Sturgis Rally time

[Sturgis270]

Leaving Wisconsin on Wednesday, Aug. 3rd for the Black Hills. Plan is to arrive sometime Thursday afternoon. A friend of ours will be tagging along, he has been to the Hills but never during rally time. Hoping for some decent weather and looking forward to a few rides in areas we have not been to before and a few we have been to but really enjoy. One of our stops will be at the Nemo Fire Department for breakfast. Like to help support organizations like this. Before you ask....Nope not riding we are trailering the bike. Back at 66 is not up to that long of a ride anymore plus between the two of us we need to take to many accessories along (think hair drier, make-up, and all the other necessities that the fairer sex requires).

 

[contender]

Have a great trip!
I worked the rally a few years,,, but had enough time off to see a lot & experience many of the different things the rally offers. Glad I did it,,, but not on my bucket list anymore. I've also been to Sturgis when there wasn't a rally. Nice LITTLE town then.

 

[HerrMesser]

Never been to the rally but been through SD about a week or so before it. Was headed to Yellowstone and we were riding. Thought many times about getting a trailer just to haul all the extras a woman seems to need. Haven't had my bike out of the garage in nearly 20 years and it just seems get scary with all of the distracted drivers today.

Rad

 

[gunzo]

Have a safe & enjoyable trip !!!

I prob don't have to tell you about Spearfish Canyon, Needles Highway, or the ride through Custer State park, pretty common rides but for me they were always repeats. In the canyon I sometimes wished I could ride(b....) on the back just so I could look at more of that great scenery. I quit going when the attendance passed the half million mark. I miss it, but just can't tolerate that much crowding.

 

[Poco Oso]

Beautiful country and nice roads to ride. I went 8 years in a row and had a blast every time. It's a great ride across the upper part of the states here. (I don't own a bike trailer. ) Wa-a-a-a-y too crowded now.

 

[stevemb]

Time to start scanning youtube !

 

[WIL TERRY]

WELCOME TO THE BLACK HILLS !!! Have a swell time, go see everything your LIL heart desires,. spend all your money, AND I DO MEAN ALL LIKE IN EVERY LAST RED CENT, then get the hell outta here....
Your welcome...
And so it goes...

 

[stevemb]

Same sentiments that Sitting Bull had, and you are not wrong. But the business owners ther have conspired to host this mess, and rake in the rewards at others expense. and so it goes.

 

[stevemb]

Please buy twenty t-shirts on your way out.

 

[reuben_j_cogburn]

And if any of you see my ex.... RUN AWAY FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously....

Christian bikers by day.... heathen bikers by night... It's like a shift change come about sundown...

Say hi to 'Nemo" for me.......

 

[Poco Oso]

Got a couple of friends going. Maybe you can look them up. They'll be the guys in black T shirts & leather vests. :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Pictures (carefully edited of course, to protect the innocent.) and war stories are expected on your return.Enjoy.

 

[CGDustDevil]

It was a kick years ago when I used to go... Long bloody ride, especially on choppers! (Kidneys - Meet pelvis) Sturgis, Ignacio and Hollister were my faves out west... Laconia back east!

I haven't been in well over 30 years. I see a lot has changed. Probably would be too much of everything for me these days!

Have fun!!

 

[Rick Courtright]

Please buy twenty t-shirts on your way out.

Hi,

Maybe make that 21?

As the old saying goes, my friends got to go to Sturgis and I just got this t-shirt. That was in '92 and it's probably about time for a new one! XL, please.

All of you who get to go, please have a safe and enjoyable trip!

Rick C

 

[wwb]

Love riding in the Black Hills, and been there many times.... and not too far west, there's the Bighorn Mountains (the North road is the best).... and a little farther northwest, there's the Chief Joseph Highway and the Beartooth Highway.

Go to the Black Hills during Sturgis? Not on your life - too many rolling roadblocks (herds of Harley baggers putting along when I want to touch the peg feelers in the corners). Plus, the motel owners all double their prices for the week.

Although there are a whole bunch of trailered bikes out there, there are still a few hard-core types who ride all the way. They ought to try a bike that has a suspension with a bit of travel instead of a Milwaukee monster.

 

[Don Lovel]

Blue 88 Band from Kansas City, Mark & Sue Corbett on guitars, plays great music at Buffalo Chip
My friends at 98.9 The Rock from KC, Johnny Dare morning show will be broadcasting live at Full Throttle, the show producer, Gregg Todt, is a fellow Fender Telecaster fan with me
I don't do Sturgis, went in 1974 with some old school friends, knew I could never go back and have that much fun without ending up dead or in jail ever again after that non stop party that year.

 

[turd]

Early 80s for me. Used to know a music teacher that lived in Sturgis. Stayed just blocks from downtown. :mrgreen:

Lots too many people out there now. Don't EVEN think the South Dakota LEOs don't know how to deal with it. Court system isn't real forgiving, either.

Ride safe. The Wyoming side highways aren't quite as crowded and there are some nice rides.

 

[contender]

I'll never forget one Sturgis event where we'd just arrived, and were setting up our work tent. A woman came up, asking if we did Progressive suspension. We did. She needed rear shocks. It seemed that less than 200 miles from her home she had a single rear shock fail & basically collapse. She had ridden the entire rest of the trip with a busted shock. We felt for her & even though we were not officially open yet, we did fix her bike. After all, she was a home girl,, she was from Cherokee NC. Talk about a hard a***## woman!

