An American Adventure, pt. 2
Steel locked behind Steel and a Running Museum
One of the more extraordinary collections of American motorcycle history can be found behind tons of steel and concrete: Billionaire Patrick Brosnan has housed his two-wheeled treasures in a 007 style bunker of epic proportions, including a bar, meeting room and private shooting range - all deep below a mansion that could serve as the backdrop for a TV series any day. The Brosnan collection includes six 1936 Knuckleheads and at least two examples of every Knuckle built between 1936 and 1947, plus all the Hydra and Duo Glides - and a few more Harley gems.
The “Motorcyclepedia Museum”, run by
father and son Doering, is about far more motorcycle brands: over the last 80 years, the two have collected around 650 bikes from all over the world and all decades, right back to the first days of motorized two-wheelers in the 19th century - so the day that Charlie and Frank had time to inspect the machines was pretty short.
The visit to Springfield, Massachusetts, home of Indian Motocycles,
was similarly time constrained. Here, the doors of the town’s museum with its sprawling collection of Indians opened for the two Frenchmen. Then they were off to State Street, to the old “Wigwam” Indian Factory, where Charlie was able to visit the basement and take an original brick from the former Indian factory as a keepsake.
All these high points on the tour through the USA
were just a warm-up for the last stop though: the truly epic Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Although Charlie and Frank arrived just a few hours after Hurricane Helene had passed, and everything was still pretty chaotic, Matt Walksler, son of museum founder Dale Walksler, opened up the museum to them for two days in private mode. Sounds like a lot of time to look around - but when you know that there are 400 motorcycles from 35 different American brands in a huge area, with a high proportion of extremely rare Harleys and special racers, then even two days are over faster than a lap on the Flattrack.
And then there is the promise
of “Wheels Through Time”: “The museum that runs” - in other words: every motorcycle on display here is ready to ride - and Matt Walksler is only too happy to prove this - when he is not busy dragging another ultra-rare motorcycle out of a shed and riding the hell out of it for his amazing YouTube show.
Maggie Valley was the shining end point on Charlie Lecach’s to-do list, which is now a good deal shorter than before. And his and Frank Margerin’s upcoming comic-and-photo diary should be filled to the max with 18 cubic inch soaked days.
