I never considered myself a museum person, but when I got into riding a Harley, It just seemed sacrilegious not to visit the home of Harley Davidson. I've always wondered how Harley pulled it off. I mean, how did they build the brand they built? When I was looking to buy Motorcycles I could find maybe two Honda motorcycle dealerships in Phoenix. All the other brands like Kawasaki, Yamaha, and BMW have been lumped together into a conglomerate like Ride Now. Yet Harley has nine dealerships that only sell Harley Davidson Motorcycles. No quads, or dirt bikes, or cars... just Harley's.
What's more, you can find Harley Dealerships scattered all through out the United States. It feels like Harley doesn't sell Motorcycles, but Americana. Their products feel like the dream of independence, and defiance. I know the clientele is older, but if you spent your life doing what you were supposed to do, Harley feels like a chance to do something unexpected and rebellious. It's more than engineering a great machine, their brand feels like manifesting a dream.
When I ride, dressed up in my gear, my bike customized to fit my preferences, I feel young again. I reconnect with those feelings of optimize and possibility. The same feelings that propelled me from Michigan to Arizona to go to college and find a better future. Traveling the highways and byways of America, it's hard not to connect with a sense of optimism that no matter what is going on today, tomorrow could be better, and you know what? Today is pretty darn good on its own.
How can I not pay respect to an idea like that?
Mike, Miles, and Marshal, joined me and we toured the museum. It's funny they offer guided tours. The buy who greeted us at the door was like, "You're in time to join the hour long tour." Yeah, no I'm not I thought. I'm sure it's a great tour, but the longer I live the less interested I am in looking at "stuff." Sharing the experience with family, that's cool. But an hour? In a museum? Eh....
Looking Out For HOG members
Because I am a card carrying (literally, I carry my HOG membership card on me!) Member of the Harley Ownership Group (HOG), I got into the museum for free. That surprised me. It also made me happy.
History and Motors
There were two things that caught my attention. The first was bike Serial Number One. To their credit, Harley recognized that there was no way this bike in the glass case could be bike number one. Too many parts on it were from the wrong era. However, the story it really tells is that at some point, people recognized that they should start preserving the history of the company. This usually comes much later than people think. I for example have almost no "artifacts" from the founding of GameTruck. When I built my company my focus was on survival and the future.
Preserving parts and pieces of the company never crossed my mind. But at Harley Davidson, at some point someone had the presence of mind to start pulling together the parts marked serial number one. Maybe the early test model was laying around as spare parts, or a piece of non-functional junk in the corner. Where ever it came from, someone put in the effort to restore it completely and present it as "Serial Number 1"
The other item that caught my attention were the engines. Specifically the two V-Twins that I have owned. The 103, and what is no called the Milwaukee 8, or 114. They appeared on a wall full of motors from the original all the way to the present.
Motors are a funny thing. They are both common and rare. Getting a design that works is shockingly hard, and once you get one, you use it in everything you can think of. For years. Developing a functioning motor is non-trivial. When you think of the hundreds, (if not thousands) of models of Harley Davidson motorcycles over the years, this giant museum building could only house a tiny fraction of them. But all the models of every motor from the beginning to present day fit on one wall.
After the Museum of course we hit the two shops. One was the clearance rack so to speak, and the other was the "official" shop. Another poker chip.
Since we arrived on Saturday, they had test rides available. I decided to take a spin on a 2024 CVO Road Glide. What a beautiful bike. However, I don't happen to have a spare $50K at the moment so that bike will have to stay with the dealership... And the funny thing is... I don't mind. I do love my bike. Ember has taken very good care of me.
