Most museums don’t make money. But they do make friends, educate folks, impart history, invite onlookers to learn about the area, share artifacts, educate and entertain.
The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum could be and should be the most significant collection of motorcycle memorabilia and Sturgis rally history on the planet. It’s at the epicenter of freedom, racing history and the custom motorcycle aftermarket.
Sturgis Motorcycle Museum efforts sprang forth as the rally grew. Someone grubby biker drank beer while swinging on a porch swing and watched a parade of motorcycles from all over the world enter town. Some riders revved their engines, others popped their clutches and sprang into wheel-stands, another rider a grizzly of a man stood over his FXR dwarfing it, grabbed the front brake, snapped the clutch with the throttle wide open and filled the street with smoke. A chopper rumbled past and sweet thing on the back yanked her top off for the world to see and enjoy. She held a fist-full of cash to pay the cop at the end of the block. The brother on the porch, rocked back and forth under the chromium August sun and thought, “We need a museum goddammit. We gotta capture this shit!”
Back in the early ‘60s quirky Maynard Rude escaped the “city life” of Rapid, a town of 50,000 at the time, took his dirt bike and bought a house in Sturgis with his wife Alice in 1965. The wooden home built in the ‘50s with used lumber included a two-story garage with access to the lower level via a stone and concrete tunnel under the corner home. At the time, he rode a 125 cc James on the winding web of Black Hills gravel roads.
A true visionary, Maynard enjoyed the expanding rally, found an early Excelsior-Henderson single and his favorite British make, a BSA Gold Star. A rudimentary and grimy collection of mostly dirt bikes grew around the motorcycles he worked on to make a living. In 1984 the Meade County Times-Tribune published an article on the Rude Motorcycle Museum in Sturgis.
His grungy collection of over 20 motorcycles displayed on the upper level of the garage with a smattering of memorabilia and western weapons became what we could consider the first Sturgis Motorcycle Museum but hang on. The story continues to unfold.
Mike Kane, a long-standing vintage motorcycle enthusiast and member of the AMCA (Antique Motorcycle Club of America) bought Rude’s house in 2015. This house was meant to be owned by a biker. Who doesn’t want an abode with a slippery, mud deck and twisting tunnel into a two-story shop?
We sensed a Sturgis Motorcycle Museum fancy floating in the air and every August it sparkled with anticipation and metalflake flecks of inspiration.
In 1989, an unassociated chain of events blew open the glass doors of a former Sturgis grocery store and the National Motorcycle Museum commenced. Ed Netterberg, the first director’s grand concept included honoring the Sturgis Rally Legacy. With little funding, no motorcycles, displays, photographs or memorabilia it actually opened.
Brothers at the time enjoyed the vision, and fortuitously a growing custom parts retailer shared the space during the rally, J&P Cycles. John Parham, the boss, recognized the need for a museum and delivered his antique motorcycles, toys and memorabilia to the abandoned grocery store.
The vision was launched to recognize the heritage of the motorcycle, their riders, the rally, racers, customizers and supporters of the motorcycle industry. John Parham knew something big would happen the following year, as Sturgis was about to host the 50th anniversary of the rally.
John quickly built an impressive J&P facility on the major throughfare through town, Lazelle Street. He set up the two story structure with storerooms, National Motorcycle Museum space and retail areas for J&P. The National Motorcycle Museum had a home. He rented half of the building to the museum year round and used the other half for retail during the rally.
He graciously offered this space and his expanding collection to the museum, even though J&P was based in Iowa. With Parham not around for half of the year displays weren’t being handled well and maybe parts and motorcycles slipped out the back door.
J&P kicked ass during the rally with 400,000 attendees, and the company expanded. But even in tumultuous times of massive growth, the museum still couldn’t pay the rent. Remember what I said about museums. Robin Baldwin, the auditor and museum secretary for 20 years said to me during an interview on a rare March sunny day as we sat outside on Main Street, “Just learning how to survive a winter and stay financially viable is a challenge in Sturgis.”
Speaking of surviving and history, the factory and the Harley-Davidson lifestyle changed abruptly in 1984. The advent of the quality EVO engine, and the shifting of the Harley ownership from AMF back to the family ultimately led to the company going public. The launch of the Harley Owners Group opened roadworthy doors to a new generation of riders. The growth in the custom and performance world kicked off a wild cottage market and followers rode all over the world. No one would miss the 50th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Companies like S&S, Zipper’s Performance, BDL, Spyke made precision performance parts and kept old bikes on the road and crossing the country on any freedom-based whim with Sturgis securely at the top of the to-do list.
Old Harley shops felt the change and the factory required dealer upgrades which caused old inventories and H-D memorabilia to disappear into collectors, restorers and chopper builders’ hands. There were industry visionaries who understood and relished the past, such as John Parham. He wasn’t going to let it go but collected every old dealership poster, old parts and the early apparel. He wasn’t alone. Mike Egan cruised the countryside collecting old dealer inventories with his wife Patty. Bob Stark focused on Indian shops. Dale Walksler began collecting bikes and memorabilia at his Harley dealership in Illinois, and then bought an old hospital and filled it with old motorcycles and parts until he could open his magnificent Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, NC.
