Motorcycle Nirvana Discovered–Bill’s Bike Barn

As my eyes accustomed to the low light I thought for an instant I had died and gone to heaven. Or maybe been whisked by a modern day genie to an Aladdin’s Cave of motorcycles. But when I pinched myself it hurt, so I figured so semblance of realism inhabited this motorcycle nirvana. But let me back up a bit.

Well-known industry figure Skeeter Todd volunteered to escort me from Cincinnati to New York State. I looked forward to roaming through eastern countryside I hadn’t previously experienced. Unfortunately, morning, noon, and night was consumed with dull views of snow. Gave me the creeps. I couldn’t find a blue sliver of sky, or a green leaf. It was as if I was snagged and tossed in a world of black and white. I wondered what the hell I did to deserve this dour treatment, and I dawned on me while trying to scrape the moisture away from the frozen window; over half the population of this country resides in this region, and can’t ride a motorcycle for nine months of the year.

I wanted to grab the wheel, steer to the nearest airport and fly to Daytona. Bike week was less than a month away.

Then somewhere in Pennsylvania Skeeter said we should swing through Bloomsburg and drop into Bill’s Old Bike Barn, which is adjacent to Bill’s Custom Cycles. I blinked and as we pulled off the highway, the sun attempted to break the gray veil. I could see bright colors and was reminded of something Bandit told me. “Motorcycles represent more than just vehicles. The represent freedom and light.” Maybe, for the first time I got it, the metal flake mantra. Well, I don’t know which blew me out more: the tour of his shop, or the tour of his Bike Barn.

Bill bought-up complete spare parts inventories from Harley-Davidson dealerships for decades. He moved fast when shops closed down for one reason or another, or were ready to sell their cache of superseded parts.

Bill must have millions of dollars tied up in his stock with parts for just about every Harley-Davidson ever made. Want a Shovelhead barrel? Bill has them stacked to the rafters. Literally. Need an Ironhead Sportster oil pump? Take your pick from a stack the size of a household refrigerator. Truly, mere words cannot effectively communicate the size of his stash spread over several levels in his vast warehouse.

The Old Bike Barn is nestled in a wooded grove behind his shop of some forty years. It came about because about ten years ago, owner Bill Morris started to fulfill his life long dream and Bill’s Old Bike Barn was born.

Currently it displays over 100 amazing vintage motorcycles and has more than 50,000 square feet dripping with some of the most extraordinary antiques from all around the world. A 1939 German Kettenkrad, a 1913 Harley Silent Grey Fellow and a 1914 Triumph are on display, along with vintage European carousel horses, pristine Moto Guzzi’s and a 1909 Peugeot motorcycle with a unique front suspension setup, which runs through the frame neck.

But somewhat uniquely, the bikes are not just displayed, but sit in a village Bill has constructed inside the huge barn, which was built around 1800 in a nearby town and taken to pieces and reconstructed at Bills, one piece at time. The village has been named Billville and is complete with mock mansion, smoke shop, music store a 1939 New York Worlds Fair Bar and a post office: Not a replica post office mind you, but an actual post office Bill bought from a small town.

But it is the bikes that are the core feature, bikes, bikes and more bikes along with an amazing amount of memorabilia of all kinds of Americana, but most of which is motorcycle related. We spent a couple of hours there, with Bill recounting stories of his acquisitions as we toured around, but I would have liked to have stayed there all day and gone back the next.

Well, that’s enough words; I’ll let the pictures do the talking. You can find the barn at www.billsbikebarn.com and if you are ever over that way, do not miss the opportunity whatever you do.

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