This may be a little long but oh well...

Got the bike in the middle of June and swore up and down that I wasn't going to Sturgis. After putting on 2k miles and a lot of badgering from my wife, we decided to go along with my in laws and a couple of their friends. The other 6 drivers were experienced with many miles and years of riding under their belt. We had a good time even though it is not an event that I would normaly go to. Here are some things that I experienced or learned in adding another 2100 miles.


Day 1
Just because you have experience and have had a bike for years doesn't make you a safe rider.

I was the tail rider and one guy was having trouble with his bike. It would run good for 5 miles, spit and sputter a mile, good for 5......
Not wanting to leave him behind, I hung with him until.......going up a hill, we were climbing well and he attempted to pass a car. About 1/2 mile back a big rig was really moving. As we went to pass, his bike started spitting and sputtering and this guy was just oblivious to his surroundings was messing with his reserve lever and gas cap with the semi right on his @$$. I moved back to the right lane, slowed a little and watched in my mirror to see if he would be run over. With just the semi, me and 1 other car around, this guy just held his lane and fiddled with his bike. That's when I decided that he is a big boy and can "take care" of himself and I am not risking my safety for him.

2. A woman can be the better rider
Had one gal who was fearless in a good way. She took over the tail rider position and really helped the group move through traffic. It seemed like she and the lead rider were just in synch, she blocked well, helped the weaker rider (Me) keep up without crowding and on the return trip, I used some of her techniques to ride tail and it went well. There's more to it than I thought.

3. Prepare for the trip & Run during dayight hours -
Found out that the guy having troubles with his bike just rebuilt the carb on the Thursday before the trip. We ended up watching him pull the carb apart, check, clean and adjust for about an hour. That plus his slow speeds had us running in the dark for a couple hours. On unfamiliar roads, this was just not fun.

4. Go when you have to go
Do not pass up an opportunity to use the can. 1/2 way up Needles is not the time to have your guts a rumblin. The road alone is enough to make you clinch a little so don't add to the pressure.

5. Enjoy the little things
Sylvan lake was a beautiful spot and the walk around it was worth it.
Talk to people along the way and you will meet some good people.
Eating ice cream on a bench in front of the Hell's Angles storefront was funny to me.

6. Know your skills and limits
Had I known the Needles loop was as difficult as it was, I would not have attempted it. I was not ready for it, but with a couple of great riders in front of me and what was a Godsend -no riders behind me- I managed to ride it safely. I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I am glad that I did it, and I learned a lot about my bikes capabilities and increased my skills all at the same time. It was such a mental and physical drain for me that Sylvan Lake seemed more special.

7. Take Advice & Make a Plan
Which places to see and which ones to stay away from, there was so much to do and see that if you go in totally blind you will either miss a lot or wear yourself out trying to do it all. Make a daily plan, stick to it and keep in touch. Everybody has a better time knowing what is going on.


Good information from these message boards, along with good people, made it a pretty enjoyable trip for me.

 

Good points all, like they say "ride your own ride".

 

Good info & glad you made the trek OK. Sounds like you had a decent riding group vs. pack of a-holes who are constantly trying to "out-awesome" each other w/coolness + stupidity. Ride on!

 

All good stuff, but the ice cream thing is priceless.

 

Been to Sturgis about 15 different times and every time we go we always see something we haven't seen before. You just can't see everything in a couple of weeks. That's our excuse to keep going back, pulse we love it out there!

 

Good post, excellent advice. I usually will not ride in a (large) group. Most I ride with is two other couples. Pace is set so everyone is comfortable. Glad it turned out ok for you. Motorcycling is a learning experience, been riding 50+ yrs, still learn every time I leave the driveway.

 

I'd say that you're far ahead of many riders already in the sense that you recognize your limits and don't try to ride past them just to be cool.

 

Nice writeup, thanks.

 

Great story.
Thanks for sharing!

 

Good reading. I like these type of posts. I wish I could hit up Sturgis every year but it's just too far to go (for me) unless I had unlimited vacation time. Always a great time out there. I learned that you don't go to the badlands without some water packed away, I though I was going to die of thirst last time there.