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View Full Version : My day amongst the Harley folks


bubbagazoo
08-24-2006, 02:20 PM
Or so it seemed. Last Saturday, my DSW and I drove down to Wetaskawin, Alberta to take in the Life and Times of the Motorcycle exhibit at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. This exhibit opened mid-May of 2005 and ends on 17 September, 2006. If you are close enough to take this exhibit in, I highly recommend it. Upside - lots of old and new bikes. Downside (sorta) - only 2 BMWs. Over 110 bikes on display of all vintages and makes. Most were loaned to the museum for this exhibit by private owners/collectors. Looking through the catalogue, probably no more than 20% were from the museum's own collection or borrowed from other museums.

Quickest way to get there -- Alberta Highway 2 south from Edmonton or north from Red Deer to Highway 13. Head east on 13 until you come to the museum (not very far). Signage is excellent. The museum is on the north side of the highway. We drove because my DSW did not want to ride and being the smart guy that I am, I agreed with her choice.

I took a bunch of pictures and have posted the best photos to my web site. My upload speeds are not that good so please be patient.

http://www.bubbagazoo.ca

Photos are accessed by clicking on the L&T Motorcycle link on the navigation menu.

Funniest Harley folk anecdote. My DSW had noticed a couple of guys walking around the museum, just as we were. All decked out in the Harley shirts, dew rags, leather chaps, fancy HD vest. Ya know the look - tough Harley Biker guys. Us, we just looked like a couple of tourists because we went in the cage. End of our day, we were walking to the parking lot and Mary Ann sees these two guys climb into a little Neon. She thought that was quite funny. Lots of motorcyclists were present with their rides. The paved parking lot was reserved for motorcycles and it was pretty full.

MCMXCIVRS
08-24-2006, 03:57 PM
I was there on Saturday too. Three of us rode up from Calgary to Red Deer and met up with two more friends from Edmonton for breakfast. We got to the museum around 11 and stayed until about 3. Three of our group headed for Edmonton afterwards, myself and my father in law took the scenic route home via highway 21 about 40 Kms east of Wetaskiwin. About 550 Kms for the round trip.

The museum was good, as was the stunt riding show in the afternoon. There was another BMW out in the aircraft hangar to the back of the museum. That's where all the militay bikes are. Plus the R1100RS got a mention for being the first model with the Telelever suspension on one of the sign boards in the garage display area. :clap

Also a few BMWs in the parking lot :stick

BobsST
08-24-2006, 06:03 PM
I feel your pain man, maybe this will help. Pics taken at the BMW Museum in Munich a couple of years ago.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g313/BobsST/Museum/Museum1.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g313/BobsST/Museum/Museum2.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g313/BobsST/Museum/Museum3.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g313/BobsST/Museum/Museum4.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g313/BobsST/Museum/Museum5.jpg

bubbagazoo
08-24-2006, 11:11 PM
There was another BMW out in the aircraft hangar to the back of the museum. That's where all the militay bikes are. Plus the R1100RS got a mention for being the first model with the Telelever suspension on one of the sign boards in the garage display area. :clap

Also a few BMWs in the parking lot :stick

I missed the one in the hangar. I hate to say it but aircraft and Victoria Cross winners tend to over ride my motorcycle interest.

I didn't go over to the parking lot. We arrived at about 11:30 and had lunch first. Did the tour and chatted with Marty Stevens, the CFCW personality doing the on-location thing. We are friends of him and his wife (I worked with her for about 6 years). We left at about 3 as well.

I got a kick out of the Beh-Emm-Veh Motor Rad history video in the engine display area (the same room where I took the picture of the XS650 motor). The humour for me was not in the content of the video but rather the Beh-Emm-Veh pronunciation.