



Michael Lichter
Spirit of the Rally Exhibit
Michael Lichter isn’t sure exactly why he bought a stripped-down Harley-Davidson Shovelhead in 1977, but he does know that this purchase changed his life. With a camera around his neck, he set out on several cross-country road trips and, by 1980, was photographing events and custom bikes for Easyriders Magazine. Motorcycle assignments have since resulted in more than 1,200 published features, including motorcycle events in Europe, Nepal, Siberia, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and across the USA. Additionally, he has photographed countless custom bikes in his Boulder, Colorado studio.
Adding up the 43 years covering Sturgis, he has spent well over a year in the “City of Riders” (and can say the same for Daytona). The variety of assignments has made it possible for Michael to chronicle the biker lifestyle for more than four decades and to develop a commercial photography business around the motorcycle industry that has resulted in many calendars, 11 coffee table books, and a series of limited edition prints that he exhibits. The vintage images of Sturgis hanging here are part of that collection.
In his spare time, Michael produced a globally recognized themed Motorcycles as Art exhibition from 2001-2022 that started at the Journey Museum in Rapid City and continued at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, where he produced the show for fourteen years in the 7,000' purpose-built gallery. More recently, in addition to his work appearing in print magazines around the world, he continues to travel and create long-form features for Dennis Kirk which they publish twice monthly as “Lichter Notes” in their online blog.
For more information on having your bike photographed or how to purchase prints, contact Michael directly at mike@lichterphoto.com or text 303-517-1726.
Made possible by the generosity of Keith Ball & BikerNet.com
Exhibit Information
1. Puppy and Bear Butte
Sturgis, SD
1994
2. Early Morning
City Park, Sturgis, SD
1979
3. Lori Dalton Off the Line
Sturgis, SD
1988
4. Commotion at Gunners
Sturgis, SD
1990
5. Jackpine Gypsies' Hillclimb
Sturgis, SD
1979
6. Lightning Strikes
Kid Rock plays Buffalo Chip
Sturgis, SD
2013
7. Skin & Bones
Tattoo Inspired Motorcycles & Art
Sturgis, SD
2016
8. Harley's at the TT Races
Sturgis, SD
1994
9. Downtown at Ignalls
Sturgis, SD
1984
10. Up In Flames
Sturgis, SD
1982
Puppy exuded the spirit of biking as he rode his Flathead past Bear Butte. Another rider captured the essence when she looked at this image and said, “Feel the Freedom.”
This was Mike’s first morning in Sturgis. The night before they drag raced down the narrow pavement between the tents, campfires everywhere, wildness until all hours of the morning and a dreamlike recollection of police cars with lights flashing. screaming through the park in the middle of the night. He came across this biker wrapped in a moving blanket as it started to get light out.
Lori sat so nimbly on her 500-pound Harley-Davidson, feet barely touching the ground, eyes peering ahead, awaiting the green light. At the crack of her wrist, she lifted the front end off the ground and drove the power to the back tire, twisting and contorting it as it gripped the asphalt and propelled her down the strip.
Motorcycle Clubs ride into Sturgis from all over the country. In most cases, they find their own turf somewhere in the Black Hills and have a blast. But like the old west, when the wrong group bumps into an angry clan in Gunners Saloon in downtown Sturgis, all hell breaks loose. That year, it did
The hillclimb kicked off in 1936 and only shut down from ’42-’44, during the War. The Jackpine Gypsies ran Sturgis Rally Racing. Still going strong, the Club managed over ten events in 2024.
Weather has always been a major player during the rally. Kid Rock stepped onto the slippery stage while it poured, hailed, and the concert never stopped for 50,000 Chip attendees.
Michael produced these elevated art and motorcycle exhibitions for 22 years, starting at the Journey Museum in 2001 ultimately moving to a 6,000 square-foot, purpose-built gallery at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip in 2009, continuing through 2022.
Information Coming Soon
This year marked a major cultural alteration for bikers and generated tens of thousands of new enthusiasts. It was the first year of the Evo Harley-Davidson model and the last year of Old School Harley models.
What we came up with was always fun and usually harmless, although the City of Sturgis believed the opposite. We thought they would try anything to shut City Park down, but in the end, it was just their lack of maintenance. When the toilets were totally neglected, the bikers did what bikers do best; they took matters into their own hands and simply burned them down. And that was that. The city had what it needed, the perfect excuse to end City Park access permanently.
