AHRMA weekend at Barber's

[bigburma]

Anybody on here going? I would like to meet some of you fellow Twinners.This will be my second year. Lots of vintage racing, a large swap meet, lots of bikes, and you have GOT to see the museum!!! A three day ticket is $30.00 and a camping pass good from Thursday thru Sunday afternoon is $25.00, plus $8.00 for service fee on the order. Cost me $63.00 total. Of course that all goes up at the gate. The event is from Friday the 19th of Oct. thru Sunday the 21st, with the gate opening for campers at 5:00 PM Thursday. Last year got to watch John Surtees take some hot laps on a vintage MV Augusta and later in a vintage Lola. There was even a meet and greet with him. Not to mention three opportunities to listen to Craig Vetter talk about his career. I really enjoyed the weekend, except for the rain. The swap meet area was a mud hole so I never ventured in there. There is a separate fee to enter the museum but you could spend a week in there easy if you are really into motorcycle history or just want to look at all of the bikes he has standing, leaning, hanging around. They are so much better displayed here than at his previous location in downtown Birmingham. 

[Kerry]

Hey Burm!  Just in case there are folks out there who don't know about "Barber's", you might want to tell 'em more.  Where it is, WHAT it is, maybe a link or two.

Just a thought.   

[dgyver]

http://barbermotorsports.com/events/barber/event-ahrma-general.php

A guy at work went last year and said he had an awesome time. I was hoping to go this year but not able to make it.

[bigburma]

 Thanks to dgyver for the link. It is pretty much all there if you look over all the links, however in response to Kerry's request here goes. George Barber was a racer back in the day but eventually became owner of Barber Dairies in Birmingham, AL . He began collecting old race cars and others along with some bikes.

The story told me by one of the "guides" at his old building downtown was that he found he could buy a lot more bikes with the same money as one car. His old building had been the maintenance  garage for his fleet of delivery trucks but after switching to leasing the trucks and upkeep was performed by the dealer he now had an empty building. There were bikes everywhere, just as now, but in much tighter confines.

They were and still are displayed in cases three to four tall in places. Others are out on the floor by themselves where you can walk around them and really inspect them. He has them from board track racers of the early 1900's to present. Makes and models you might never have heard of. Benelli V8 to scooters that could be folded into a suitcase size to go in your trunk. There are entire sets of race bikes from a year for a manufacturer, any of which can be prepped and run on his track in under an hour. A Britten, original Buell race bikes, dirt trackers, WWII military rigs. The list goes on forever.

His new museum is located almost in Leeds, AL. just east of Birmingham. The building is HUGE. Four levels I think plus the basement machine shop/ restoration area. Sweeping open walkways join the different levels with bikes in view as far as you can see. Through the windows on one side or the building you can watch the racers go by on the track.

Oh, the track. After working out all the details with local govt. he began building the track. When it was finished he had the surface removed and redone, he just wanted it smooth. You would be hard pressed to recognize the grounds in before and after photos, so much dirt was moved. Much of the track can be seen from anywhere. There are no grandstands, all is lawn seating so bring a seat. You can move anywhere around the track on the trams that go by every few minutes and try out varying views. I prefer the combination of turns just after the start/finish straightaway. A left into a long sweeping right hander that goes down then goes uphill still to the right then over a hump at the top and out of sight. When the bigger V twins of the AMA race there, that corner has a lot of black streaks from when they pour on the juice to head up and out of the hole. The gravel trap there sees a lot of use too.

If you've never been plan now to get there. Even if you don't go for a race go to see the museum. Plan to spend a long time in there and it is worth the drive from just about anywhere. I hope that is enough and not too much. I could go on and on and on ........