STURGIS – with 10 days before the start of the Sturgismotorcycle rally, Jay Allen drove his 1939 Chevrolet sedan aroundthe Broken Spoke Campground and realized there was still a lot ofwork to do.

But he smiled as he drove; not just at what is there, but atwhat he hopes will be part of his campground off Highway 79.

“When I started, people said, ‘It’s too far out, no one willcome,’” Allen said. “Last year, when this was full of paint andchrome, I didn’t expect that.”

Allen bought the Broken Spoke Saloon in downtown Sturgis in 1992and expanded it into a brand with locations in Daytona, Fla., andLaconia, N.H., in addition to the campground and downtown Sturgislocation.

“I’m a biker who got into the bar business,” Allen said.

Allen considers himself a historian and hopes the campground andsaloon serve as bridges from the past to the present.

“The motorcycle brought us to Sturgis,” he said. “That’s why theBroken Spoke is a museum, not just a bar.”

The saloon at the campground is filled with old Harley-Davidsonsand Indians, as well as bikes and signs from past events. A 1976Kenworthy will pull a roving bar throughout the campground duringthe rally.

“I’ve been wanting to do this (the mobile bar) for four yearsand here it is,” Allen said.

The campground saloon includes a throwback to how the downtownsaloon was in the 1980s.

“When you say Broken Spoke, people say, ‘Is that the one youdrive through?’” he said.

Allen said riders are directed to a side road that takes themthrough the bar before reaching the parking lot and the rest of thecampground.

Allen is expanding his vision toward the future while keeping itrooted in the past. The main hill climb route is named for hisfriend Johnny “Chop” Vasko, a custom bike builder who died in 2006.He calls a hill behind a pond “Schoolhouse Hill” because he wantsto put an 1800s-style schoolhouse there.

“I want to give the locals some eye candy,” Allen said.

The improvements have not been without controversy. Allen gaveup some ownership of the 600-acre property in 2008 after a battlewith the Meade County Commission over a liquor license. Theproximity of the campground to Bear Butte, which is a holy site forNative Americans, has also been a contentious issue for Allen.

Allen also faces competition from other venues such as theBuffalo Chip and full Throttle Saloon.

“There’s so much great music and great things going on, I wantthe riders to know about them,” Allen said.

Allen has put together an event schedule that includes an artgallery, hill climbs, flat-track races, bike builds and mastertattooing by Gil Montie of Tattoo Mania.

“Any tattoo collector will want to get a tattoo from Gil,” Allensaid.

Allen said he’s also looking forward to seeing the KentuckyHeadhunters play at the campground and the saloon downtown. He isexcited about the art gallery, which features motorcycle artistDavid Uhl.

“I’m a groupie to this man,” Allen said. “I wish I could affordsome of his work.”

Inside the bar, Allen has set up a hookah bar and alingerie/martini bar.

“I almost thought this was too decadent,” Allen said. “But whenyou see all those tattoos and people smiling, it’s worth it.”

Owner wants Broken Spoke to be a link to past