At some point toward the end of the decade John Parham decided that trying to run a museum from a distance wasn’t working. The museum crew still wasn’t paying the rent and also held a $100,000 note adding to their financial woes. John knew the debt wasn’t going anywhere but up. He took over the museum by forgiving their back rent and taking on the note.
He packed up the growing collection of motorcycles and memorabilia and hauled the lot to J&P’s hometown, Anamosa, Iowa. When John pulled the cork on the Sturgis Museum, rumors soared and John became very unpopular in the industry as the guy who stole the museum. That clearly wasn’t the case and he offered to return it to Sturgis if someone would take back the $100,000 loan. That wasn’t happening. He ultimately combined his massive collection and ran the National Motorcycle Museum for 20 years until he passed. His widow, Jill Parham kept it running until just this last year, when the National Motorcycle Museum closed and Mecum auctions sold off all the valuable treasures.
Sometimes stuff happens for a reason. The abrupt move from Sturgis to Anamosa caused other industry leaders to step up and form another attempt at a real Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.
It caused a member of the Sturgis Hall of Fame, a freedom fighter, a motorcycle legislative leader and a member of the Hamsters, Bob Illingworth approached the city and he said, “This city and the rally have must have a museum.” The hall of fame already underway with breakfasts at the Fort Meade VA facility offered active, devoted talent who wanted to help. By now, the rally grew exponentially from 20,000 attendees in the ‘70s to well over 300,000 every year since the 50th anniversary in 1990.
Bob, Sturgis, the rally and the industry deserved a museum and several entities came forward including Woody from the Buffalo Chip, the longest running board member. Pepper Massey the popular executive director of the former museum and her dog Willoughby met with Bob and Robin (the secretary/bookkeeper). The four of them joined forces with the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club, local students and members of the Sturgis community. They gathered on March 10th, 2001 to scrape, sand, and paint a very old church building next to the Pyramid Bar on Main Street. The entire crew pitched in 25 bucks apiece. Gene and Nancy Flagler, owners of the bar, determined the rent should be a whopping $1.00 a month, helping to make the Museum’s first and most critical year a tad easier to manage financially.
The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame opened its doors to the public on June 1, 2001. Local and national collectors loaned the new Museum a variety of rare vintage motorcycles, colorful V-twins and rally memorabilia, offering visitors a glimpse into the magnificent world of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Community craftsmen used scraps from construction jobs to cobble together wooden displays. It wasn’t much, but the Pyramid Bar loved the traffic the museum drew into the saloon.
After only a year in business, the City of Sturgis so impressed with the museum’s progress offered the old Post Office on the corner of legendary Main Street & Junction Avenue after they built a new facility on Lazelle. “I use to pick up my P.O. Box mail in the brick building constructed in 1937,” said Woody. Everyone wants a Sturgis, SD address. What could be cooler?
With financial support from the State of South Dakota, the Hamster organization, made up of custom bike builders and motorcycle business owners, and many others, the museum was able to open the doors at its present location in 2002 with only a small 4,000 square feet of space. Once more the motorcycle community including the AMCA volunteered bikes and memorabilia. Hell, little Robin, the bookkeeper and owner of the gift shop, Black Hills Rally & Gold in town, helped paint the interior of the building. Everyone pitched in.
The Museum continued to grow, opening the basement level in August 2003. With several exhibit rooms and an increasingly impressive selection of unique motorcycles, the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum offered a world class experience for visitors and was listed as one of the 10,000 Top Places to See Before You Die in a book by author Patricia Schultz.
Expanded in 2020 the main level grew to 6,000 square feet, for a total of 10,000 square feet, the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame became home to an eclectic array of over 80 historic, custom and race motorcycles dating back to 1905. A magnificent display of local motorcycle art blossomed and added color and culture to the interior.
“The gift shop offers a wide variety of items ranging from motorcycle patches to fine jewelry and motorcycle history books,” said Heidi Haro, the museum’s new executive director. “We’re open year-round, seven days a week. Summer months are the busiest as people flock to the celebrated motorcycle mecca, culminating in August during the renowned Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.”
But the 17-member active board of directors, including a handful of Hamsters, aren’t sitting on idling bobbers drinking beers. They are devoted to expanding the museum and potentially growing the footprint on that very historic corner from 10,000 square feet to 70,000 square feet with four stories of world-class exhibits, meeting rooms and office space overlooking historic Main Street with balconies and perhaps a skywalk across Junction. Hang on for the future and donate and or support if you can. It’s a non-profit run organization with mostly volunteers.
A pilgrimage to Sturgis isn’t complete without a visit to the iconic Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. This institution stands as a testament to the rich history of motorcycling, honoring those who have shaped the sport and lifestyle while paying homage to the heritage of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Don’t miss it!
–Bandit
The Bastard in the Black Hills
Help us Honor the ride and build the legacy.
Nominations for induction into the Hall of Fame are accepted year-round, with the process streamlined through the museum’s website. Whether you’re a seasoned rider, a history enthusiast, or simply curious, a visit to Sturgis Motorcycle Museum at 999 Main Street, Sturgis, SD 57785, promises an enriching, inspiring experience.
–K. Randall Ball
A Quick Reminder to Potential Donors: The Museum is classified as a 501-C3 Charity
Thank you for any consideration!
