The World's Most Travelled Motorcycle

Peter and Kay Forwood started on a ‘round the world’ trip 14 years ago. This amazing adventure began in Australia on the 3rd of February 1996.

In October 2008, this Harley-Davidson motorcycle, carrying all the
luggage, became the first and only vehicle to have been ridden in every
internationally recognised country of the world. Since then Peter and Kay have continued travelling, visiting places they previously missed or
returning to places they enjoyed.

This motorcycle was purchased new in 1994 and has been ridden over 580,000 kms. By August 2009 the motorcycle's original engine required substantial repair after completing 540,080kms.

It was replaced with a brand new engine so it could continue travelling. The original engine will be rebuilt and placed back into the motorcycle, should any new countries be created.

To date, the motorcycle has visited over 414 countries, states, territories, isolated parcels, atolls and disputed territories as identified in the ‘Most Travelled Persons’ list. This is more than any other vehicle, hence the claim
"The World's Most Travelled Motorcycle"

Morris Engines - Handover of Standard to CTM

At lunchtime today over 20 standard bearers came to the museum to officially hand over a Morris Engines standard (or flag). The museum was contacted a few months ago by the Vice Chairman of Coventry Branch No.1 of The Royal British Legion as they believed that Coventry Transport Museum would be a good permanent home for the standard.

Local press and our in–house photographer were there to capture the handover, as were quite a few visitors to the museum. We don’t have a definite date for the standard yet but as I type research is being undertaken by members of the organization to try and find it out. Soon the standard will go on display in the museum – a new home has been allocated in our Boomtown gallery, on the wall above a Morris engine already on display.

Lizzie Hazlehurst
Curator - Archive & Small Objects

CTM has over the last few months delivered several vehicles to Museum of Museums in Manchester. The museum is located next to the Trafford Centre. The Museum of Museums is bringing objects and displays together from other museum and/or private collections. It officially opens on the 9th September.

Click here for more information

We have taken the following vehicles to Manchester:

1910 Humber Landaulette EH 225

1923 Humber Chummy XN 2972

1936 Armstrong Siddeley 14HP BKV 552

1955 Standard 10 PKV 81

1960 Sunbeam Rapier 7523 IJ

1977 Jaguar XJ-S VGW 777S

Premier Safety Cycle c1920

1929 Triumph CSD Combination 550cc motorcycle

56” High Wheeler Cycle

Dursley Pederson Safety Cycle

Velocipede with Phantom Wheels

Sinclair C5

CTM Workshop Restoration Updates

Plenty of Workshop restoration activity as usual here at CTM. Read the updates by clicking here

Bookmark the page to check for regular updates

Coventry Blitz Commemoration Event - 13th November 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More blitz

Coventry Transport Museum is always looking to improve its collection with significant vehicles built in Coventry. The following is a list of items the museum would like to acquire to make the collection even more representative of vehicles built in and around the city.

• Daimler SP 250 (Dart)
• Triumph TR3
• Triumph TR4
• Triumph TR5
• Pre WW2 Triumph Dolomite

Please contact the Museum via email collection@transport-museum.co.uk if you have information on the list above.

Research is Expanding

Over recent years, research has (and quite rightly so) progressed here at the Museum. Material held in our archive is so varied and rich that looking far more closely at such material enables us to better understand our collection and those who were behind many of hundreds of cycle and motor companies to have existed in Coventry.

Last year, Coventry’s Motorcycle Heritage (The History Press ISBN 978-0-7509-5125-8) – a book detailing all known motorcycle makers in Coventry was released. Click here to buy the book - A High percentage of the historical information, sales material and photographs were extracted from what we have stored in our archive. This book is a great example of previously untold information.
Two further publications are planned for release over the next few years. The first will detail Coventry’s motorcar manufacturers, and the latter (the biggest project to date) covers the cycle manufacturers, which so far lists over 400 separate companies known to have existed in the City from 1868.

