Harley-Davidson Museum Opens Tsunami Motorcycle Exhibit

12 years, 1 month ago - 29 October 2012, Autoblog
Harley-Davidson Museum Opens Tsunami Motorcycle Exhibit
Ikuo Yokoyama was just one man among hundreds of thousands of people directly affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011, but his name will likely resonate with motorcycle enthusiasts for some time.

Yokoyama's 2004 Harley-Davidson FXSTB Softail Night Train was in a container box that was swept away during the tsunami in March 2011, and it washed up on the shore of British Columbia where it was discovered almost a year later. His motorcycle is now on display at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the exact same condition that it was found on the remote Canadian beach back in April.

After the motorcycle was traced back to Yokoyama, Harley-Davidson offered to have the bike restored and returned to its rightful owner, but instead he has asked that the motorcycle be kept in its current tattered and corroded state and displayed as a memorial to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Yokoyama lives in the Miyagi Prefecture, which was one of the hardest-hit areas of Japan, and in addition to his motorcycle, it's reported that he also lost his home and three family members as a result of the natural disaster.