As Baby Boomers grow older, can the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally appeal to younger generations?

Brunsell chuckled at the quip. While she had a substantial amount of 20- and 30-something guests this year, Brunsell said the majority of their customers were mid-40s and older. In 2024, over 55% of the rally attendees were at least 45 years old, according to data provided by the City of Sturgis.

Such statistics have forced city members, Sturgis Buffalo Chip organizers and marketers to continue to bolster their efforts to make the world's largest motorcycle rally — which saw 537,459 vehicles enter the area in 2025, according to the South Dakota Department of Transportation — appeal to younger generations. 

Whether they can or can't may decide if Sturgis, a city of 7,000 people tucked inside postcard-worthy views of the Black Hills, can maintain a core piece of its economy and identity. 

"If you continue to cater to the same group of people over and over, eventually those people die out," said Mary Panerio, a marketing director and showcase stage director at Sturgis Buffalo Chip. "We have to continue to try to reach younger people."

At the Buffalo Chip, two of those solutions were adding on to Bikini Beach — a place where a pond is surrounded by thumping music, a rope swing, bar and a massive Twisted Tea-sponsored slip and slide — and Camp Zero — where attendees can participate in a Cheech and Chong Burnout competition, ride mini bikes through tunnels and do donuts. 

"I participated in the mini bike race. That was a blast. I got burns on my legs from the exhaust," said Alexander Roach, 29, who rode in from Denver. "I'm all cut up, but it was fun."

Economic impact

Local businesses often feel a sense of relief when Millennials and Gen Zers like Roach roll into town and purchase food, alcohol and gas. They see it as a sense of hope that the Rally and the "Sturgis Bump" aren't going anywhere: A Texas A&M study of the Rally in 2022 estimated, "the combined spending in the Sturgis area and rest of the state was $643.2 million."

Brunsell estimates "30-45%" of the hotel's yearly revenue comes from the Rally. Roger Burnham, who manages the Sturgis Municipal Airport, didn't have an exact number of increased revenue, but said his fuel sales, which allow the airport to operate, peak during Sturgis. "Heavy Eddie" Kastrul, owner of Midwest Motorcycle Sales, said there are down years, but this year he estimates 40% of the yearly revenue will come from the Rally.

"We work three solid weeks from six in the morning 'til about midnight," said Kastrul, who went on to sarcastically compare the workload to the reality show "Deadliest Catch." 

"The guys go out on a ship for a month … they make $300,000. But three guys almost died, four guys got divorced and one guy's an alcoholic," he quipped.

Rod Bradley, who co-owns Oasis — a bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Sturgis — with his wife, said 28% of the bar's overall revenue in 2024 came from the Rally. The number was 51% in 2015, back when Oasis only served alcohol. 

Some residents despise the Rally, primarily because of the increase in noise pollution, traffic jams, crime and car accidents. But city planners and business owners often point to the blend of positives it creates: job opportunities for locals, capital for the city to invest in public works projects, and money for companies to reinvest in themselves or other projects. 

Bradley said the "Sturgis Bump" played a significant role in allowing him to turn a JCPenney across the street from Oasis into the old-fashioned "Hotel Sturgis" in recent years. The hotel has a constantly bustling coffee shop, too.  

"There is some definite (community) pride to a place like the Oasis year-round," Bradley said.

But bottom lines and economic opportunities may not be the only things at stake — how Sturgis sees itself is, too. 

The town prides itself on welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, who travel from as far away as Canada, Europe, Asia, and even Africa.

"It's in the DNA of this town that they're the Rally host," said Deb Holland,  director of communications for the city of Sturgis, who spent years covering the rally as a local journalist.

Savannah Rose, 39, who co-curated the Motorcycles as Art exhibit at the Buffalo Chip this year and has attended the Rally for the last decade, said there are a multitude of reasons younger generations are riding less and don't represent a bulk of the rally's population. The biggest obstacle, though, she said, is money.  

Motorcycles can run anywhere from $10,000 to $80,000. A ticket for the Buffalo Chip is $450. And then comes the price of fuel, lodging, food and alcohol, among other purchases.  

According to a 2024 survey from Bank of America, "Over a third (38%) of Gen Z is comfortable declining social activities and being transparent that it is because they cannot afford to attend. Over half (63%) of Gen Z said they do not feel pressured by their friends to spend beyond their means."