Outside the three confirmed, there is so much more information obtainable that can be researched, compiled and made available to the public. Many sometimes forget that it was not just cycles and motors that were made in Coventry. There were hundreds of other businesses that existed to support the trades including coach builders, engine builders, enamellers, platers, stampers etc. There were also makers of chains, saddles, radiators, magnetos, ball bearings, mud-guards, dress-guards, machine tools, hubs, to mention but a few – but it gives an insight as to what went on here in Coventry and also as to what we have in our archives.
It can be quite taxing at times getting too far absorbed in research – the eyes begin to sting, the neck hurts and others think you are ignoring them, but it’s all worth it in the end.

Little major break-throughs are made here every day regarding research, but often it’s difficult to share as no-one else knows who or what you are talking about! However, we will continue, and over the coming months we’ll begin to share some of these break-throughs as it’s always good to learn something new isn’t it?

Damien,
Curator Research and Information

Classic archive images to view & buy

CTM are proud to lauch a new online facility - www.ctmimages.co.uk

This site demonstrates images from our huge archive, also allowing you to purchase the items as Prints, Canvases or Gifts. The store will continue to grow as we demonstrate the huge array of items from Coventry's long heritage in the transport history.

The site also offers links to our archive enquiry service - here you can make enquiries on various aspects on the archive and collection to our experienced team.

A Collection of a Million items!

Busy working away in our archive and small object store with our group of dedicated volunteers. We are re-organizing the collection held in there – over 1 million items and it is a massive job.

It’s a bit like trying to work out a big, complicated puzzle! Some days it seems like a never ending task but we have a much better understanding of what we have in there now and we can find things much more easily than we could two years ago so it must be working! Priorities at the moment are sorting out duplicate magazines (we have counted, listed and boxed over 10,000 of these now) and clearing space in our holding bay ready for new material coming in.

Still finding boxes of weird and wonderful things I have never seen before. I found a small box of gold leaf that had been used by a former coach builder yesterday, lots of old driving licences and some receipts for bikes dating from the turn of the last century. It’s a very dusty but interesting job right now!

Blitz Exhibition - Joint Project

We have been working on a joint exhibition with London Transport Museum and Dresden Transport Museum all about the blitz / firestorm in each city with the focus on public transport. It’s called ‘Under Attack’ and will initially be held in London from early September until the end of March – check out London Transport Museum’s website for further details.

Spent a few days last week getting images ready so they can be blown up and added to big graphic panels for the exhibition. It took a long time to scan them in and save them as the designers need them to be really huge.

Really excited about seeing the exhibition when it’s all completed - should be really interesting and thought provoking!

Open publication - Free publishing - More vehicles

Convoy to Coventry

David Vincent, driving a Jaguar XK 150 and Craig Gardner in a Jaguar E Type are going to visit every City in Mainland Britain. There are 61 cities to visit. When they arrive in each City they will have a photograph taken at a landmark to prove that they have been there, in most cases you would not be allowed to get a car anywhere near these landmarks. For example College Green, Cambridge and the Precincts of Wells Cathedral. This is all in aid of Cancer Research and the Downs Syndrome Association, David in the XK suffers from Bowel Cancer and Craig has a five year old cousin with Downs Syndrome. Check out www.3000miles.co.uk

On Sunday 13th June the cars will be arriving in convoy, with a selection of Classic Cars here on Millennium Place. Leaving the Jaguar Castle Brom Plant at 11.15 am they will take the Collector Road towards the A45 and Coventry transport Museum. They have been promised some special cars in the display, possibly a Jaguar C type with Le Mans racing pedigree.
A collection will be taken on the day for the named charities, so come along, dig deep and see some spectacular British cars.

Daimler Buses Reunion

This event took place on the 16th May and was an opportunity to bring former staff members of Coventry Transport back together with some of the vehicles that they worked with. Here we see Travel De-Courcey’s Daimler along with 333 CRW from the museum and 334CRW belonging to Roger Burdett. The new bus on the left is in fact the surprisingly old Daimler Fleetline PDU 135M, also in attendance the Metrobus which was painted in Coventry colours whilst in service with WestMidlands Travel.

After posing for pictures in Broadgate the vehicles moved off to follow the old 9 route to Ernesford Grange. Then it was a Journey to Bedworth and Nuneaton for more pictures and a meeting with Ashley Wakelin’s Ex Midland Red D9.

Open publication - Free publishing - More warwickshire

Open publication - Free publishing - More cycling