There’s a truly special time in Alabama where the last throes of unbearable heat and humidity from the
summer months fade away into cooler, crisper air. This time of year has absolutely nothing to do with a
football team which is somehow represented by both an elephant and a deep red wave all at once
either. It’s much more meaningful than that. This special time each October brings people from around
the world to the town of Leeds Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, for what I consider to be the
greatest motorcycle event in the country. The Barber Motorsports Museum Vintage Festival.

Of course, there are a ton of important motorcycle events all over the country. I’ve documented most of
the major ones right here in this blog. This year alone we have covered, or at least touched on, the
Mama Tried Motorcycle Show, the Donnie Smith Motorcycle Show, Daytona and Sturgis to name a few.
But in my opinion, this show rises above them all. While the organizers of Mama Tried work diligently
each year to curate a great mix of motorcycles from all genres, and you’ll see a decent mix of bikes
during Bike Week in Daytona, there is nothing like the collection of bikes that make their pilgrimage
each year to central Alabama.

So how did this magical place come to be? I’m not an exact historian on the subject, but the story boils
down to George Barber spending his fortunes from the Dairy and Real Estate business to originally
house his growing motorcycle collection and give himself a place to drive his Porsches. I don’t know how
it went from a personal playground to what he allows the public to enjoy today, but what shines
through the hills of Alabama is now the world’s largest private motorcycle collection. The museum itself
is massive, and from what I’ve been told, only about a third of the total collection is on display at any
time. There are motorcycles, race cars and even vintage outboard motors in a multi-layered
configuration that is nearly overwhelming for anyone with petrol coursing through their veins. Nearly
the entire building is shrouded in glass, so that from almost anywhere inside, you can take in the
breathtaking views of his racetrack. Did I just call it a racetrack? I’m sorry, it’s much more like a country
club with a racing problem. It truly is that gorgeous.

I won’t bother posting pictures of the museum itself in this column because I believe that you need to
venture there and see it for yourself. It’s that important to any motorcyclist. I instead will focus on
photos of their largest event of the year, Barber Vintage Fest. This year marked their 17 th Vintage
Festival, and I am proud to say that it was my 6 th . For 4 of those years, I was a vendor at the event, and it
was even a joy to work at the event! There aren’t too many events that are “fun” to vend at, trust me on
that one. What makes it so great? It’s motorcycles without attitudes. And it’s every motorcycle. It’s
Moto Guzzi’s, Bultaco’s, Maico’s, Hodakas, Harley Davidson, Beta, Sherco, Ossa, Husaberg, well, you get
the point. Most of them are ridden into the show and for a lot of bikes, it’s one of the only weekends of
the year they are ridden. It’s just a truly special place.

I mentioned the lack of attitudes. What is it with most V-Twin event goers? Why does everyone have to
dress and act like pirates? “ARRRRRR….I be out ridin’ me Huritage!!” You won’t find that at Barber. You’ll
find a ton of Harley’s, but little to no “tough guy” personas. Instead, this is a true weekend to celebrate
the brother and sisterhood of motorcyclists. People stop and talk. They admire, respect, wave and dare I
say it, they smile. Smiling and motorcycles, who knew?

All weekend long you can find racing going on somewhere on the property. There are vintage trials,
vintage scrambles and of course, vintage road racing. The sound track of the weekend is the constant
drone of yesteryear’s race iron being pushed to the limits once again for each racer’s shot at glory. The
swap meet there has grown so large that it now takes up two completely different areas. I’ve never left

a single year without purchasing something! My find this year was a Harley-Davidson semi-truck toy.
There is a large vendor area that typically houses a few OEM’s and a lot of aftermarket companies, as
well as the famous wall-of-death and of course a fantastic selection of food and beverage vendors. One
of my favorite attractions is an area, and I don’t know the proper name of it, so I’m not going to try, but I
call it “The Japanese Area”. Inside this cordoned off space, you’ll see showroom new Japanese bikes
from the 1960’s to the late 90’s. All pristine. It’s truly a sight to behold. To cap everything off, several
manufacturers also host demo rides on their top products, so you can take a ride through the Alabama
hills and even experience some new equipment during your visit.

If you can’t tell already, I highly recommend this event landing onto your “must do” event calendar. It’s
already scheduled for October 6 th -8 th 2023 and you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be there. There
are hotels close by, fantastic riding in the area, a Bucee’s gas station and typically fantastic weather. I’ve
eliminated any excuse you may have had. Bring a vintage bike or ride something modern. No one will
care. Maybe even bring a trailer and a stack of cash to see what you can add to your collection. Any way
that you want to attend, as Nirvana once said, “come as you are.”