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2022 Season Opening Day Recap

We’re Open for the 2022 Season!
The first day of the 2022 season is one of the most exciting of the year. After being closed for four months the entire staff looks forward to seeing our museum guests and sharing the amazing story of the American motorcycle. Every year we can always count on seeing some familiar faces along with first time guests.

Over the winter the entire staff at DWTT stayed busy with museum and display enhancements as well as all new exhibits and of course “new” motorcycles and machines. All with the idea of enhancing the overall visitor experience.

When you visit DWTT this year one of the first new items you’ll see outside is the “Kennybuilt 9-Wheel Harley Rig.” Built by Kenny and Jane Kilpatrick in 1990, the rig was seen at motorcycle events from Daytona to Sturgis and even Germany throughout the 90s. A completely custom-built machine, it pays homage to the familiar Harley-Davidson Factory Semis that delivered motorcycles to dealers across the USA.
The Kennybuilt 9-Wheel Harley Rig
The Miller Light Plane Exhibit
Many of you have probably already seen the video where we took the Miller Light plane out of the museum, fired it for the first time in museum history, and Matt taxied it through the parking lot. If you haven’t seen it, be sure to check it out here https://youtu.be/f53ud2PH9MQ.

The plane has always been a guest favorite and after filming we placed the plane into an all-new exhibit that displays it in a way that pays honor to its history and purpose.

The Miller Light Plane was built by a young man named Wilson Miller from Onida, NY in the early 1930s. After winning a design contest, Miller took the prize money and built the plane. After struggling to find a pilot he went on to get his pilots license and flew the plane for several years. During the process of building the new exhibit we uncovered documentation that the Harley-Davidson JD engine Miller used to power the plane was ordered and custom-built by the HD Factory for aviation use. This engine design is the only one known to exist.

We also enhanced the “Homemade in America” exhibit which features a variety of custom-made machines and inventions powered using Harley and Indian motors. Featuring items such as the “first jet ski”, an ice saw, and many farming implements, this exhibit is a tribute to the “can do” American spirit that pervaded the 1920s and 30s. The new enhancements allow for better display and viewing of all these amazing homemade machines.
Homemade in America
The King of Old Motorcycles
The response to our brand-new exhibit “The King of Old Motorcycles: Dale Walksler, The Man Behind the History” has been overwhelming. This exhibit is a chronological look at the life of Museum Founder Dale Walksler. It features never before seen photos, a biographical timeline, and select motorcycles that were keystone moments in his life. It offers a look into the events, people, and machines that shaped Dale’s life and the hard work, vison, and generosity that continues to characterize his life and legacy.

The museum’s hours for the 2022 Season are Thursday through Monday, 10AM to 5PM, and closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. We hope you’ve already made plans to see us this year and we can’t wait to fire up some amazing pieces of American history at “The Museum That Runs!”

April 7, 2022