/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/octane/BSKYH3LGFRFGTLJVDEVWKXOYOU.jpg "One of America’s Biggest Motorcycle Museums Closes")
After a stoic 34-year run, the National Motorcycle Museum is closing down for good September 5, 2023. Once one of the preeminent motorcycle museums in the country, its board of directors finally decided to shut its doors after years of financial struggles. Founded by J&P Cycles’ dynamic husband-wife duo John and Jill Parham in 1989, the museum first opened in Sturgis, South Dakota, with a modest 40 motorcycles on display. In 2001, it moved to Anamosa, Iowa, and at one point housed more than 500 rare and collectible motorcycles and memorabilia.
“It was a very hard decision and it was an emotional decision because my husband and I started this together,” Jill Parham said. “We have struggled for years to cover wages and utilities, partly due to low visitation.”
The pandemic also hit the nonprofit museum hard as it had to close its doors for several months. Harsh Iowa winters didn’t help attendance either. Losing founder and driving force John Parham to pulmonary fibrosis in 2017 dealt the museum another cruel blow.
Over the years, the museum has showcased some of the most iconic motorcycles around.
It was the first to display Rollie Free’s 1948 Vincent HRD, aka the “Bathing Suit Bike.” The picture of Free stretched out like Superman on the Vincent’s tank wearing only swimming trunks while he’s setting a land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats is easily one of the most instantly recognizable motorcycle photos. The 1911 Flying Merkel boardtrack racer it had on display, a prized possession from the E.J. Cole collection, is said to be the most original 1911 Merkel in existence.
It honored legends like the “King of Cool” Steve McQueen with his own exhibit, including McQueen’s 1947 Indian Chief chopper, one of his favorite bikes to ride when he wanted to escape from the world. The museum paid homage to Southern California’s “Kustom Kulture” with work by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and Von Dutch. It even constructed its own 50-foot-long boardtrack exhibit inside the museum itself, a dozen vintage boardtrackers adorning its banked turn.
In its heyday, the museum attracted plenty of celebrities and was frequented by a veritable who’s who of the motorcycle industry. American Picker Frank Fritz, a good friend of museum director Jill Parham, was known to pop in anytime. The museum even built a “Barn Find” exhibit complete with a hodgepodge of rusty relics as one of its star attractions.
While many of the museum’s motorcycles were on loan from private collectors, others were part of the Parham’s personal collection. Much of that is going up on the auction block as part of the liquidation process. More than 300 motorcycles and 1,000 road art lots will be for sale in Mecum Auctions on September 6–9, 2023, as part of the John Parham Estate Collection. A preview day is scheduled September 5. There are some incredible motorcycles and memorabilia up for grabs, from a 1915 Flying Merkel Twin to a 1937 Brough Superior SS80.
Parham’s passion for the motorcycle industry was unparalleled. Although it’s sad to see one of the finest motorcycle museums in the country closing down, it also presents an incredible opportunity to expand your own collection and own a piece of its legacy. You can also sneak in one last visit because its doors don’t close until September 5.
