A landmark museum which rose from the ashes after a devastating fire is celebrating 30 years of life in the fast lane.

The National Motorcycle Museum, which is home to one of the finest collections of rare and classic bikes in the world, is planning a number of events to mark the anniversary.

The museum first opened its doors on the Coventry Road near the NEC in 1984 with just 200 bikes. Three decades later its collection has grown to 950 machines and 250,000 people a year flock there.

The original vision was to create a homage to the machines of the great British motorcycle industry long after their racing days were over.

The region was an ideal place for the museum because of the Midlands’ proud manufacturing record of making motorbikes.

Although firms like Norton, BSA and Triumph had gone into terminal decline with the Japanese invasion of the 1970s and 1980s, the museum kept their spirit alive.

But in 2003 all of that hard work was almost destroyed when a massive fire tore through the building after a carelessly discarded cigarette.

The results were devastating – three quarters of the site was burnt out, and around 400 vintage motorcycles, many of them irreplaceable, were completely destroyed.

Staff were left distraught by the disaster, and the future of the museum looked to be in doubt.

But the crisis sparked an amazing response from staff and enthusiasts alike, and within 12 months the doors of the museum opened again, with a completely rebuilt conference and banqueting suite to boot.

Roy Richards surveying the damage after the National Motorcycle Museum fire
Roy Richards surveying the damage after the National Motorcycle Museum fire

The museum’s founder, self-made millionaire Roy Richards, died in 2008 after a battle with threat cancer.

His aim, when he opened the museum, was to celebrate the “60 glorious years” of motorcycle manufacturing in Britain and to “preserve these pieces of history for future generations, as a reminder of this great nation’s industry, engineering prowess and work ethic”.

At the time of the launch, Mr Richards told the Post : “The country has a National Car Museum, a National Maritime Museum, a National Train Museum, but there is nothing for the motorcycle.

“Up until the mid-1950s we supplied 90 per cent of the world market and it seemed appropriate we should have a museum cataloguing the development of the British Motorcycle industry which has had some 560 different manufacturers.”

As founder, trustee and curator of the museum, Mr Richards registered the venture as a charity.

He said: “It belongs to the country. It is a non-profit making organisation.”

Mr Richards showed his passion for the subject in the aftermath of the fire, telling the Post said: “We will definitely rebuild it. We have to keep the history of British biking alive.

“It’s especially important because so many of them came from the Midlands, Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton.

“BSA’s, Nortons, Ariels, they all came from this part of the world. There’s so many that I cannot single any out, they are all special to me.

“Some of them cost £100,000 each, but we will rebuild the museum. We will start again.”

The museum is planning a number of events for the anniversary including an exhibition of work entitled ‘A Celebration of the Motorcycle’, featuring pieces from artists, art students and local schoolchildren.

A host of other activities will also take place, including screenings of key British races.

Museum director Nick Hartland said: “The motorcycle industry is one of Britain’s great engineering achievements and we strive to give visitors a comprehensive history, and keep our stunning collection of machines in top condition. We work hard to ensure our visitors have a fantastic experience, from initial arrival to the last goodbye.”

Over the years the museum has also grown into a successful conference centre holding 1,200 events with more than 200,000 delegates per year, with clients including Coca Cola, Santander and BP.

Proposals have now been submitted to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) for a 250-bedroom hotel on the site and wider refurbishment that could create up to 200 new jobs.

The proposals are timed to coincide with plans to invest hundreds of millions of pounds into a project, dubbed UK Central, to create 100,000 jobs around the proposed high speed rail link, the NEC and Birmingham Airport, east of the city.

However, the scheme would require development in the green belt and a senior Solihull councillor said the museum will have to prove exceptional circumstances before it gets the green light.

The museum said the proposals would lead to a “dramatic transformation” which would preserve the heritage of British motorcycle industry for many more decades to come.