Wheels Through Time to auction rare motorcycles

MAGGIE VALLEY - The Wheels Through Time Museum may be moving out of Western North Carolina, but its expanding its reach.

The museum, which moved to WNC in 2002, preserves the history of hundreds of America’s rarest vintage American motorcycles and has presented it to more than 280,000 visitors in five years.

The museum’s founder, who said he hasn’t decided where it will relocate, is looking to broaden its impact through a new museum initiative “Taking Wheels around the World.”

The new program will allow the museum to share the history of American motorcycles with a larger audience by preparing multiple touring exhibits, said Dale Walksler, curator and founder of Wheels Through Time.

To pursue its new initiative, Wheels Through Time will downsize its collection with an auction scheduled for September. About 150 of the rare machines will be offered in a sale hosted by RM Auctions and held on the museum premises. The museum is at 62 Vintage Lane, 30 miles west of Asheville.

Additionally, the museum will be create a scholarship fund for “ambitious, young students in need of support in their efforts to make an impact on the future of our American motorcycling heritage,” a museum press release announced. The Wheels Through Time Scholarship Fund will provide assistance for education for students dedicated to contributing to the motorcycle industry.