London Motorcycle Museum displayed a range of over 150 classic and British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s. It closed in October 2019, partly due to inability to meet the running costs. A charitable trust, it opened in May 1999 at Oldfield Lane South,

Greenford Greenford () is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, England, lying west from Charing Cross. It has a population of 46,787 inhabitants, or 62,126 with the inclusion of Perivale. Greenford is served by Greenford Station (L ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. It displayed a range of over 150 classic and British

s. Notable exhibits included the last

Triumph Bonneville T140 The Triumph Bonneville T140 is a standard motorcycle with a capacity engine that was designed and built by Triumph Engineering at Meriden near Coventry. The T140 was the second generation in the Bonneville series developed from the earlier ...

out of the Meriden gates in 1983.

History

Bill Crosby, the museum's founder, started collecting good examples of British motorcycles in 1960 when he took over the Reg Allen motorcycle shop in

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

. The bikes were displayed at

Syon Park Syon Park is the garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under ...

until 1979 and then at a number of temporary locations until the site in Greenford was found. Formerly Coston's Farm, it had been used as an Ealing Council depot (Ravenor Depot) since the 1930s. Run by the charitable trust volunteers, the museum promoted educational visits, and was affiliated to the

British Motorcycle Charitable Trust The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust (BMCT) is a charitable incorporated organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting the preservation and restoration of British motorcycle engineering heritage. Established as a Registered Charity in 197 ...

Intended expansion

In 2008, the museum was raising money for an extension to display another sixty motorcycles. The main building was planned as "The Home of

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

" with special areas for other makes, military and

police motorcycle A police motorcycle is a motorcycle used by police and law enforcement. They may be custom designed to meet the requirements unique of a particular use. A police motorcycle is often called a "motor" by police officers in the United States. Units t ...

Exhibits

All the motorcycles on display were in excellent condition and represented the best examples of all the well-known makes, such as BSA,

and

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada * Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

as well as less well known makers including

Coventry-Eagle Coventry-Eagle was a British bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer. Established as a Victorian bicycle maker, the company began under the name of Hotchkiss, Mayo & Meek. The company name was changed to Coventry Eagle in 1897 when John Meek left ...

and Rudge. A full inventory of exhibits could be seen listed on the museum's official web site, including a number of unique prototypes, such as the development

Triumph Trident The Triumph Trident is a three-cylinder motorcycle of either 750 cc or 900 cc capacity. These bikes were produced from 1991 to 1998 at Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, by Triumph Motorcycles Ltd, the successor business to the def ...

and motorcycles that have been featured in the media. Exhibits ranged from one of the earliest motorcycles, a 1902 0rmonde 2 h.p. to a 1993 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 cc and included: * 1907 298 cc Brown Precision * 1921 Rudge TT 3 hp * 1925 596 cc

Scott Flying Squirrel The Scott Flying Squirrel was a motorcycle made by The Scott Motorcycle Company between 1926 and the outbreak of World War II. Development The ''Squirrel'' name was used for Scott motorcycles since 1921 but with the death of the founder Alfred ...

* 1925 980 cc Coventry Eagle Flying 8 * 1937 499 cc Rudge Special * 1949 998 cc Vincent Rapide Series 'C' * 1959

Norton Dominator The Dominator is a twin cylinder motorcycle developed by Norton to compete against the Triumph Speed Twin. The original Dominator was designed in 1947 and 1948 by Bert Hopwood, who had been on the Speed Twin design team at Triumph. Available f ...

* 1966 BSA Lightning works production racer

Media appearances

London Motorcycle Museum racing motorcycles

Motorcycles from the London museum have featured in '' EastEnders'', ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'', ''A-Z of Royalty'' (USA-produced feature for Satellite TV) and '' Men & Motors'' ‘Full Throttle Famous’. The museum is also regularly featured in ''

Classic Bike Guide ''Classic Bike Guide'' is a monthly motorcycle magazine based in Horncastle, Lincolnshire Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census an ...

'', ''

Classic Bike ''Classic Bike'' is a UK motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a ra ...

'', ''Moto Legende'' (France's main classic motorcycle magazine) and ''Motoiclismo'' (Italy's main motorcycle magazine). The museum was also featured in US TV series, ''

American Chopper ''American Chopper'' is an American reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul Sr. (frequently called ''Senior''), and his son Paul Teutul Jr. (also kno ...

'' in the episode where the Teutul family of

Orange County Choppers Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in Orange County, New York, that was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr. The company was featured on '' Amer ...

visited the United Kingdom being shown to be directed there by the actor and well-known motorcycling enthusiast,

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Motorcycle museums in the United Kingdom Transport museums in London Museums in the London Borough of Ealing