1977 Norton Commando up for grabs as part of National Motorcycle Museum Covid appeal

The National Motorcycle Museum has issued an urgent appeal to help raise £500,000 to reopen, following closure due to coronavirus. 

In a new scheme being launched on Friday, July 17, patrons are being invited to either donate via the museum’s website or take part in a raffle to win a number of classic British motorcycles – the top prize being a new/old stock 1977 Norton Commando 850.

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Receiving no external funding support, the Solihull-based venue has been heavily impacted by the pandemic; normally relying on visitors to the exhibition as well as the onsite conference centre and two hotels that are also part of the business to provide the necessary income.

“Without the income from our three sister businesses, there is little likelihood of the museum opening, and then remaining open, until they return to normal trading,” Museum Director, James Hewing, said in a statement.

“The museum itself requires a surplus of around £500,000 per year just to break even. Without making this appeal, we may have to sell some of our reserve collection of bikes, the last thing we would ever have wanted to do.

“Unfortunately, all of our business activities are in one of the hardest hit sectors, and we simply don’t know how long they will take to recover.”

Classic Brit bike raffle

On Friday, July 17, the museum will launch the Covid-19 Museum Appeal Raffle, which will sit alongside the site’s regular summer and winter prize draws that continue to run as normal. A landing page has already been set up on their website, ahead of the ticket launch.

First prize will be a new/old stock 1977 Norton Commando 850, with the second-place finisher bagging a 1948 Ariel NG 350. The final bike up for grabs is a 1959 BSA B31. Both the Ariel and BSA have been restored by the museum.

Winners will be drawn on December 21, with tickets soon to be available for £6. Alongside taking part in the raffle, the site will be launching an appeal fund, however donations can already be made to the business online.

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Win a Triumph Thruxton TFC with the National Motorcycle Museum

First published on December 18 2019 by Ben Clarke

The National Motorcycle Museum have announced that the first prize in this year’s winter raffle is a limited-edition Triumph Thruxton TFC.

One lucky winner will have a brand-new Thruxton registered to them, one of just 750 made by the British manufacturer.

The Triumph Factory Custom (TFC) models represent the crème de la crème of Triumph’s ranges with only the finest components fitted for a custom bike feel with a factory finish.

The second prize is a Sealey MC680E electro hydraulic motorcycle lift worth over £1600 and third is a luxury hotel break and dinner for two including a VIP museum tour and one night stay and dinner at the new Marco Pierre White Steakhouse in the Manor Hotel, Meriden.

The winner of the museum’s summer raffle has also been announced as Mrs Sally Peace from Machynlleth, Wales, who took home a brand-new/old stock Triumph Trident T160.

The draw for the Winter Raffle will take place on Sunday, April 26, 2020 at the International Classic Motorcycle Show, Stafford. Tickets are £2 each and can be purchased directly from the museum, through museum website (www. thenmm.co.uk) or through certain specialist magazines.

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Triumph Trident up for grabs

First published: 20 May 2019 by Dan Sutherland

The National Motorcycle Museum have begun selling tickets for their Summer Raffle, with this year’s grand prize an unused, classic Triumph.

It’s a 1977 Triumph Trident T160V powered by a 750cc air-cooled triple, a fabulous machine in its day and this one even more so as it’s never been run or registered. The odometer shows just nine miles from 40 years of being pushed around.

Second prize is a cool, retro-inspired tool 10-drawer tool chest from Sealey that has an RRP of £815. While third prize is a luxury hotel break and dinner for two at Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse at The Manor Hotel, Meriden, near Coventry.

The results of the NMM Winter Raffle were drawn on April 28 by TT star Ian Hutchinson. Dave Street of Aberdeenshire was the winner, taking home a ‘new old stock’ 1977 Norton Commando 850cc, which had also never been run or registered.

The draw for the Summer Raffle will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Museum Live event. Tickets are £2 each and can be purchased directly from the museum, through museum website (www. thenmm.co.uk) or through certain specialist magazines.