Museums come in all shapes and sizes, from
little local ones operated by individuals to large national facilities. Home in
Dartmouth, we have a little museum completely devoted to the “Happy Face”, and
in our travels we have visited some that can take most of a day to explore.
In the Town of Maggie Valley, North
Carolina I visited one of the best museums I have seen, called “Wheels Through
Time”, devoted to the American Motorcycle.
This is an amazing museum with a wonderful
collection of vintage and historically significant motorcycles. I spent two
hours wandering through the history of the motorcycle in the United States of
America. Of course there were lots of Harley Davidson machines, but most of
Harley Davidson’s rivals through the years are also represented. Although I
know a lot about motorcycles, there were a lot here that I did not know about.
There were also sections of the museum devoted to many racing motorcycles from
dirt tracking, hill climbing, enduro, drag racing and road courses. There was
even one of Evel Knievel machines.
Not only are there motorcycles displayed
all through the building, there are also accurate
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| The wheels time forgot? |
depictions of various
motorcycle shops through time. They were so well done that I did not realize
that in one corner of the museum I was looking into the actual museum workshop
where they actually restore and maintain the bikes in the museum. Also
significant is the fact that many of the bikes on display are not restored,
they have simply been rescued and repaired, so you see them as they were
discovered.
While I visited the museum, there were no
actual “guided” tours, and they are not really necessary with the detailed
plaques explaining exhibits, but there were staff members who would suddenly
engage groups or individuals with discussions of significant motorcycles. As
well, Dale Walksler, the museum’s owner and
host of the TV show “What’s in the Barn?” was always around tinkering and
working on motorcycles.
If you are a “Biker” of any sort, this
museum is without a doubt a “Must Visit” location. Put it on your “Bucket List.
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| Have not heard of "Marsh" Motorcycles |
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| Hill Climb Tire |
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| This is not the actual museum workshop |
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| How about a Harley Davidson saw? |
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| Some restorations |
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| A rescue - no restoration |
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| The Chopper graveyard |
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| Back from the war |
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