The main entry way where you buy your tickets to the museum is a combination of modernistic and industrial themes. It costs $16 bucks per adult to get in, $10 for kids. College students with an ID can get in for $12, as well as senior citizens. You can by-pass the long lines on weekends and order your tickets on-line and print them out to present to the Harley-Davidson people who man the entry to the museum on the second floor of the building.
One of the first things that you see when you get into the museum is a line of motorcycles lined up behind one another. The museum houses the largest collection of every model of motorcycle Harley-Davidson has made since 1903. The company began in 1915 to actively go out and re-purchase motorcycles from every year prior. They've since kept at least one production model from every year they've made motorcycles. This display shows nearly 50 years of motorcycles from the early 1900's to the late 1940's.
This is believed to be the first production model Harley-Davidson made in 1903. There's documentation on the model and it has serial number 001 on a lot of parts of the bike. It looks like a combination motorcycle/bicycle. To have the very production model says volume about the vision William Harley and Arthur Davidson had when they began their company.
In a number of rooms off to the side of the main hall on the second floor were displays of signage, ads and other memorabilia from the beginning through the middle part of the 20th century. Many of the signs in this picture were from early Harley-Davidson dealerships in Wisconsin. There's also some early press clippings and pictures of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
This is a 1918 model with a sidecar like those that were used in World War I and by police departments during that time. If you notice, most of the models built during that time were one color - sort of a drab olive green. There are a number of former Harley-Davidson workers or college kids who have been schooled on the history of the motorcycles who hang around to answer questions. I talked to an older guy and he said most of the motorcycles built during that time were more for professional use and not for pleasure like the majority of them today.
Here is a display showing some 1933 models. I believe this was the first year Harley-Davidson began to sell their motorcycles in five different colors. In addition to a lot of visual displays, there was a lot of reading material talking about the significance of each display. Given that I was up against a time limit, I only gave cursory glances at a lot of the information placards.
This is a picture of how some Harley-Davidson motorcycles were used for World War II armed forces. The one on the right is an old Shore Patrol cycle, and the one in the foreground was used by the Army. Harley-Davidson motorcycles were also used to ferry crates of ammunition to the front lines. Check out the gun holsters and guns on the front of the army motorcycle.
This is a vintage 1945 motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson for the U.S. Army. Surrounding this display was a number of pictures of a similar motorcycle in action in the battlefield. These motorcycle were mainly used to carry orders or information to the battlefront. Once again, the motorcycles featured gun holsters on the front of the bikes for easy access should the rider be attacked.
After the war was over, Harley-Davidson made a number of motorcycles for police departments around the nation for parking control. Shown in this photo are two 1947 models, one of them which has been modified into a tri-cycle mounted with a trunk. You can also see the marking stick police used to chalk the tires of cars to signify they'd been there during a previous drive-by.
Although they didn't show models from every year on the museum floor, they showed a very good cross section of bikes from nearly every year from the company's inception thru to 1950. The evolution of not only the design of the bikes, but the engine design changes they experienced was quite dramatic. To go from a simple motor mounted on what was nothing more than a heavy bicycle frame to the revolutionary V-Twin motor Harley-Davidson first used on bikes in 1911 and beyond is nothing short of extraordinary for its day.
Speaking of V-Twin motors, in one of the rooms on the second floor just off the main hallway was an area that featured nothing but motors. This was a display that showed different variations of motors Harley-Davidson had made over the years. You could see the differences in engines such as the Shovelhead, Knucklehead, Flathead, Evolution and others. There are also individual interactive video kiosks that give information on the design and performance of the engines from the early 1900's on. You could also press a button that allowed you to hear how specific engines sounded via a digital audio soundtrack.
The engine room display also showed the evolution of the V-Twin engine in the modern era. First was the Shovelhead, which was manufactured from 1966 thru 1984 for use on the big Harley-Davidson models. The Shovelhead evolved into the Evolution model that was used from 1984 thru 1999. The Evolution was then replaced by the Twin-Cam 88 (shown at left) in 1999. While the basic engine design used by Harley-Davidson motorcycles mirrors the basic engineering ideas of the first V-Twin nearly 100 years ago, research and development over the past number of years have made the engines lighter and more efficient.
From the engine room exhibits, I went into the next room that featured Harley-Davidson competitive bikes that were built for speed beginning in the 1920's. America had a fascination with speed and distance in the 1920's and 30's with many locations featuring races that would pit motorcyclists in track races that would run for 200 or more miles. Here is a Harley-Davidson bike from the 20's that was one of the first competitive racing models they made.
As the need for speed continued into the 30's and 40's, Harley-Davidson sought to come up with specially designed aerodynamic motorcycles to challenge for world land speed records for motorcycles. The motorcycle at the left is a 1936 Factory Streamliner that was used to try to break the world's land speed record on the sands of Daytona Beach. Although it did break the American record at the time, it did not break the world record. But Harley-Davidson did not shy away from making faster and more powerful bikes to try and garner the world land speed record for motorcycles. They finally achieved that goal in 1970. In fact, Harley-Davidson holds the world land speed record for factory built motorcycles that was set in 1988 at 322 miles an hour! Wow!
Also becoming big in the 30's was the sport of motorcycle hillclimbing. Many Harley-Davidson bikes were modified and out-fitted with chains to help gain traction up the steep hills the cyclists tried to climb in competition with one another. Motorcycle hillclimbs were a big event in the pre-war and post-war years. I can remember attending motorcycle hillclimbs not far from my home outside of Kellogg, IA.
One of the more interesting parts of the competitive motorcycle exhibit were a number of posters advertising the races, as well as articles and pictures of many of the top racers back in the day. Also shown were a number of posters touting the "gypsy tours" motorcyclists used to participate in during the pre-World War II years. These events - which still happen today - usually consist of a group of riders meeting at a pre-determined spot, then riding aimlessly around the countryside, ending up at another pre-determined spot to bed down for the evening miles and miles away from the original destination. I have a friend in upstate New York who participates in gypsy tours on his Harley. He said modern gypsy tours can put 200 miles plus on a bike in a day. You can ride alone or with others in a group. The basic premise is to wander the countryside on your bike. Now, that sounds like fun.
By the way, Eureka Springs, Arkansas - which we visited over two years ago and I profiled in a post here - is a very prominent gypsy tour spot for motorcycle enthusiasts.
The Harley-Davidson Museum is a big place with a lot of great picture opportunities. In the second part of my visit, I'll talk about the archive and restoration sections of the museum, as well as some historic and unique bikes they have on display on the ground floor of the museum.
I think putting up a museum for Harley Davidson is a great way to recognize and commemorate the importance of this classic in American culture today. It will surely be a great tourist spot, not only for the Harley lovers and riders, but also for other people who want to know more about motorcycles. Well, I think some people have a special space in their hearts for the Harley, as it is one of the greatest motorcycle icons in the world. Some motorcycle brands have just made a name for themselves, but Harley has stayed strong from 1903 up until now.
Posted by: Erik Lucien | September 14, 2012 at 09:09 AM