SAVE THE DATE!!!

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum Curator Emeritus Brian Slark emigrated in the mid-1960s from England to the U.S. and spent his weekends competing for top honors with hundreds of other enthusiastic off-road riders in California`s legendary Mojave Desert.

Slark was a member of the “Sunland Shamrocks.” At the time, he was racing a 1957 Triumph TR6 Trophy, starting point for one of the so-called “desert sleds” common to that arena. “I am frequently asked about racing off-road on ‘those big, heavy bikes,’” he admits.

Following a sponsored stint on a Greeves 250 Challenger—the two-stroke single was a big change from a four-stroke parallel-twin—Slark joined BSA’s western U.S. distributor. Gifted a 441 Victor engine, he slipped the hotted-up thumper into a Cheney frame.

Cycle Guide magazine documented the build, which weighed only 233 pounds, full of gas and oil. “For a 500cc machine, this is light in anyone’s book,” wrote the editors. “I loved it,” says Slark, “but I went back to work for Norton-Villiers and had to ride an AJS Stormer.”

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Steve Wise was a tremendous riding talent, one of the most versatile American racers in the history of motorcycle sport. Indeed, the Texan won AMA nationals in three disciplines: motocross, supercross, and road racing. Sadly, Wise died earlier this month at age 68.

Wise’s legacy lives on at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in the form of the Honda RC500 that he raced to victory at Southern California’s Carlsbad Raceway in the 1981 “Superbikers” event broadcast on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” television show.

Wise competed in the inaugural Superbikers race in 1979, but his drum-braked entry wasn’t up to snuff. “Honda asked me if I wanted to race in the Superbikers again in 1980,” he was quoted as saying. “I told them, ‘Sure, but give me a competitive bike.’ And boy, did they ever.”

Throughout its seven-year run, Superbikers was won by just four individuals: motocrosser Kent Howerton, Wise, and dirt-tracker-turned-road-racer Eddie Lawson, each of whom won twice, plus MXer Danny “Magoo” Chandler, a one-time winner.

In 2023, American Honda gifted 36 motorcycles to the museum, and Wise’s big-bore, air-cooled two-stroke was among those machines. “The bike had a special factory engine,” recalled Wise. “It could run 140 mph and had powerful disc brakes. It was great.”

Photos: Joe Avila

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“Barber has accomplished this in six years. Don’t underestimate what he might do in the next six.” Those are the prophetic words of the late Phil Schilling, who penned “Mecca in Birmingham” for the July, 1997, issue of Cycle World magazine.

Schilling, as many Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum visitors may recall, was an editor at Cycle magazine from 1970 until 1988, including nine years as editor-in-chief. He died in 2015 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The Indiana native was perhaps best known for his collaboration with friend and colleague Cook Neilson. The intrepid duo won the 1977 Daytona Superbike race on a Ducati 750, known to all who followed the project as the “California Hot Rod.”

George Barber’s philosophy about the collection remains steadfast. “Barber believes people should see and hear them,” wrote Schilling. “To experience these live machines builds excitement and interest in historic motorcycles in ways statuary simply can’t.”

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The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is “dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, exhibition, and history of motorcycles, vintage vehicles, and motorsports.” Conservation Manager Ally Domar is responsible for the “preservation” aspect of the mission statement.

“Our approach keeps each story of our motorcycles and cars alive by protecting original materials, craftsmanship, and character,” she says. Prime examples include the 1911 Emblem, 1912 Harley-Davidson, 1912 Yale, 1914 Henderson, 1915 Iver Johnson, and 1916 Pope seen here.

“Using a thorough plan of gentle hands-on care and cleaning, minimal restoration, the use of internal and external preservation products to protect against corrosion, a climate-controlled space, and careful monitoring, we slow the effects of time while respecting their stories.”

Every step of the preservation process is documented to consider the authenticity and cultural significance of each machine in the museum. This careful balance allows generations of visitors to experience these vehicles as authentically as possible. Come see for yourself!

Photos: Joe Avila

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One year. Twelve months. Fifty-two weeks. Three hundred and 65 days. Whatever unit you use to describe the period the Earth needs to complete a lap around the sun, 2025 was an exciting time for anyone and everyone who visited Barber Motorsports Park and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, MotoAmerica Superbikes at Barber, and 20th annual Barber Vintage Festival were among the event highlights, while the museum’s dynamic education program led by Dr. Liz Johnson and the hiring of Conservation Manager Ally Domar point toward an exciting future.

All of the above—and much, much more—left a smile on our collective faces and hopefully yours, as well. Follow the link in our bio to the “Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum” YouTube page for one final glimpse at 2025. We’re looking forward to once again welcoming you into our home in 2026.

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Every vehicle in the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum has its own unique story. Here’s an example: In 2012, the museum purchased two 1926 Harley-Davidson Model Bs. One of the overhead-valve singles had previously been restored, while the second needed work.

Late last year, Museum Preservation Technician Zeke DeZeeuw was performing an inspection on the latter machine when he peered inside the left-side fuel/oil tank and discovered a fragmented perforation. Was this “pea shooter” used for target practice?

A number of years ago, the museum sent the tins out for paint—a vibrant olive green, representative of when the bike was manufactured nearly a century ago, with red stripes on the tank and fenders. Until recently, however, no one knew about the bullet hole.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve discovered on a motorcycle that you purchased?

Photos: Joe Avila

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