WWI Harley Crossing the Country to Honor Our Vets
Restored WWI 1918 Harley celebrates pair of centennials with a 5,000 mile trek. And one very special stop along the way.
2018 marks 100 years since the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which effectively ended fighting on land, sea, and air between the Allies and their opponent, Germany. And thus, World War I was effectively over. To mark the centennial of this historic event, Oliver Touron and Christophe de Goulaine are riding their restored 1918 Harley WWI motorcycle 5,000 miles across America to salute those that served and those that gave their lives in the war.
And those aren’t the only notable storylines that culminate from this incredible old Harley. Touron and de Goulaine, both Frenchmen, found the bike in France and restored it. They proceeded to name it “Bony,” a nod to the French town where American soldiers were buried during WWI. And they recently stopped in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Harley- Davidson Museum. Which also happens to be the home state of Roy Holtz, the first American to ride a bike like Bony into Germany during the war.
After Bony leaves the H-D Museum, it’ll continue its trek, which began in Mobile, Alabama, along Route 66 all the way to California. But the bike’s stop at H-D’s hometown also highlights just how popular the destination has become for international visitors. “I like the new bikes and I like the old bikes,” European visitor John Steerwood told TMJ4 News. Each year, Steerwood flies to the U.S. and rides a Harley across a different state. So far, he’s covered 37 states.
“My biggest wish was always to visit the Harley-Davidson Museum. And to visit, of course, the factory where it was built” Steerwood admits. The museum’s curator, Jim Fricke, says that nearly 11 percent of total visitors come from other countries. Still, Bony’s appearance was extra special. “We love introducing Milwaukee and Harley-Davidson to most of these people,” Fricke said. “But most of them don’t ride on a bike like this.”
You can follow along with the historic bike’s journey, dubbed “Operation Twin Links,” by vising its Facebook page!
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