H-D Archives
The corporate archives team preserves over a century of Harley-Davidson’s legendary history. Housed at the H-D Museum in Milwaukee, the collection includes motorcycles, photographs, documents, and artifacts that showcase the brand’s evolution and global impact. Beyond museum exhibits, the archives support the Motor Company today, inspiring everything from marketing to new product development.
New Acquisitions – Janda Scrapbook
The founders of Harley-Davidson left us at least two gifts. The first was starting what evolved into the world’s most recognized motorcycle company. Their second gift was a tradition of saving and preserving key motorcycles over time, along with records, photographs, film, and the rest of our history. Not every company creates such a record of its own history, but the founders of H-D did, and they got an early start.
- Bill Jackson , Manager of Archives & Heritage Services
FAQS
Find out more about the Harley-Davidson Corporate Archives.
No. The Harley-Davidson Archives is a private, corporate archives and not open to researchers.
If you wish to offer an item to the permanent collection of Harley-Davidson, please e-mail [email protected] with a detailed description of the item(s), photograph(s) of the item(s), and your complete contact information, including phone number. Your submission will be reviewed by the Archives and Curatorial staff of Harley-Davidson. If we are interested in the item for the Harley-Davidson Archives, you will be contacted for further information. The Archives does not accept unsolicited donations.
The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee is home to the archives collection. You can see many of the motorcycles in the collection in The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection book by Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom. For non-motorcycle collection items, check out The Harley-Davidson Story: Tales from the Archives by Aaron Frank. The Archives does not have an online catalog of its collection, but you can explore some of its history and artifacts digitally through the Harley-Davidson Museum on Google Arts and Culture. You can also get a glimpse of the collection by booking a Beyond the Gate or VIP Tour.
As an active corporate repository, the Archives is continually collecting internally from the Motor Company, as well as through auctions, private sales and donations.
Documentation and details around Harley-Davidson production vehicles are very limited or non-existent. Any questions you may have about your motorcycle can be addressed by calling Harley-Davidson Customer Service at (800) 258-2464 or (414) 343-4056.
Although the Archives is not open to the public, Harley-Davidson Museum visitors can view some of the archival workspaces while exploring the museum. Guests can book a Beyond the Gate Tour or VIP Tour to get behind the scenes.
In addition to supporting H-D Museum exhibits and experiences, the Harley-Davidson Archives team collects, documents, and preserves Harley-Davidson history. The archives are a resource for Harley-Davidson Motor Company business and a repository to safeguard the company heritage. The archivists work to maintain and grow this vast collection so that it is accessible and useful to the company — as well as enjoyed by museum guests — now and in the future.
Explore the Harley-Davidson Corporate Archives, home to over a century of the brand’s history. Located at the H-D Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the archives preserve motorcycles, artifacts, photographs, and documents that tell the story of Harley-Davidson, its employees, and motorcycle culture worldwide. While only a portion of the collection is on public display, museum visitors can catch a glimpse behind the glass doors, see the workspaces where history is cataloged, and view the famed “Vault” of stored motorcycles. The archives not only support museum exhibits but also inspire the Motor Company’s marketing, product development, and research initiatives.