National Motorcyle Museum Fire
Steve Harvey gives us a first hand account of how he helped save hundreds of bikes from the fire
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After a hard day working at the N.E.C. I was riding along the A45 on my Kawasaki Z650 when I saw a huge pall of smoke coming from the Motorcycle Museum. Realising the gravity of the situation I diverted and went to see if I could be of any help.
The building had been evacuated and thankfully no one had been injured, but at this point, before any fire engines arrived, it was obvious that a great national treasure was in danger of being lost forever. The fire spread at quite an alarming rate through the roof spaces above the conference and banqueting area and into the first of the exhibition halls.
A small group of us were trying desperately asking to be allowed into the halls that hadn't yet caught in an attempt to save some of the machines, but initially we were refused permission to enter the building on safety grounds. We just had to stand and watch. The sheer frustration of watching the bikes going up in smoke was pretty overwhelming, having grown up around bikes all my life and holding a passion for classics myself.
The fire services arrived but due to lack of water pressure they were forced to draw water from the pendigo lake at the N.E.C. delaying the fire fighting. The urgency increased as the flames emerged from the roof and the owner's anguish at seeing his life's work destroyed spurred some of us to enter the building. Several more people joined us and eventually we were allowed to begin the rescue mission.
What followed was a fantastic effort by all concerned. An eclectic mix of chefs, waiters, stage crew, people in dinner jackets and everyone else began running into the hall nearest to the fire, grabbing a motorcycle and pushing it into the car park before running back for another.
For two hours we did not stop, but a look at the photographs shows what we achieved.Among the bikes rescued were T.T. racing machines, Nortons, Sunbeams, Rudges, the round the world Triumph, trikes, combo's, scooters and many more vintage and memorable bikes.
Out of five halls we managed to empty three entirely with the fire claiming the other two. To be part of this operation was uplifting and an honour. To manhandle hundred year old bikes and to feel through the handle bar grips the spirit of our forefathers drove us on to complete our mission.
So that's it really, just to note that the owner has pledged to reopen as soon as possible and has launched an appeal for donations of classic bike parts to help with the restoration of the damaged machines.
Badapple said:
By the looks of the middle photo there could be a few salvagable bikes too. But I know some must have been completly destroyed.
Well done Steve and everyone else who helped out.
Museum spokesman said:
Out of 850
600 are seriously damaged
70 are beyond repair
Where did you get that from, a news site or website for the museum?
Does it mention which ones are lost?
FourWheelDrift said:
Badapple said:
FourWheelDrift said:
By the looks of the middle photo there could be a few salvagable bikes too. But I know some must have been completly destroyed.
Well done Steve and everyone else who helped out.
Museum spokesman said:
Out of 850
600 are seriously damaged
70 are beyond repair
Where did you get that from, a news site or website for the museum?
Does it mention which ones are lost?
It was in MCN last week. So sad, they say just one guy had spent 30 years locating & restoring 2/3's of the museum. They only mention a few that were destroyed, these included:
All their BSA's from first 1903 to 1962.
'Streamliner' record breaking top speed bike
'Slippery sam' 1971-75 racing T150 trident
'Cosworth' Nortons
Full list in Classic bike next month.
Some of the info is on their site
www.motorcyclenews.com/news/detail?sectionID=50677&documentID=180968
>> Edited by Badapple on Friday 3rd October 00:02
Thanks for the info Steve & Ian, a sad loss, but without your efforts, it could have been a lot worse.
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