MOTORCYCLE MECCA GOES MEGA
New expansions over two levels have enhanced the appeal of Invercargill’s Classic Motorcycle Mecca, quite actually taking this impressive collection to a new level.
Located in the centre of the city’s business district, the venue is well on the way to achieving director Joc O’donnell’s stated goal, which is, “to create the best motorcycle museum in the Southern Hemisphere. The new space is not only going to be larger but completely different from what is currently on display.”
The annual Burt Munro Challenge in the region attracts motorcyclists from all over the country and further afield to the city. They are a ready-made audience and were duly impressed by the quality and variety of displays. A lot more of the collection previously stored elsewhere is now also on display.
“The larger display areas have enabled the collection to provide a lot more displays in the one location as well as a lot of interactive family-friendly features and a conference area,” says communications and marketing coordinator Alana Dixon-calder.
It’s now a lot easier to get around the two levels of displays to inspect individual motorcycles and themes in detail.
The substantial change in layout has enabled some great interactive displays to be set up, such as the Immersive Theatre, which seats up to 10 at a time and virtually puts you on the rider’s seat. Numerous video screens play repeatedly in the halls, and, wherever you are, you are surrounded by the backdrop of revving motorcycles.
A replica of Burt Munro’s workshop has been created and a large collection of Burt’s memorabilia is displayed. This is a new addition and wasn’t part of the original collection put together by Tom and Heather Sturgess of Nelson.
The Classic Motorcycle Mecca collection has continued to evolve, taking in Japanese, speedway, and motocross motorcycles. Also included are slices of culture such as the mods and rockers subgroups that grew up in England in the ’60s and had such a big influence on styles of that era.
Keep an eye out, too, for the soon-to-beannounced display of Begg racing cars in the Classic Motorcycle Mecca building.
George Begg built 18 successful race cars at his Drummond, Southland workshop. The last car to be built, 018, is a Formula 5000 racing car, which is driven by Jim Murdoch and will also be on display.