Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas TRMOKAR July 2017_FINAL | Page 34

FEATURES
TWISTED OZ MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM
How do you go about
finding great places to visit?
Sometimes we map, research,
ask friends or just stumble upon
our destination. The latter is
how I found this gem of a place
in the plains of America. By the
name, it’s easy to figure out the
location of the most centrally
located motorcycle museum
in the USA. Kansas! That’s
right, Augusta, KS is home
to a very interesting, eclectic
and entertaining motorcycle
museum. Owner, Kelly Modlin,
had a dream to put together a
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Thunder Roads Magazine of OK/AR
museum filled with antique bikes
surrounded by a unique building
and décor. In 2015, he found a
body shop East of Wichita, KS
which he and several volunteers
have worked diligently to turn
into an entertaining destination
for visitors from across the USA.
I was not only lucky enough
to run across it, but I also caught
the owner, Kelly, and collector,
Mr. Ottoway, there to show me
around. While I’d love to tell you
everything they told me, I am
not going to as it’s much more
fun to see for yourself. I will say
that their stories were filled with
historical moments from their
own personal collections as well
as pieces they’d picked up along
the way. From Mr. Ottoway’s
very first bike he built at a very
young age to ride back and forth
to work, to Kelly’s vintage bikes
he rode to complete the Cannon
Ball Run twice, there’s nearly
100 historical pieces to view.
The stories on the motorcycles
are endless.
Not only are the bikes
incredible, but the décor is
completed with several unique