1) FIRST time the round-trip to/from Sturgis did NOT require the use of a spare tire..

2) FIRST time the overall ambient temp during the entire rally hovered around the 68-75F range.. Lady at the campground said she's been there for over 15 years and this was the coolest rally she's ever seen. I've been going since '92 and had not seen temps this cool overall either.. Hurts the beer sales..

3) FIRST time I had damage to the bike upon arrival at the campground. One of the (Micky Mouse) tie-downs in the camper's garage let go and the bike tipped over and the bracket that holds the LH aux. llight/signal light broke in half.. Next morning at the HD dealership in Rapid City found me first in line at the parts desk. Back to the bike, (thank God I bring a large assortment of tools) the wife held it in place while I spliced in new wires. Remounted, all works fine, whew..

4) FIRST time I ever had damage to the camper via a Class-A motorhome that was in the process of passing me on I-90 about a dozen miles E of Rapid City when a gust of wind from the approaching storm front caused him to get pushed into the LH rear quarter. Best guess is $1K damage to mine. But his camper, upon the slight impact, broke off his RH mirror assembly and had the awning disengage and get ripped completely off from the wind and land on the freeway.. Cars behind him scattered like cockroaches to avoid the carnage..

Going to get a damage estimate this am and send him the bill. Very nice guy, apologized profusely, owns some cement business in IL.. The SD trooper (another VERY nice buy, btw) wrote up the report and it'll be available online in a few days.

Glad to be home. Can't wait for next year..

Which campground you stay at? I assume it isn't 'the Chip.

Any good concerts this year?

We stay in Custer City at the Beaver Lake facility about 3.5 miles W of town on Hy 16. No idea re: concerts - we don't attend those usually.

AARP annual Jamboree?

Lee, did you eat at Black hills Burger and Bun in Custer? I really like their burgers. Went there for the first time a few weeks ago.

Black Hills Harley sold a bunch of rain and cold weather wear. I live close by and spent the week riding in the Rockies. Visited Sturgis the day before the rally started and again the last Saturday. Great sale prices yesterday at the vendors still on site at the dealership.

I avoid Black Hills Burger and Bun during the summer season, the wait to be seated is FAR too long. The Alpine Lodge in Hill City is a better meal but again virtually impossible to get a table during the summer.

Lee, glad you had a good trip, albeit with some mishaps.

The weather WAS fantastic, made up for the super hot July we had.

Should be two more good years, then the 80th will hit. But with the demographics changing it may not be so bad.

Sounds like a fun trip even with a couple of bumps in the road.

We tried that place once... and once is all we'll try. Mediocre, at best..

There's a restaurant/steak house just north of Pactola reservoir on 385 that serves a very good prime rib. Funny thing is, we never had a single burger the entire trip.

Less vendors at the rally this year - several open spots went unfilled. IMHO the city (or store owners) is pricing themselves out of the market.. I wouldn't be surprised to see discounts for vendor spots coming up soon - real soon - maybe even this next year..


Never been to one.. When you get old enough, you can fill me in with the details..

When do we get to see the titty pics?

Ran into a guy that was going home from it at a gas station. He'd had to lay his bike down to avoid a deer on the way home, got separated from the bike and did a nice slide down the highway for a bit. Bike and him survived with only bruises, thank God he'd been bright enough to wear his leathers.

We see those guys coming through here going to and coming from the rally wearing nothing but shorts, a tank top and a little bandana on their heads. Makes you wonder how many survive an incident like you describe.

Glad you had a good trip! Where are the PICS?

Glad you did ok, Lee... but I think your good tire fortune was marred by the RV sideswipe, no? I used to run a 36-ft Winnebago Class A, and at the time I held a truck driver license and had hundreds of hours in large vehicles worth of experience, and there were several times I pulled over, slowed down, or just plain parked to avoid an incident such as the one you suffered. It defies logic to give people with passenger car experience only the privilege of driving those big Class A's without fu their training.

