Harleys built in heaven

HARLEYS FROM ANOTHER ERA.. On display at Shepparton Motor Museum. Photo Steve Hutcheson

It was due to the distinctive engine note that around 1994, Harley Davidson sought to register the sound as their own. Other manufacturers objected and eventually Harley dropped the application.  

Notwithstanding, of all the motorcycle sounds, Harley’s do stand out. It is perhaps part of the reason that the brand has so many fans around the world. 

For former Shepparton resident, Garth ‘Bulldog’ Wallace it became something of an obsession. Over the years he built up a collection of a number of Harleys and on his death in 2012, his family held on to them, allowing them to go on display at the Shepparton Motor Museum.

Some of the bikes in his collection were built in the 1920s. All of them enough to cause any aficionado of classic bikes to quietly drool as they stand behind the barrier to take them all in.

While some of the bikes currently on display may no longer utter the distinctive sound that defines a Harley, you can imagine the sound they might make with all of them roaring down the highway in their heyday.