In 2023, Brian Case was promoted from Director of the Barber Advanced Design Center to Executive Director of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, in Birmingham, Alabama. Now one year in, the former motorcycle designer is hitting the gas to expand the visibility of the world’s largest collection of motorcycles by promoting the stories behind them. And Case started off big.
“The big thing is Kenny Roberts (a.k.a. King Kenny Leroy Roberts or Kenny Senior),” Case said in an exclusive interview with Roadracing World. “He is the Grand Marshal for the 19th Annual Barber Vintage Festival.”
Not only will Roberts attend the event, he will ride exhibition laps on his 1980 500cc World Championship-winning Yamaha YZR500, which Roberts has given to the Barber Motorsports Museum to add to its permanent collection.
And Roberts won’t be alone at the event. His son, Kenny Lee Roberts [a.k.a. Kenny Roberts Junior], will ride alongside him on his 2000 500cc World Championship-winning Suzuki RGV500, which has also been donated to the museum’s permanent collection.
“That bike has not run in 24 years,” said Case. “So, we are working to re-commission it so that it can run in October so father and son can be reunited on their machines at the glorious Barber Motorsports Park.”
According to Case, conversations with King Kenny Roberts went on for 18 months leading up to the deal and the plans being officially announced during the MotoGP event at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in April.
“It’s a big deal for Barber, but I think it’s even bigger for the Roberts legacy that it’s going to be preserved in a collection such as Barber’s,” said Case. “This is something that I’ve learned has a very long view. The Barber vintage collection is not going away, you know. You read about museums closing and changing hands. The visionary founder whose idea and passion it was to start it in the first place passes on, and then the family doesn’t know what to do with it. That isn’t going to happen at Barber.
“It’s really unique in the world of historic museum collections. It was set up [by founder George Barber] 30 years ago as a private foundation, and it’s a 501(c)3 non-profit, and it’s designed to run forever. So, when you get that out of the way and you realize, OK, now I’m thinking in terms of preserving history for all time, it’s not just a collection that nobody is going to see.
“So, all of that was communicated to Kenny, and it was just a no-brainer at the end of it. It was just like, this is where it needs to be. It needs to live here forever and tell the story of Kenny Roberts for many future generations. And I get really excited about that side of it. The history of it.”
To warm-up for the Barber Vintage Festival, Case and his staff took the Roberts family, and their bikes, and a 1964 ex-John Surtees Ferrrari racecar to the Goodwood Festival of Speed July 11-14 in England.
“They rode up the hill on the bikes they had just given to the Barber museum,” said Case. “So, I was really excited about that. That brought attention to the museum back here.”
To further amplify the message of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, veteran powersports industry spokesman and motorcycle enthusiast Robert Pandya has been brought on as the museum’s new Communications Director.
“I look at all of these machines sitting here and they are just stories to me. Every single one of them,” said Case. “And we’re really going to work hard at engaging outside these four walls more and not just expecting people to find us on their journey down the road. You know we’re going to go after them and expand beyond the four walls. Take the stories to them.”
The 19th Annual Barber Vintage Festival, which also includes the Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series 2024 season finale, is scheduled for October 11-13, 2024, and tickets are on sale now at