I started my annual pilgrimage to Sturgis, SD to give thanks to the gods of pistons and petrol and to celebrate the 75th anniversary. Along with me, bikers arrived from every corner of the globe, of all nationalities, ages, and colors. They come together for the largest two and three-wheel gathering in the world.
The action starting in Charlotte, NC certainly didn’t end there, the piston pilgrimage concluded in the cannabis dispensaries in Denver, CO. Hang on, we’ll get there.
I kicked off the rally with killer, cool, world class, maestros, metal artists… any adjective you can come up with, these Michael Lichter’s Naked Truth builders, from the Motorcycles as Art exhibit delivered… They’re truly unbelievably talented.
Sturgis enthusiasts were the first to see the bikes and meet the builders at The Flying Piston charity breakfast on Sunday, Aug. 2nd in the tent next to Michael Lichter’s annual Motorcycles as Art display.
This year the show was without color and relied on texture. Each bike was built without paint and showcased the fabrication ability of each builder. Attendees of the Piston breakfast met the builders and got to see the motorcycles before the exhibit opened to the public. The proceeds from the builder’s breakfast assisted Veterans transitioning into the workforce.
Lichter out did himself for the 75th. He’s rubbed elbows with custom cycle gods for over 30 years. For him, it all started back in the ‘80s with his work with Easyriders Magazine. (Bandit has stories working with Lichter in his Easyriders days but no amount of Jack Daniels has, to date, loosened his lips.)
His continuing contributions have earned him international recognition. He’s credited with 10 books on motorcycling, more than 1,200 magazine articles, numerous calendars, advertisements, posters and other printed materials.
So to work alongside Lichter’s artwork was a serious treat. I wanted to produce a charity event for years and now, in 2015, everything fell into place with Bikernet as a leading sponsor. And having it linked to Michael’s event was icing on the cake. That’s not to say we didn’t face challenges, we did, but it was worth every effort. Our so-so food was sourced from Costco, so after the semi-breakfast a number of the guys went out for a serious breakfast. We will dial in the menu next year.
Marilyn Stemp of Iron Trader News put in the multiple hours sourcing the silent auction items from outstanding companies, with amazing products such as: Avon Tyres, a Special Ops Vest from 5-Ball Leathers, The Leatherworks Solo Bag, a fancy Bell Helmet, Kicker Audio, Fab Kevin custom products, HelmetLok, original art from Darren McKeag and Chris Callen, Revere Seats, Corbin Seats, H-D Footwear Boots, Cruisin’ Goods and Shirts from Dalton Walker of Split Image Kustoms. Unfortunately original artwork from Atomic Bob was lost in the mail. “Hey, Uncle Sam, please return to sender.”
Lichter’s magnificent event hosted at the Chip replaced the AMD World Championship as the only place in the United States to see the ultimate expression of creative skill and imagination in quantity. Thirty custom builders created incredibly beautiful motorcycles with precise feats of mechanical engineering.
The reason the rally started is not much different than the reason it keeps succeeding. The 75th holding of the Sturgis motorcycle rally all started with one man who had a love of motorcycles, racing and, well, money. In 1936, John Clarence “Pappy” Hoel hatched the plan to sell and race motorcycles and put some cha-ching in his pocket.
Pappy purchased an Indian Motorcycle dealership because technology had leapfrogged his ice business when homes went Frigidaire. A smart, intrepid man, Hoel wanted to host races to satisfy his love of cycles and racing, and spur the growth of his Indian dealership.
It was in 1936 that Hoel and crew founded the Jackpine Gypsies, a motorcycle club joining with other area cycle clubs to launch the Black Hills Motor Classic.
The two-day event hosted about 150 people and attracted nine riders.
Hmmm, in this context, The Flying Piston charity breakfast beat the attendance of the 1st Black Hills Motor Classic by a significant number. I could tell you how much more we did but coffee stains smudged the ink on the sign-up sheet… another issue we need to perfect for next year.
Reports claimed massive 75th attendance numbers, but the crowds seemed about the same as last year. There were a couple of differences. The demographic mix changed with a lot of first-time Sturgis newbies, and prices skyrocketed. Hotel rates screamed with standard rooms going for $550. Bananas! One thing remained exactly the same, Police presence. We tried to enjoy the party, but not enough to peak the curiosity of the “man,” if you do, bad things can happen.
Friday, July 31st, around 7:30pm, a Meade County Deputy rolled down Highway 79, when 69-year-old biker, Francis Finley of Newport, Minnesota allegedly peeled along at 52 in a 35, in the opposite direction. The deputy attempted a U-turn and collided with the front wheel and fender of the motorcycle. Fortunately Finley only sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Another change included racing. The rally isn’t about racing anymore even though the AMA sanctioned flat track race kicked off in Rapid City on Tuesday night.
