that he rides. The facility really is world-class, that’s not just a made up marketing scheme. Try to make it out to next year’s fest if you missed this one. You really wont be disappointed at all. Bring cash for food and drinks because I found out that they do not have any ATMs around.
22 Oct 2008 01:10 pm
Scat
A great weekend!!!!
A must see if you are even remotely interested in motorcycles!
Thank you Mr. Barber!
22 Oct 2008 01:10 pm
QuesyRider
I wish that the Moto GP had been held here. Indy might be able to handle a bigger crowd. But I think that the racing would have been better at Barber. Isn’t television the thing that drives the revenue? Way more people watch the races on the tube. Which venue offers the best televised racing? If it hadn’t have been for the intersting weather this year, Indy might have proved to be very boring.
22 Oct 2008 02:10 pm
QuesyRider
I note the lack of knee dragging in the video. Granted, the chassis could be a handfull at full tilt. But the modern rubber would keep the sliding to a minimum.
22 Oct 2008 02:10 pm
RoadRat537
Looks like a good time. I’m impressed that Alabama has a facility such as Barbers. Now that I’ve seen it, I’ll have to check it out. Maybe I’ll see you there next year.
22 Oct 2008 03:10 pm
John K. Endrizzi
Curiosity is biting ! A question for those who have seen all three museums…….. How does Barber compare with Wheels thru Time and the HD Museum ?
22 Oct 2008 03:10 pm
Hal
Nice video, but it’s too short. Was there anyone else covering this event? Do you have anymore photos or more video? Does anyone know if there are other videos online at another site?
22 Oct 2008 04:10 pm
Science Babe
Excellent Weekend! The races were awesome. I must say that my favorite was the vintage motorcycle race. Just when everyone goes to walk off, here comes just one more rider peddling along! Rhett wasn’t bad either. BTW, Brad I believe that Rhett rides a ’57 Harley but I could be mistaken.
22 Oct 2008 04:10 pm
bcarter
Science Babe is right, Rhett (with two t’s) has a 1957 Harley Hummer and a 1927 Indian Scout among other toys. You can check out more about Rhett Rotten (including his new reality show) at http://www.wallofdeathinc.com/
Hal, it’s funny you mention the video being short. We at IronWorks/IWblogger should have another video online tomorrow along with some more images from the festival. All together we shot over an hour of footage and more than 1200 photos—we just didn’t think anyone would care to see all of it.
Oh, and QuesyRider, there was plenty of knee dragging. I’ll try and have Sam post a few images tomorrow to illustrate.
Dang… almost forgot John’s question. I have to be honest in saying I have never been to either the H-D Museum or Wheels Thru Time, but Barber’s Motorsports Museum is excellent. If either one of the other museums are anywhere near the caliber of Barber’s I’ve missed out. I have been told that Wheels Thru Time is a must see, and I really don’t have a reason for not going to see it. After all NC isn’t that far… I’ll be interested to see what some of the others have to say.
22 Oct 2008 07:10 pm
spaztech
If you want to see “Wheels Thru Time” then you’d better hurry, they are moving to Arizona. Couple of our guys from Bama Rides are planning a trip this weekend to see it, should be an interesting ride and maybe the guys will snap a few pics to share with everyone.
-spaz
22 Oct 2008 07:10 pm
Margie
This video is better than the other one. Good job.
24 Oct 2008 04:10 pm
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