Anyways, let me echo the prevailing sentiment... where's the pics?

Glad the trip was safe, hope you had a great time............Pics..........

AMEN on the license thing, should be a commercial type license and requirements with testing for even bumper pulls over 20"!

Glad you had a good trip and rally, have not been since '96, that was the last time for us.

Geez... Yooze guys and yer pics..







Some of the damage...

.

I heard when this gal got out to gas up, she created quite a line of traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SR3BcaFKAM

First time pulling a 4 bike trailer straight to Sturgis and back 3700 miles stopping only for fuel, food and reststops.
First time the heat was was killing me.
First time for my buddy to return since his chemo (he couldn't take the drive so I picked him up at the airport in Rapid city the following day).
First trip for 2 of my other friends to attend the rally.
NOT the first time the wind and rain made P dog shooting challenging.
First time in ten trips to get pulled over by SD State trooper...It was quick, professional and painless
NOT the last time that I'll be attending!!

Sturgis is a long way to go.

Yes it is...But worth it for some of the best rides I've ever taken...Plus I get to hang out with my son and a couple of really good Buds !!

The bridge transitions are rough and the DOT tries to come up with a smoother design all the time but your best bet is still to slow down a bit. Glad your wreck wasn't worse than it was. I might be wrong but I think the numbers were really down this year. MB

I never go above 65 with the camper on the back. And I-90 through SD has really improved the bridge approaches. Only one or two need to be addressed now.. The WORST is the one on I-94 eastbound just across the St. Croix river bridge at Hudson. There's simply no excuse for that one. I've emailed the WI-DOT district for that bump and read 'em the riot act.. I wonder what response I'll get back?? Frankly, if they get defensive about it then they'll REALLY get an earful. I've HAD IT with that area.. Me too. It could have been much,much worse.. Ditto. Best guess is 350K or so.. Two years ago, at the 75th, the numbers quoted was 750K +/-.. Bullchit.. More like 1.2 Mil, at least.. I've never seen that many bikes on the roads/streets...EVER..

I never once trailered a bike to Sturgis or any other run.What a bunch of [bleep].

Next year I will sell jacket patches that say" Live to trailer my Harley-Trailer my Harley to Live!!!

Oh, really?? And you're in need of some education my friend..

We always rode ours out every year, but the wife cannot do long trips any more. About 250 miles is her limit - and we're 675 from the campground. She can't take 4 extra days off work to drive to/from - so (ergo) the trailer..

Usually trailering is done for (a) health reasons or (2) time constraints..

Lee, I wish I'd have known you were there. I was, too!

2600 mile RT including farting around the area on the bikes.

We're trailering next year.

With the new Harleys you have a better chance of having a problem with your bike in a trailer than riding it.
In the old days we would throw them in a trailer because they couldn't make it without using 3-4 qts of oil and 4-5 breakdowns, and that's riding from Minnesota.
My shop is swamped with returning broke and wrecked bikes.
God I love Sturgis $$$$$$

Saw hundreds of those people at Sturgis.

Redneck, David Walter or anyone else that might attend the Rally with or without trailer...I would be happy to meet up with you next year even if we are a bunch of [Bleeps] !!!

Ah. Ironpants speaks. Color me unimpressed.

As Redneck points out, there are practical reasons for trailering to a rally. It has nothing to do with the size of one's balls. Although I've heard that having small cojones is more comfortable for long-distance riding, so that might be the difference between Huntz and the rest of us.

2004 it got into the 30s at night. Never took my jacket off the whole time I was there. I was tenting it that year.

Fun to go and make fun of the people who trailered.

Yesterday was Rally hangover day at work.

I spoke with the Sturgis city manager yesterday, initial traffic count numbers are up from last year. The majority of the vendors had a better year also.

Another interesting statement was that non riding participants increased. People coming out to enjoy the party and staying in the campgrounds where there is a more anything goes attitude with entertainment/ concerts.

