The history of BikeWeek can be traced back to The Federation of American Motorcyclists which was officially formed during a meeting of 93 enthusiasts of the New York Motorcycle Club in 1903.
The purpose of the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) was to "encourage the use of motorcycles and to promote the general interests of motorcycling; to ascertain, defend and protect the rights of motorcyclists; to facilitate touring; to assist in the good roads movement; and to advise and assist in the regulation of motorcycle racing and other competition in which motorcycles engage."
For motorcyclists, the big events of the year were the national convention and championship races, and the Gypsy Tours.
Laconia is often referred to as the Oldest National Motorcycle Rally, a claim based on a large gathering of motorcyclists at the Weirs, lasting several days in the summer of 1916. This annual gathering became part of the of the FMA “Gypsy Tour",
In late 1912, two riders and six spectators were killed in a crash on the "Board Track" of the Newark Motordrome. The negative publicity caused by the accident resulted in many FAM members wanting that form of racing banned. At the 1913 convention in Denver, FMA decided to no longer hold its championship races on" Board Tracks."
By 1915 the membership of the FAM had grown to 8,247 members. Due to the draft and other material demands of World War I, the organization went out of business in 1919.
In 1906 the World Land Speed Record was set by the Stanly Steamer. The warm winter days and the hard packed sand on Daytona and Ormand beach made the area perfect for both automobile and motorcycle racing.
The first running of the Daytona 200 or the "Handlebar Derrby occured on January 24, 1937, drawing 120 entries. The Daytona 200 went on to become the single most important motorcycle race in America and Daytona has attracted motorcyclists ever since.
In 1937, a motorcycle dealer named "Pappy" Hoel, founded the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club. One of the club’s first functions was to host a Gypsy Tour through the scenic Black Hills of South Dakota. "The Black Hills Motor Classic" kicked off in the summer of 1938. The rally proved to be so popular that it quadrupled in size the next year. The 1939 rally hosted 800 riders.
By the 1980s, the Sturgis rally had grown so large the Jackpiners could no longer run the event. It was turned over to the city and later to other commercial groups. When Hoel died in 1989, at the age of 84, Sturgis was drawing close to 100,000 rally goers.
