Legendary
Canadian Road
Racer Passes
C
anada's first National Superbike Cham-
pion George Morin died on Friday, Janu-
ary 26, in Mississauga, Ontario. He was 74.
The former postal worker was the first
Superbike racer in Canada to earn the
overall number-one plate, the Kawasaki-
backed veteran scoring a win at the
Edmonton opener and a podium at Shan-
nonville Motorsport Park in the two-race
1980 National tour.
Morin died of complications from Haemochro-
matosis, a blood issue related to an excess of
iron. He had received medical care for this issue
for the past two years. He is survived by his sec-
ond wife, Petra, daughter Savannah and son Alex.
Morin was inducted into the Canadian Motorcycle
Hall of Fame in 2015, joining fellow early era Super-
bike heroes. A memorial ceremony is planned for
the spring, close to Morin's birthday.
CN
IN
THE
WIND
P28
Canada's first
National Superbike
Champion George
Morin passed away at
the age of 74.
National
Motorcycle
Museum
Closing Its
Doors
T
he National Motorcycle
Museum in Anamosa, Iowa,
which has been home to over
500 motorcycles, a great bicycle
collection and thousands of piec-
es of memorabilia, announced
that it will by shutting down for
good. After 22 years in this loca-
tion, the Board of Directors, led
by Chairman Jill Parham, has
decided to close the museum
later this year.
"We have struggled for several
years to cover wages and utili-
ties partly due to low visitation,"
she said.
The museum is one of about
six motorcycle museums in
America operated as a non-profit
and was established in Iowa by
J&P Cycles founders John and
Jill Parham. As is proper with
closing non-profits, the museum
is using professional counsel
during the process. Owners of
loaned motorcycles have been
contacted and motorcycles that
belong to the museum will be
liquidated at auction to pay bills.
Much of the Parham Collection
will be sold as well. If you would
like to be informed of the sales,
go to the National Motorcycle
Museum's website and sign up
for email.
Tentative closing date is Sep-
tember 5, 2023, so there is still
time to plan a visit.
CN
The National Motorcycle
Museum in Anamosa,
Iowa, will be shutting down
later this year.
