Situated in the heart of Springville, Utah, with majestic Maple Mountain as its extraordinary backdrop, is the spectacular, pioneering Legends Vintage Motorcycles. If it were to boast a billboard it might read, “I dreamed a dream”… but who would have dreamed a young teenager’s love of bikes would evolve into a Museum and Events Center, boasting a private collection of vintage motorcycles, art and memorabilia that would rival Harley-Davidson themselves, an adjacent All-American Fare Sidecar Café and an expert Parts & Service Department? Legends was built, literally, brick by brick by builder and avid motorcycle enthusiast Rick Salisbury and his wife Vickie.
Salisbury’s personal love of collecting has amassed over 200 vintage motorcycles, mounds of one-of-a-kind memorabilia, a rare trophy collection, and original art by world renowned motorcycle-centric artists such as David Uhl, Scott Jacobs, Tom Fritz, and Bronze sculptor Jeff Decker.
Legends’ upper viewing gallery houses Salisbury’s crown jewel, a completely unrestored 1907 Harley-Davidson Strap Tank. One of only three 1907 Strap Tanks in existence, Salisbury’s is the only bike that survived with its original paint, engine, frame and tires.
The 1907 Strap Tank is flanked on its right with a 1905 Single (officially the world’s oldest Harley-Davidson) and to its left by a rare 1909 Single-Police (which served in the La Crosse, Wisconsin Police Department).
Salisbury’s collection also includes other rarities: the oldest unrestored Indian motorcycle – a 1903 Camel Back; his 1916 Excelsior, which Salisbury rode cross-country in the 2016 Cannonball; and a truly incomparable bike, a Feilbach “Limited” – the last bike that was built using leftover parts which remained after the bankrupted Feilbach Motor Co. shuttered its manufacturing factory in 1914.
The unique architecture and design of the sprawling 20,000 sq. ft. museum is itself a work of art, thanks to Salisbury’s meticulous attention to detail and artist’s vision. “I didn’t want the building to have a warehouse feel… I wanted the building to be a feature along with the bikes to tie it all in and give an entire experience,” says Salisbury. To ensure a unique visitor experience, he later added the adjoining Sidecar Café, which serves all-American fare and all-day breakfast from a locally sourced fresh menu.
Across the Legends compound you can also enjoy an amazing meal or a home brewed beer at Salisbury’s Strap Tank Brewery, established in 2016. Strap Tank Brewery is another one-of-a-kind – the first brewpub in Utah County since prohibition. Yet another architectural work of art, Salisbury designed the building, replicating unique architectural elements such as the towering smoke stack from the original Harley-Davidson building in Wisconsin.
If you’re lucky enough on your tour, when they aren’t out pickin’, you’ll find Salisbury himself, his wife Vickie and their Rottweiler Frank who are daily patrons.