Harley-Davidson Museum

Opened in 2008, the Harley-Davidson Museum is the mecca for every Harley-Davidson owner or enthusiast. Inside this 20-acre site is possible to attend vents, find exhibits, a shop, a restaurant and a bar.

The Location

The 20-acre site that take the name of Harley-Davidson Museum is the place to see and experience Harley-Davidson history and culture. That being said, it is important not to confuse it with the place whether the company started. The original and current home of Harley-Davidson Motor Company is located in Juneau Avenue. The brick factory buildings that once fully operated as manufacturing buildings, are now the house of the corporate headquarters and offices. Needless to say that Juneau Avenue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Back to the museum now: campus buildings are all built in an industrial style, perfectly representing the company industrial spirit and Milwaukee. The clever part of the design is the number of motorcycle references inside the design of the buildings:  exhaust vents on the are specifically designed to look like exhaust pipes on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the fins on the top of the museum look like cylinder heads, and the metal X’s on the outside of the buildings remind of the spokes of motorcycle wheels. These are just a couple of examples, the whole Harley-Davidson Museum campus is filled with design elements that remind of motorcycle parts. Pretty Cool!

The Exhibits

The Harley-Davidson Museum have permanent, and some temporary exhibits.
Among the permanent exhibits you can find:

• Clubs and competition: it celebrates the comradery and competitive spirit that drove the company – and the whole motorcycle culture – from board track racing and hillclimbs, to club rides and endurance events.
• Engine Room: the entrance of this gallery is simply overwhelming! As you enter the room, you can see a 1940s Knucklehead separated into multiple pieces; basically, a mechanical drawing brought to life. However, the real magic happens a bit further inside the room where, exposed on the wall, there is a display of the evolution of the Harley-Davidson engines.
• Tank wall: the name is pretty self-explanatory; this wall showcases some of the most iconic Harley-Davidson tanks ever designed and customized since 1903. Each is a piece of Harley history! Also, some of the tanks on display are a one-of-a-kind creations by noted artists.

Beside these 3 highlighted exhibits, there also are: the one on the Harley-Davidson Journey that shows and explain the company history; and the motorcycle galleries that expands of both floors of the building and shows a collection of the most iconic motorcycles of the brand produced from the early days up until today.

The archives

The Harley-Davidson Museum campus is also the home of the official Archives of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The collection is composed of hundreds of thousands of documents and objects that range from marketing materials 3-D objects, clothing and toys. It is important to mention that we need to thank the founders for what we can see in The Archives today. The collection had its beginnings in the very early days of the company when they wisely began collecting their corporate history in a meaningful way. The astonishing part of the archives is the motorcycle collection: it includes over 300 vintage Harley-Davidson vehicles, which span the entire history of the company. Needless to say that the collection is in continues to growth, thanks to new models being added to it.

The events

The events at the Harley-Davidson Museum are incredible. Here you can find a list of the events hosted on campus: https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/museum/explore/events.html

Did you know that is possible to arrange work meetings and that you can even get married on campus? There are two different locations that can satisfy everyone’s needs. Super cool!