On Sunday June 2nd, I wanted to do something different for my upcoming birthday and suggested to my wife that I would like to visit Bills Old Bike Barn; a motorcycle and collections museum. What caught my attention was the fact that the directions indicated that we should turn off the main road when we get to the dinosaurs. I thought, what kind of place was this?
Collectables come in all shapes and sizes. From my own experience, sometimes I have collected things I never thought I would collect. In the main, because I never wanted to throw things away. It could have been old biscuit tins I re-purposed as containers for storing different wood screws and nails, or an old film camera that had been replaced by its digital equivalent, but still worked fine. Whatever it is, once you possess two or three of the same thing, you are on your way towards starting a collection. Enter Bill Morris. Bill is a businessman that has built his business around his passions – motorcycles and collections. Whilst working as a certified Harley technician in his local Bloomsburg dealership, Bill acquired his first collectable bike, a single cylinder 1928 Harley Davidson. AMF's acquisition of Harley in 1969 led to a decline in the brand's popularity in the 1970s, and consumers turned to the better and more diverse European and Japanese motorcycles. Bill seen an opportunity that no one else did. He went on a crusade to acquire the assets of 28 struggling Harley dealerships in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium, and South Africa. He bought bikes and parts at a significantly discounted price. He then became the Amazon equivalent of the day, selling motorcycles and spare parts by mail order. Bill would feed his passion by hanging onto the parts and bikes he cherished whilst selling the rest. His reputation grew, and he became one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Harley parts dealer in the world. But he needed a place to store all this stuff. The barn behind the dealership was perfect.
Bill was also one of the first Moto Guzzi dealers in the United States, he loves Italian motorcycles and there is a part of the bike barn dedicated to the Italian marque. Several Guzzis make up the 200 strong motorcycle collection. But it’s not all about motorcycles. During one of Bills European visits, he bought up some angle iron. However, the weight was too much to load into one container, so he had to purchase a second container to spread the weight. That resulted in a substantial amount of empty space in both containers. So, instead of sending back containers that were partially filled, Bill looked for some high volume, low weight collectables to bring home. This is where the dinosaurs that feature in the directions to get to the barn make an appearance, along with the magical carousel that sits in the middle of the main hall of the barn. Perfect stocking fillers for the two containers of angle iron. Every piece of equipment and collectable in the barn has a unique story attached to it. I felt that I could have talked with Bill for days. Bill, in return, must have told these stories hundreds of times, but he tells them to me as if he is sharing the story for the very first time. This is Bills secret sauce. He takes a huge amount of pleasure telling his stories to complete strangers, and the complete strangers (or me in this case) are only to pleased to listen and connect with such an interesting person and his awesome collections. Be advised, the collection of collections can be initially overwhelming, resembling a journey into the Tardis (if you are familiar with the British Dr Who science fiction TV series), with an immense amount to observe in one place, and seemingly without any logical structure. There is a fire engine, aeroplanes (real and models), and a Rolls Royce Pick Up truck (yes, a RR pick up truck). The collections include children's dolls, china cats, military artifacts, toy cars, radios, domestic irons – the list goes on. There is even a bar made from beer cans. These are besides an Elvis room, dentist surgery and Coca Cola mock up shop all to be seen within the confines of the barn. At the end of my two-hour visit, it all made sense. This was just Billville. A miniature town where one man’s passion for collecting is on show for everyone to see – young and old. This experience was exceptionally unique and absolutely worth it. As a thank you to Bill, it was a pleasure (and an opportunity) to present Bill my story of motorcycles in a much more compact collectable called a book. Not only did we both share a passion for motorcycles, but we also share the same birthday. I just hope I look as good as Bill does when I turn 85.
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