British Trials Champ Sammy Miller Has Own Museum

Rare, Exotic Vintage Fully-Restored Running Motorcycles Are Featured

Feb 24, 2009

Sammy Miller went to his first motorcycle race at 16. Soon, he was a competitor himself. Several decades and titles later, he has his own motorcycle museum in England

The Sammy Miller Museum is unique in that the rare and vintage motorcycles just aren’t for display; they’re all in top running condition, many still able to race competitively.

Miller acquired his first motorcycle, a 1929 Francis Barnett at age 15, and began racing on grass tracks when he was 18. He left road-racing after taking third in the 250cc World Championships in 1957, and turned to trials competitions.

He went on to win the British trials championships 11 consecutive years. He is a nine-time gold medal winner of the International Six Days Trials. Miller is considered to be the most successful trials rider, having won more than 1,400 competitions in his long career. Along the way he started designing trials bikes, first with Ariel which later was absorbed by BSA, and then for Bultaco, where he created the Sherpa T. He’s also designed for Honda, making their trials bikes a force to be reckoned with.

Museum Began With Parts Shop Display

He started a motorcycle parts business in 1964, putting a few of his motorcycles on display. This was the start of the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum. Miller’s website notes he recently sold off the parts business, but the museum is going strong, with more than 400 motorcycles on display.

His museum is said to be the finest display of rare and vintage motorcycles in Europe. The museum displays not just motorcycles, but motorcycle memorabilia dating back 70 years. Some of the bikes on display are a 1931 539cc Silver Hawk with an overhead camshaft four cylinder engine; a 1919 559cc BSA and sidecar; a 1929 Ascot Pullin, the first motorcycle in the world to have hydraulic brakes; and a 1934 246cc Excelsior Mechanical Marvel – only four of this motorcycle were made.

Museum staff is constantly restoring motorcycles, putting them in running condition. It’s not unusual for visitors to see Miller crossing the museum grounds to or from a test ride on the latest restoration.

Named to MBE list in 2009

Miller, a legend in his own time, was named an MBE in 2009 for his service to motorcycle heritage. He also is in the AMA Hall of Fame. Miller’s remarkable career is detailed in the 1993 book, Sammy Miller Story, by Jeff Clew.

The Sammy Miller Museum is located on Bashley Cross Roads in rural New Milton, about 15 miles from Southampton on the English coast. A visit is doable on a daytrip from London, via train from Waterloo Station. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

Motorcycle enthusiasts may also want to visit the London Motorcycle Museum, open weekends in Greenford, a quiet suburb of London.

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