Haynes, of oily fingerprinted workshop manual fame, has opened its major new motorcycle exhibition at the company’s museum in Somerset. ‘Life on Two Wheels: The British Motorcycling Story’ made its public debut on 21st October. The Haynes Museum has in the past majored on cars, but the completely redesigned motorcycle section has been designed to be more interactive and engaging than before.
“For the first time ever, this new exhibition tells the entire story of British motorcycling from its beginnings at the very end of the 19th century to the current day,” said Museum Curator, Dr Luca Hoare. “It also highlights the central role the motorbike has played in our society over the decades.”

Part-funded by the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust, ‘Life on Two Wheels’ is the first new permanent display at the Haynes Museum for three years. The Haynes Museum is open seven days a week.

BMF Chair Jim Freeman thought it sounded like a good excuse for a ride out down to Somerset. “I’ve been past the Haynes base in Sparkford many times. This would be a great excuse to stop and visit. Like many riders I’ve got numerous Haynes Manuals, some tested to destruction, in fact I think I’ve still got the one with a TT100 tire tread mark across the wiring diagram, when I moved the bike without picking up the book, oops! Haynes certainly expanded many users knowledge and even introduced phrases like ‘Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.’ Or looking for the deliberate mistakes, of which there always seemed to at least one in every manual. They were still the only reasonably priced , freely available alternative to OEM Factory manuals, even if they weren’t as good.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Haynes Museum