The Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum
The Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum was set up in 1964, after the former championship winning trials rider Sammy Miller set up a parts business in New Milton, Hampshire, England.
Miller put a few of his old racing motorcycles in the corner of his Parts Business, which eventually became the catalyst of the present day museum. The museum is now held in trust, houses some 300 machines including motorcycles and 3-wheeled vehicles and is affiliated to the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust.
Check out the museum website, it looks a cracking place to visit. We at FullChatter have it on our list of things to do.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the text in our post and wikimediacommons users for the photos.
And thanks to ‘828cc’ and ‘jf4950′ for posting on Youtube.
Samuel Hamilton “Sammy” Miller, MBE (born 11 November 1933 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a championship winning motorcycle racer, in both road racing and trials. He was awarded an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours
After attending his first race at the age of 16 in 1951, Miller followed a career involving both road, dirt/grass track racing and motorcycle trials. Miller became British Trials Champion 11 times and won the European Trials Championship twice. In his continuing career, Miller is a winner of over 1300 trials, nine gold medals and the International Six Days Trial, three victories at the North West 200, as well as coming 3rd in the 1957 250cc Grand Prix in championship.
Miller raced mainly for Ariel motorcycles, including both trials events and the Isle of Man TT races. When Ariel were absorbed by BSA in 1964, he formed a partnership with a Spanish firm, Bultaco, and went on to become the lead developer of modern two-stroke trials motorcycles. The bike he created was the Sherpa T. This was done in 12 days, realizing his success when he finally cleaned a section on the Sherpa that was un-cleanable on his famous Ariel. In his later professional racing career, Miller was involved with Honda.
Miller is best known for the 500cc Ariel HT5 that he lightened considerably from standard ex-factory condition. The bike was famously known by its UK registration mark, GOV 132. It is now an exhibit in the Sammy Miller Museum .
Miller switched from Ariel to Bultaco at the 1965 Scottish Six Days Trial. He rode in a Saturday trial on the Ariel and won, then the next day switched to the Bultaco, winning again. During the 1960s he won the Scott Trial six times, twice on an Ariel and four times on a Bultaco.
He set up his own motorcycle parts business in 1964 in New Milton, Hampshire, and put a few of his old racing motorcycles in the corner, later to become the Sammy Miller Motorcycle museum. In 2007 he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He sold his parts business, Sammy Miller Products in 2007.