We headed toward Milwaukee to visit my 18th baseball park. Unable to find anything closer to Milwaukee, we camped about 90 minutes away. This limited the time available to us for sightseeing there. But one thing I had to see was the official museum dedicated to the 114 year old legacy of William Harley and the three Davidson Brothers: Arthur, William, and Walter. Historical note: since Harley is the one who came up with the idea of the motorized bicycle, the Davidson brothers agreed his name should be first, but all 4 contributed key skills to the team. Two were draftsmen and designers, one was a machinist, and the final member a mechanic. Some might argue that a Harley owner still needs all those skills to keep the bike on the road.
The museum is fascinating, showing the development of the cycle from its earliest bicycle-based form to modern road machine, tracing all the company crashes and phoenix-like revivals along the way.
Since we chose to visit the museum after the baseball game, I was fortunate to witness the Mecca-like nature of “bike night,” as Harley riders from miles around converge on the place in a periodic rally, lured by the comradery, free live music and available food. Just guessing, but I’m willing to bet that beer was in abundant supply as well.
The pictures below capture the essence of my visit. The heading picture came from a Google search on the company founders.
Serial Number 1 — the original Harley Davidson motorized bicycle. 
About a decade later, they still looked like bicycles. 
Just before World War 1, an early side car version. Aesthetics exceeded performance, I’m sure. 
Remember tail fins on cars in the late 50’s? This 1958 version shows bikes were not immune to the same idea. 
Even in a world of decorated bikes, this rhinestone masterpiece stands out. It also has so may lights that it requires a second alternator. 
A tribute to Harley stunt riding. 
Here is the “motor wall.” 
And the display of painted gas tanks shows the history of paint and the Harley Davidson logo. 
This one is for son Drew, who owned a Buell, a related company partially owned by Harley. 
The bike night crowd was still growing when we left. Some awesome paint jobs here, and the patented Harley rumble sounds fill the air.