Don't miss one of the largest gatherings of motorcycles in the world. Yes most of them are riding Harleys but it is quite the show.You can ride any type of bike including one with mud on it. Come early in the morning and have breakfast at one of the churches where little old ladies serve leather clad bikers that have partied all night. Find some shade and watch the crowds. If you are in Sturgis on August 7th at 10 AM meet me at the photo tower on main street. I'll Be the tall guy in the Horizons Unlimited T shirt.

I've been to Sturgis 11 times on various bikes. Quite the gathering. It has changed drastically since I first went in 92. Back then, most people rode their bikes. Today, most are trailered in behind pickups/SUV/fancy motorhomes. Back then, one could stay at ANY campground for $60 - $75 for the week. Now, motel 3 1/2's go for $300/nite 50 miles away. Today, the rub/yup crowd pays up to $900/week for "catered" tent camping at the Buffalo Chip. The Buffalo Chip campground gets 50000 people, nudity and public sex displays are common and its anything goes. What really slays me are the conditions at Buffalo Chip. They have the worst outhouses on the planet, last cleaned when Eisenhower was president. I think their outhouses are quite a bit like the mustard gas used in WWI. One may recover from being exposed to it, but is never quiet the same. Millions of those big black shithouse flies. Impassable mud when it rains, dust when its hot. Not a bit of shade. Quiet time is 3:42 am - 3:54 am on Tues & Thurs.
A visit to Buff Chips when they held a motorcycle auction (95) forever cured me of any desire to stay there.

While its true well over 85% of the bikes at Sturgis are Harleys, I had a blast there regardless of the marque of the bike I was on.
BMW has their demo fleet, as does Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Victory, HD, Boss Hoss and maybe a couple others. I've taken demo rides on all the bikes but HD. None of the other manufacturers come even close to BMW, as the BMW folks give a talk on safety, operational details and having a fun ride. Kawasaki was (IMHO) probably the worst, as they talked down to you like little kids and set a bad tone.

Fantastic riding in the Black Hills. Spearfish Canyon. Custer State Park. Needles Highway. Vanocker Canyon. The Badlands. Devils Tower. Mount Rushmore. Deadwood. Keystone.

Have fun. I'm sure you will!

When I first went to sturgis they fed everyone free hamburgers in the park. And the only trailers were house trailers. Another time in the "old" days they blocked off a section of 4 lane road and let it be a drag strip/ wheelie demonstration area. Now days you get a ticket for any "display of speed". It is kind of fun to watch people on their $40,000.00 custom try to pull away from a curb and almost fall down. If you want to visit a really foreign place try sturgis.

I was in Sturgis in 1992 on my first bike trip to the USA, it is a nice little town. We ( me and a Canadian on a Goldwing) could park our bike at the Police parking lot, no problems at all; their was no traffic in the city center, but I was there in September, a month after the Rally, and the roads around Sturgis are great for a motorcycle, I loved the ride to Deadwood. If I go back, I don,t go to the Rally, because in 1992 I stayed at the KOA Campground in Spearfish (60 miles east of Surgis) and the owner told me that during the rally there campground was fully bookt? so it is to big for me.
So long.
Chris.

The area of sturgis is beautifull. My advice is not to go touring the area during the sturgis meet time. Consider the sturgis rally a medium sized city populated entirely by motorcycles.

I went through Sturgis for the first time in June. The locals were gearing up to squeeze the wallets of the annual heard of Harley "Lemmings" due to arrive the following month. I can't think of a more undesireable time to go to Sturgis than, when is it, the begining of August? If you want to really enjoy the Black Hills, Badlands, and all that the area has to offer,then May, June, and early July are the best months to be there on a two wheeler.

http://www.custercountynews.com/site...d=461867&rfi=6

Not so great news out of Sturgis. Those scumbags known as the Hells Angels shoot 5 Outlaws (or those affiliated with Outlaws--also a scumbag club) Tuesday afternoon near Custer State Park. 2 in critical condition. 2 of those shot were females. More proof these scumbags are lower than rattlesnakes.
Frankly, if it were guys killing guys in these scumbag clubs, I doubt anyone (especially me) would care. Heck, I'd even spring for the ammo.

In other rather unusual Sturgis Rally news: 2 guys (apparently unknown to each other) have an argument while riding a shuttle bus (?!!!!!?). One fatally stabs the other in the neck. The other gets carted off to jail, charged with 2nd degree murder.

Did a quick trip to sturgis and enjoyed it greatly. left montana and saw the steaming springs of yellowstone by night then the grand tetons by moonlight. Traveled up ten sleep canyon dodging deer and saw the biggest herd of wild elk ever.Got to sturgis and visited various vendors and found several things that some of my customers (honda and yamaha) have been looking for for their bikes. Saw every kind of bike and talked to a bunch of people. Got a invite for a place to stay in china and another invite to edmonton canada. Visited a holy place called Bear Butte and then took a quick trip home across indian country. Alex and Carsten you missed real experience.

Was there in 05 ,make sure u take your ear plugs.Great fun and very good for the eyes. .I walked all the time as it was safer and easier than riding in the heat and traffic.