Something about this exhibition.
As I live only 5 kilometers away from the museum, I was there on the first weekend after the exhibition start and done a longer photo shooting (app. 600 picture) for an article for the Speed Record Club magazine Fast Facts. This exhibition was shown on a other location before....for the time in Neckarsulm a booklet was promised, written by Mr. Ratzinger, about the speed record history on two and three wheels....but this booklet is still not published...I liked to have this booklet as part of my article...so, I fear I have to finish my article without....
However, this exhibition was both....exciting but also a disappointment.
The NSU streamliner Baum III and IV wasn't a part of the exhibition....they stand on a other floor in the museum....the III had set several long distance records.....the IV was originally for the absolute two wheel record...but during the practice with Wilhelm Herz on the steering, the streamliner crashed, Wilhelm walked away and set days later the first motorcycle record over 200 mph with the NSU Delphin III......Wilhelm was faster with the Baum IV as the later record with the Delphin III, when he went down...
One of the disappointing's...that this two real record vehicles wasn't on the display....
but therefore other which never come close to an attempt - in other words - they never went out of the pits for a serious attempt.....or they never set a record or could set a record....because they was not qualified to go for a record....simple not in a right class/category...and used in a totally other competition...
part of the exhibition were some information boards with lots of information about the history of speed records on two wheels....
fine.....if they done right.....unfortunately a lot of mistakes could be found....mistakes which could be avoid just to make the right research or in several points....just the right reading of well known facts.....
you can say now....who cares, except some historian the visitors of this exhibition didn't know so or so not the correct facts....it's effect no one....
only that the visitors were leaving the exhibition with the wrong information....information which could be easily done right....just asking a proper historian before printing the boards....
yes, there were also some positive aspect in this exhibition...the racers was very well prepared and in a way displayed that the visitors of the exhibition could view them very well, also when there were a big crowd on the hall. The boards was very nice done, could be easily read and some video screens showed some interested video from the different decades of record breaking....also the newest attempts from Vesco, Campos, Carr and Robinson could be viewed....
Also they had a flyer for the visitors (when they request), about the exhibition....would be nice if they had the booklet in the museum....just bad timing....
Great was also, that someone took the time to get some very rare bikes together on one place.....real exotic vehicles from a time where record breaking was part of the advertisement of a brand......and took the money to show them not only but also creates a nice display stand so that the racer can be viewed properly.....
if someone come in this area....Neckarsulm....by the way....Sinsheim where the famous Blue Flame stands is only 25 kilometers away....and Stuttgart with the big Mercedes Museum about 60 kilometers.....use your time and visit this place....it's worth, not only for the record exhibition. The NSU streamliner you will find in the basement.
In fact....the NSU (Deutsches Motorrad) Museum is the largest collection in the world for two and three wheels.....bad luck....lacking on space....they only show app. 400 vehicles from the more than 4000 they got in the collection.....the Dennis Manning Gulf sponsored streamliner was for years in a storage due to the lack of space...before it was sold and now in the Coventry British Motorcycle Museum on display.....