Strangely, many parts manufacturers, production custom builders, and pro builders had great things to say about the rally, regardless of the lack of people. I spoke with a representative from Big Dog Motorcycles who said that they sold more bikes during Sturgis than they had sold in the entire first half of the year. Parts manufacturers selling wares at the event, like the guys from Tailgunner Exhaust, reported that their products continuously moved into buyers’ hands. BAKER Drivetrain offered free installations for anyone who bought a transmission at the show and sold out a week’s worth of scheduled appointments in the first two days they were there.

I speculate that there were a few businesses that felt the pain of fewer wannabees than years past. I’ll bet that Sturgis T-shirt sales were way down, and I’m sure the food (and I use that word lightly) vendors selling seven dollar Italian sausages didn’t make the same profits as previous years. I felt sorry for a few bars, such as the Knuckle Saloon, that had been packed to the brim in previous years and this year were like ghost towns. Take the Knuckle Saloon for instance, Thursday and Friday night the people weren’t packed in despite the great house band and the pretty waitresses. The good news was that a person could walk right up to the eager bartenders and get a drink within seconds of ordering.

The weather and traffic were the best I’ve ever experienced. When in South Dakota, you can be sure that the skies will be unpredictable. The locals are prepared for it, but I’m always caught by surprise (and usually without a jacket) by how quickly dark, ominous clouds can roll in. It’ll be 75-degrees and sunny, then I would stop someplace for lunch, sit down inside, and by the time I finished eating and walked back outside, it would start to pour. I’m not complaining because I’m the idiot that can’t seem to remember to bring something with me that’s waterproof. I’ve always ended up riding with a plastic trash bag wrapped around my torso with three holes cut in it for my head and arms. This year the rain, wind, and hail (I told you it could be crazy) came and went during the beginning of the week and didn’t return for the remainder of the show. The weather was a little muggy and hot, but I’ll take that over torrential rain every time. Bike traffic was down considerably. On the big travel days, getting into the area and getting out could take a long while, but that should be expected. It’s easy to avoid, though, just come early and leave early. I found myself a captive of a mechanized, four-wheeled cage on more than one occasion, and it was surprisingly easy to get where I needed to be. I’d plan trips from Main Street to the Buffalo Chip and allow myself 45-minutes of travel time. That kind of planning got me there about a half-hour faster than I thought it would, and the same was true with almost any time I had to grab some wheels to get somewhere.

There were plenty of things to see and do. So much so that a person couldn’t possibly see it all in one week even if they started at daybreak and stopped at sundown. That doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but remember we’re talking about summer days in the Northern hemisphere, the sun was up at six and didn’t fall until almost eight pm, and the days were still getting longer. Everywhere a person could look was another thing to do, from visiting Mount Rushmore to having a beer at the Broken Spoke Bar on Lazelle Street, to riding a bunch of long sweeping, gorgeous roads with more green scenery than any one set of eyes could handle. People generally had a friendly demeanor and there were parties on every street near Main and Lazelle, as most of the residents of the houses move out for a couple weeks and rent their homes to enthusiasts. My favorite hang out this year was at the Grease Monkey Mayhem lot on the main drag featuring builders like Custom Design Studios, El Pitts (a Mexican liquor connoisseur like myself), the sculptor Jeff Decker, Bill Dodge, and Bobby Seeger from Indian Larry Legacy. They threw a great party one night and were more than generous with the libations — viva la Corazon tequila!

Maybe they weren’t present during the first few Sturgis rallies, but a number of veteran vendors could be found selling all shapes and sizes of parts on their seasonal home grounds. J&P Cycles’ building and parking lot was filled with vendors and representatives from companies that made parts sold in their catalog answering questions and demonstrating how certain parts worked. Arlen Ness’ booth and trailer was there, plus a guy from Rivera/Primo, Twin Tec Ignition, and more. Performance Machine shared a lot with Todd’s Cycle, and Alloy Art, very near to S&S Cycle’s truck and Barnett Tool and Engineering’s booth.

Official ’08 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally stats were recently released and confirmed that attendance was down almost 100,000 from last year. Fewer vendor licenses were issued and marriage licenses were down, too. The city of Sturgis must have raised the taxes on all the vendors because with over a hundred fewer vendors than last year, the city still collected almost the same amount in taxes as last year. All that money may have been to pay for all the police. Unfortunately, there must have been more law enforcement officers because there were more traffic violations, double the number of misdemeanor drug arrests, and about sixty-five more arrests for non-traffic violations than last year. On the other hand, there were less parking tickets and the least amount of rally related deaths and fewer emergency room visits than in years.

When I looked at the stats of the rally I noticed something else, attendance in ’08 is similar to numbers from the early ‘90s. This year’s attendance totaled 414,917 and around 400,000 in 1990. Is this number a true indicator of the industry’s return to reality? If so, I’m looking forward to next year’s rally.

The Night that Rocked Glencoe 

On August 4, 2008, to celebrate the beginning of the Sturgis Rally, Glencoe Nation hosted legendary arena band, KISS. During their European tour, KISS made a stateside detour to perform a one-of-a-kind stage show that featured all the hallmarks of one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Spectacular pyrotechnics delighted spectators eyes while the synchronized lights and theatrical antics of the band all contributed to the entertainment, yet still took a backseat to the vast repertoire of classic hits that stretch as long as Gene Simmon’s tongue.

A number of other acts, including Kenny Chesney, also graced Glencoe Nation’s Rock’n the Rally stage this year—look for more renowned artists on next year’s bill. Visit www.rockntherally.com for information.

Thunder Road, the Custom Capital of Sturgis

You can’t miss the main structure at Thunder Road, the Thunder Dome. Its large presence is not what draws in record crowds to the venue, though, the promoters leave that to the gargantuan number of custom bikes that were on display there, more than 350, in a variety of shapes and sizes. Six bike shows were held under the spacious canopy including the Trike Wars, Metzeler Bike show, Perewitz Custom Paint show, the Rat’s Hole show, and the Bikernet.com Brouhaha. Exhibits spanned the spectrum of motorcycle enthusiasts’ interests with Michael Lichter’s “Stay Gold” art, the Miss Sturgis Bike Week Calendar models signed autographs near the Seminole Hard Rock display, and Strokers Sturgis, brought to you by Rick Fairless, kept ice cold beer in the spectators’ hands.

Visit Thunder Road in South Dakota in 2009, located three miles east of Sturgis on Highway 34 or check out www.thunderroadsturgis.com. 

Shifters — Where Shift Happens

Owned by Wayne and Donna Pingel of Pingel Enterprise, Inc, Shifters Bar & Grill was purchased during the 2007 rally and fully remodeled in a biker theme with H-D colors and re-opened for 2008.  Priding themselves on selling the coldest beer and soda in Sturgis as well as their entire product line of high performance motorcycle products, they also bring in outside vendors to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A dyno is also on-site to help demonstrate the Easy Shift that allows a rider to shift their motorcycle up or down with just the push of a button…hence the name. Customers can enjoy food and beverages in air- conditioned comfort or outside in the sheltered beer garden. Located just a half- block south of Main Street and directly across from the Sturgis H-D, recent remodeling included large windows for great views of the scenery and bikes on Junction Avenue. Call 608-339-7999 or visit www.pingelonline.com.