All the big guns showed up with Jared Mees taking his first win of the season. Mees shot off the line like a rocket, came out of Turn two of the first lap with a lead, and never looked back on his way to a wire-to-wire victory in the Black Hills Half Mile. If you haven’t seen a flat track race, you owe it to yourself to get to one. They are very cool and the riders are accessible. And if you are in position to sponsor a team, sponsorship is dirt-cheap.
The rally is really a three-ring circus with wild adventures wherever your two-wheels take you. Check out Bandit’s Ride to Sturgis here. It’s also a place to find and locate just about anything for your motorcycle with every manufacturer in the industry represented.
And the greatest show under one roof to maintain and customize your scooter was located at the Black Hills Harley-Davidson in Rapid City, SD. The temporary outdoor mall featured more than 120 vendors filling 40 acres of asphalt and offering everything from metal engraving to S&S HI-PO kits.
After Tuesday I had to hit the bricks and headed to Denver. 
On the way South I stopped in Cheyenne, Wyoming at a Starbucks for a conference call concerning my cannabis meetings for the following day. There I saw a guy with reflective aviator glasses, cowboy hat, assault rifle and an automatic clipped to his hip. Wherever he roamed in the store, his assault rifle was with him.
As they say, different strokes… When I lived in Silicon Valley everyone wore pocket protectors. No one at Starbucks seemed alarmed, so I’m thinking, it’s ”the” accessory for the cowboy / anarchist crowd.
A couple of hours later I continued my trek to Colorado. I’m researching the cannabis edible business for a client and had a meeting with a vertically integrated organization. They’re putting the entire process from growing, extraction, manufacturing and distribution under one roof. It’s an interesting model as a business can lease a grow room, take advantage of the infrastructure, and be in business overnight–sort of the Go Daddy for the pot biz.
It’s also an incredibly risky business because the federal government can withdraw money operators deposit into banks. In some states it’s considered drug money and you know what that means… it means that a lot of cash is being moved around.
Edibles are a growth business, as many recreational users prefer to eat rather than smoke. And since you are ingesting instead of inhaling, it takes longer to activate and at the same time, stays effective for a longer period of time.
I toured their $750,000 state-of-the-art growing facility schedule to be online in the 4th quarter of the year. This is an interesting time because of the quasi legality as well as the number of draconian restrictions butt heads. In the West, it’s the wild, wild West.
Custom Bike Builders are everywhere… While I was in town, I met up with Roy Martin of Roy Toys Customs. When he is not working on his custom bikes for the upcoming 2015 Harley-Davidson Museum Pro Invitational Custom Bike Show, he is taking care of business as a motor cop in Glendale, CO., on the south side of Denver.
Roy regaled me with cop stories about Broncos football team whooping it up at the strip clubs that the Mayor’s wife owns. When they step out of line, he’ll threaten them with a call to their coach. He said this defused the situation and worked every time.
Roy also caught a player public urinating. He responded with the Saturday Night Live routine of “Really?” Which gave me a laugh until he told me it can be pushed to a sexual offender jacket, which would follow you for the rest of your life…
Roy has three custom builds going. I’m jazzed about his custom bagger featuring a 30-inch “7 Sins” wheel from Ridewright Wheels. The wheel is billet and powder coated black-on-black, which really makes a statement. I’m looking forward to seeing it at the Harley-Davidson Museum Pro Invitational show.
I got a kick out of visiting with the family. Everyone is an “A” type personality with a good heart. Roy has inoculated the entire family with his passion, so everyone supports his motorcycle endeavors in some form or fashion. His wife is a business associate, daughter is the operations, son provides fabrication assistance, and grandkids provide gopher duties.
While poking around Roy’s shop I came across a CCI Sporty gas tank painted by Gunslinger Custom Paint and I thought that this would be a perfect complement to the Suit’s Sportster project, or Kathy Russel. (This series will be posted on Bikernet in the fall.) After some dickering, I came away with a sweetheart of a deal.
Russel is a Motorcycle Lawyer who has worked for me with SS Trike, Aeromach Mfg., Smoke Out, HORSE, and a host of others. I am working over the Suit’s Sporty with a Bill Dodge front end and EMD cases. Updates on the project will be running on Bikernet.com very soon.
So that is the 411 on the working rally. I’m back home and testing the Colorado edibles in a controlled environment. Not sure when I’ll be sending the next update, as there is a lot quality assurance work to be done.
