55 is the speed limit on the interstate and both feet down at a stop sign or get searched
And don't park in a no parking zone, even for a few minutes. Cops will stop you for anything to check for DUI's. As another person mentioned, lots of people there who are not experienced riders. I went for the 75th anniversary and I couldn't believe how many bad riders were there. I must have seen 6 or 7 accidents in the 5 days I was there.
All in all though, I had a great time. Don't be stupid and you won't have a problem.
Plenty of fun to be had and if you want to open her up the interstate speed limit is 80. Good luck.
Which they strictly enforce. I got pulled over for going 84 MPH. And the Sturgis cops are looking to generate revenue and make a lot of dui arrests. So tread carefully.
Reservations ASAP. I've done it a few months out and still almost didn't manage. Yellowstone is worse.
Cops don't mess around that time of year, they're looking for any reason at all to pull you over. The area goes from having less than 10,000 people living there to 500,000-730,000 people. It doesn't take much for that to get out of control. You'll see cops crack down harder when you're still a state or two over. They'll pull you over for 2 mph over.
Lot of wildlife out there, you're not going to see too much of it during Sturgis, least in comparison. Where there is one deer there is two. Cows are stupid, and Bison are way quicker than you'd expect when they want to be. Never forget they are wild even in a touristy area.
There are some great roads out there, don't expect more than puttzing on them though with the Strugis crowd there. Check out Deadwood.
Tip well, the locals, even two states over, have to put up with a lot of stupid that time of year.
Last edited by CaptainAwesome; 01-21-2018 at 05:34 PM.
Talked to a gal at the Hill City visitor center. She said it was amazing how fast the riders are flying around after sundown. She said the area is loaded with large animals and rally riders are oblivious to the fact.
Going for the first time this year too. Managed to get a good deal on a hotel for 5 nights in Rapid City. Riding the area the week before and just planning to attend the first day of the rally to check it out. For me, it’s more about the ride and less about the craziness. Hoping the local riding won’t be quite as busy the week before the rally.
If you're not choosy, you can sleep in someone's yard a block away from the downtown action (for a small fee) like I did this past year. If that doesn't look comfy or warm enough (high 30s for the lows at night) you better find a place to stay and nail it down quick. Break out that wallet because everything is expensive at any rally, especially Sturgis.
I did this years ago ... I was younger and it was "funner" :>)
Watch the curves. Ran across one that tried to take out a guard rail. Shipped him home in a box. Also came up on a crutch rocket that went head on into a Tri Glide on a tight curve.
Be sure to take a good rain suit with you because at some point you are likely to need it. We hit rain torrential rain storms on the way up, and on the way back. I was sure proud I had my HIVIS rain suit with me. A nice waterproof bag is also helpful for storing clothes and other things you want to stay dry. We found water proof bags at the local Army/Navy surplus and they worked great and fit well on my Ultra's luggage rack.
The buffalo deserve your utmost respect. They are big!. We were riding back from Rushmore one afternoon and one was ten feet from the road, looked like a big brown rock. Pop up hailstorms are the norm out there. Most of all enjoy yourself and follow their laws.
Yellowstone is more like 7-7.5 hours from Sturgis.
Originally Posted by Mac10
We booked in a campground yesterday called no Rushmore. It's three miles outside Sturgis. We planned for a ten day trip. Most of us are riding out of Myrtle Beach SC which is about 1850 miles. We're planning on at least three days there and back. We also are talking about visiting Yellowstone which I believe is about six hours. Talked about this for years so should be a great time. Thanks for the replies
01-21-2018, 02:52 PM