Higher percentage of down under participants from Australia and New Zealand. I even spoke to a lady from Tasmania. It is interesting talking to the people from out of country. They typically fly in to LA, Dallas, or back east. Then rent motorcycles to ride to Sturgis.

Most of the people that trailer, have valid reasons. I also spoke to a number of people from Washington state that rode hard to get here. If it were me, and I still owned a motorcycle, I thing the journey would be just as important as the destination. But then I do not have too far to go.

Fatalities are up per capita, with two still in the hospital in serious condition. Being in healthcare I see the dark side more than most.

I have lived in this area for 26 years, have seen the ebbs and flows. It certainly is an interesting two weeks. I used to own a motorcycle, but after having some very conservative riders I know get into serious/ fatal accidents, and working emergency departments for about 6 years.....I sold it.

Already have our site reserved for next year.... Arriving Aug 1st - 8th.. Would love to meet up with y'all..

("Iron-pants"...) LMAO..


Me too.. We'd just shake our heads and move on.. One guy even had flip-flops on when riding the hog.. What a moron.. Wait a sec - maybe that was Huntz....

I agree... If it were just me, I'd fire up the Ultra and leave here about 3 am in order to miss the Twin City a-hole drivers, then arrive in Sturgis about 4:00 pm.. Did that for 20 years. And if anyone remembers, I left here on the bike for Wash. DC's Memorial Day ride and rode back; 3100 miles in 9 days; two of which were in excess of 625 each.. Longest single-day trip I've done was 735.. The new HDs are really pretty comfy units..

But one thing about the Rapid City/Stugis area is the very real probability of near-daily storms in the afternoon - many with hail in 'em. And the hail there can easily be big enough to knock yer azz right off the saddle.. IIRC, that bad storm that hit the Throttle a few years ago had cars stopping on I-90 to allow bikers to get in the back seats out of the hail.. Also, IIRC, one or two died in that storm.. Tennis-ball-sized hail can do that to ya..

Hey, those were Harley flip flops.

It makes me cringe. I wear boots, Kevlar jeans, gloves, and unless it's over 90F, I'm wearing an armored leather jacket when I ride. I've seen too many parts go missing due to lack of protective gear.

Somewhere around here I have a photo I snapped of a guy in my ER in Wisconsin a few years ago. Riding his Ultra in shorts and flip-flops. He laid the bike down to avoid rear-ending a stopped vehicle, and his foot got caught between the bike and the pavement. Imagine a line going from the space between the big toe and second toe, and running back to the outside edge of the heelbone; everything outside of that line was ground off. If I can find the pic I'll post it.

That would give a guy a gimpy walk.

Thirty years and more ago there were very few trailers and RV's at the rally. Today there seem to be more RV's and trailers than bikes at times. Some surely do have problems that cause them to trailer in but it isn't the majority. The majority are not motorcyclists in the true sense of the word. They are people who own a Harley or Indian, not people who ride a Harley or Indian. Nothing wrong with it of course just the way people live these days.

Lewie's just out of Lead is the place to get a great cheeseburger but........ not during the rally.

Now that the Chip is a town with their own sales tax and government they are pulling in lots of events like the motorcycle racing to add to the activities.

My biggest gripe with the bikers who come is that for some reason fifty of them at a stop sign think they are one vehicle. When one goes they all go.

'74 was my first year of going.
There has always been a lot of trailers and camper/motor homes/buses there. People just can not take enough time off of work to ride there and back unless you live in the mid west.
In '81 I was living in El Paso TX. Myself and a friend had one week vacation and we rode. Three days riding each way didn't leave much time in the Black hills. It was a great ride and glad I did it but after that the bikes went in a trailer and we took turns driving the 18 hours to get there.

I miss the good old days when I-90 and US 212 were littered with Harley and British parts. There was a different colored saddlebag lid every few miles. Chrome mirrors, foot pegs, coil and battery covers sparkling in the sun. With no GPS we always knew we were going the right way.

