The magnificent Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival

The magnificent Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival

Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival is the name for the ultimate Harley-Davidson event in Milwaukee. For the 120th anniversary, Harley-Davidson really rolled out in Milwaukee Wisconsin. It is unbelievable how many tens of thousands of bikers from all over the world took part in the mega event.

The Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival will be celebrated annually starting in 2024

To get straight to the point, Harley -Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz announced during the 120 Anniversary Festival in Milwaukee that from now on the Homecoming Festival will be celebrated in Milwaukee every year. Harley-Davidson events take place every year around the world , whether it's Sturgis or European Bike Week , where tens of thousands of bikers come together every year to celebrate the Harley-Davidson brand.

So it would make sense to call on the community to come to the Mother City, Milwaukee, every year in the future for the annual Homecoming Festival. The date will be from July 25th to 28th, 2024 , as Jochen Zeitz stated directly in the interview. The 2024 Homecoming Event honors Willie G. Davidson , who celebrated his 90th birthday in 2023.

The Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival 2023

This was my first time in Milwaukee this year, I don't really know why I've never been here before. In retrospect, however, it is clear that I must have missed something at the last HD Anniversary Parties, which are celebrated every five years. The Harley scene in the USA is a lot crazier, they simply have more freedom in some areas in the USA.

Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee: loudness and helmet requirement?

The loudness of the Harley doesn't really bother anyone, particularly in Milwaukee, Harley riders are very popular and warmly welcomed, as Bill Davidson recently said at the Harley-Davidson Museum. Normally helmets are mandatory in Milwaukee, but at least during the Homecoming Festival no one seems to mind because many people are riding their Harleys around the city without helmets.

I heard that in Illinois it is legal to ride without a helmet. The joke is that if you got your driver's license in the neighboring state of Illinois, you can also drive without a helmet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I suspect the police don't want to check it at all. You will only have problems if something happens. There are generally different statements about whether it is allowed or not. The insurance policy will be the deciding factor; if you don't want to take 100% risk when traveling, you shouldn't go without a helmet.

Harley-Davidson enthusiasm meets Green Day's rock revival in Milwaukee

The fact that sometimes entire families are addicted to the Bar & Shield logo is something we see very often, at least I know families where everyone is completely addicted to the Harley-Davidson brand. Just like in the photo, where even the smallest ones are brought from Brazil to Milwaukee. The live concert with Green Day on Friday was a real blast, a great show, I never expected it to go down like that.

The main act on Saturday was actually the Foo Fighters. I was even more impressed by Green Days' live performance. The rock band is known for their provocative punk revival rock. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong put on a mega show and it was really crazy how the crowd went along. We are talking about around 50,000 people who came together in Veterans Park on Milwaukee Bay. I would like to see a show like this at the European Bike Week , they have the potential at Lake Faak, they just need to finally release the right budget for Europe.

The event is an experience and the beer prices are an experience

The truth is, you shouldn't be so in love with your money, because the entire event is not cheap, I mean not just for Harley-Davidson, but from the perspective of the visitor. It's not exactly cheap to get in and for half a liter of Bud Light Selzer beer from a can you'll be happy to pay $10 at the bar on the event grounds. What was strange was that you couldn't get more than two beers at once. There's a law in Wisconsin that says you have to get another one at the next checkout if you want three beers.

The real festival takes place in Veterans Park

Milwaukee is not around the corner for us, it will always be a very extraordinary story for most of us. It doesn't necessarily have to be just at the time of the event, but it is nicer. There is a lot on offer on the area, in contrast to the events here, there is a lot of space in the middle of the area, but of course when they stream onto the area to watch the bands in the evening, the visitors have to go somewhere.

Getting a homecoming t-shirt is a real challenge!

There are exhibitors and other attractions on the edges, the merchandising tent is quite far to the edge, but the entrance to the entrance cuts through the entire event area, so I don't experience any other situation than in Budapest. At least I have a T-shirt from Budapest, but unfortunately not from the homecoming event in Milwaukee. I didn't have the time to wait in line for hours and so I continued without the valuable souvenir. By the way, things didn't look any different in the Harley Museum.

There are no visitors' Harleys to be seen on the site itself; they are all parked in front of the event site. In general, I would assess that the party takes place on the area of ​​Veterans Park and everything that has to do with Harleys and the community can be found on the grounds of the Harley-Davidson Museum.

The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee

There are thousands of Harleys at the Harley-Davidson Museum

If you want to see Harleys, whether old, very old or new models, you have to go to the Harley-Davidson Museum. The museum should always be the goal, it is not just a museum, there are two stores here, some of which offer exclusive rarities from the MotorClothes Collection. In the smaller store you can find special offers and end of live items that are no longer in the program.

