Bububububububububub. That’s what the museum parking lot sounded like on a good day. Single-cylinder, two-stroke engines still sound the best, there’s no contest. The famous motorcycle manufacturer in Milwaukee began as four dudes building bikes for fun. As the company grew, it became an American icon and a way of life. So much so that “the Harley-Davidson of X industry” is as universally understood as “the Rolls-Royce of X industry.”
Their first bike was the 1903 Serial Number One, named after a number 1 on the bike’s frame. The frame, however, dates to 1905, so it wasn’t original. Very little is known about it, even by the conservators. This is the only bike that has been restored by the museum, it preserves other bikes in the same state they were received.
Motorcycles in the archive are used to test factory parts for backward compatibility to make sure that specific parts made today can still fit on 100-year-old classics. A lot of new designs also take inspiration from older models to evoke that unique Harley look.