Though it has calmed down, another obstacle, Rose said, is the political climate and the rally's "sexual undertones." Throughout the 2025 rally, one lawn in downtown Sturgis hung a sign that said "show us your boobs – we drink." 

"I think that's also kind of a detractor to the younger crowd, especially the women," said Rose, who noted female ridership has heavily increased. "We don't want somebody screaming, 'Take your shirt off' constantly." 

From Kastrul's perspective, he said screen addiction is a key factor, too. 

"The younger generation is more interested in staring at their phone. I mean, they're really born with a phone in their hand, and it never leaves their hand," Kastrul said. "The younger generation doesn't really seem to be as mechanically interested. They're more interested in being gamers and stuff like that."

For Rose and Daymon Woodruff, the new president of Buffalo Chip, the surge of technology, and feelings of loneliness among younger generations, point to why the Rally is essential. 

"People will tell you they have more friends here than they do back home," Woodruff said. "People have been asked to have their ashes spread here. They've had memorials. They've gotten married."  

Appealing to all audiences

But this has left Woodruff and event planners with a conundrum: How can they capture the attention of Gen X and younger Millennials while also appealing to older generations who represent a sizable portion of their clientele? 

Vendor-wise, there are the classic, larger bikes from Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles that older generations enjoy. Then there is the Legends Ride and classic bike shows, too.

For the younger generations, there is a steady stream of more affordable options, along with the normalization of buying an inexpensive motorcycle for a couple of thousand and then rebuilding it into something bigger. 

At Buffalo Chip, there's a flock of social media influencers and an onslaught of eye-popping chaos for the 20- and 30-somethings: One daredevil roared his bike through 22 walls of fire — "Went down at the end. Broke finger… I'm good. Maybe 25-30 walls next year," he commented on Instagram; another crashed through a wall of Monster energy drinks and one performer did a headstand on a tight rope, among other events. 

On the entertainment end, Woodruff was among a team that compiled a concert lineup that, he felt, provided performers for a variety of generations. There was Gene Simmons Band and ZZ Top, but then there were Marilyn Manson, Nickelback, Five Finger Death Punch and Jason Aldean, among other acts.

"I was looking around when Jason Aldean was playing," began Padric McCelvey, 29, who rode in from Albuquerque. "And it was a young-ass crowd, like young, in the Chip. There were plenty of 21- to 25-year-old kids running all over the place jamming to Jason Aldean. So I'd say the gap is getting less."

'This is it'

But where Buffalo Chip organizers find solace in the future of the Rally is Camp Zero. 

It was created, in part, by Woodruff in 2017 after younger generations said they felt there wasn't anything at Buffalo Chip that appealed to them. Woodruff marketed it as a judgment-free zone where attendees could set up tents and campers, and bond through organized chaos.  

Terry Madden, a racer and stuntman, was there the first year when Woodruff strapped Roman candles to a mini bike and launched off a ramp over a couple of Woodruff's buddies. While about 10 people were staying there, Madden felt it could grow into something bigger.  

Fast-forward to 2025 and Madden was amazed at what Camp Zero has become. 

Tents, trailers and campers spanned over a football field. There were hundreds of attendees, many of them in their 20s and 30s, according to Ashley Eriksen, a content specialist who played a role in expanding Camp Zero. It had watermelon smashing contests, a bar and a bike contraption show — plus a built-in community. 

"Anyone I meet, I tell them this is it because I do think there's this growing sense among the motorcycle community that they want to go to a rally that has things going on," said Trevor McGuire, a 29-year-old from northern Arkansas. 

A few miles away, on a Saturday night in downtown Sturgis, Chris Liffengren, 38, was serving drinks behind a woodgrain bar at Oasis. 

Liffengren has lived in the Black Hills the majority of his life and has come to love the Rally. He observed how it inspired entrepreneurs who used it to pay their bills, and he found that the majority of bikers were kind and had fascinating lives and backstories.

Leading up to the 2025 rally, though, he was nervous about what it would become. Back in 2023 and 2024, he noticed a decline in the number of people he was carding. 

In those moments, he couldn't help but wonder: What will happen when the 100th Rally rolls around?

"The Rally was built a long time ago, and it was all those old school guys. You know, they're fading out, which I hate. I see fewer and fewer people come back every year," Liffengren said. 

But then, in 2025, he felt a sense of hope when he was constantly having to card patrons. Now, he can only hope they keep coming back. 

"I've never noticed the influx of young people until this year," he said.