Even at the ripe age of 72, three-time FIM 500cc Road Racing Grand Prix World Champion Kenny Roberts remains a force to be reckoned with. Like a well-oiled machine, Kenny’s mind and body fires on all cylinders. Following the familiar Stetson hat, Ultimate Motorcycling Founder and President Arthur Coldwells and I matched the brisk pace set as King Kenny led us through the enclaves of the Barber Motorsports Museum to a quiet room for our Motos & Friends podcast.
We sat in a small office within the mighty glass-fronted Barber Motorsports Museum. Arthur and Kenny dropped into an easy banter, like most moto guys, swapping stories, memories, and laughs like a couple of kids, with lots of hand gesticulating to demonstrate the taking of curves and eyebrow-raising at incredible stories.
Kenny’s quick-witted humor and unmistakable swagger remain fully intact, making him just as formidable as ever. With a wide grin and timeless enthusiasm, Kenny talked proudly about his family, his grandchildren, and particularly his son Kenny Jr., who won the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship in 2000.
The motorcycle racing legend was this year’s Grand Marshal at Barber’s Vintage Festival and is still as sharp as his racing lines, exuding an energy that’s as infectious as it is inspiring. In fact, it was tricky bringing the podcast recording to an end. However, The King had appointments to attend, so we reluctantly parted ways with grins, hugs, and a collection of anecdotes and information for Motos & Friends.
Nestled on the eastern outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama, since 2003, the sprawling 880-acre Barber Motorsports Park has earned a reputation as a premier racing destination. Conceived by visionary entrepreneur George Barber, who told us about his hopes and desires for the “proudly Birmingham, not-for-profit” venue in an earlier episode of Motos & Friends.
Clearly, there’s so much going on—it’s a multi-purpose facility boasting the impressive Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum as its centerpiece. Guinness World Records recognizes the venue as the world’s largest motorcycle museum. This is a paradise for gearheads, housing an unparalleled collection of more than 1,600 vintage and modern motorcycles. Additionally, Barber boasts a most impressive Lotus race car collection, plus an astonishing array of other historically important race cars and quirky vehicles. You could spend days here and keep discovering interesting exhibits.
The Barber Advanced Design Center is available for viewing on the top floor. There, you can ogle current projects and see the stories behind the thinking. Students who attend the museum’s program are taken from sketching ideas to producing clay models of their own designs. They’re new blood and motorcyclists in the making. This leads to future motorcycle development and promoting design culture within youth.
The Barber Motorsports Park is home to a full-on road racing circuit—a 16-turn, 2.38-mile track with an 80-foot elevation difference. The Barber track has hosted an array of race events, including the esteemed Grand-Am, Pirelli World Challenge, and IndyCar Series. The roar of engines has echoed through its tracks as vintage racing series and MotoAmerica Superbikes do battle.
This brings me to the 2024 edition of the annual Barber Vintage Festival, with 32 races covering a variety of classes over the weekend. The Festival is the ideal time to plan a visit, as it offers the pleasure of gawking at an astounding quantity of historical and often unique motorcycles within the museum itself.
You’ll experience on-track racing action with the sights and smells that go along with that. The 2024 Festival heralded the opening of another superb facility within the park—the Vintage Motocross Track. During the inaugural race, we experienced vintage dirt bikes breaking out in a frenzy.
Barber Motorsports Park is the perfect place to enjoy motorcycles doing what they are designed to do!
Beyond the excitement of racing, Barber serves as a hub for driving excellence. The North American Porsche Driving School calls this iconic venue home, while track day events and private sessions allow enthusiasts to push their limits.
Barber’s crown jewel is the Barber Proving Grounds. This cutting-edge facility boasts the road racing circuit and a state-of-the-art skidpan for testing, demonstrating, and showcasing vehicle prowess. Mercedes-Benz has already made itself at home, hosting immersive experiences. Others utilize the grounds for product debuts, safety training, and pushing innovation to the limit.
During the 2024 Barber Vintage Festival, we were treated to Kenny Roberts riding exhibition laps on his 1980 Grand Prix race-winning Yamaha YZR500. It’s pretty amazing to see and hear the four-cylinder two-stroke engine.
Without a doubt, a highlight of the weekend was the Motorcycles By Moonlight event—Barber’s only fundraiser of the Festival weekend. At this event, you can rub shoulders with motorcycle royalty. The evening is dressy but in a motorcycle guy/gal way. Jeans and smart jackets are just fine.
The evening begins with pre-dinner drinks while surrounded by beautiful machines. You sip your beverage while spotting industry stars at this after-hours event within the museum. It’s a chance to be within the inner circle of some special guests, including Grand Marshal Kenny Roberts and his family, which naturally included Kenny Jr.
The evening is surreal, exciting, and friendly. Collectors, businesspeople, fabled moto-designers, experts, and some famous moto personalities to mingle. We were led to a sumptuous dining area for a sit-down dinner with wine, and guest speakers enthralled us with their stories.
We had entered a silent auction earlier and watched the post-dinner live auction. Items up for grabs included an Eric Johnson sculpture, a custom Delaney guitar, and a signed Ben Spies helmet, amongst many other moto desirables. The bidding was hectic, with Grand Marshal King Kenny waving his bids to the auctioneer against a competitive bidder from another table. Turns out that the top bidder for the original Evo painting then gifted it to Kenny Roberts!
We later edited the Kenny Roberts Motos and Friends episode. Kenny talks about his 1980 Grand Prix race-winning Yamaha YZR500 and why it’s his favorite race bike, what drove him to such extraordinary achievements, and what it was like to ride—and win—on the fearsome Yamaha TZ750 two-stroke dirt tracker that one time at the Indy Mile. Kenny candidly tells us what’s different about modern-era race bikes compared to his era, why he didn’t hire Max Biaggi to ride his KR MotoGP bike, and what he thought of his main rival, Barry Sheene. With a twinkle in his eye, Kenny shares why he likes English women. It’s a fascinating insight into one of the most remarkable motorcycle racers ever.
Unstoppable as ever, the straight-talking Kenny Roberts’ larger-than-life personality continues to captivate all who meet him. He remains worthy of the King Kenny nickname as he continues to inspire fans by sharing his history and now leaves the legacy of his most famous machines for all in the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.
Photography by Teejay Adams, Joe Avila, and Arthur Coldwells
