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Limited Editions

339 images Created 4 Aug 2020

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  • After the Storm - Riding to the Drags in Belle Fourche, SD. 1980<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1980 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: In 1979, there was flat track racing and hill climbs, but there was no drag strip in Sturgis.  If you wanted to see Pete Hill drag race his Knuckle, you had to ride to Belle Fourche.  It was questionable whether they would be racing on this day as the group of bikers mostly from Boulder left Sturgis’ City Park campground.  Half way to the track, the skies began to clear.  A rainbow appeared just as the sun made the wet pavement and prairie grasses glow.  Free spirits crossed the “Great West”.
    1001 After The Storm.jpg
  • The Line Up. Sturgis, SD. 1993<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1993 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: I’ve always loved the compressed look that a long lens gives to a line of bikes. Their wonderful paint and convoluted chrome reflections reflecting each other.  The bikes are like raw materials waiting to be abstracted into color, shape and form.
    1002 The Lineup.jpg
  • Just Married, Sturgis. SD. 1994<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1994 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: I was just an innocent bystander as this wedding procession rode down Main Street.  Is there a side of everyone that wishes they were as unconventional as this couple appears to be?
    1003 Just Married.jpg
  • Flashing. Main Street, Sturgis, SD. 1993<br />
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Limited Edition Print. Photo ©1993 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: Main Street at night takes on a surreal quality. The constant roar of pipes becomes an auditory backdrop to a near visual overload. The street becomes like theatre only you are on the stage and the play is all around you.
    1004 Flashing.jpg
  • Puppy and Bear Butte, Sturgis, SD. 1994<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1994 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: I have photographed quite a few bikers surfing like this, but on this occasion and in this frame, Puppy exuded the spirit of what biking is all about as he rides his Flathead past Bear Butte. A friend of mine captured that spirit when she looked at this image and said, “Feel the Freedom”.
    1005 Puppy & Bear Butte.jpg
  • iTouch the Wall. Washington DC., Memorial Day, 1995<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1995 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: Spirits run high in the Pentagon parking lot on Memorial Day. Tens of thousands of motorcycles parade through the streets of DC, spectators cheering the entire way. By the time we arrived at the wall, the mood, magnified by the rain, had become somber. You could see it in the way people walked, the way they talked, in their faces and in their every gesture.
    1006 Touch the Wall.jpg
  • Parking Lot Burnout, Beulah, WY. 1999r<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: When that sun drops below the horizon, the temperature cools to near perfect and everyone moves with more life.  This "magic hour" has always been my favorite time to photograph people. They light up and the energy begins to sizzle.  Anything can happen.
    1007 Parking Lot Burnout.jpg
  • Early Morning. City Park, Sturgis, SD. 1979<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1979 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: I arrived in Sturgis for my first bike week too late to see the lay of the land but just in time for the all night party that happened every night in City Park.  This then was my first morning in Sturgis.  I woke up not having slept much and assessed the damages, both internally and externally.  What sort of toll did the party take?  There was drag racing down the narrow pavement between the tents, there were campfires, 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.
    1008 Early Morning.jpg
  • Born To Be Wild. Sturgis, SD. 1992<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1992 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: Some people were born to be wild.  While I don’t know Jimmy very well, I’ve seen him ride for many years and he’s the best.  It doesn’t take much for him to get out in front of the bar, one on one, to see who’s fastest in Beulah, WY.  Or anywhere else.  He is one with the bike when he is out there.  This is one of the few shots I have of him where he’s not out grudge racing yet it is all Jimmy.
    1009 Born to be Wild.jpg
  • End of an Era, City Park Drags. Sturgis, SD. 1981<br />
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Limited Edition Print. Photo ©1993 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: City Park was the place to be.  There were few options so Sturgis was kind enough to turn the park over to bikers with a laissez faire attitude, so long as what was done in the park stayed in the park and nobody got hurt.  We were all there just to ride and have fun but by today’s standards, it got a little out of hand.  There was a lot of drinking and drugs.  Women would climb up on top of a camping bus and in no time, a huge cheering crowd was there to watch the graphic displays.  Late at night, spontaneous drag racing would erupt in the narrow lane-ways between the tents and there was the occasional crackle of gunfire.  The townspeople said they hated what went on although enough of them parked on the main road and watched from a distance.  Somehow, the police never came into the park, at least they weren’t supposed to.  It was like a safe haven.  We knew that if you made it past the gate, we were safe.  <br />
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It didn’t take much to shut down the park.  When campers, upset that the portable toilets weren't being taken care of decided to torch them, that was it.  The next year, the park was closed to camping.
    1010 End of Era.jpg
  • Flames - Parked at the Oasis. Sturgis, SD. 1993<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1993 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: For years, Rat and his buddies parked their flamed choppers seemed to have reserved parking in front of the Oasis Bar. If Rat wasn’t sitting watching the crowds right out front, you knew you could find him inside.
    1011 Flames.jpg
  • Home on the Range. Sturgis, SD. 1988<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1988 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: A bike, a tent, and the open plains.  You and the elements.  Motorcycling teases us with the freedom to be on the road, stop when and where you want to, and slow down and experience the world first hand.  Janice Joplin comes to mind; "Freedom's just another name when you've got nothing left to lose".
