#Sturgis

The motorcycling public has long associated  Harley-Davidson with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, but Sturgis and the Motor Company are in the process of making it official. The Milwaukee-based manufacturer and the City of Sturgis, SD are ringing in the year of the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally by looking forward to the next 75 years.

While it’s difficult to say which is the top rally in the popular consciousness of American motorcycling, both Daytona Bike Week and Sturgis feature prominently in biker mythology. If you break down both events into their most basic components, they look something like this: Bikers arrive from all over the country and other parts of the world, take over the main venues of several local cities/towns, make lots of noise, consume tons of food and drink, go for rides around the local area, consume more and make more noise, spend tons of money, and go home happy, already talking about next year. Daytona has a little more racing (to this crowd) and Sturgis has a lot more riding. Both are considered must-do motorcycle events.

If you’re at the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota or the National Bikers Roundup in Tulsa, Oklahoma, you’re in luck! If not, you’re probably reading this and wishing you were at one of these two rallies. Why? Because Harley-Davidson is revealing, and offering test rides on, the new 2015 Road Glide and Road Glide Special at each rally weeks in advance of announcing the company’s complete 2015 model lineup.

When you are the editor of a niche magazine, you look for every advantage you can get. I was the editor of Hot Bike, a V-Twin based publication focused on the very best that could be built out of Milwaukee’s most basic technology. At one point there were 14 monthly or bi-monthly titles all focused on V-Twins. Competition was fierce for the coolest bikes, the most interesting tech innovations and, since we all served one OE master, new bike exclusives were a massive accomplishment.

Forget Carnegie Hall; the best way to Sturgis is to ride, ride, ride.

The 73rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has come to a close, and after a week of bikes, babes, booze, fire and rock, initial reports predict both attendance and revenue were up over last year’s event.

The Black Hills Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD, is the only place I want to be each August. The ride there, however, should not be overlooked. So load your saddlebags with gear, your smartphone with a few helpful apps and clear your camera’s memory cards, there’s a ton of America to see along the way. Kickstands up boys and girls, lets ride!