"Taliban motorbike" goes on show at Imperial War Museum as part of War Story season

A Honda motorbike captured by British soldiers in Afghanistan during a chase with Taliban insurgents last summer will go on show to the public as part of a display at the Imperial War Museum aiming to present first-hand accounts of life for service personnel.

The bike was captured when two men lost control of the bike during an encounter with members of 1st Battalion, The Rifles on a track in Nahr E Saraj in May 2011.

The riders disappeared into the nearest village, but the troops from Operation Herrick recovered the vehicle and offered to donate it to the museum.

With the help of the Ministry of Defence, The Rifles re-routed the bike around Pakistan, eventually reaching the 1 Rifles base at Beachley Barracks, near Chepstow, last June.

It is the largest item donated so far to War Story, a project inviting forces to record their stories in museums.

• War Story: Serving in Afghanistan is part of the current season of events at IWM London and IWM North. Read our Preview of Frontline Medicine in a Century of Conflict at Imperial War Museum North.

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