Yesterday, we took our two boys to the Harley Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s about an hour trip for us and we needed a break!  As we made our way through the museum, headset in hand, we were amazed at the progress since Harley-Davidson opened in 1903! There were bikes and artifacts everywhere, very interestingly displayed.

The boys especially enjoyed the room where you could touch a motor on a computer screen and hit "listen to engine"! The roar of the Harley has changed tremendously from its inception. Always a great sound, but it’s even better now!

We got to the 50’s section…and I was saddened to see there was not a Harley for 1956. Yes I’ll be 53 this year! My husband tells me that year was obsolete…hm… We continued to search… taking pictures of the kids along the way. We were told one of Elvis’s bikes was at the museum, somewhere next to a MONSTER bike. There was a Red, White and Blue studded bike. There was a bike that appealed to women. There was a bike signed by every worker in the plants, well over 6000 signatures! We noticed hen they first began manufacturing motorcycles, they had pedals like a bicycle.

Eureka! I’ve found it!  The 1956 BIKE! And Guess Whose it was?? You guessed it. Elvis.  I had my picture taken next to the bike he would hand over to a friend over 40 years ago, with the condition his friend could keep up the payments! His friend, not only kept up the payments, but stored the bike for the next 40 years. Ah the foresight!

Here’s a picture of my 3 "boys"  working a hands on exhibit where you can feel the strength in the wheel turning in your hand. Trying to move it to the right or left gives you a sense of how a Motorcycle balances while in motion. They have a display of a combustion engine, something we had studied this year in science so it was great to crank it by hand and see how a combustion engine works.

There was a private party going on at the restaurant, so we browsed the Harley-Davidson Store. Lots of memorabilia to chose from ranging from a buck to quite a bit more than a buck! I’m glad I got my Harley Jacket years ago!

This museum is filled with artifacts and motorcycles that give you a sense of the Harley-Davidson’s rich history. So very much to see. Well worth the trip! We truly did  Enjoy our Ride"

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 12:00 AM and is filed under Places to See. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.