A former dealer and his enthusiast friend have opened a motorcycle museum in a restored Route 66 filling station in Warwick, Okla.

Gerald Tims, 49, and Jerry Ries, 54, own Seaba Station, a 5,000-square-foot brick building listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesIt also houses 75 vintage motorcycles, most fro Tims’ collection.

“That’s part of the fun of owning it, letting people see it,” he told the . “I couldn’t tell you how many private collections there are in this country that nobody ever gets to see.”

Tims got the bug about 25 years ago, when he bought a 1953 James motorcycle similar to one his father rode. The floodgate opened.

Tims had raced motocross and ATVs. He worked at motorcycle shops and eventually owned Performance Cycle in Bethany.

One day about 15 years ago, Tims bought a used trials bike from Ries. They competed together in trials events, Ries says, and “we’ve been friends ever since.”

The landmark Seaba station at the Warwick curve about 25 miles east of Oklahoma City was a filling station and garage during the area’s long-past heyday. More recently it was an antiques shop.

After Ries saw a “for sale” sign on it three years ago, the pair jumped in. The building came with antiques from the previous owner, most of which has been sold. They restored the building and filled it with Tims’ collection and four from Ries.

They include a 1909 Triumph with a carbide lamp headlight and a 1913 Pope boardtrack racer with no brakes and one footpeg. The most valuable machine is a 1965 Ducati road racer, one of 12 made. There’s also a brand new 1979 Triumph Bonneville, still in the crate.

“It’s never seen the pavement,” Tims says. “It’s kind of unique.”

Posted by Holly Wagner