Custom Motorcycle Haulers

The rumbling roar of a Harley-Davidson echoes down the street on this otherwise quiet weekday in Sturgis, South Dakota. Seems somehow fitting. After all, mention the name of this small Black Hills town to most motorcyclists and they are well-acquainted with its reputation.

“Sturgis is the biggest motorcycle party around,” said Roger Schieman, board member for the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. “The population of Sturgis is about 7,000, but during the rally we have had as many as 600,000 people come here.”

And to think – it all started in the 1930s with a guy named J.C. “Pappy” Hoel and his Jackpine Gypsies motorcycle club. Back then, Hoel worked in the family business delivering ice to Sturgis, Fort Meade and surrounding areas. When refrigerators became popular in homes and businesses, Hoel found his ice business melting into obsolescence.