 

[Poco Oso]

Contender:
Do you ever go to The Smoke Out down there in Rockingham? Great party and lots of sharp bikes.
http://www.smokeoutrally.com/

 

[Bull Barrel]

I'm riding to trailer week.
Back in about 91 a friend and rode to FL. On he way back we stopped for gas and a mini motor home with trailer full of HDs pulled in. They asked if we were coming back from Sturgis. We said no, we were going back to MO. "You rode those bikes all the way to FL from MO?".
"We dam sure didn't push 'em".
"I couldn't ride that far. How long will it take you to get home?".
Mind you, we were still in FL. "We'll get home sometime today".
And we did.

 

[Rumrunner]

I will be going through Sturgis in a couple weeks. Heading to Huelett WY to shoot prairie doggies.

 

[protoolman]

I'll be there next weekend for the last 2 days. But then I live just north of there. I'll be camping at Devils tower.

 

[exavid]

I've ridden Goldwings from Alaska to Seattle and back. Been on one to Cabo, rode to a Goldwing get together in Calhoun, GA and back to Oregon. I have more than 300,000 miles on various models of Goldwing. Never put one on a trailer in all those miles. I stopped at Sturgis once while the rally was going on. Too much booze and Harleys with low mileage on their speedometers.

I was thinking of going into business and making a product for Harley owners, especially for all those trailer riders. I think there'd be a demand for a rattle can of squashed bugs of all types a HD rider could spray on his bike after they take it off the trailer. Perhaps a mixture of dirt, oil, and bugs for a deluxe mixture?
I ride a BMW now and just can't help razzing HD riders. It's all in fun, Harleys are great 1950 bikes. Very reliable too, 95% of all HDs ever built are still on the road today.



The rest made it home.

 

[wwb]

........I was thinking of going into business and making a product for Harley owners, especially for all those trailer riders. I think there'd be a demand for a rattle can of squashed bugs of all types a HD rider could spray on his bike after they take it off the trailer. Perhaps a mixture of dirt, oil, and bugs for a deluxe mixture?
I ride a BMW now and just can't help razzing HD riders. It's all in fun, Harleys are great 1950 bikes. Very reliable too, 95% of all HDs ever built are still on the road today.

The rest made it home.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

In truth, the newer H-Ds are pretty darn reliable bikes - not like the old ones where you worked on them more than you rode them. But they're still slow with mediocre brakes and clumsy handling. And they still shake.

I have somewhere in the neighborhood of a half-million miles on two wheels... been riding since 1962. In that time, I've ridden a few hundred miles on several different H-Ds (a couple Dynas and a couple big baggers) and I have to say I don't understand why anybody would buy one. I'll never bad-mouth anybody for buying a Harley; it's their money and their choice - but there are so many bikes out there that are much better machines. Mine? A Kawasaki Concours 14.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Don't forget the speedometer adaptor exclusively for HDs from Trailer Boyz (tm). It allows you to rack up the miles while on the trailer. Whben you get to Sturgis you can brag about racking up the miles just like the Iron Butt types.

I love the guys who get an enclosed trailer to "protect" the bikes (actually "hide" the bikes so no one will think you are trailering to Sturgis) but they plaster HD logos all over the trailer.

Silly yuppies. Trailers are for boats.

 

[contender]

Poco, Oso,, I never worked that rally. We did about 8-10 a year,,, but not that one. We did more than just Harley rallys. Wing rallys, & BMW's mostly. Mainly the major ones.

 

[Sturgis270]

Well we made it back home. We had a great time, saw some unbelievable scenery, and met and visited with a lot of people from around the country. We stopped two different days for breakfast at the Nemo F.D. up in the hills, drove Needles Highway, and Spearfish Canyon and others. Pulled into Deadwood one morning and took a quick break at a casino. Half an hour later was able to walk out with 1400 U.S. Grants in my wallet after paying some taxes. Anyone who has never toured the Black Hills is really missing out. Very beautiful area!

 

[Bull Barrel]

Ou won 70,000 bucks? Wowser!

 

[CGDustDevil]

I'm riding to trailer week.
Back in about 91 a friend and rode to FL. On he way back we stopped for gas and a mini motor home with trailer full of HDs pulled in. They asked if we were coming back from Sturgis. We said no, we were going back to MO. "You rode those bikes all the way to FL from MO?".
"We dam sure didn't push 'em".
"I couldn't ride that far. How long will it take you to get home?".
Mind you, we were still in FL. "We'll get home sometime today".
And we did.

There was a time when I could lay down those kinds of miles... I've put 550 miles down in 1 day on a hardtail back in my prime. But alas, no more. Heck, it's all I can do to handle a drive to Phoenix in the TBird anymore. :?

 

[gtxmonte]

You like sport bikes or Goldwings fine, you don't like Harleys, fine, but why is it bikers who don't have a Harley always want to bash those of us who do own or like them.

 

[wwb]

You like sport bikes or Goldwings fine, you don't like Harleys, fine, but why is it bikers who don't have a Harley always want to bash those of us who do own or like them.

I won't rag on anybody for riding a H-D.... it's his money, and his choice. I do, however, get my knickers in a twist when a Harley rider gives me a hard time about riding "a piece of Jap %$#@". I then politely explain that my bike is faster, handles better, stops better, is more reliable, and is smooth, quiet, and comfortable.

At the ripe old age of 69, I still routinely put in 600 to 700 mile days going from point A to point B on the 4 lanes.

Go take a test ride on a Kawasaki Concours 14, a Honda ST1300, a Yamaha FJR, or BMW R1200RT and see what you've been missing. If you still want to ride a Harley after that, it's your choice.