My experience with motorcycles ended when I outgrew dirt bikes.
But talking to a friend, I was told there's 5 or 6 hundred thousand bikes there. I thought I'd seen all of Sturgis. Where in the name of God do they put everybody?
7mm

I sold my Harley years ago when my first kid was born. I miss the machine a lot, but not the ass holes on the road.

Just an observation, but I have had way more bikes pull out in front of me, than I have ever accidently pulled out in front of. But I am probably a little more cognizant of motorcycles than most. Even being very defensive and aware, I had to brake hard on more than one occasion.

If I ever bring a bike to Sturgis, it will NOT be during rally time. I understand the roads in the Black Hills have some adventurous sections, but I'll be darned if I'm going to wreck my tires with a thousand miles of superslab, plus the bugs, plus the heat, plus the rain, plus not being able to ride for all the slowpokes in my way.
I'll just trailer my rice rocket -- or spaghetti streak -- and rifles and enjoy "normal" South Dakota conditions.

Touche!

(urp) Please don't - I wanna eat supper some time tonight..

Official traffic counts released. 2017 up 1.1% from the 460k 2016 Rally. 2016 was one of the smallest on record going back 30 years.

2016 had 460K? Doubtful.. Methinks that's wishful thinking on their part..

I've been there many times. I've endured the rally whilst on a H-D a number times and I don't care to do that again. I really enjoy the area and the riding but the influx of people sucks. Even as I get older I'd rather trailer my dirtbike down there and ride trails with the locals. It is such a beautiful and enjoyable area off-season.
I might bring the kid there when he gets old enough (if antifa hasn't shut it down) for the experience but I don't personally like dealing with all of the arswholes. I've seen one or two skun out and dead on the highway because that was the first curve they encountered. Colors can be a problem in areas as well. No thank you.

I don't mean to leave a negative view of the place as I think almost everyone should experience it at least once. I'd just rather grab my t-shirt and run then enjoy the beautiful area outside of those two weeks. I spent close to a week down there in July of this year with the family and shot a truck load of PD's to boot.

Thankfully the big stuff missed rally week this year. Monday, the 14th, Rapid City had 1.5" of rain, very strong winds, and big ass hail which did a lot of damage. As an aside the Rushmore Mall shopping center got flooded. Not the kind of weather to wish on bikers or sportscar enthusiasts for that matter.

And I agree that the temps were the coolest in memory for the Rally. I've been here since '94.

A 6 page Sturgis thread and not one picture.... ?
Good grief.


DMc

I do not know, but 2016 was way down. I will let the eggspurts do all the calculating. Do not know how much politics is involved with manipulating numbers.

Just reporting what was on the news last night. You know we can trust the news.

I have ridden Harley Davidson motorcycles for 40 years. I have never understood the advantage of "laying her down."
Does it help you steer? How about braking? I DIDN'T think so.
WTF

Myself, I would go there for the Rally. While it is pretty I have rode many rural locations. I went to see everything.

Never was burdened. Got a beer faster than most busy bars around here. One time waited to gas up, but not that happens. If you are smart, you just gas up on out skirts.

I quit going to FTS. I just park on outskirts of town, a block or two away.

Like seeing all the different bikes. I am not a people person. Hate cities. I usually don't go to busy places. But it was worth it to watch.

Only problem I had was drivng through Sturgis, so I quit doing that. Last time stayed in Deadwood. Busy, but not as busy.


If you are smart enough learn the streets, and where to go for what, it is not bad. Granted, many people don't want to do that. But Sturgs is a small town.

One time, interstate, I found it better than going over the wall into 2 lanes of oncoming traffic. But I get the arguement, not about steering, but shedding as much speed, for as long as you can. Braking is why you should not lay it down.

I would just do something else. Go some place closer. Trailering just doesn't interest me.


