STURGIS - What is thought to be the first sale of a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the Sturgis city limits happened on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Sturgis Harley-Davidson.

Tim Sutherland, sales manager at Sturgis Harley-Davidson, 1040 Junction Ave., said from researching the subject he found that used Harley-Davidsons have been sold in Sturgis, but to his knowledge, this is the first new bike to be sold by a Harley-Davidson dealership in Sturgis. 

Sutherland has had motorcycle dealerships in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Charlotte, N.C., and a couple in the Minneapolis, Minn. area. 

“I sold my stuff about a year ago, so I was, I guess, sort of retired and they knew that and they gave me a call to see if I would be interested in coming and being the first person to ever sell a new motorcycle in Sturgis,” he said. "To be the person to sell the very first new Harley in the city of Sturgis was just such a great honor and it brought me out here from South Carolina, from the warmth."

Up until now, Black Hills Harley-Davidson’s Sturgis location sold apparel and accessories, but no motorcycles in Sturgis. 

"Bikes will, during the majority of the year, be inside the building here on the Junction,” Sutherland said. “We are in the process of purchasing some additional ground around this location for a future expansion... We will be growing this with a complete full sales and service department."

Sturgis Harley-Davidson hopes to have 30 to 40 bikes in the store year-around and have double that and more available during the Rally in August. 

Dan Ostermann is the lucky buyer of the first new bike to be sold in Sturgis - a Harley-Davidson CVO Pan American. The Pan America is a high-end model in Harley-Davidson's lineup, specifically designed for adventure touring.

He and Sutherland have been friends for some time and Ostermann jumped at the chance to buy the first bike.

“How exciting. This is an historic event,” Ostermann said.

Sutherland said people want to buy bikes in Sturgis.

“It’s the mecca of motorcycling throughout the world,” he said. "There's a lot of motorcycles sold in the city limits during the Rally, and I guess we just sort of felt like there was a market based on the kind of numbers that were being turned in here during Rally. We needed to be here."

Sutherland has been coming to the Rally for nearly 20 years and recently purchased a house here. 

"Even though I am new to living out here, I'm not new to calling Sturgis home,” he said. 

Sturgis Harley-Davidson is owned by Sonic Power Sports, a division of Sonic Automotive. It was acquired on Feb. 15, 2023.