Harley Davidson To Become Oklahomaâ€™s Next Buried Vehicle

The year is 2057, and thousand of Tulsans, young and old, are gathered in Veterans Park to find out what we put in a time capsule 50 years ago. We don't know if anyone will have a recording of this

Tuesday, August 14th 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

The year is 2057, and thousand of Tulsans, young and old, are gathered in Veterans Park to find out what we put in a time capsule 50 years ago. We don't know if anyone will have a recording of this story in 50 years, but we can tell you at least one of the things that will be in the time capsule. The News On 6â€™s Steve Berg reports organizers wanted something big like the Belvedere, but this time the vehicle is on two wheels.

The Myers-Duren Harley Davidson dealership, at 48th and Peoria, has been in Tulsa since 1914. So another 50 years should be a piece of cake.

"We're proud that the Centennial Committee asked us to participate. It's our way of giving back to Tulsa," Johnny McClanahan with Myers-Duren Harley Davidson said.

Harley Dealer Johnny McClanahan is donating a 2007 Street Glide with a custom blue denim paint job that retails for about $20,000. He says it borrows much of the styling of the 1965 Electra Glide Harleys, but has modern touches like a six-speed transmission, CD-player and weather band radio.

"It's a little bit of the old look with a lot of the new technology," said McClanahan.

"At least now it's new," News On 6 reporter Steve Berg said.

"Yes, true," said McClanahan.

Karisha Arnett with Tulsa's Young Professionals says young professionals in 2057 should get a good chuckle from a CD-player, if they even know what it is.

"It's going to be a lot of fun to see what we think is the top of the line today, and how that will actually look in 50 years," said Karisha Arnett with Tulsa's Young Professionals.

The motorcycle itself should be rust free, because unlike the buried Belvedere, this vault will be above-ground. And McClanahan says its looks have, so far, been timeless.

"You don't ever find a Harley-Davidson in a junkyard,â€ he said. â€œThere's really no such thing, and they all turn into classics."

The motorcycle, they say, seems a good fit given its current popularity in Tulsa, along with high gas prices. Organizers say the time capsule will also include other doodads du jour.

"We're going to make sure we have a laptop, a cell phone, an iPod. We will have things like that," said Arnett.

McClanahan hopes that, at age 98, he'll be there to see the denim blue roll out of the vault.

"It's not impossible, but we'll see," he said.

The 2057 time capsule will be buried in Veterans Park on Veterans Day Weekend, November 10, 2007.

Starting in September, no guarantees they'll get in, but you can submit items to be considered for the time capsule. For details, check out the group's website, www.oktimecapsule.com.

Watch the video: Harley Davidson Chosen For 2007 Time Capsule