Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum was completely destroyed by fire this morning,

[weeksy]

Ouch. There’s going to be an unhappy underwriter somewhere. What a loss!



In a disaster beyond reckoning, the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum was completely destroyed by fire this morning, with 250 exceptional and exceedingly rare machines inside. It recalls the 2003 National Motorcycle Museum fire, and is a mighty blow to motorcycle history. Two of our friends and allies had significant collections inside, and we cannot help but feel their distress today.

[JackyJoll]

In Austria, apparently. Must admit I’d never heard of it before.

Was it too near the eucalyptus forests?

[weeksy]

In Austria, apparently. Must admit I’d never heard of it before.

Was it too near the eucalyptus forests?

No idea, your knowledge of the place now equals mine.

[JackyJoll]

Great idea, eh!

Building a giant wooden matchbox and filling it with rare goods.

[David]

In Austria, apparently. Must admit I’d never heard of it before.

Was it too near the eucalyptus forests?

I kept saying that the Koala bears shouldn't be allowed access to alcohol and matches.....

[Trinity765]

That's sad.

[Luddite]

That's a real tragedy. One of biking's best kept secrets - I'd never heard of it either until there was a Bike Show article about it last year.

[The Spin Doctor]

That's sad... I would have made a trip there had I known about it.

[Skub]

That's awful. I hate to hear of historical artefacts such as those lost forever.

[demographic]

Great idea, eh!

Building a giant wooden matchbox and filling it with rare goods.

Well its a good job that all other museums are totally fireproof then eh?

[GuzziPaul]

Bugger. Been there twice. Its on the Austrian/Italian border on the Timmelsjoch pass. Excelent biking road both up and down the other side. The museum also has the toll booths for the pass and a decent cafe. Its only about four or five years old.

[JackyJoll]

Great idea, eh!

Building a giant wooden matchbox and filling it with rare goods.

Well its a good job that all other museums are totally fireproof then eh?

Well you’re struggling to come up with an decent excuse for the stupid bastards there eh?

[Dickyboy]

Normally there would just be a couple of Brough Superiors there, but apparently there was a BS centenary exhibition on so a few more than normal including replicas fingers crossed me & my brother will be taking our dads ss80/100 bitsa to Kop Hill this year

[Yorick]

Normally there would just be a couple of Brough Superiors there, but apparently there was a BS centenary exhibition on so a few more than normal including replicas fingers crossed me & my brother will be taking our dads ss80/100 bitsa to Kop Hill this year

I used to love Kop Hill

[Dickyboy]

Might not work as link is to a private group, but it's a photo of a sad looking 1939 ss100 being craned out of the mess, apparently all the Broughs will be rebuilt

[1913]

I remember sitting at my desk in the local fire station, feet up on the desk, looking out the window and watching the NMM burn down.

The only thing that stopped the whole thing being lost was the fountain pool in the centre. Some firefighters got a small pump into it and stopped the fire spreading any further.

Looks like the latest one had not learnt the lessons, not enough fire suppression and not enough water supplies.

[Dickyboy]

Devestating

[Skub]

Man that's some scale of carnage right there.

[Scootabout]

Bugger. Been there twice. Its on the Austrian/Italian border on the Timmelsjoch pass. Excelent biking road both up and down the other side. The museum also has the toll booths for the pass and a decent cafe. Its only about four or five years old.

A group of us stopped there during our Dolomites trip, 18 months ago. Ironically we didn't even look round the museum - just had a coffee. It seems sacrilege in retrospect, but we'd ridden a long way up very steep and twisty Alpine roads to get there, and had a lot more similar to get to that evening's campsite. So I wonder how many other people missed it for the same reason?

That video really brings home what a terrible waste it is, though.