On the outskirts of town, where most students rarely go, there is a building housing one of the area’s largest tributes to American machinery.

Inside of Pierce Harley-Davidson, located at 969 Peace Road, is a large collection of vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

It’s called the Barb City Motorcycle Museum and has more than 65 motorcycles on display, with another 75 in storage.

Wayne Pierce Sr., former owner of the museum, now owned by his son Wayne Pierce Jr., started the museum about 20 years ago. Pierce Sr. raced Harley-Davidsons for 35 years, from the ‘50s to 1985. He competed in regional and national championships and won over 250 trophies.

“You don’t get 250 trophies because you aren’t good,” Pierce Sr. said. “You’ve got to win once in a while.”

The museum front resembles the original Harley-Davidson factory located in Milwaukee in 1909. In the front window is a copy of a photograph of the Harley factory in 1910.

The collection contains Harleys as old as 1929 and has a motorcycle from every decade since the 1920s on display.

Some notable bikes include a 1957 XL Sportster, the tenth one ever made, and a 1984 XR 1000, of which less than 2000 were made but never used.

More than 11,000 people have visited the museum in the last three and a half years. A signature is all that it costs to visit.

“If I charged, people might take notice to the guest book,” Pierce Sr. joked.

Pierce Harley-Davidson also has shop where to work on vintage motorcycles.

“Most dealers won’t work on older bikes,” Pierce Sr. said.

“The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno stopped at the museum twice while visiting the area. His name is still written in the book.

Leno has even mentioned the museum on air, during an interview with DeKalb native Cindy Crawford. But Pierce doesn’t get too excited about those things.

“I wouldn’t know because he’s on when I sleep,” Pierce Sr. said.

Pierce Harley-Davidson soon will add a 10,000 square-foot addition. The new portion will be used as additional storage for the older bikes and also for another shop area.

According to the Harley-Davidson Web site, they currently are celebrating their 100th anniversary. Pierce Harley-Davidson recently held an open house kick-off for the anniversary celebration.