I rode mine.

It was 2208 km from Vancouver B.C. to Sturgis S.D. [1380 mi] one way. I put roughly 500 km on while @ Sturgis. [300 mi].

I stayed at the Buffalo Chip. In a tent. The concerts were awesome. ZZ Top was the pinnacle. Ozzy was pretty good too. Bob Dylan, a legend, had a terrible voice. I felt a little sorry for him. Jager-bomb. $8 [2 for $10] why would this even be an option?? Burn out pit was pretty cool. I would NEVER do this to my $25000 motorcycle, but a burn out bike... for sure. I didn't believe the red exhaust pipes. And when the fire was 6 feet high I was wondering where thier fire extinguisher was. Then the tire blew - cool. Then buddy keeps on it, and runs off 3/4 of the side wall. Awesome. The girls I saw were pretty much paid talent. They were really hot though. Bumped into Miss Buffalo Chip contestant #19. She was pissed drunk.

I rode to Hill City, and Deadwood. Belle Fourche loop.

Rode without a Helmet for a while. It was neat, but put a hat on or something. I'm not kiddin, 80 MPH your hair tingles...

The heat on Lazelle and Main was a little tough. [2009 Street Glide]

Talked to HD reps re: 120R engine. As well the new LED Headlight. [I just put the HID light on...]

I'm considering the Baker DD7 before engine work. [I think the fellows name was Jeff - he was a good guy]

The Machine guns were awesome. .50 Cal Ma Deuce was pretty sweet. It wouldn't fit in my saddlebag though, and mounting it to the bike might be a problem...

All in all a good time. I went for it, and had the full experience.

If I did it again, I'd plan for 2-3 days, based on concerts. and I'd hotel in Rapid City, or Deadwood, or Spearfish. People firing up thier bikes to rev the crap out of em @ 03:30 is a little beyond me.

I did enjoy the VIP access for ZZ Top, and Ozzy.

Next year - Vancouver to Halifax.

Ride safe.

 

........................After 15 years of riding, me & the wife finally made our first trip to Sturgis this year. We had an absolute BLAST. Loved the people, loved the atmosphere, LOVED the riding. We originally planned to ride out there. (From Minneaplis. A little over 600 miles one way.) Then my wife went and got herself pregnant. (The little tramp.) Well I just could'nt leave her at home. We ended up trailering the bike out there. We put on 400 miles while we were there. We stayed at the Iron Horse Inn in Whitewood. (6 mi. from main St) A little pricey. $800 for four days three nights. However that actually was on the cheaper end of the prices I researched. It was a great pace to stay and I would recommend it. Fairly laid back and quiet after 9 or 10 at night. I have no desire to listen to drunk ****bags runs their mouths and rev their motors all night long. (Campground.) I'll have to miss out for 2011 since we'll have a brand new peanut at home along with our then 3 year old. But after that, I think it'll be an annual thing for me.

Motorcycle are a big part of my life and Sturgis was almost a spiritual experience for me. I should have done it years ago.........................

 

Well good for you. It is really something to see out there. I have been there the last 7 years and I mostly just stop and get a t-shirt now. Everything is so high priced and lots of people. I usually ride further west and stop there on the way home for a night. I thought coyote ugly was different and fun. Deadwood is always a must see. The little bars along the road are fun to stop at and see different bikes/people.

 

Motley Crue rocked, Axl is still a ****, beautiful weather, very hot. I'll take the heat over the hail anytime.

Experienced a few new rides this time around Vanocker and Nemo, both roads were great.

The speed limit through Spearfish Canyon almost made it unbearable. You can't tell me 40 to 45 mph in that canyon wouldn't still be a safe speed. They have it so slow now that I believe the accidents are being caused by idiots trying to pass those going the posted 35mph and colliding with oncoming traffic.

The Full Throttle Saloon is no longer my favorite night hot spot, it has become far too commercialized with the show on Trutv. I guess all good things must come to an end.

All in all a great trip. Over 2,000 miles round trip, 500 miles in the Black Hills.

 

My wife and I went this year, I have a an '06 Roadking and she has a '06 Softail Deluxe. We trailered out from St. Paul with our 12' enclosed V front, stayed 9 nights in Spearfish Canyon and did alot of riding in the Black Hills, Wyoming and Montana. It was one of the most memorable vacations we have ever taken, the rides and road conditions were fantastic but did get some bad gas in Montana and worried about the engine crackling until I could get better gas. Note to self..carry some octane boost. We hit all the famous bars in the Sturgis area, saw the Scorpions and Disturbed at the Buffalo Chip to cap off the trip.

