Faithful readers of this magazine may recall my article about the Haas Moto Museum in Dallas. The museum was co-founded by Bobby Haas and his partner and current Museum Director, Stacey Mayfield. The museum contains more than 230 machines from all eras and nations and is best known for its unrivaled collection of custom motorcycles. Although not the largest motorcycle museum in the world, the Haas Moto Museum contains the largest collection of custom bikes. Bobby became a patron to many of the custom builders represented in the museum and he sponsored many of the builds, creating strong personal bonds with many of the artists.
Sadly, Bobby Haas passed away at age 74 in September 2021 but during his lifetime he made his mark in diverse fields. He was a Harvard-trained lawyer who became a very successful Wall Street financier. He then became a renowned National Geographic wildlife photographer and finally a collector of beautiful motorcycles and supporter of a large group of artists who created spectacular pieces of rolling art. A documentary, Leaving Tracks, focuses on his remarkable life and helps explain the passion for motorcycles he discovered relatively late in his life.
Stacey Mayfield and the Haas team have published a splendid, large-format book about Bobby, the Haas Moto Museum and the motorcycles in the collection. The book has over 350 photographs printed on 256 pages which are 12.5 inches wide and 10 inches tall. Weighing in at about four and half pounds, it’s hefty and there’s a lot of eye-candy packed in this very nicely produced book.
The book begins with a forward by Stacey Mayfield that tells a bit of the backstory behind the museum and the vision that she and Bobby shared. She says: “This book pays tribute to a museum like no other, a diverse collection thoughtfully curated by a man like no other. Although Bobby was taken from us too soon, he is very much a part of this book. The words you will read about each of the motorcycles were written by him and stand proudly next to each bike in the museum. As you peruse the pages, I hope that you can feel Bobby’s spirit guiding you through the museum. It is strong and it is loud.”
Every motorcycle in the Haas collection is included in the book. The brands represented in the collection include familiar marques such as Norton, Harley-Davidson, BMW and Indian, as well as many rare machines from manufacturers with names that are not well-known. The book’s chapters feature machines in each of the main sections of the museum. There are brief descriptions of the featured museum sections followed by photographs of bikes contained in that section. There’s also a chapter dedicated to the museum’s collection of motorcycle sculpture.
The quality of the photographs, the paper and the printing are all excellent. The motorcycles are well-lit, and Grant Schwingle’s outstanding photographs are very high resolution, allowing the reader to really pore over the details of each bike. In general, each time one turns a page, there are three photos on one page and one full-page image on the opposite page. There are short descriptive captions written by Bobby for each of the photos. The succinct and informative text nicely complements the stunning images in this book.
There are over seventy pages containing images of machines from the “History Hall” section of the museum. The machines are presented in chronological order starting with an 1899 Peugeot and ending with a 2016 Victory. There is also a short section devoted to the museum’s sidecar collection.
Another twenty-five pages are devoted to machines in the “Race Track” section of the museum. Again, machines are presented by age, starting with a 1904 Peugeot Model D racer, and ending with a 2017 land speed racer built by Alp Sungurtekin. This section includes road racers, drag bikes, land speed racers, etc.
Finally, a little over half the book (135 pages) is devoted to “The Custom Shop,” the museum’s extraordinary collection of sixty unique and beautiful custom motorcycles. The introduction to this section was written by Bobby Haas and explains why the pursuit of perfection and the human desire to leave a legacy are important motivators in the creation of art — including motorcycle art.
The machines in this section of the museum, and the corresponding chapter of the book, are one-of-a-kind examples of what unfettered human imagination and finely-honed fabrication skills can produce. Among the renowned builders whose work is featured are: Max Hazan, Craig Rodsmith, Jay Donovan, Cristian Sosa, Bryan Fuller and Mitsuhiro Kiyonaga. Their fantastic creations are quite amazing, and the book does an outstanding job of giving the reader a taste of what the museum has to offer. Hopefully, it will encourage readers to go see the museum for themselves. As enjoyable as it is to read this book, it only represents the tip of the iceberg as far as what can be seen in Dallas.
The book is available from the museum’s website (Haas Moto Museum) and the Motorcycle Classics store. With the holidays just around the corner, it’s never too soon to start dropping hints. — Reviewed by Corey Levenson
