William Morris worked for a Harley-Davidson dealer before opening Bill's Custom Cycles in 1970, off Interstate 80 on the outskirts of Bloomsburg. The shop focused on parts for the growing market in Harley-Davidson custom motorcycles. He bought up the entire stock of dealerships going out of business during Harley-Davidson's slump and expanded into mail orders, saving the collectible bikes and parts.[1] Morris' first collectible bike, a single-cylinder Harley from 1928, was purchased for about $20. After the brand's resurgence in the mid-1980s, Morris profited from selling new old stock.[2]
The initial collection was on display at Bill's Custom Cycles, accumulating enough Harley-Davidson signage that the company's legal department demanded Morris remove them; space concerns and this dispute stimulated the idea of a separate museum,[1][2] which opened with one room in 1998.[3] Morris, Judi Laubach and friends purchased four 19th-century barns from the Bloomsburg area and reassembled them inside a metal prefabricated building on the hill behind the shop.[4][5] Baltzer J. Pisak of Hazleton, the first dealer Morris bought out in 1970, restored many of the bikes and created the first displays. Business connections in Europe encouraged Morris to expand his collection with items from there.[3] With the addition of "Billville", an indoor street lined with replica storefronts, the museum covers over 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2).[2]
