If you’ve never heard of Yamaha’s Outdoor Access Initiative, it’s a grant program from the blue crew dedicated to helping improve OHV access. Every YZ and WR you buy feeds into this fund, which is not only a cool thing that Yamaha does for our sport, but it’s an opportunity for clubs, organizations, and people like you to come up with projects, and have Yamaha foot the bill. If you have ideas of how to organize and mobilize an effort to improve OHV activities, Yamaha wants to hear about it.
We’re always happy to support Yamaha OAI events and help spread the word of this program that has donated more than $7 million to more than 535 projects across the U.S. since 2008. The most recent donation might be somewhat of a departure for the OAI program, and might have been an “indoor access initiative” because it got us into Jay Leno’s Garage.
It all started when Jay Leno learned that his friends at the Burbank Police Department were in need of a support vehicle for motor police training activities. He helped connect the department with Yamaha OAI, which was proud to donate a UMAX Rally 2+2 golf car to the Burbank PD, and Leno was, in turn, happy to host the presentation at his garage.
An invitation to the event was sweetened by the added invite to tour one of the most legendary garages of all time. We were eager to get a peek at Leno’s private collection of two-wheeled treasures, and of course, to find out what kind of rare and wonderful off-road motorcycles might be lurking in there. Spoiler alert: there are none.
“I have to confess, we have an ulterior motive here today,” I said when it was my turn to meet Jay. He doesn’t just shake your hand and move on. He makes time for everyone. “We came to see what kind of off-road motorcycles you have in your garage.”
“I don’t really ride off-road,” he said with a shrug. “Not on purpose, anyway. If I’m ever riding off-road, it’s because I went off the road.” The legendary comedian and TV host never misses an opportunity to make everyone laugh.
Of course, the vintage motorcycles and anything pre-1950s could qualify as off-road motorcycles since there were no such designations on the do-it-all bikes of yesteryear. Anything with the right tires and some steel nerves was a dirt bike. Old Popes, Indians and BSAs that I caught glimpses of on the way in would certainly qualify.
Rumor has it that everything in Leno’s garage is a runner. Oil pans and trickle chargers at every turn suggest that they all at least “ran when parked.” It’s probably why his staff will correct you if you call it a museum. “This is a garage, not a museum,” said John Pera, operations manager and chief gearhead at Jay Leno’s Garage. While Jay was whisked off to his next commitment, Pera offered to walk us through the extensive two-wheel collection, answer questions and point out some of the gems.
Dirt trackers, board trackers, jockey shifts, bikes with a left-hand timing advance along with a right-hand throttle… You’ll find turbochargers, superchargers, and even the MTT Y2K turbine-powered motorcycle. But even that isn’t as rare as the 1922 Megola with a 5-cylinder radial engine in the front wheel. No transmission, no clutch, no brakes, the Megola hails from a time before red lights.
At the end of WWI, many engineers turned from aviation to the motorcycle industry, which began to boom in the early ‘20s. The Megola’s odd fusion of airplane technology with motorcycle design makes the Megola a true emblem of its time. This marvel of German ingenuity is one of only two in the United States, and the rarest specimen in Leno’s collection.
You’ll find motorcycles from every era in Jay Leno’s Garage, but what you won’t find is a linear timeline throughout motorcycle development. Instead you’ll find the twists and tangents of engineering imagination, and every quirk and curiosity that some of the brightest minds ever to connect two wheels and a handlebar could come up with in the last century. Some bizarre technologies, creative controls and features will make you wonder why they don’t exist anymore, while you’ll never understand how others made it into production. Spend long enough browsing through and you’ll start feeling like you know nothing about the history motorcycles.
“What in the world is this?” I asked John Pera for about the seventh time. A Danish-made Nimbus motorcycle (a pair of them) rested in the corner. With 750cc air-cooled inline-four engines and patina that not even Hollywood could replicate, these beauties are more of the rare finds. Vintage Nimbus motorcycles are not so hard to come by in Denmark, but exceedingly rare in the U.S.
You’ll find just about every motorcycle brand in history at Jay Leno’s Garage, but his favorite is Brough Superior. The British motorcycles have a dedicated room in his garage where the white walls and white floor illuminate every specimen in this, the largest collection of Brough Superiors in the world.
Strolling through the garage could have been an all-day affair, but we had less than an hour. Even the wall art would be worth perusing for a day. This incredible collection comes from years of patience and passion, each bike selected by a true enthusiast who treasures the engineering wizardry as much as he enjoys the ride. Though they could certainly be museum pieces, every machine in Jay Leno’s Garage is a living, breathing, oil-pumping instrument. Oil pans and drip pads under every model are testament to that.
We tip our visors to Jay Leno for his kindness and tireless enthusiasm that has led to this incredible collection. Big thanks to him, and to John Pera for the tour. Be sure to check out Jay Leno’s Garage on YouTube for some entertaining stories behind the bikes, and to see them fired up and out on the road. Oh, and there’s cars on there, too.
Our gratitude also to Yamaha and the Outdoor Access Initiative for giving us this rare indoor access. Any trip to the famous garage, long or short, is certainly worth the trip.
