Sturgis S. Dakota Rally

I was wondering if anyone is planning on riding to the Sturgis M/C Rally.
I think it starts tomorrow August 1rst for two weeks. This is their 75th anniversary ralley.

DaveR,


If you step outside, you can probably hear the pipes saving lives.


I promised a parking attendant in 2000 I would never return if he would tell me how to get out of there. He did and I haven't. Not everything on your bucket list needs exploring!

Lot's of bikes coming through Scottsbluff! They are expecting more than a million people this year! Wow!

Hi Dave,

Bob and a I are on our way back from the BMW Rally in Bilings, MT last weekend. Rode through Sturgis on the way July 19th. They were gathering then. We have been out two weeks. We are in Bismarck, ND tonight. Took I 94 to avoid the craziness. Will be home Sunday. Almost 5000 miles when we are done. After the rally we went out to western Montana, Idaho Lolo Pass and many other roads. Went into a little bit of Washington and Oregon. Idaho is just beautiful. Great roads. When I get home I will try and post some pictures.

We have seen a lot of Harlies going to Sturgis. Wouldn't be caught there in a million years during rally week. Had almost 6000 at the BMW Rally. That was plenty big for me.

I have attended several times----that was enough-----great gathering of trailer bikers. But I think HD noisemakers like it....all dressed up in their Halloween costumes, talking the talk.....and then trailer their bikes home-----fun to watch them if rains----they hide under bridges, as they carry or have no raingear.

As I have military ID card, found camping at Air Base, ok/clean/quiet/cheap.

Been to the Sturgis rally several times, last in 2013. Camp for $4/night with senior discount at Cottonwood Dam rec area just outside of Hot Springs. Not going this year, going to STO rally in Eureka Springs instead.

I talked to a couple of guys from Indiana on their way to the BMW rally in Billings. Also several Colorado BMW people were at a Gas Station it Wheatland, Wy. the other day on their way to Billings to the BMW rally. I assume it must have been a good one. Was in Lusk, Wy. the other day and there were lots of bikes on their way to Sturges to a "Side Car" rally. It is interesting to talk to the numerous riders doing their thing and having a good time. I can't imagine over a million bikers in Sturgis this week. Have seen it up there when they had 400 thousand and that is quite congested. You would think they would have more problems with the people than what they do. Most of them are professional people just out for a little fun.

Rode by there during the rally on my Goldwing some years ago. They were lined up almost a mile on the freeway getting to the exit. Mob scenes aren't my cup of tea so I kept on keeping on.

I & friends made several trips to the rally 20 30 years ago. I even brought my 750 hill climber there a couple times to compete. The whole thing was getting stupid and un-organized the last couple we went to. Enough!

We are leaving for Sturgis tomorrow.  Been there every year for 34 years - this will be our 35th year at the rally.  We are not riding our Silver Wings, however, we are riding the Electra Glide.  We came thru Sturgis on Saturday on our way back from Alaska and stopped at Mystery Mountain Resort, south of Rapid City on 16, where we are staying, hoping to find an open spot to camp before our reserved date on Thursday.  As it stands right now, the closest camping or lodging accommodations that haven't been reserved within a 250 miles radius of Sturgis are in Nebraska.

Sturgis is a really good time.  We enjoy riding the Black Hills and seeing the scenery, and have never gotten tired of it.  We enjoy people watching, meeting new friends, and go on factory test rides on various bikes.  The Big Three - Harley-Davidson, Victory and Indian all have factory test rides you can go on (have to wait in line a bit to get a bike to test).  The metric manufacturers used to offer rides but don't have as big of a presence there any more like they used to.  We're hoping to get a test ride on a new Indian Roadmaster this year to see how it compares to our Electra Glide Ultra Classic in the luxury two-up touring class.

Somebody mentioned something about trailering bikes there.  Over the years I've seen what I estimate to be roughly 35-40% of rally-goers trailer or haul their bikes there.  The vast majority are ridden.  We rode over 600 miles on the way home from Alaska, thru Montana and Wyoming to Spearfish, with a fellow riding a 1966 Harley FLH Shovelhead.  He was from Washington State and we met him at the campground in East Glacier, Montana.  There is a LOT more bikes being ridden to this year's rally simply because there is not room for RV's and toy haulers this year.

We took the time to make the "loop" thru main street Sturgis and left on I90 to Rapid City, then south on 16 to check our campground for openings.  When we found none we rode to Wall, SD and then jumped on 14 and came home for a few days until our reserved spot opens up.  East of Sturgis, I90 west-bound was almost solid Harleys rolling at 85 mph and the off-ramp to Sturgis on I90 west-bound had a line up the right lane on the freeway extending back about 1.5 miles, with Harleys three abreast in the right lane and on the shoulder.

