The Allen Museum Classic motorcycles in a country setting By Ed White

Fifteen miles outside Boston, on the grounds of a New England estate, is the Allen Vintage Motorcycle Museum. This private museum was completed one year ago and designed to look like a traditional New England carriage house. Under the careful eye of Connecticut architect Christopher Woerner, the museum building was designed to display up to 35 vintage motorcycles on two levels. The main floor is 2,000 square feet with black and white ceramic tile. The second floor mezzanine viewing level is 1,300 square feet and the motorcycles are raised via hydraulic lift. The building is carefully climate-controlled and museum-style lighting illuminates the motorcycles.

The museum features the collection of Clint Allen, a venture capitalist who rode a BSA Super Rocket while a college student and remained interested in classic bikes. He currently owns the 22 race and street machines in the collection.

Left: Bart Markel's KR. Above, Triumph Trident "Slippery Sam" replica.

Included in the museum is a 1968 Harley-Davidson KR dirt track racer ridden by the legendary Bart Markel. Fitted with twin Tillotsen carburetors, the KR is supposedly the last of the Markel KR lowboys, the other four having been destroyed in a fire.

Other race bikes in the collection include a 1980 Rotax 600 which won the 1996 Pikes Peak Hillclimb and a 1972 Harley-Davidson XR750TT which won Best of Show in both the Del Mar and Daytona concours in 1995. The collection also includes a factory-autographed "Slippery Sam" replica built and raced by Jerry Liggett and a 1971 BSA Rob North Trident replica in John Cooper trim.

Notable English road machines include a beautiful 1955 Vincent Black Shadow and a Jay Strait-restored BSA 650 Super Rocket. A Triumph X75 Hurricane, BSA 441 Victor, Triumph Daytona Series III and a 1977 Bonneville, all in show trim, round out the British group. Among the Japanese machines are a restored 1979 Honda CBX, Honda 1100F, Honda 900F and a Honda 750F.

While the museum is private, it can be accessed via the Internet at www.allenmuseum.com. Private tours can usually be arranged by contacting the museum via e-mail at acallenco@aol.com.

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