I would start with full dresser, then a good seat. Take lots of breaks 250 mile limit, and 675 from campground. So 6 days of travel, if you take week off you get 9. But I getting up early, and lots of breaks would probably go a long way.

If you can sit in a car, you should be able to sit on touring seat.

I wonder how many people would attend if no trailers and motorhome were allowed? I bet it wouldn't be so crowded. I do understand that riding in a South Dakota thunderstorm is an acquired taste.

I think it would be good marketing, to advertise less trailers. Less of those kind of people there.

I also question, it was so cold. My first year was 2004, and I never took my jacket off, was upper 30s at night. But people like to say coldest or this or that. Maybe it was, some year has to be.

You really ARE a dumbph-uk, ain't ya?


And, if you had 2 cents worth of back-search, you'd note I'm drivin' a '14 HD Ultra Classic...i.e., a full bagger and with a very comfy seat.. But if a person's suffering from fairly severe arthritis, a bike trip can only be so long.. Some day, I hope you get a good dose - maybe then you'll get a freakin' CLUE...

FOAD..

LIke I sad, 675, would be less than 3 day bike for you. I would rather do that.

Curious did you do the ride before? I have sound people just are not really comfortable riding. No matter what you do. You care driving 675 miles in an auto, but can't break it up on Ultra.

But you are right, I don't know the whole situation. But have seen it. As far as pain goes, buddy I got a clue.

I've done 735 in one day, and wasn't all that tired.. Could have gone another 100. I've done the full ride (from house-to-rally-to-home) every year from '92 - 2012 on the bike - 650 miles+ each way (stayed in motel in Belle Fourche).. I'd leave home at 3:00 am and be at motel by 4:00 pm same day. No biggie.. Have to stop every 150-200 simply due to needing gas - 6 gallons only goes so far..

I can still do long rides. But wife's infirmities now prevent that if she's along..

When I went on my western vacation a few years back, we juuuuuuuust missed a storm with BASEBALL sized hail just east of Rapid City. Some of the hail went THROUGH cars! You'd be dead on a bike. I can't imagine it.

Been to the rally twice. shortest route is 1000 miles from here.
Rode once, trailered once.
Life long buddy had back surgery and could only ride about two hours a day, We still had a wonderful trip, Yellowstone, Cody Museum, Custer battle site, and more, trailer and all.

2015 my son (220lbs) and I rode in to Sturgis about 2200 hrs in the pouring rain. We had everything lashed down on my 96 Electra Glide. His Sportster had a failure of the rear wheel bearing. Everything was soaked because we did not have a waterproof duffel bag. So the tent and sleeping bags and all our clothes were wet. Putting up the tent in the dark and thunderstorm made some memories.
All night I was kept awake by the generators and motorhome.
Perfect!

Whelennut,

My wife always asks me why I have a few lawn/leaf sized garbage bags in the saddle bags of the Harley.

That's why.

My son bought a V Rod and I have a Gold Wing now. I doubt if we are doing that again. I don't even think we saw any tits last time.

Can't find any tits closer to home?

You must have not looked very hard. I saw some driving back and forth from work.

I hope every one had a great time.

When somebody says they had to lay the bike down, what they are really saying is that they did not have enough practice or ability to use their brakes correctly when they were suddenly needed; they therefore instead locked the brakes up and caused the bike to fall over. You can always stop a motorcycle faster when it's upright on its rubber tires than when the metal is skidding along the road. Saying "I had to lay it down" is just a way of trying to gloss over the real cause of the crash.

The fastest way to stop any moving object is to run it into an immobile one. Learned that in physics a looooong time ago.

Guess Sturgis used to be a bike rally, definitely a trailer/motorhome rally these days. Word from locals is, attendance was so low this year there were no backups when driving thru town or on the interstate, but plenty of 3 wheelers and trailers in attendance. As my old buddy (with patch and rocker) used to say "I see a lot of bikes but no bikers".

Glad you made it RN.





Dave

Didn't I tell you to STFU like a month ago?




Dave