History Of The Hamsters M/C

The '70s were a great time for comedy. Between Saturday Night Live, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Robin Williams, humor had a firm hold on mainstream America's eye. But in 1978, Susan Perewitz and Jim Leahy made a joke that was a comedian's Holy Grail-a bit of humor that grew and evolved far beyond itself into an institution that continues to this day. It's generally not a household name to non-riders, but motorcycle enthusiasts know it as The Hamsters.

Go to the Sturgis rally for the past few decades and almost every night you can find a Hamster's event somewhere. They started out as six custom bike enthusiasts over 30 years ago and have grown into right around 300 dedicated members, from a myriad of backgrounds, from folks who barely scrape together the dues to multi-millionaires. There's even a Hamster astronaut! Membership isn't just in the USA, either. They've got people in Turkey, Cyprus, Australia, Germany, and Italy. Ask most of them what they like most about being a Hamster and chances are they'll sum it up in one word: camaraderie. Their spirit of togetherness isn't confined to just their group, either. Over the last 10 or 15 years, the Hamsters have been involved with various charities, but most notably Children's Care in South Dakota. Still, what has become an altruistic riding institution started off as a simple joke.

Susan and Jim hatched their gag during Daytona Bike Week in 1978. Aside from ugly weather on the ride down from the northeast, it was Bike Week as usual: beer, good times, and motorcycles. Susan and Dave Perewitz were staying at the Mystic Sea Motel on North Atlantic Avenue, but they weren't they only custom bike folk in residence. Barry Cooney, Donnie Smith, Arlen Ness, Steve Allington, and Ed Kerr were kicking back at the Mystic too. After a long day at the drag races, Susan and Jim retired to their respective rooms for some nap time. While they were asleep, the rest of their friends rode out. That didn't exactly sit well with them and in their idleness they turned to beer. A couple of brews later, Jim referred to their compadres as "a bunch of hamsters." He then proceeded to draw a hamster on a paper plate with "Hamsters MC" written above the cartoon rodent. Jim and Susan thought it belonged on the door to one of the offender's hotel rooms but couldn't decide which one, so they grabbed a stack of paper plates, made more signs, and put them up on all of their buddies' room doors. Right before the plates went on display, Jim took the extra time to personalize a few of them. Arlen was the West Coast chapter president, Dave Perewitz the East Coast president, Donnie Smith the Midwest president, and Barry Cooney the Northwest chapter president.