Then there is the Motor Bar & Restaurant, and the hall where almost all of Harley-Davidson's current models are shown. The big highlight is of course the museum, there is so much to see here, in the hallowed halls there are not only motorcycles , you can even find boats, jet skis, and representations of 4 cylinder engines, these are all things that Harley-Davidson would have owned at some point once produced.

A highlight is the Harley-Davidson archive!

Normally you can't really get into the archive; everything is kept safe behind bars. I was given the honor of taking a look at the archive. It sent a chill down my spine, I still have a lot of old US Easy Rider magazines where many of the models exhibited here have appeared again and again.

The 1991 Sturgis FXSTC Softail is in front of me!

And suddenly I was standing in front of it, the unique FXSTC Sturgis Softail from 1991, there is only one of it and it is here in the archives. I don't know why, but I liked it, maybe because I have an FXSTC of 88 myself.

The Harley-Davidson Museum spans multiple floors and each floor offers a deep insight into the rich history and culture of the legendary motorcycle brand. The main entrance with a large entrance hall is on the ground floor. Here is a selection of the brand's most famous motorcycles, showing the evolution of Harley-Davidson from its beginnings to today. It would take too long to tell you all the details about the museum, but the visit is definitely worth it!

There is a difference in the time from the Homecoming Festival that should be noted. It's crowded here during the party, so if you want to shop in peace you should go to the museum a few days earlier, it's certainly more relaxed.

There is a large tent and a large stage set up at the museum

There's a lot going on at the museum, because there's also a big stage set up here, a big open tent where a few thousand people can fit in if the weather isn't so stable. There are Harleys everywhere on the grounds and in front of the museum, the big bridge is closed especially for bikers, it's just crazy what's going on here. A group of over twenty Police Harleys came to briefly visit the museum; they were real company vehicles and not police bike fans. The police even showed up here with two horses, generally they were really relaxed here and actually just controlled the traffic and showed off. It's cool how everything works together here.

And what no Harley-Davidson meeting should be without is the bike show, which can also be found at the museum, as well as a few other exhibitors. Food is not only provided in the restaurant, but there are various stands where the bikers can get the typical American food, burgers, steaks, ice cream, so no one will definitely have to starve here.

Pictures from the Harley-Davidson Museum, during the Homecoming Festival 2023

Powertrain Operations Plant in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin

Not to be forgotten is the Powertrain engine factory. Correctly called the “Powertrain Operations Plant” in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, it is one of Harley-Davidson's main production facilities and focuses on the production of engine and transmission components for the brand's motorcycles. This is where Harley-Davidson's iconic V-twin engines are manufactured. In addition to the main engine components, the factory also produces various engine assemblies and parts required for the assembly and final assembly of the engines.

Even the 135ci Stage IV Milwaukee-Eight engine rolls off the assembly line here

Here they even apparently assemble the 135ci Stage IV Milwaukee-Eight engine in larger quantities. You can visit the factory, you should do so, it's interesting to see not only the technical aspects, but also the employees, whose work clothes include normal Harley-Davidson T-shirts. There's still a lot going on here without robots, it's all really impressive and worth seeing. They produce all engines here, the Revolution Max engines as well as all the Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin engines and the new VVT 121 engine. The gearboxes and many components for engines are also manufactured here. I even saw that they wind the coils or copper wires for the alternator themselves, I didn't expect that at all.

The last Evolution engine stands in the entrance to the factory

Right at the entrance is the last Evolution engine, a Sportster 883 engine, which rolled off the assembly line at the Powertrain engine factory in September 2022 and on which countless signatures from employees have been immortalized. The emotions in the factory are palpable; you can feel the passion for the brand among many of the employees. Let's hope for their sake that the program-controlled automatism doesn't mean that the spirit disappears from the halls.

What awaits you at the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival

In short, the really big party is in the Milwaukee Bay area at Veterans Platz and at the Harley-Davidson Museum it is smaller, but not really small. The Powertrain engine factory is in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, which is about 30 kilometers from the museum, and the factory cannot be missing from the list. to the House of Harley-Davidson dealer myself; somehow the time flew by. A visit to Milwaukee is something very special, it is an experience to even be there, regardless of whether it is with or without the Homecoming Festival.

Further information about the Homecoming Event 2024 can be found in the Harleysite event calendar

Text: Harleysite Image credits: Harley-Davidson and Harleysite

Pictures from the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee