A motorcycle that drifted for more
than a year at sea following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011 has
reached its final destination at the Harley-Davidson Museum.
The
2004 Softail Night Train floated more than 4,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean
in a large, insulated container before it washed up in British Columbia's Haida
Gwaii Islands.
A
beachcomber found the bike while exploring an isolated beach on his all-terrain
vehicle and noticed that the bike's license plate indicated it was from Japan
and that the container had Japanese writing on it.
The
Night Train was a mess, especially after it washed out of the container onto
the beach where it lay partially covered in sand for three weeks after the
beachcomber discovered it.
With
every high tide, the bike was exposed to saltwater. Its condition deteriorated
rapidly, said Kristen Jones, senior curator at the museum.
Some
of the chrome still looked good, and the tires were in OK shape. The rest of
the bike, not so much.
The
handlebars were bent, perhaps from the force of the 25-foot wave that slammed
the container into the sea. The Night Train's owner, Ikuo Yokoyama, had used
the container as a storage shed for the bike, camping equipment and golf clubs.
Harley-Davidson
offered to restore the bike to running condition and return it to Yokoyama, but
he wasn't ready for it after having lost his home and three family members in
the tsunami.
Instead, he asked that Harley place
the bike in the museum - in its battered state - as a memorial to victims of
the earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people and left many more
injured and homeless.
LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UgnipeC87M
Comments
Post a Comment