    1012 Home on the Range.jpg
  • Lori Dalton Off the Line. Sturgis, SD. 1988<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1988 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: I was impressed.  There was something about the way Lori sat so nimbly on her 500 pound Harley-Davidson, feet barely touching the ground with eyes peering ahead awaiting the green light.  With 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 to propel her down the strip.
    1013 Off the Line.jpg
  • Storm Rider. North of Sturgis, SD. 1993<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1993 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: The torrential downpour burst in the middle of a concert at a ranch in the hills just north of Sturgis.  Most people stayed put, but some went for it.  The rain turned to hail and and it hurt.  People laugh as they recall being caught like this and the feeling that goes with it.  Like getting punched in the face and wet going right to your core.  It’s anything but funny when you’re in it.
    1014 Storm Rider.jpg
  • The Kiss. Deadwood, SD. 1993<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1993 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: There is nothing like taking a ride with your love.  No other public moment, even dancing, puts a man and woman so close. The wind in your face and exposed to the elements, hard pavement just below. The bond tightens.
    1015 The Kiss.jpg
  • Al Klein, Pres. Antelope Valley Sundowners. CA. 1995<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1995 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: Al Klein was president of the Antelope Valley Chapter of the Sundowners Motorcycle Club when I photographed him in his Acton, CA. motorcycle shop.  He may still be the club president but I don't think he still has the shop.  I tried to contact him to send him a print but had no luck; the number has been disconnected and there is no record of the shop.  For a variety of reasons, bikers tend to not leave trails behind them as they move on to a new job or home.  Perhaps, this is why at runs like Sturgis, there is so much excitement on the street as friends greet friends.  It is the one place they know they can find each other.
    1016 Al Klein.jpg
  • Evan’s Chopper. Humboldt, IA. 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.
    1017 Evan's Bike.jpg
  • Evan. Humboldt, IA, 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.
    1018 Evan in Iowa.jpg
  • Crud, Gary and Their Mom, Mary. Clarinda, IA, 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: Clarinda, Iowa is only a few hours from Humboldt so after the Freedom Rally, I stopped to visit Crud and his family.  They were all there when I arrived; his mom Mary, brother Gary (still in uniform from his job at the jail,) kids, in-laws and grandchildren.  We went out back under the large shade tree where it was cooler. Mary surrounded by her two sons, the 1%er and the jailer - She couldn’t be more proud.
    1019 Crud, Gary & Mary.jpg
  • Sloopy, Diablos MC. San Bernadino, CA. 1995<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1995 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: An alternate lifestyle swept Sloopy into a legendary club of outlaws. Although, his lifestyle was raucous, violent, drug ridden and outside the law, he had his father's stability. During the most notorious days of his outlaw youth he worked a steady job for 12 years. Despite the drugs, the dealing, and the death of his father, he remained a stalwart member of his ever changing club for 32 years, only leaving for two years during the mid eighties. "They weren't listening or paying attention to the writing on the wall", Sloopy explained. Family ultimately saved him from the fate of many outlaw motorcyclists. His girl friend of 20 years and now his wife for half a decade, Rose, reined him in from the world of constant drug use before he self-destructed.
    1020 Sloopy.jpg
  • Donna. Clarinda, IA. 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.<br />
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I’ve known Donna for a few years now and can say that she is a strong and independent woman that knows her self worth.  She has a great job, earns a good living, is a single mom to her 13 year old Chastity and loves to ride her Buell M2 Cyclone road racer.  She also loves Crud and sometimes calls herself “Mrs Crud”.  She has no problem wearing a SOS “Property of Crud" belt buckle or riding behind him if an occasion calls for it.  As Donna told me, it may take a couple of years but they respect a good woman.
    1021 Donna.jpg
  • Drag Race Finals. Sturgis, SD. 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: The drags seem to be different than all other types of motorcycle racing.  For one thing, people that say they have no interest in motorcycle racing seem to love going to the drags.  Even the bike clubs participate.  It’s their chance to put their skill, and machines, on the line against other clubs.
    1022 Drag Race Finals.jpg
  • Bear Butte from Glencoe. Sturgis, SD. 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter<br />
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The Story: Glencoe appeared as a campground after City Park closed in the early 1980’s.  It has grown into the largest campground during bike week.  In fact, it is probably comparable to the larger towns in South Dakota for those few days a year.  The people that stay at Glencoe seem to go back year after year.  It has a great feel to it that lets you know you are in the west, probably because of the openness.  I also love that it has a “motorcycles only” camping area.
    1023 Morning, Glencoe.jpg
  • Harley Back Piece. Humboldt, IA. 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: Its unique - the Harley logo tattooed on arms, backs, tops of heads, and sensitive areas that don’t see the light of day. It's displayed like a badge of honor and seen as an exclusive club membership. There's a loyalty and pride of ownership that has brand managers at other companies green with envy.
    1024 Harley Back Piece.jpg
  • Heading South on Highway 85. Black Hills, SD. 1999<br />
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Limited Edition Print from an edition of 50. Photo ©1999 Michael Lichter.<br />
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The Story: Sunday morning, heading through the hills for the last ride of the week.  It's brisk out as you climb, the cool morning air energizing.  South of Deadwood, the road opens up into sweeping curves and you rock back and forth, accelerating out of each turn.  Moving forward, you know where you are going, but at the same time, you are lost in the wonderful journey.
    1025 Heading South on Hwy 85.jpg
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