The bucolic town of Taghkanic, NY is known mainly for its proximity to Hudson. But it’s also where entrepreneur, race car driver and sometime restaurateur Alan Wilzig has built a private pean to the world of motorsports in the form of Wilzig Racing Manor, the result of a hard-fought battle with the town and various opposition groups. What he calls the “only privately-owned personal-use professional-grade grand-prix style circuit in the world cost some $8 million to build. On a recent visit to the 275-acre facility to test out the new Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop however it was Wilzig’s incredible motorcycle collection that caught our eye.

Our pal Nicolas Stetcher, co-author of The Impossible Collection of Motorcycles from Assouline, was there as well and called it “one of the greatest private motorcycle collections I’ve ever seen. It includes 24 Bimotas, a 1953 Moto Guzzi, a 1974 Ducati Sport and a 1976 Ducati 900ss along with dozens of other Ducatis, a British-made Hesketh V1000, and a 1992 Honda NR750, to name a few. Formerly CEO, president and chairman of the Trust Company of New Jersey, which was sold to North Fork Bank for $750 million in 2003, Wilzig can well afford to indulge his hobby. But he was at pains to point out the bikes are great investments too. Worth a visit if you possibly can. Till then here are some pix.