New acquisitions for Sammy Miller
Although the Sammy Miller Museum may be closed at present due to current circumstances, that hasn’t stopped the man himself from adding a couple more gems to his evergrowing collection. Currently – or at least when it reopens – the museum has almost 500 machines on display. Now, Sammy has acquired a very rare motorcycle from the late Joe Ryan, County Antrim’s tuning wizard. Joe was, of course, synonymous with Nortons – quite simply, in the 1950s and 1960s he built some of the quickest road racing motorcycles in the world. Sammy visited Joe at his fireplace shop (he was, by trade, a fireplace maker, not an engine tuner) many times, meetings that were probably more sedate than when Sammy had battled against the Ryan Nortons on his NSU SportsMax. But this bike is arguably rarer than most Nortons and is a marque of which many people may not have heard. German manufacturer Zehnder produced motorcycles between 1923 and 1939 (although the original company was absorbed by Standard and by 1928 moved to Switzerland), establishing a reputation for reliability as well as enjoying some success on the racetrack. Although they were small capacity motorcycles aimed at commuters, their styling set them apart, as seen in this 1923 machine. The second new motorcycle to join the collection is this rather wonderful 1929 350cc ohv twin port New Hudson, built by the firm founded by George Patterson in Birmingham in 1903. A New Hudson was the first motorcycle to break the 100mph record at Brooklands when Bert le Vack piloted a 500cc New Hudson to that magic speed in 1927. When the museum reopens, both bikes will be on display for visitors to enjoy.