London Motorcycle Museum facts for kids
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| Established | May 1999 |
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| Dissolved | October 2019 |
| Location | Greenford, Ealing England |
| Type | Transport museum |
| Visitors | 250,000 |
| Public transit access |   Greenford |
The London Motorcycle Museum was a special place that showed off more than 150 old and classic British motorcycles. It was located in Greenford, Ealing, England. The museum opened its doors in May 1999. Sadly, it closed in October 2019 because it became too expensive to keep running.
This museum was run by a charitable trust, which means it was a non-profit organization. It had many amazing motorcycles, including the very last Triumph Bonneville T140 motorcycle made at the Meriden factory in 1983.
Contents
History of the Museum
How the Collection Started
The museum's founder was a man named Bill Crosby. He started collecting cool British motorcycles way back in 1960. This was when he took over a motorcycle shop called Reg Allen in Hanwell. At first, his collection was shown at Syon Park in Brentford until 1979. After that, the bikes moved to different temporary spots.
Finding a Permanent Home
Eventually, a permanent home was found in Greenford. This place used to be Coston's Farm. Later, it became a storage area for the Ealing Council starting in the 1930s. The museum was run by volunteers from the charitable trust. They worked hard to make it a great place for educational visits. The museum was also connected to the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust.
Amazing Motorcycles on Display
What You Could See
All the motorcycles at the museum were in fantastic condition. They were some of the best examples from famous makers like BSA, Triumph, and Norton. The museum also featured bikes from less well-known companies, such as Coventry-Eagle and Rudge.
Special and Unique Bikes
The museum's official website used to list all the motorcycles on display. This included some unique prototype bikes. A prototype is an early model used for testing. For example, they had a development Triumph Trident. They also had motorcycles that had been shown in movies or TV shows.
The collection included bikes from different time periods:
- 1907 298 cc Brown Precision
- 1921 Rudge TT 3 hp
- 1925 596 cc Scott Flying Squirrel
- 1925 980 cc Coventry Eagle Flying 8
- 1937 499 cc Rudge Special
- 1949 998 cc Vincent Rapide Series 'C'
- 1959 Norton Dominator
- 1966 BSA Lightning works production racer
Museum in the Media
Motorcycles from the London Motorcycle Museum appeared in many TV shows and magazines. They were seen in popular British shows like EastEnders and Dad's Army. They also featured in a US show called A-Z of Royalty and Men & Motors ‘Full Throttle Famous’.
The museum was often written about in motorcycle magazines. These included Classic Bike Guide, Classic Bike, and French and Italian motorcycle magazines. The museum even appeared in the US TV series American Chopper. In one episode, the Teutul family from Orange County Choppers visited the UK. They were guided to the museum by actor and motorcycle fan, Ewan McGregor.
