The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama has taken ownership of Dane Westby’s #00 Yamaha YZF-R6 race bike after being donated by Westby’s father, Tryg, the owner of the Yamalube/Westby racing team.

The decision to donate the bike to the Barber museum comes three months after the younger Westby, known by many in the motorcycle racing scene as the “Wolverine”, lost his life in a tragic street bike crash. There’s also a lot of sentimentality with that particular bike since it’s the exact racing bike that Westby rode on his way to winning both AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike races at the Barber Motorsports Park in 2014.

Now that it has a new home at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Westby’s fans who, like me, felt cheated in the manner by which he lost his life, can now visit the museum to pay homage to a racer who was in the peak of his racing powers before his untimely passing.

Westby’s bike will join more than 1,400 motorcycles and automobiles that are all on display at the Barber museum. Most of the items in the museum’s collection have their own stories to tell and Wesley’s bike is the latest one to join in the fold.

The museum even has a specific segment for race bikes ridden by some of the best motorcycle riders in history. That’s an apt place to put Westby’s #00 Yamaha YZF-R6. He may not have had the kind of career that can be compared to the likes of Jarno Saarinen, Yvon DuHamel, and Colin Edwards, all of whom have their bikes in the museum, but for what it’s worth, his contributions to the sport is right on par with the best of the lot.

Continue reading to read more about Tryg Westby donating his son’s Yamaha YZF-R6 to the Barber Vintage Motorcycles Museum.

Why it matters

The passing of Dane Westby still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I’m sure a lot of people feel the exact same way. But one person who has shown incredible strength throughout this harrowing ordeal has been Dane’s father, Tryg.

The pain we all feel for Westby’s loss pales in comparison to the father who lost his son. And yet, Tryg Westby has done an incredible job of not only continuing his life like his son would’ve wanted, but also finding the time to give back to those who have been instrumental in giving his son a platform to showcase his racing skills when he was still alive.

The Barber Motorsports Park is included in that list since it was in that same racetrack where Westby’s star dramatically rose after winning two AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike races in 2014.

It’s only right that the bike Westby used to win those races would find its way back home so to speak. It’s an incredibly generous and selfless move by Tryg Westby. He didn’t have to do it, but he still did, knowing full well that fans of Westby will immediately understand the importance of that bike to the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum.

I’ll be honest. I’ve never been to the museum, even though I’ve heard so many good things about it from buddies who have made what they describe as the “pilgrimage.”

Now that I know Westby’s bike will be on display at the museum, a trip to Birmingham, Alabama just might be in the cards in the near future.