Years before the Barber name was known for motorcycles, it was known for dairy and one longtime employee of Barber`s Dairy was instrumental in helping create this now world-renowned organization.
If you’ve ever heard a bit of Barber lore, you’ve heard the name Dave Hooper. For 27 years, Dave Hooper ran the Barber`s Dairy delivery fleet and was a friend to Mr. Barber. When Mr. Barber first turned his attention to building a collection of cars, it was Dave who suggested instead collecting motorcycles and even recommended the first three to collect— a trio of Honda V4s.
Soon after, Dave donated motorcycles from his personal collection including a rare 1952 Victoria Bergmeister. It was then Mr. Barber began to marvel at the beauty of vintage motorcycles.
"Cars have beautiful paint, but you can`t easily see the engine, the suspension, or what makes it function. With motorcycles, you can see the engineering, the balance, and to me they are much more exciting," said Mr. Barber.
The first Barber Collection pieces were housed in a warehouse in Southside, Birmingham that once served as a dairy truck repair facility for Barber`s Dairy. Here, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum was born.
Today, we send our appreciation to Dave Hooper. All those years ago, no one knew a simple suggestion would grow into the largest collection of motorsports design history and inspiration in the world.
Group Picture left to right: Russell Cunningham, John Surtees, George Barber, Chuck Huneycutt, Steve Matthews, Ian Skinner, Lee Clark, Joe Bruton, Jeff Ray, and Dave Hooper at Daytona 1993.
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