MotorMaids and Board Track Racers
The upper floor has a gallery dedicated to the cultural impact Harley-Davidson had in the early years of the twentieth century. The centerpiece of this gallery is a recreation of a section of a board track circuit. American cities featured banked velodromes made from wooden boards, on which early motorcycles raced a high speeds. While the boardtrack is interesting, to be honest, I don’t really feel it adds that much to the museum.
Perhaps of more interest is the display of early motorcycle apparel. Today when we think of biker gear, we typically stop with blue jeans and black leather. But this was not always the case. An early womens motorcycle club, the Motor Maids, had snappy outfits with not a trace of leather in sight.
This riding sweater, often seen in pictures of early racers, is far more colorful than those grainy sepia toned photos would have you believe. Updated, personally I think this sweater would make a popular and stylish addition to Harley’s current motorclothes catalog.
