I'm coming from NC but that's what I'm gonna do

 

Yes and YES. 3 days staying in or near Sturgis is fine. One day to spend in town, maybe a day to trip to Rushmore/Crazy Horse and to ride Needles/Pigtail. The rides are better before and after sturgis week as there are too many bikes, too many trikes/sidecars and newbies. Everyone is going under the speed limit and some of the newbies fall down on the slow sharp corners. Funny but frustrating. So I would recommend that trying to get the best rides in should wait until another year. Take in Sturgis, the new and improved Full Throttle, and the Chip for a concert of two. If you ride, stick to a few destinations or just plan to spend some time in Deadwood.
500 miles a day is hard duty, so you will need to plan to relax while in Sturgis so that you are fresh for the ride home. we took our time going and did a 650 miles ride the last day home. If you are going to be tired, let it be with a big smile on your face Monday at work.
On average you have 8 hours of riding each day. To accomplish this you will need to take the interstate and just burn miles. I like to start early, about 8 AM and be off the road shortly after 3, and by 4 for sure. Unwind, imbibe, jump in the pool, eat well, and just get away from 8 hours in the saddle so I am fresh the next day. I have a rule, three hard days of riding, then the next is a rest day, short ride into Sturgis, buy stuff, take it to Fedex/UPS and ship it home or have it installed there, get back to your camp early, relax for a while, take in a concert, Lynyrd Skynyrd works for me. Next day visit Deadwood, take it easy. With 1000s of bikes doing the Needles and Pigtail, etc, don't make this a priority unless you really want it. Take in Rushmore/Crazy Horse, run out to Devil's Tower, tour the badlands and enjoy the ride. Needles is unique, but on Sturgis week it is not fun. Our trip from the Pacific Northwest is about 1350 miles and we arrived after three days in shape to party at the chip. Our key was being ready to roll around 8 AM. It meant we did not have to hurry. Some mornings we were on the road by 7 and in the river/pool swimming at 3:30.
Don't trailer your first time. You do not need extra days/hours in Sturgis. If you want to trailer, do it again, but it is the journey that binds motorcyclists together, not the destination.
Then, maybe you will become a hard core Black Hills rally-er, so the next year you can arrive Friday night and leave late the following Sunday, but your first year, enjoy the entire ride experience.

 

been to sturgis every year since 2007. i might get trashed for this but a couple of years i didn't ride, just drove there with my wife.

based on going there every year we done most stuff a couple of times.

its about 975 miles for me one way.

when i do ride, its 2 1/2 days out and 2 back. i leave early afternoon friday after work and get in 200-300 before grabbing a hotel.

i take secondary (why 44 in SD and 20 in illinois and iowa) roads most the way out and back.

i camp out in sturgis and then the last nite i camp in the badlands - that cuts off about 100 miles and i really like the badlands, a good ride and something to see.

one time i left thu around 10am and got back home sunday around 6pm

for me its a lot about the ride

that all being said, it depends on what you want to do while you are there. 9 days is enough to get a good taste but not enough to do everything

so i bet after you get back you will want to go there non rally week for some easy riding and touring, or wanting to go back to try something different

next year i am thinking of doing teddy roosevelt national park on the way back. maybe even rocky mountain park to sturgis to TR and then home

who knows, i might fly into denver and rent

lots of options

 

"Please don't be a pansy and trailer to sturgis," I guess I'm a pansy because I trailered this year but I drove 1604 miles in 24 hours leaving south of Atlanta at 9am Saturday and was in Spearfish at 7am Sunday. The wife and I taking turns driving giving us more time to ride while we were there. Yes I would like to ride there and back but there is so much beautiful country to see out there is why I trailered and I only had a week to do it. Next time I will ride but I plan on taking two or three weeks to do it to see everything plus riding to Yellowstone!

 

A pansy you are!

 

LOL


So is it better to ride there and have less time THERE? Or is it better to drive there and have MORE time there to ride?

 

If you really want to make the best of your time, you go sometimes other than rally week. Three of us went down Sept. 26-27 and other than the leaf gazers in Spearfish canyon we saw hardly any traffic at all. Great weather, great riding, we had a ball. You can keep all those crowds and ripoff prices.

 

My best memories are the rides there and back.
Others that ride cross-country to get there will tell you the same thing.

During the rally, the riding around the area isn't a lot of fun. There is a lot of beauty, but you are literally in rush hour traffic most of the time. The most difficult thing about Needles Highway is watching for brake lights ahead of you.

 

I lived in CO for years and never went to Sturgis. Now I'm in SC and thinking about it...but limited vacation time makes it tough. And frankly, I wish I'd have gone 20 years ago, I'm not a fan of crowds. Don't like 'em at all. And that reason alone is probably why I'll never make it to Sturgis.

I'm livin' up to the wife's nickname: Grumpy Old Man.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda...

 

Once again I will voice an opinion. Sturgis can be enjoyed two different ways.
1. STURGIS - The rally, the confusion, the parties, the concerts, the traffic jams and the deals on stuff made in China or by a few USA artisans (rare, but still there). This Sturgis is about the event and the specific activities associated with Sturgis. It happens close by and you do a little cruising, in a large group, but not touring. Trailer, ride bitch, toyhauler, ship it makes little difference to this group. They either party hardy or remember when they used to party hardy (My age group).
2. STURGIS - the trip. It is about the ride across country, with friends and the longer the better. A few days (3-4) to make the most of the mad house we call 1.Sturgis, including the Buffalo Chip, Full Throttle, concerts, Deadwood, and even the Needles, etc. Oh about traffic, it actually moves pretty well considering there are 100,000 bikes going around that hairpin, getting gas, or at the stop light in front of you. This 2. Sturgis is about the entire experience. This is my Sturgis. 10 days and you ride.

My buddy who had not been to Sturgis but had the itch bad, thought he wanted the entire week at the rally. He thought he wanted the 1. Sturgis. This was his first time. I told him if you go with me, we hit Sturgis hard for 3-4 days, but only after we take the best roads and the best rides coming and going. 3-4 days riding each way. His biker buddies were doing the I-90 bust your ***** straight through. He and his wife ended up deciding to ride with me. Each rode their own bike a Road Glide Ultra and a Street Glide Special. They had a ball making the trip. Standing nearly naked in glacier snow run off in going to the sun, beartooth riding between two horrendous thunderstorms and not getting wet. (Yellowstone made up for that later). They had so much fun riding that they road back later when there were no crazies so they could ride the Needles/pigtail, spearfish, iron mountain as it is supposed to be ridden. After four nights and three days of hard partying, they were ready for taking the long way home.

It does not matter whether you like 1. STURGIS or 2. STURGIS. I only matters that you make the trip, however you can in those 9 days. There is not right way, in fact there is no real way to do STURGIS except when you get back and tell others, then your way was the right way.