The Harley From the Iconic 9/11 Photo Is Heading to The Brand's MuseumRideApartinfo@rideapart.com (Jonathon Klein)Tue, September 15, 2026 at 12:06 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleWorld Trade Center Harley-DavidsonI have this image burned into my mind, having seen it so many times since 9/11.On September 11th, 2001, I was in my freshman art class. The room was noisy, with a bunch of barely teens doing their best Basquiat impression—to terrible avail—and the chorus was routine and mundane. Until it wasn't. Fifteen minutes into class, the teacher was pulled to the side by an administrator, a TV was wheeled into the classroom, and we all watched as the Twin Towers fell. The noise and hustle and bustle left abruptly as the world changed in those few hours. After being sent home early, I watched the TV as more and more carnage played out. The people jumping out of windows too high to survive, the towers collapsing repeatedly upon playback, and the brave firefighters going headfirst into the melee, debris, toxic air, and death that would befall many of them, carrying out the wounded, injured, and unalive. And I recall either on that fateful day, the following day, or sometime thereafter an image that still is with me when I'm confronted with reliving 9/11 on its yearly occurrence: a firefighter riding a red Harley-Davidson, complete in full gear, into the smoke and dust hanging in New York City's air. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe firefighter's name is Tim Duffy, and the Harley-Davidson he rode into the storm is now heading to the Motor Co.'s museum in Milwaukee. A perfect spot for something so a part of the United States' recent history.History Is Still Being WrittenThis Woman Motorcyclist Just Rode into Her Land Speed Record Dreams at BonnevilleWorking The Land Helps Remind You That We're Only Its Current StewardsAccording to Wisconsin Public Radio, which sat down with Duffy, "On Sept. 11, 2001, New York City firefighter Tim Duffy was off duty, working on tuning up his Harley. He had just pulled out a spark plug when he heard a large boom. It was followed by the sound of sirens. Duffy reached for the phone to call his fire department. He was on the phone with his wife when he saw the second plane hit the Twin Towers from his kitchen window."He shoved the spark plug back into the bike, rode to his fire station, and waited a beat. Duffy told WPR that while the city hadn't immediately put in a call for off-duty firefighters, his training told him he would be soon. And when the call finally came, Duffy, among many others, was already heading toward Ground Zero. Duffy, however, was on the back of his Harley-Davidson, and in full firefighting gear.AdvertisementAdvertisementWhile making his way toward where the Towers once stood, photojournalist Allan Tannenbaum was also on his way toward the fray, but heard Duffy rumbling down the street. "I heard a motorcycle, and I turned around, and here's this firefighter in full turnout gear, coming down Broadway on this Harley-Davidson," Tannenbaum told WPR, adding, "I got one frame of that, and that's the picture of Tim Duffy." World Trade Center Harley-DavidsonWorld Trade Center Harley-DavidsonWorld Trade Center Harley-DavidsonPhotos by: Harley-DavidsonThat picture is one that I believe most folks remember from the news at the time. It was splashed across almost every single paper of record, and it showed just a single frame of how brave the men and women of the FDNY were, along with countless other fire departments from around the country and world, who went head-first into the rubble and toxic debris. A symbol of resilience and bravery. And now, Harley-Davidson is honoring it, along with those firefighters who gave everything on that day and the days after, by showcasing Duffy's motorcycle—he had kept it all these years—in the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both Duffy and Tannebaum were on hand for the reveal of the bike, too, with both making speeches about that fateful day. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Having Tim on stage, there was not a dry eye in the audience as he relayed his story," said Director of Harley-Davidson Experience Centers Megan Suardini, adding, "It's more than a motorcycle. People don't ride motorcycles; they are part of their motorcycle, so by having this artifact in the museum, you're looking at a piece of history."