Whenever I travel to Road America (in Wisconsin) from my home in Michigan, I plan a visit to the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. The museum is a lesson in storytelling; honoring the heritage of its machines, the thousands of workers, and the millions of owners who have created an enduring community. Above: the images of hundreds of Harley owners illuminate the length of an exhibit hall
To celebrate the company’s centennial, H-D sent components of this 2003 Electra Glide and sidecar around the world for employees to sign.
There are more than 6,000 signatures on it.
More than a hundred gas tanks are painted in some of the colors and marquee designs H-D has used over an 80-year period.
Few manufacturers are so confident of the core identity of their brand that they feel the freedom to use whatever colors and logo-form suits the design language of the day…
… H-D might just be the only one.
The “Engine Wall” exhibit displays a version of every major engine type H-D has offered in its machines.
It includes not one, but two, opposed twins. The 1919 Sport Twin (top left) actually pre-dates BMW’s boxer, first used in a motorcycle in 1923.
Entering this exhibit, the oddly formed profile of this machine…
…transforms to reveal individual components…
…their purpose and design evolution.
Restorations and exhibits are created in the museum workshop.
The workshop is also the museum’s “archive.”
1903 Harley Davidson, Serial No. 1, the oldest known H-D in existence. This example was the “production proof” that incorporated refinements on the first prototypes (which are now lost). It was followed by the first production models which included fenders and a slightly more powerful motor.