I didn't buy a Sturgis T-shirt, they all seemed cheezy.

I don't think I will visit Crazy Horse again in my lifetime, they bit off more than they can chew on that project.

I saw an anti-trailer sign on the back of a Yamaha.

 

I always stay in Hill City, it's a great little town, I go for the riding, I've done all the partying in the dirt and mud I need at this point in my life. All about the ride for me.

 

I rode mine as well....apes and all over 6500 kms then the side trips on top of that ..needles, pig tails, rushmore etc. ...

I found the prices jacked up to hell and the quality of the shirts and food lacking and the attitudes of some of the vendors incredibly shitty, Though I'm sure they got really tired of people always bugging them for deals and discounts and I saw some pretty rude customers they had to deal with.

The staff at the Chip sucked huge sweaty bull *****...and I refer to the security staff in particular. They walked around there like they were robo cops and they must have thought when they **** it smelled like roses. They were rude, aggressive, arrogant and that's when they were dealing with respectful campers who's only mistake they made was to approach them to ask a question. It would have to be one hell of a concert for me to hit up the Chip again.

The FTS was blah.....the guys they had in the parking lots direction traffic were a joke..little gangsta hiphop wannabes that couldn't direct a good ************....PULL UP YER PANTS YA PUTZ! the best part of the FTS was meeting Paul Yaffe.

Deadwood was awesome....I would stay there in a new york minute. good food at the GEM steakhouse in the Mineral Palace with reasonable prices. A really beautiful bikini wash......god I would have paid for OTHER people to get their bikes washed there if I could only pull up a chair and sit there all day The only negative I can think of about Deadwood was the parks crew that were supposed to be cleaning up pine cones in the Cemetary....instead of doing what they were supposed to be doing they were standing on peoples graves while one guy tossed pine cones and the other hit them with a shovel playing baseball. disrespectful little bastards.

Stopped at Marlins in Rapid City for an all you can eat buffet breakfast. Awesome food, good coffee at a good price.

got stuck in traffic on our way back. Some poor bastard's truck caught fire and burned to the ground. hope no one was injured.

I don't think I'd ever do Sturgis again...but if I do I know differently what and how I'd do it.

Decided to hit Las Vegas for a few days on the way home.

Arizona Bike Week and Laughlin River Run next!

 

My 1st time and I rode from MD to Sturgis and back. Put just over 5000 miles on the bike with the trip and riding to Devil's Tower, Custer State Park, Badlands, Needles, Spearfish Canyon, Crazy Horse, etc. The last day we stopped to swim in Pactulo Lake (I think) and were joined by some nice looking nekid biker girls. That was a blast to say the least.

Gotta agree with DinoVelvet in regards to the boyz from the hood directing traffic at Full Throttle. My bike was new and I didn't feel like driving it through the gravel after having cleaned it for about the 20th time on the trip so I asked one of the little 'hood'-lums if I could park in an open space in the front of FTS. He said sure, until his manager came along right after I got off my bike and asked me to move. I told the manager his employee said I could park there and the little hoody called me a liar and a 'white cracker'. I told the little SOB he better apologize or a can of whoop-*** was coming. Well, the manager heard his 'white cracker' comment and me ask him for apology or I was gonna fire up the can opener and came running over and fired his punk azz on the spot. No fricken' respect these days for their elders from the punks!

Beyond that it was the best damn vacation I ever had. The worst part was leaving the wife at home since she has no leave left because she has to use it to visit her dying father in Florida.

 

Sturgis was excellent. From what I've read, everyone likes different things and hates different things, some like what other hate and so on. I think there's something there, or in the area, for everyone. I know I had a great time, and I have a thread on here somewhere telling about it. I'll go back next year for sure. Maybe do a few things different, have some different adventures. It's all good in my opinion.

 

My third year in a row to Sturgis. I actually only spend about a half day in Sturgis, usually looking through vendors and the scantily clothed women that the venders have with them. I camp in Hill City (Rafter J Bar Ranch), nice and quiet at night. Ride the Black hills and find something new everytime. I doubt Crazy Horse will be finished in my lifetime. The large herds of buffalo in Custer State Park are pretty amazing. Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road are fun to ride everytime. I would like to see a concert up there sometime so I may have to camp closer to Sturgis one of these years...