Bear Tracks: Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum

The Bear says that the Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum should be on all motoring fans bucket list! It's back even better after it burnt down in 2020... Words & Photos: The Bear.

The Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum is an eye-opener! Not only is the ride there on some of the best roads in the world, the range of motorcycles that most people have never seen before is absolutely stunning, even after the 2020 disaster. 

The Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum is an eye-opener! Not only is the ride there on some of the best roads in the world, the range of motorcycles that most people have never seen before is absolutely stunning.

You may have read my recent story about riding the Alps with Edelweiss Bike Tours. I discovered a lot of the best passes of the Alps, but Edelweiss left the best till last. Not only does the 29km snaking pass road up to the Timmelsjoch offer more variety and interest over its climb of 1800 metres than any other pass I have tackled, but there is a motorcycle museum at the top.

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Mind you, there nearly wasn’t. Back in 2016, when the Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum was founded by brothers Alban and Attila Scheiber, the museum was built entirely from wood except for the main support pillars. For some inexplicable reason, this three thousand square metre space which housed a remarkable collection of some 230 iconic motorcycles as well as several vintage cars and other collectibles was not equipped with effective fire control. 

Not only does the 29km snaking pass road up to the Timmelsjoch offer more variety and interest over its climb of 1800 metres than any other pass I have tackled, but there is a motorcycle museum at the top.

The words “tempting fate” come to mind, and sure enough at around 4:30 on January 18, 2020 after less than four years of operation for the museum, two of the staff were woken by the sound of the fire alarm going off. By the time local volunteer fire fighters reached the site, the museum was in spectacular flames. A defective display screen had set off the inferno. Despite the use of both snow blowers and water cannon, much of the building literally burned to the ground.

“Fortunately the staffers who had been alerted by the fire alarm managed to roll some of the bikes out into the snow.”

Fortunately the staffers who had been alerted by the fire alarm managed to roll some of the bikes out into the snow. All of the 50-bike special Indian display was saved including the original Burt Munro streamliner, as well as some other bikes.

4:30 on January 18, 2020 after less than four years of operation for the museum, two of the staff were woken by the sound of the fire alarm going off.

Scroll forward to July 2022 as my Edelweiss Bike Travel Alpine tour rolls up to the toll gates that top the Timmelsjoch Pass after an exhilarating ride on the narrow road from St Leonhard. Timmelsjoch is the second-highest pass in the eastern Alps after Stelvio. The toll gates and associated offices are part of the large, curved timber building that houses a cable car station, a restaurant – and the new Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum.

“The new museum is once again stocked with some of the rarest and most fascinating motorcycles from history. How did they do it? Little if any information is available.”

The museum reopened exactly 10 months after the fire, on the 18th of November 2021. It clearly helped that the Scheiber brothers seem to own just about everything at and around the Timmelsjoch pass, but this was still an amazing feat. No less amazing is that the new museum is once again stocked with some of the rarest and most fascinating motorcycles from history. How did they do it? Little if any information is available. 

“The museum reopened exactly 10 months after the fire, on the 18th of November 2021. It clearly helped that the Scheiber brothers seem to own just about everything at and around the Timmelsjoch pass.”

I asked someone I know in the Austrian tourist industry, and he said that “enthusiasts from all over the world offered displays”. Now I don’t know about you, but if someone had just let a couple of hundred near irreplaceable motorcycles go up in flames, I’d think twice before offering mine. But maybe that’s just me. I did see one bike that was on loan from the remarkable Neckarsulm NSU museum, so they’re tapping into the best sources.

There doesn’t appear to be a list available of the bikes on display, but that could add to the attraction. “Hey, they have a (insert name of highly unusual and very rare bike)!” What is certain is that the museum should be on your bucket list of you have the faintest interest in motorcycles, or indeed in race cars. Two of the most famous racing Porsches are on display among others, on loan from the Stuttgart museum. The main hall display suffers a little from form being favoured over function, with some bikes a long way away from the viewer. But the purpose of representing motorcycle evolution as a consistent flow is well served.

“What is certain is that the museum should be on your bucket list of you have the faintest interest in motorcycles, or indeed in race cars.”

As well as the main display of more than 450 rare and vintage motorcycles from 1885 to the present day and the special exhibitions in a total area of more than 4,500 square metres, the museum offers another highlight.

The Motor Experience consists of multimedia including ‘4D’ cinema, a motor wall, technology simulations showing, for example, how two and four stroke engines work and lots of engine noise at several stations distributed throughout the exhibition area. It is intended to enable visitors to ‘experience the fascination of a motorbike ride with all your senses even without a motorbike licence! Motor history is made even more tangible for visitors, always surrounded by the museum’s rarities.’ It’s very well done.

There is a main display of more than 450 rare and vintage motorcycles from 1885 to the present day and the special exhibitions in a total area of more than 4,500 square metres.

There’s more at their website here. And if you get the chance, take an Edelweiss Bike Tours trip that includes Timmelsjoch, or just rent a bike from them. The High Alpine Road over the pass is usually open between May and October and it costs 15 Euros. The motorcycle museum, which also costs 15 Euros, is open Mo.– Su. 9am – 5.30pm in winter and Mo.– Sa. 9am – 5pm, Su. 9am – 8pm in summer. The Restaurant Crosspoint is open at the same times.

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