Riders in the storm

ALMOST four years ago National Motorcycle Museum director James Hewing said: “We have tremendous plans over the next few years to make the National Motorcycle Museum a truly dynamic resource for everyone who loves old motorcycles.”

And boy, has he stuck to his words – museums don’t get much more ‘dynamic’ than the NMM. This is, after all an institution which allows its members to ride its collection – both on the open road and in its own grounds. Indeed, you can’t get much closer to dynamism than blasting off on a 650cc Ariel Cyclone.

But then, this is the NMM: unique, quirky, unusual and so profoundly loyal to its founder's passion for motorcycles that it even allows its members to test ride its collection. In a world of guarded, ‘play it safe’ Kafkaesque institutions, this is a welcome rarity.

The opportunity