Barber Motorsports Park Trip

[G_YamTech_314]

I'm currently in Kennesaw Georgia. I'm here for Yamaha Technical Training on watercraft. As many of you probably already know, (and if the username didn't make it obvious...) I'm a Technician who has a particular interest in Yamaha vehicles. The dealership I work for is leaning towards getting personal watercraft in for their line up, and needed to send me to get learnt on the darn things. I have learned a lot more than anticipated, and I also had some unforeseen opportunities reveal themselves to me in this somewhat unexpected two week work adventure.

I brought my PlayStation with me to endure the few hours of boredom in my hotel room after class on weekdays, but needed to get creative and find ways to spend my full days off on the weekend between class weeks. A coworker and I did some looking around, and an instructor at Yamaha recommended we take a bit of a drive to Birmingham Alabama to see the Barber Motorsports Park. I had no idea how much of a treat I was in for. As a motorcycle enthusiast, and someone who quite enjoys the history of the sport, I was absolutely blown away by the experience.

We spent nearly 5 hours there, and felt we still didn't have long enough of a visit to really absorb everything they had to offer. It was something I didn't even know existed, and now I'm happy to be able to add it, and cross it off of my bucket list at the same time. I will return to see it again and I'll ideally do so at a time that they are having an event that allows me to ride one of my bikes on their track (if that's a thing). Either way, I took about four billion photographs, and Ill share some of the ones I enjoyed the most with you here. If you haven't ever been there, you need to go! its a magical experience.

I'm happy to have been able to document this portion of my life, and I hope that everyone here finds something in the series of photos that they like. A few motorcycles that really caught my eye were some of the more historic ones, such as:

The Brough Superior with the super interesting valve springs, I got a close up of those buggers. I did a presentation in school on the history of motorcycle safety gear, and laws that ill happily butcher trying to re-explain to you all... There was a military man, perhaps a general (I'm rusty on the details, but I believe it was the british military) who fell off of a Brough Superior while trying to avoid hitting children that were playing in the street. As a result of this 5 mph crash, he lost his life. this started the helmet mandate in the military for motorcycles, and trickled down into civilian law, and has been a debate in each state of the U.S and around the world ever since.

the 1948 "doodlebug". A particularly fun little bike to see for me personally because its what would eventually be the first motor-bike I had with a friend in high school. Not a 1948 model, but a doodle bug from probably the early 2000's.

Another motorcycle that was awesome to see was the Daimler bike... The one that started it all. Made mostly of wood... it paved the way for what we all share.

Then there's the Honda NR (none of the bikes I'm talking about will be pictured in order...) A rare motorcycle produced by Honda that boasted an Oval Piston design. A very nice treat to have been able to see it in person, and so up close at that.

The Indian Inline 4... The first inline 4 cylinder motorcycle in history.

The Hercules W2000...

You get the point... I could go on, and on... I chose a good 70 some photos to share with you all but the forum only allows 48 files be attached per post... If you want more spoiling, I can upload more on another comment in this thread... For now, Ill give you what they allow, and leave it at that!

Thanks for taking the time to read and browse the photos I have to share!

 

[jpdevol]

There was a military man

Col. T.E. Lawrence aka "Lawrence of Arabia"

 

[G_YamTech_314]

Col. T.E. Lawrence aka "Lawrence of Arabia"

Yes! That's right! Thanks for the help lol

 

[jetmechmarty]

Col. T.E. Lawrence aka "Lawrence of Arabia"

When you have 4 hours to spare, watch the movie. It's tremendous.

 

[ThatXS650Guy]

Barber is a treat anytime of the year but even more so during the Vintage Festival.
I'm glad you got to visit the museum.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Barber is a treat anytime of the year but even more so during the Vintage Festival.
I'm glad you got to visit the museum.

I've never been into the museum during the Vintage Festival. There's no time. The museum can take days.

 

[Jim]

Lawrence of Arabia and his ties to British bikes. The whole BBC series on British bikes is worth watching.

 

[Mailman]

First off, I’m happy to hear your job is still going well! And thanks for posting those photos, that really is a spectacular museum!

 

[G_YamTech_314]

First off, I’m happy to hear your job is still going well! And thanks for posting those photos, that really is a spectacular museum!

Thanks, Mailman! The jobs great. I feel it's a stepping stone for me in life. This trip has taught me to not set my destiny in stone. I want to aim as high as I can. I'm happy falling wherever I end up, but I realized that a lot of those I'm learning from started where I am now. Who knows where this will all take me in the future. Working for Yamaha? Being part of a team that develops new tech, or a team that helps educate the next generation of techs? I've got a TON left to learn but I'm taking this all in stride and carrying the knowledge with me as far as I can.

The museum was very interesting, and educational. It shows that no matter how much I like the world of bikes, there's ALWAYS people that like it more, and thats okay. I'm in awe of the accomplishments of the men and women I learned about in the museum. A little cheesy maybe... But it was inspiring.