Passes & Canyons Blog

I recently got wind of a concerning situation. It seems the restaurant that houses the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum, in Colorado Springs, has closed. Considering that the museum is in the building and you get to it by walking through the restaurant and then upstairs, you have to wonder what this portends for the museum.

Their website doesn’t say anything at all about it, but their Facebook page does say a little. And what they do say is this:

We are OPEN once again to the public!
Our hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am – 5pm
19 N. Tejon Street – 2nd floor – Downtown Colorado Springs
THANK YOU for your support and patience as we work thru the closure of the Tejon Eatery. As always, admission is FREE!

The restaurant in question is/was the Tejon Eatery and Bar. In the news article in the Colorado Springs Gazette it said that the restaurant owner said the museum will remain open for now but that doesn’t tell us anything about the future. The two owners, Sam and Kathy Guadagnoli, opened and ran the place but Sam, who was a big motorcycle buff, died in September. The restaurant is said to never have been profitable.

I emailed whoever runs their website asking for further information and I’ll update if I hear anything new.

Later–OK, I did hear back from Pam Wear, Secretary/Treasurer of the museum, and here is what she said:

Hello Ken,
The restaurant closed with no notice in October. Yes, it did affect our operation. We are now open Thursday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and will be adding as the situation evolves.
The Museum has been open since 1992, we will continue. We are actually seeing quite a few visitors!
Thank you!

Biker Quote for Today

You’re the coolest old guy I know. You must pick up a TON of chicks at the nursing home with that bike.

I rode down to Colorado Springs the other day with members of the RMMRC to visit the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum in its new location in downtown CS. Oddly enough, after we got to the Springs and had lunch the rest of the group decided to skip the museum and just head back to Denver. I was not party to that discussion so I’m unclear on the reason but there was no way I was not going to the museum. So I went alone.

The first trick in visiting the museum was finding it. It used to be in an outbuilding on the site of Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson, up at the north end of town. I’m not sure, but maybe then they moved inside the dealership, and then just recently into this new space at 19 N Tejon Street. Finding Pikes Peak H-D was easy; finding the new site a bit harder. The main thing is, it’s inside a restaurant, or group of restaurants. This is the Tejon Eatery, which appears to be maybe sort of a food court with a variety of restaurants–I’m just not clear on all this.

But the point is, while there are signs outside, they’re small and if I had not had the address I would probably not have spotted them. So, with uncertainty, I stepped inside and asked the hostess right inside about the motorcycle museum. She said yes, just go straight that way, make a right turn, and then go up the stairs. I got to the back portion of the building and there, among tables for diners, was a staircase heading up under a row of motorcycles to another dining area. Up on top I turned 180 degrees and there was the museum. This was the weirdest setting for a museum I’ve ever seen but hey, whatever works.

In the little building outside Pikes Peak H-D the museum had been insanely crowded. There was no question they needed more space. While there is more space in the new site, the bikes are still in most cases packed closely together. At least visitors have more room to move around.

And goodness, do they have motorcycles. Lots of vintage Harleys and Indians plus a whole bunch of really odd, seemingly one-off bikes. Plus, they have displays all over the walls of photos, old posters and advertisements, and all kinds of memorabilia. Also, to add to the retro feel of the place, they have an old-style soda fountain in the back of the museum area.

Thinking that it might make sense to plan another RMMRC trip down and then just come here to eat I asked the “soda jerk” and he explained that he just serves ice cream. OK, you could still have lunch somewhere else then come here and get ice cream and tour the museum.

“What are your hours?” I asked.

“We’re open right now,” he replied. OK.

“But on a normal day, when are you open?” I asked. He didn’t seem to understand my question and offered no answer. OK. Maybe that’s not such a good idea.

So I don’t know about the soda fountain, but the museum’s hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 11am to 8pm, and Sunday, 11am to 4pm. Admission is free.

Bottom line, if you’re into looking at a lot of antique and vintage motorcycles, as well as a lot of associated memorabilia, you won’t be disappointed. And frankly, it’s kind of small so you may not end up spending a whole lot of time there, so I’m not sure it’s worth a special trip to the Springs just for that purpose. Or, depending on your own interests, it might be. I just know I sure as heck had no intention of going all the way down there and not going to the museum.

Biker Quote for Today

A policeman pulled me over on his motorcycle. I don’t know why, I told him I was only borrowing it for 5 minutes.

Gosh, it was only 10 years ago that I put up a blog post with this very same news: The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame is moving.

Back then they had just moved into a building in front of Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson. Well, they’re at it again.

The move this time is to downtown Colorado Springs, to a place referred to as the City Works Eatery complex. The address is 19 N. Tejon Street. Right at this moment the old site is closed and the new one has not yet opened. The old space was bigger than the old, old space, but the new space will be even bigger. That’s a good thing because the spot in front of PPHD was pretty dang crowded.

According to an article about the move in Colorado Rider News, the folks running it are intending to draw a larger crowd in the new space. Up till now the museum has been adjacent to bike shops and thus drew primarily a biker clientele only. Now they want to reach the broader community.

Back in the day, Jerry Manka was the ever-present face of the museum, and quite a guy to talk with as you checked out the motorcycles on display. Sadly, Jerry passed some years ago but the institution goes on.

By the way, the museum is free to visit. Of course they accept donations to help them keep going but there is no admission fee.

So I don’t know about you but I’m definitely going to be very interested in checking out the new site once they open. And of course I’ll be shooting some photos and will tell you all about it.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you have more locks on your bike than you do your house.

I’ve noticed a very surprising thing recently, which is that there is almost a total dearth of motorcycle events going on in Colorado in April. Ever since I put this website up more than 6 years ago I have listed upcoming events on my Rides and Rallies page and this is the first time that I have had to search and search and search to find anything at all to list for April.

I did finally find one event, and it’s a good one. It’s something that needs to get more publicity. The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a big open house on Saturday, April 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They’ll have a small lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., they’ll be handing out door prizes, and there will be a bike show if the weather permits.

If you’ve never been to the museum you really do need to get down there. Actually, I need to get down there because I haven’t been back to it since they moved into larger quarters. They used to be in the small building just in front of Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson, but now they have moved inside the dealership and have more space.

The place was great before, so I have to assume it is even better now. Jerry Manka is the director and curator and trust me, Jerry is as much an attraction as the bikes. He’s a character.

And oh, the bikes! They definitely have some nice ones. A lot of Indians and old Harleys plus a bunch more.

Of course, the last part of the complete name is “and Hall of Fame.” I’m betting the Hall of Fame gets a bit more space now than was possible before.

So April 21 would be a good day to go, but if you don’t go then, go some other time. It’s worth it. You won’t be sorry.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
2012 edition of Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America set for this month

Biker Quote for Today

I like my bike because I can overtake 4x4s down farm tracks with a week’s worth of shopping on the back.

This isn’t the hottest news off the press so excuse me for being tardy, but I’m betting some of you are unaware that the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame has moved. Not very far, mind you. They moved from in front of Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson, 5867 N. Nevada, Colorado Springs, into the dealership’s building itself.

Being in the dealership will allow the museum to be open more days and the larger space will provide better opportunities for viewing the classic old bikes. You can see in the picture how crowded the old space was. As before, there is no admission charge.

Jerry Manka continues as the museum’s curator and if he’s there when you stop by you’ll definitely want to have a chat with him. Jerry is a character, and as much a part of the museum as the bikes.

I haven’t had a chance to get there to see the new site yet but I’ll definitely be back with photos as soon as I do.

Biker Quote for Today

There’s nothin’ in this world beats a ’52 Vincent and a red-headed girl. – Richard Thompson/Del McCoury