Austrian Fathers Day - Trip to KTM Motohall in Mattighofen

In Austria fathers day is the second Sunday in June and it surprised me that there is not a Europe wide fathers day as all different countries have different dates.

Well this year Ben is going to get 2 fathers day (one in Austria and one in Australia) and we couldn’t go past surprising him with a trip to the KTM Motohall Museum and it was really interactive and constantly kept you entertained and we all loved all their bikes, exhibitions and displays.

They give you a booklet as a souvenir and many of the displays and posts are numbered with a game or interactive play tailored to the artefact they are showing or history they are explaining. After completing the touchscreen game or finishing a challenge there is a stamping area where you slide in the page and that number get’s a stamp (each stamp is different). It is a really nice keepsake idea and the kids loved it.

As you wander around the museum you learn all about how a motorcycle is designed and then built and raced. Ben and Jess spent some time at the station where all the parts were laid out on the bench and Ben was going through in detail what they all were and how they are put together in the bike. Daniel blanked out and walked away with me shortly behind but Jessy was really interested and I truly believe she will love servicing and looking after her bike when she gets a bit older.

The museum also had hundreds of bikes on display - pretty much every KTM ever made from Motocross bikes, enduro bikes, adventure bikes, supermoto bikes and electric bikes. Its really phenomenal to think how KTV went from a small Austrian workshop right there in Mittighofen (started 70 years ago) and is now a global racing company.

I loved the reason which was through its off road racing success. KTM dominated the motocross, enduro and the Dakar Rally and the victories were what gave the brand the worldwide recognition. Every win became a demonstration for them of the bikes incredible capabilities - it was a company y that built bikes that won some of the toughest off road competitions in the world, and why wouldn’t you want to own a bike that can endure those extremes.

Being around that many bikes and remembering ride days that we have had together on Bens KTM bikes - 300, 250, 450 and 500 (yes Ben has had a lot of bikes these are only a few to mention) and the times Ben and I have been out on his BMW road bike or Ducatti really re inforced my love of bikes and why I got my bike licence, I think I got a bit bike starstruck wanting both a dirt bike and a road bike by the time I was leaving.

I loved theKTM 390 Duke and Ben loved the KTM 990 RC R (but that passenger seat is ridiculous (too high and not big enough to sit on).

We lost time in the museum and spent half the day there playing all the games, in awe of the bikes and the huge trophy display that they had, not to mention the massive Heroe area. You have to do a double take when you enter the Heroes room to check that the manequins are not real people as they are life sized and standing next to the bikes. They are the actual racing motorcycles for the race and every bike on display is there by either winning a race, or championship or having a milestone in technology. There must have been around 50 in that room. There are buttons to press on the displays which then light up a corresponding film showing the race or the event for that bike and racer. It was great to watch the winning riders and see how brilliantly they ride.

There were also lots of bikes they had out and bolted down to the floor that we could sit and change the gears and play with as well as a KTM car which they had set up with a camera you could take your photo and when they provided the QR code you had the copy as a keep sake.

I must admit I was dubious about actually enjoying myself and going there only as I knew Ben would love it but it far exceeded my expectations and I really loved it and the kids had a fabulous time too.

We ended the experience with Daniel perched up high on a racing bike playing the interactive race video game.