This is the 75th anniversary of the Black Hills Classic and it is already the single largest motorsports event, and single largest gathering of motorcyclists, ever held on earth.  We seen everything from 1949 Panheads, to a couple restored Indian Scouts, to Shovelheads, Evo's and Twin Cams - all being ridden there this year.  It is big.  Real Big.  If you have the chance to go see it, I would highly recommend it.  There will probably never in your lifetime be another one like it.  Wait until the mass exodus on Aug 9 and then camping and lodging accommodations will open up, but the rally itself will still be going a good week after the official closing date.

We put almost 16,000 miles on the 'Glide in the last month.  Took all day today to get the bugs and road grime washed off it, and get it polished up again.  We'll put another couple thousand on in the next week or so, going back to Sturgis.  If anybody is in the area look us up in the evenings at Mystery Mountain Resort on site 74.  We'll have a campfire going, some cold ones, and enjoying the nice cool evenings for this year's rally. We've been there some years when the bank thermometer in downtown Hill City said 112 degrees at 10:30 in the morning. This year is forecast to be beautiful weather with highs in the 70's and lows in the low 50's at night.

Thanks for your report Chris. I enjoy getting a perspective other than mine. Well done. Enjoy the rally!

Hi Yo wrote:

  Thanks for your report Chris. I enjoy getting a perspective other than mine. Well done. Enjoy the rally!

There is some of the most beautiful sights on earth to see in the Black Hills, and lots of historic stuff. We've been to the Wounded Knee Memorial several times and never get tired of talking to the Native Americans there about its meaning and history. The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, the dinosaur digs - all fascinating stuff. And in downtown Sturgis you have the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame and the new Harley Plaza.

Lots of stuff to see and do and it's not all a big party like at The Chip. The rally is what you make of it when you go there - for us it's the sights, the attractions in the Black Hills and surrounding area, and meeting new people who all share the common interest of motorcycling.

I don't like to see people make fun of Harley riders, or people that trailer. Some people are not able to ride there, or bring their bikes in a trailer or toy hauler because it's cheaper than paying $2,000 a night for a hotel or $250 a night for a campsite. But they still enjoying riding and are just as much motorcycle enthusiasts as the people two ride 2,000 miles to get there. You can go to the t-shirt shops and get one that says "I rode mine to Sturgis" but I don't consider the people that trailer their bikes there to be any less of a motorcyclist than I am because it takes considerable planning and arrangements to ride your bike to a rally the size of Sturgis because of the expense. You will pay $12 just for a hamburger during the rally.

Well said Chris! The Sturges Rally is what "you" make it to be. Yes, there are those who are wild etc. but just because they are like that doesn't mean you have to be. One thing for sure, you will have the opportunity of a life time to see M/Cycles and equipment you can't even imagine. I live straight South of Sturgis about 200 smiles but can't make it this year. Besides I am getting old and with that many people this year, decided it best if I did not ride in that much traffic. Safety is a must and first priority.
The scenery etc. is beautiful but like Chris stated you have a great opportunity to meet new friends. People are a lot different when you get them in an environment such as the Black Hills of South Dakota.

DaveR wrote:

People are a lot different when you get them in an environment such as the Black Hills of South Dakota.

And don't forget the Badlands - another fascinating and beautiful attraction that, if you take the time, you can easily spend a week exploring.

What is sort of disappointing is how the media portrays many things just to generate headlines and make people sit on the edge of their chair.  They portray Sturgis with the "biker gang" mentality, and nothing could be further from the truth.  There is nobody we've ever met at Sturgis that comes there to dress and play the part of a big bad biker gang member for a week.  Nobody.  People dress to be fashionable for the event and come there because they love their bikes, love going to a place where everybody is on bikes, and have a good time.

Sure, the national clubs like the Hell's Angels are there.  They own land in Sturgis and they got a booth selling t-shirts and whatnot like any other vendor



And if you want to go to the rowdy part of town, go to The Chip.  But that is only a very small, minute part of the rally.  But it's the part that gets all the attention by the media.  And the people who don't know any better suck it right up, gripping the edge of their chair in shock and excitement.

Sturgis is the kind of place where say you want to meet Peter Fonda, Jay Leno, Tricia Helfer, Jesse James, Paul Tuttle - they are all there - some of them like Fonda and Tricia Helfer ride their Harley's there.

Peter Fonda lives in Montana, and of course, some outfit had to jump on the bandwagon and make a movie of his ride to Sturgis a couple years ago.  But otherwise you'll find him almost anywhere downtown talking to people, looking at bikes, and a few people ask for autograph but most just snap a photo.

Years past they used to run over Jap bikes with a dozer, or sometimes hook one on behind an Electra Glide and drag it on its side up and down main street a few times.  But they haven't done that since the early 80's.  The rally promoters today want everybody to feel welcome and come enjoy the camaraderie and attractions in the Black Hills.  The rally generates something like $7 billion in business in one week for the area.  But it's fun and you get to see Customs, old restored Harleys and Indians that have been ridden there, and many things you will never see anyplace else on earth.  We got 34 years worth of photos and memories from the Sturgis rally like the one below taken on main street in 1997, and someday I'll put them on one of those online photo album things.