Editor’s Note:What appears below is a guest blog post from veteran biker Jeff Maddox, who regularly holds court over at the JMAdog blog.

Winter was a long one – for sure! For those of you who have had to sit and look at your motorcycle from the shop stool in the garage, you may have been taking mental notes of the spring and summer to come: where to go, when to go and who might be coming with you have crossed your mind while patiently waiting to pull the bike back onto the highway. It will be a great summer if you just let it. Be patient, relax when you … Continue Reading

Editor’s Note:What appears below is a guest blog post from veteran biker Jeff Maddox, who regularly holds court over at the JMAdog blog.

Sturgis 2012 – wow, what a trip to make and memories to share! Coming home from this amazing rally, I had time to reflect on exactly the randomness of it all. Heading to Sturgis, as usual, there is excitement and anticipation of a long ride mixed with a few butterflies of what might happen along the way. I love the ride there and back as you meet so many people heading in the same direction and all of us are all going to share our love … Continue Reading

If you’re unfamiliar with the work of Michael Lichter, then welcome to biker land and congrats on the purchase of your first motorcycle. However, if you’re a fan of this famed photographer, then you’ve no doubt seen his amazing photos featured on the cover of practically every biker rag on the planet over the past three decades.

And that doesn’t even take into account his representation on countless Harley-Davidson publications. Why, his creative artistry has even graced the pages of our own “How J&P Changed the American Motorcycle Industry” book.

Along with his photography skills, Michael organizes a reoccurring exhibit at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis every year, featuring … Continue Reading

Earlier this week we told you about our own Patrick Garvin’s involvement in what has become one of the most popular, noisy and smoke-filled events at Sturgis, the Baker Drivetrain Showdown. Patrick, always looking to take things to the extreme, donned a gorilla-suit for the competition.

We intended to give our own write-up of the event, but Bryan Harley, Cruiser Editor for MotorcycleUSA.com summed it up best as he was in the pits at the Easyriders Saloon for the fierce competition Wednesday night.

In what has become one of the most popular, noisy and smoke-filled events at Sturgis, a baker’s dozen of bike builders, celebrities and motorcycle media personalities will compete at dusk tonight at Easyriders Saloon. It goes without saying that each of these riders is hell-bent on walking off with the 2012 smoke-down crown.

And J&P Cycles’ own Patrick Garvin will be among these VIP participants, attempting to run through the gears of his bike and be the first to spark a fifth-gear burnout. This third-annual Baker Drivetrain Showdown at the Sturgis Thunderdome pits riders — two at a time — in a drag-style burnout elimination that will leave one smoke-enveloped … Continue Reading

As you read here on the J&P blog earlier this week, a few of our employees rode directly from our world headquarters in Anamosa, Iowa, to the Black Hills of South Dakota, to take part in the 2011 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Arriving approximately three weeks before the first day of Rally, they played a big part in getting our Sturgis-based operations up and running prior to everyone else’s arrival. Those of us who left a few weeks later took a different route. Traveling west from Iowa, our crew passed through Nebraska and on into Colorado, where some of us spent two nights in Broomfield, Colo., which is located between Denver … Continue Reading

For the past seven years I’ve worked in one capacity or another in Sturgis, and each of those years I’ve thrown a leg over my bike in late July, pointed it west and pinned it for 800 miles. I do the ride in one day, simply because I just don’t have all that much time.

I get there three weeks before the start of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and when I arrive, I’ve got exactly one day to do whatever I want before I get down to work. Other than my short morning blasts through Vanocker Canyon, that’s the last riding I do for the next month. While most of … Continue Reading

There’s going to be this little biker event taking place in the hills of South Dakota next month. There will be a lot of motorcycle riders gathered there in a small town named Sturgis that boasts 6,442 residents when everybody’s tucked in for the night. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Are you serious? Everybody’s heard of Sturgis. And this year marks the 71^st anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally & Races, with two-wheeled fun running from July 30 to Aug. 14.

But what you might not know is that the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building takes place at this motorcycle Mecca (Aug. 6-10), and J&P Cycles is … Continue Reading

You’re going to be seeing the J&P Cycles logo all over town next month as motorcyclists converge on Sturgis to celebrate the 71st annual Sturgis Rally & Races. This tiny South Dakota town is transformed almost overnight into “Motorcycle City USA,” and we’ll be there in full force for the entire event.

J&P will be well represented in town for the first half of August with not one, but two fully stocked stores — and that doesn’t even count our big rig at the corner of 8^th Street and Lazelle in downtown Sturgis.

The main Harley parts and accessories store, located at 1650 Lazelle Street in the downtown … Continue Reading

For as long as we can remember, J&P Cycles and the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building have been joined at the hip, and this year in Sturgis promises to be no different. J&P Cycles is always proud to be an Official Partner of the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, where gifted motorcycle designers from around the world display their unique builds during this, the granddaddy of all motorcycle rallies.

For those who are unfamiliar with the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, the event exists to showcase and promote international custom motorcycle design and engineering quality, craftsmanship and innovation, and to promote the evolution … Continue Reading