Crew from France to Bring Motorcycle to Museum and Memorial at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7
What: A team of motorcycle enthusiasts from France on a 5,600-mile odyssey across the United States in a restored 1918 Harley-Davidson Model J will pass through Kansas City and stop at the National WWI Museum and Memorial at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7.
![Beam-framed motorcycle with Model W drivetrain, patented by W. S. Harley and A. Ziska, Jr.](https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2018/08/1200px-patent_1510937_motor_cycle_fig_1_rotated-741x423.jpg)
Why: Approximately 400 Harley-Davidson Model J’s deployed in Northern France during World War I. Found in a barn in France, Chistophe de Goulaine purchased this particular motorcycle in 2008 before embarking on a painstaking restoration process.
![Harley Davidson 1918 with sidecar. Photo: Duch.seb / CC-BY-SA 4.0](https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2018/08/1200px-harley-davidson_with_sidecar_1918-741x496.jpg)
De Goulaine, the pilot, and mechanic Pierre Lauvergeat created Operation Twin Links to honor the role of the U.S. in assisting France during World War I. The 5,600-mile journey began in Jacksonville, Fla., in early July and will conclude in San Diego. They plan to return to France by Nov. 11 to ride down the Champs-Elysees in Paris to celebrate Armistice Day, as soldiers did at World War I’s end.
![Photo: Twin links](https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2018/08/38544473_685004155186215_8822077703197818880_n-741x556.jpg)
The motorcycle, nicknamed “Bony,” has an 18-horsepower engine and a top-end speed of 55 miles per hour with its sidecar.
The trip is being documented on Twin links Facebook page.
When: Tuesday, Aug. 7
1 p.m. – Motorcycle arrives at Museum and Memorial
1:15 p.m. – Tour of the Museum and Memorial
3 p.m. – Tour concludes
(Note: all times approximate)
Where: National WWI Museum and Memorial
2 Memorial Drive
Kansas City, MO 64108