Harley-Davidson Museum

Opens Summer 2008

It’s an American icon. It’s an American legend. It’s American steel. It’s American badass. It’s Harley-Davidson and it’s Live to Ride & Ride to Live. It’s a realm of steel and leather that no Japanese or European company can compete in, try as they might.

After 105 years of producing some of the world’s most beautiful bikes, Harley-Davidson has finally decided to open a museum that will offer visitors countless exhibits that span the manufacturer’s great history. The 130,000-square-foot facility, which will rest on 20 acres of riverfront property, is also expected to offer guests a restaurant, a café, and a retail store. The majority of visitors, however, will most likely want to see the much-anticipated 450-bike archive and take in Harley’s heritage. If this is the case, they should begin their tour on the second floor of the museum; here’s where they’ll find a chronological gallery that boasts about the bike’s uncompromising lineage. The museum’s second floor will primarily deal with the second half of the 20th century, but it’ll also serve up a good dose of the design and engineering that goes into creating the world’s most lust-worthy bikes. After, and only after, you’ve completed your two-story visit will you be permitted to go grab a bite to eat and a café latte.

Where can this structure built for greatness be found? There’s no better place than in the state of Harley-Davidson’s birth, which is Wisconsin. And if you were a real Harley man, you’d prefer to refuel on one of Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s other notable commodities, such as a Miller or a Milwaukee’s Best, instead of a cappuccino from the café.