22nd edition
Museum News
23 October, 2022
Poker chip set is now available in the IMM Gift Shop! – A set of top-quality casino grade poker chips with the IMM logo on one side, and the face of a motocross legend on the other. The legends whose faces will appear on the chips are: Torsten Hallman, Bob Hannah, Stefan Everts, Harry Everts, Liam Everts, Roger DeCoster, Warren Reid, Hakan Andersson, Steve Wise, Marty Smith, Ricky Johnson, Joel Robert, Gunnar Lindstrom, Gerrit Wolsink, and Heikki Mikkola! This incredible collectors set covers motocross from the very early days of the 1960s through modern times. I plan to get a challenge coin case to display mine on the wall. The full set will retail for US $60! This is a GREAT idea for the motocross fan on your Christmas list. Shop around – there are some incredible and unique gift ideas in the gift shop.
With racing taking a short break to get ready for the 2023 SX season, the silly season has been in full swing with riders changing bikes, changing classes, funding their own way next year or hanging up their Alpinestars for good. Time passes and history is made every single day. It happens every year, and fall continues to be a special time in the memories of we vintage guys. Close your eyes and dream, you can smell the autumn leaves mixing with Bel-Ray premix as the worlds best line up on the gate for the historic Trans AMA series in the 1970s. I know I have talked about the Trans AMA series recently, but for those of us who got to live that series – it is worth mentioning again (and again and again). The Trans AMA is what started turning the tide from “best American” to “best in the world”. It was a magical time, leaves turning into a beautiful canvas of color as tracks across the country played host to this international spectacle. The Trans AMA series is gone along with twin shock suspension and works bikes – but like all history – the memories and the stories must be preserved! You all know – preserving the history of international motocross is the mission of the International Motocross Museum!
The IMM are finalizing discussions now with the Legends and Heroes tour – and hopefully starting in the 2023 SX and MX seasons, you will see our presence at every event. We look forward to meeting and chatting with all of you, answering your questions and getting your thoughts on the museum. This partnership will expose the museum to approximately 1.5M visitors per season. That is a lot of eyes on our sponsor banner!! We have also been talking with KTM who wants to continue supporting the IMM. KTM has done an incredible job not only stepping up to help preserve the museum, but in truly understanding the mission of the museum and its importance. There may not be as many true motorcycle enthusiasts working in the industry as there was 45 years ago – but KTM management shares our enthusiasm and wants to ensure the history of motocross is preserved! Thank you KTM – we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with you!
We are finalizing plans for our ”donor wall” that will allow the names of every person who donates ($100 or more) to the museum to have their name displayed in the IMM forever. We are planning plaques that will have the name, city and state of donors memorialized for the world to see as long as the museum doors are open. We do not have all the details worked out yet – but the initial vision is a large wood plaque (we expect multiple plaques) with the IMM logo on top and approximately thirty, 1” x 3” is brass name plates with the name, city and state of our donors mounted to it. As donations go up - the size of the nameplate will increase. These are the details we are working out now. Also in discussion is what do we call the donor levels? Gold, silver, bronze? Ruby, emerald, diamond? Privateer, satellite team, full factory rider? Things to ponder! So in addition to a tax deductible donation – your name will forever be known as a supporter of the IMM.
Remember when we put duct tape on our tanks to keep the paint from wearing off? Remember cutting your own numbers out of contact paper to save a few bucks (I assume I am not the only person to do that)? Remember Gold Belt’s? Remember when Gary Bailey used telephone poles to make the treacherous whoops at Daytona? Remember the first time YOU went to a Supercross event in your closest stadium? Remember stripping down your trail bike, putting knobby’s and maybe a pipe on it and trying to race? Remember wearing lineman’s boots (again, I can’t be the only person who did that)? Remember when a snow fence is all that kept you off the track at a National? Remember fork braces? Remember when you realized motocross IS in your blood and will forever be part of your DNA? We grew up in a magical time of motocross history and that history must be preserved!
If you were a part of the motocross scene at any point since it exploded in the United States in the early 1970s – you want that history preserved so your kids, grand-kids and great-grand-kids can see what we did, what YOU did to make motocross the greatest motorsport in history! This museum simply cannot happen without substantial funds. We need your help!
If you are interested in a corporate sponsorship, send us a message via the contact link or send me (Tom Miller) a PM on Facebook. We would love to make you part of our venture!
October 2022 is almost in the history books, Halloween is just around the corner, Thanksgiving is waiting in the wings and Christmas will be upon us before you know it. Make sure those asking you “what would you like for Christmas” have easy access to the IMM gift shop as there are so many great gift ideas there (including the new poker chip set)! And now is the time to begin shopping for the motocross fan on your Christmas list. Great quality hats, shirts, clocks and posters for the mancave, and the new poker chip sets are all available now! I highly recommend the documentary video from the first fundraiser event – truly a must see! (Video for the Sept fundraiser is in work). Please follow us on Instagram @themxmuseum, and follow me @imm_pm_114.
Let’s build a museum…
Tom Miller