Special Tour

Duane and I could have made our way around the H-D Museum yesterday and learned all about the company, but we were glad that we opted for the guided tour.

Our guide pointed out interesting facts such as during armed conflicts military contracts kept the company in business,


and that adding colors to bikes didn't boost post-conflict sales

as much as appealing to different kinds of riders with vehicles like scooters 

and off road bikes.

Our guide gave us a "behind-the-scenes" tour of the museum work rooms.where we viewed some promotional bikes, including that bike with sidecar on the opposite side for Australian and other riders who drive on the left.

We learned that H-D experimented with some two-front-wheeled bikes back in the early 1980's, but didn't like the concept,

and that this is the last bike with sidecar made because the trikes (two wheels in back) were more stable.

He told the story of this bike.  It was originally kept in a storage unit in Japan, but the whole unit was swept out to sea by a tsunami.  It floated across the ocean to the UK where it turned up in pieces on a beach.  H-D was able to piece it back together and find a serial number.  They contacted the owner, and offered him a brand-new bike.  He declined, saying that it would be a sad reminder of his friends or/and their bikes that were lost in the earthquakes and resulting tsunami.  He requested that it be put into a museum as a memorial to them.

Tomorrow we hope the weather lets us play tourist again.

Louise and Duane