Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame recently acquired another treasure to add to its diverse collection of motorcycles.
Dave Barr traveled from his home in Bodfish, California with his children, Luke and Jillian, to enjoy a road trip while transporting his 1996 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 to Sturgis, SD.
In 1996, Dave rode his HD Sportster on a 13,000 mile trip from the Breton Coast in France to Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast of Russia. This nearly four month trip was accomplished in the bitter cold winter months, as most of the route was plotted across hundreds of miles of Russian marshland that could only be traveled while it was frozen.
This put Dave above the Arctic Circle for most of the trip. Guinness recognizes this trip as the first and fastest motorcycle trip across Eurasia.
A double amputee, who lost both legs in a land mine explosion in Angola in 1981, Dave jokingly, states that he had an advantage when making the trip, since his feet never got cold. Dave wrote a book, Riding the Ice, about his World Record ride.
Along with the H-D Sportster, Dave presented to museum Executive Director, Christine Paige-Diers, his Guinness World Record plaque, many pictures and much of the equipment he used on his record setting ride. One very interesting piece of memorabilia is a seat cushion that was given to Dave by a Russian soldier. The soldier took it from the seat of his tank and presented it to Dave.
In 2002, Guinness would award a second World Record to Dave for his Southern Cross ride to the four farthest compass points of Australia.
When you are in the area, you must stop in to see Dave Barr’s motorcycle. We are honored to add it to our collection of some of the most famous motorcycles in the world.
Dave is a two time Guinness World Record holder and a 2012 inductee into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame.
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