It would’ve been hard to predict what the Sturgis Buffalo Chip® would be like today had you asked the first bikers who rolled through the gates in 1982. Back then the original By Bikers, For Bikers® event looked a bit more like a three-day keg party in a pasture, with a handful of bands and a few hundred friends.
The early days of the Best Party Anywhere® may have been small by today’s standards, but those who attended knew they had stumbled upon something special.
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Ever wonder how the whole biker lifestyle got its start? Well, it began with servicemen returning from World War II who bonded together over the love of motorcycles. You see, by 1934 out of nearly 300 American motorcycle companies that were created from around 1900, only two remained in business, Harley-Davidson and Indian. At the depth of the Great Depression, Harley-Davidson pulled out all the stops to stay alive. Luckily, they continued to sell motorcycles to the police departments across the country.
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The old saying that “you don’t get to pick your family” is a bunch of B.S. Just ask Zach Lenning of Angry 1 Garage. This custom motorcycle builder from Tea, SD has an intense passion for family, both for blood relatives and for the chosen family he has found at his home away from home––the Sturgis Buffalo Chip. This passion led Zach to build two custom tribute motorcycles for the Chip in the last two years, as well as a host of custom Strider bikes, all without being asked.
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It’s hard to imagine biker lifestyle today without Easyriders. Since the early ’70s, the magazine has been a mirror for motorcycle culture, featuring righteous rides and rowdy rallies. Of course, it would be impossible to forget that all the issues came locked and loaded with some of the most head-turning cover photos of models and bikes you could imagine. Yes, lots of cool bikes and even 2 HOF exotic film stars, Traci Lords and Jenna Jameson.
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It all started with a keg party in the pasture. That is how Rod “Woody” Woodruff, President of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, describes the first gathering back in August 1982 when the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground was nothing more than three stands of barbed wire and some cows.
“In high school, I used to like to throw keg parties out in the middle of nowhere, so, later in life, when bikers were being kicked out of Sturgis, I found a field to lease and decided to give them a place to go where they felt welcome,” said Woodruff. “In my mind, I was just throwing another keg party and not much more thought than that went into it.”
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There is a consistent and enduring fascination with the roots of motorcycling. Vintage bikes and replications of classic styles are a driving force in the industry today. It’s funny, but often a rusted-out old chopper will draw a larger crowd of onlookers than a modern, futuristic-looking build. Is it nostalgia? Is it old-school charm? The only thing for certain is that throwback culture is alive and well in 2021
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On Aug. 13, 1982, a group of fun-loving bikers rode into an 80-acre field just east of Sturgis, SD for the very first time. After attending the Sturgis Rally for decades, bikers had been cast off by the city as riff-raff. So, these wandering spirits rode onward in search of a place they could call home—somewhere they could experience music, freedom and camaraderie with no hassles.
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If you’ve been to the party at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, you know to expect the unexpected. As a party built By Bikers, For Bikers™, the Best Party Anywhere® has practically seen it all during its nearly 40-year run—surprise celebrity appearances, legendary South Dakota storms, and death-defying stunts, not to mention some serious blunders. So for better or for worse, here’s a look back at eight of the most shocking moments in Buffalo Chip History.
If you’ve camped at the Buffalo Chip or attended one of the concerts or events in its legendary amphitheater during the Sturgis Rally, you probably know about the two motorcycle “sculptures” on poles in Vice Park just before the gate at the Kinison Stage. But what you probably didn’t know is that one of them is actually a mausoleum. Here’s the story…
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Over the decades, custom motorcycling has seen good times and bad. Motorcycle builders have been on the top of the heap and relegated to the back alley. But for the faithful, those ingrained wrenches and riders who long ago claimed biking as their life’s work, custom motorcycles are as sublime and necessary as ever.
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