The journey continues with Michael Lichter’s motorcycle themed art exhibition at Thunder Road in Sturgis S.D., coinciding with Sturgis Bike Week 2006, a gathering of several hundred thousand bikers in the Black Hills region of South Dakota each August. In the five previous years the exhibition has been held at the Journey Museum in Rapid City; the change of venues to Thunder Road will allow access to more motorcycle enthusiasts.

“School’s Out; Old Skool, New School, All(s)Kool,” will examine the often over-used terms “Old Skool” and “New School” with an art exhibit featuring custom motorcycles, as well as motorcycle themed photography and painting. 24 of the most widely recognized motorcycle builders in the industry will display bikes showcasing their individual approaches and innovative design ideas, which encompass both new and old school styling. The art on the walls will feature four artists closely tied to the motorcycle world. Timothy White will be exhibiting photography from his recent book on Indian Larry, art that reflects on their years of friendship, shared times in New York, and many road trips. Joe Richardson, who has painted many of Billy Lane’s customs, will be debuting a 15’ wide interactive sculpture along with some traditionally striped panels. Robert Pradke, who is known for the “chemical skin art” he has applied to many of Indian Larry’s bikes, will display pinstriping, flames, flakes, and candies applied to everything from metal to organic surfaces. Michael Lichter, who has been documenting the “biker lifestyle” in the pages of Easyriders magazine since the 1970’s will display photographic prints from his archive. Together, the bikes, photography, and painting in “School’s Out” will explore whether “Old Skool” and “New School” are still appropriate terms, or if the world of custom bike building has moved to a point where these styles have blended together, and the new mix is “All Kool”.

Motorcycle builders in the exhibit include, Aaron Greene (Paramount Customs,) Arlen Ness (Arlen Ness Enterprises, CA,) Bill Dodge (Blings Cycles, NJ,) Billy Lane (Choppers Inc., FL,) Brian Klock (Klockworks, SD,) Cory Ness (Arlen Ness Enterprises, CA,) Dave Perewitz (Cycle Fab, MA,) Donnie Smith (Donnie Smith Custom Cycles, MN,) Eddie Trotta (Thunder Cycles, FL,) Hank Young (Young Choppers and Hotrods, GA,) Indian Larry (an original Indian Larry custom, NY,) Indian Larry Legacy (Paul Cox & Keino Sasaki, NY,) Jerry Covington (Covington's Cycle City, OK,) Kendall Johnson (Kendall Johnson Customs, NC,) Kim Suter (K. C. Creations, KS,) Kirk Taylor (Custom Design Studios, CA,) Mark Warrick (Soncy Road Speed & Custom, TX,) Michael Prugh (Independent Cycle Inc., SD,) Paul Yaffe (Paul Yaffe Originals, AZ,) Roland Sands (Roland Sands Design Inc., CA,) Steve Broyles (Stevenson's Cycle, MI,) Twisted Choppers (Jason Kangas & Kai Morrison, SD,) Vince Doll (Redneck Engineering, SC,) and Warren Lane (The Neighborhood King, FL.)

Michael Lichter’s past exhibitions like Kick Start (‘03,) Bob’s Back (’04,) and Speed Demons (’05,) at the Journey Museum, were very successful and covered by many US motorcycle publications including Easyriders, American Iron, V-Twin, Thunder Press, many foreign publications and newspapers. Past exhibits were also featured on television on the Discovery Channel, Speed Channel, OLN, Travel Channel, and local area TV stations. The move to Thunder Road in Sturgis this year is expected to attract even more visitors than in the past.

The “School’s Out” exhibition, which has been made possible by the generous support of Danny Gray Seats, Metzeler Tires and Sturgis Bike Week Productions, will be open to the public on Saturday, August 5th and remain open through Saturday, August 12th from 11 a.m. until midnight. Admission to the Thunderdome will be $10 during the AMD World Championship of Bike Building show August 5-7, $5 during the Rats Hole show August 11th, and FREE August 8-10 and August 12. The public is invited to meet many of the artists and motorcycle builders who will be present on Tuesday, August 8th from 4:00 – 6:00pm.

Metzeler Tires, a “Schools Out” exhibition sponsor, has organized its fourth annual Custom Bike Competition all day Tuesday, August 8th inside the Thunderdome. Custom motorcycles using any of Metzeler’s tires, from standard sizes to their super wide 300, will be welcome to enter. Following the competition an awards presentation will take place at which the best of show winner will be awarded an advertising campaign featuring the winning custom bike builder.

Also taking place at Thunder Road will be Rick Fairless’s Strokers Sturgis, The Biker/Penthouse bike show, the AMD World Championship of Bike Building, Miss Sturgis, The Texas Bikini Team, outside vendors, and more. Thunder Road is a part of the Glencoe Nation and is located directly in front of the Glencoe campground, which will be host to Rock’n The Rally, an event that will have over 20 national music acts including Big and Rich, Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar, The Steve Miller Band, and Nickelback.

Thunder Road is located 3 miles east of Sturgis on Highway 34, and is home to the premier bike builders and vendors During Sturgis Bike Week. Additional information is available at www.thunderroadsturgis.com