Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Leeds

The Experience

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum showcases vintage bikes from 20 countries, which fill the massive showroom at the Barber Motorsports Park, with technicians constantly working to keep each of the museum's 1,300 bikes authentically maintained and road-ready. Additionally, technicians ensure the overall gallery represents the evolution of the motorcycle through the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Highlights

• Collection contains 1,300 motorcycles, built between 1902 and the present
• Roughly half of the collection is kept on display
• More than 50 Lotus racecars
• Adjacent racetrack, Barber Motorsports Park, hosts test-drives and ride-alongs

Who They Are

George Barber first explored his love of racing in the 1960s, behind the wheel of a Porsche. By 1988, he had begun collecting and restoring classic and vintage sports cars, and his acquisitions soon spilled into motorcycles. His fleet eventually became the Barber Collection and the defacto garage for his own vintage-motorcycle racing team. Today, Barber's Collection has become a full non-profit motorsports museum that has shared its pieces at exhibitions at the Guggenheim in Spain, the Field Museum in Chicago, and the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.