On the last day of October, when leaf sweeping is prominent and short days mark the seasons change, the sun shone out of a peerless sky and the temperature allowed unlined leather gloves to comfortably grip the bars. It was bizarrely warm, so it's out with the bike and a hundred mile spin to the NMM Live open day.

Swing off junction six of the M42 and you're there, along with a few hundred others who had the same idea; but everyone is smiley and glad to be outdoors. There are not as many bikes in the parking areas as I expected, and some of those who had come in four wheels may have regretted not being on two.

The museum is housed in a modern complex, covering five large halls. There are also restaurant and cafe facilities on site, and a shop selling books and all kinds of museum and motorcycle paraphernalia. It also forms part of the National Conference Centre: a series of suites and meeting rooms where events help to finance the motorcycle collection.

The museum was founded by Roy Richards, a businessman who devoted his life - and considerable sums of money - to achieving his vision of a national museum for British bikes, which he opened in 1984. The original buildings housed conference and banqueting facilities too.

In 2003, a lit cigarette disposed of carelessly in the smoking area set fire to a pile of cardboard boxes. The flames soon engulfed some of the halls holding the rare and precious bike collection; three hundred and eighty were lost. Then, after fifteen months and a £20m rebuild - including the installation of a sprinkler system! - the complex was open again, and one hundred and fifty of the bikes had been restored. Unfortunately, Roy Richards died in April 2008 from cancer.

The museum's collection has reached a thousand bikes, and they acquire another one or two each month. The exhibits are close together and the description of each bike is on a ground level plinth. So, with the crowds that had arrived for the open day, viewing wasn't easy. I overheard a conversation that echoed my thoughts...come on a regular opening day and pay the entrance (£8.95 adults, £6.95 seniors, £6.95 kids) and you would be able to wander the halls and relax amongst the shiny splendour of all these historic bikes.

It had been many years since I had visited the museum. I had forgotten how the walls in the exhibit halls were adorned with huge photographic posters of historic and memorable bikes, riders and events.

The event had also attracted a small autojumble section and trade stands, amongst which was a stall selling distinctive and well-crafted metal replica engines of single cylinder racing engines from the past: Manx Norton, Matchless G50, BSA Goldstar etc.

It seems that no large motorcycle event is held these days without 'celebrities' or 'stars' being in attendance. We are such a small world that after a time, the same people are popping up on the stages. In this case, it was Jamie Whitham and Carl Fogarty chatting away, and although there's a whiff of 'heard it all before', Whitham can be very amusing and quick witted.

Sharing the stage with the two was the first bike Fogarty owned: a Honda monkey type bike, circa 1975. The bike was in poor condition, but the museum restoration team had given it the full treatment. They are a small family unit, employed by the museum and working off-site in their own workshop: a trio comprising father, son and grandson. Nice.  

I'd intended to stay until Foggy and Whitham had drawn the raffle for the Vincent Rapide that the NMM have been promoting for some time now, but I had a hundred-mile return journey and didn't want to use the motorways. So it was onto the A and B roads before the warmth disappeared and the evening shadows dropped the temperature.

If you've never visited the National Motorcycle Museum, make it an autumn or winter excursion. Or you could combine it with Motorcycle Live (28th November to 6th December) at the NEC, just down the road apiece.

Have you been to the National Motorcycle Museum before? Share your experience at [email protected].