Sturgis Needs A Tune Up
Rapid City TV station KEVN reported interviewing a Sturgis vendor with more than a decade's experience, and he says this year is the slowest yet. ABM thinks he's correct w/respect to the last half-dozen years. Pepper Massey is the new Sturgis rally director, and along with Mayor Maury LaRue, they'll need to take the next few months to figure out what's happening. Our take?
(1) It's the housing slump + adjustable home loan rates. Experts estimate that over a trillion dollars worth of home mortages will come up for adjustment by this October.
(2) Money is tighter than my dad with the car keys on my 16th birthday.
(3) Prices for everything out here have gone scalper high over the past five years.
(a) Main Street Hamburgers: $3 to $8.
(b) Motel Rooms: $65 to $235
(c) Longnecks: $2 to $6
(d) Gasoline: $1.50 to $3.50
How the city of Sturgis can help: (1) Lower vendor rates for the prime Main/Lazelle lots, & make vendors sign a promise to lower their prices by a percentage. Do more to make the rally more biker friendly. With all due respect, local enforcement has written the same number of tickets each of the past five years. Problem is, numbers of Sturgis rally bikers has decreased in the last five years, so per capita, the number of written infractions has virtually soared. Less bikers, same amount of squad cars = more tickets for the two wheeled crowd. We're only passing along what we've heard in countless interviews this week. Unlike Daytona, Sturgis is not in the center of a huge population area, so people have to commit to sometimes thousands of miles to get here, and if the wallet's going to get beat to death, they'll stay home. Having said all that, personally, ABM appreciates being able to find a parking spot. Sturgis ain't dead, all it needs is a fresh set of spark plugs, anda new air cleaner!
ABM Tip of the Day:
"Dungeon Bar" Main Street, Sturgis. COBB's might have a rough time navagating down the narrow stairwell, downstairs and into the Dungeon, but once you get there, you'll find a tasty "Beer Breakfast". Each morning, between 9-10am, all cans are one buck. If you come hungry, they'll make ya a nice muffin for a buck. So there, good value! A muffin and a can of brew!
On the ABM schedule for today: Test ride on an S&S Motorcycle equipped with the new "X-WEDGE" V-Twin engine. We've heard so much about this groundbreaking mill, we have to ride it. The guys handed over a pass, and we're headed out to the speedway at 11am to check it out. Listen for a full report in a future ABM. If it's great, we'll say so.
Friday, the annual American Ironhorse ride. It's open to all riders, all bikes. We really like this ride, because it always winds up at a far away eatery, and the AIH dudes put out a really nice buffet. Last spring in Daytona, we ate and ate at "Mad Dog's" on the intracoastal waterway. It was fantastic. First bike out at 12 noon. Cya there? Hey, it's a freebie! Plus you get a nice shirt.
Keep checkin' back in as we continue to report from what is STILL one of the best party weeks in America, Sturgis, SD. It's more fun than getting a warning instead of a ticket! By the way, that apehanger fine we told you about yesterday is only $20. Hardly seems worth pulling us over, ?
(1) It's the housing slump + adjustable home loan rates. Experts estimate that over a trillion dollars worth of home mortages will come up for adjustment by this October.
(2) Money is tighter than my dad with the car keys on my 16th birthday.
(3) Prices for everything out here have gone scalper high over the past five years.
(a) Main Street Hamburgers: $3 to $8.
(b) Motel Rooms: $65 to $235
(c) Longnecks: $2 to $6
(d) Gasoline: $1.50 to $3.50
How the city of Sturgis can help: (1) Lower vendor rates for the prime Main/Lazelle lots, & make vendors sign a promise to lower their prices by a percentage. Do more to make the rally more biker friendly. With all due respect, local enforcement has written the same number of tickets each of the past five years. Problem is, numbers of Sturgis rally bikers has decreased in the last five years, so per capita, the number of written infractions has virtually soared. Less bikers, same amount of squad cars = more tickets for the two wheeled crowd. We're only passing along what we've heard in countless interviews this week. Unlike Daytona, Sturgis is not in the center of a huge population area, so people have to commit to sometimes thousands of miles to get here, and if the wallet's going to get beat to death, they'll stay home. Having said all that, personally, ABM appreciates being able to find a parking spot. Sturgis ain't dead, all it needs is a fresh set of spark plugs, anda new air cleaner!
ABM Tip of the Day:
"Dungeon Bar" Main Street, Sturgis. COBB's might have a rough time navagating down the narrow stairwell, downstairs and into the Dungeon, but once you get there, you'll find a tasty "Beer Breakfast". Each morning, between 9-10am, all cans are one buck. If you come hungry, they'll make ya a nice muffin for a buck. So there, good value! A muffin and a can of brew!
On the ABM schedule for today: Test ride on an S&S Motorcycle equipped with the new "X-WEDGE" V-Twin engine. We've heard so much about this groundbreaking mill, we have to ride it. The guys handed over a pass, and we're headed out to the speedway at 11am to check it out. Listen for a full report in a future ABM. If it's great, we'll say so.
Friday, the annual American Ironhorse ride. It's open to all riders, all bikes. We really like this ride, because it always winds up at a far away eatery, and the AIH dudes put out a really nice buffet. Last spring in Daytona, we ate and ate at "Mad Dog's" on the intracoastal waterway. It was fantastic. First bike out at 12 noon. Cya there? Hey, it's a freebie! Plus you get a nice shirt.
Keep checkin' back in as we continue to report from what is STILL one of the best party weeks in America, Sturgis, SD. It's more fun than getting a warning instead of a ticket! By the way, that apehanger fine we told you about yesterday is only $20. Hardly seems worth pulling us over, ?
posted by americanbikerminute at 7:55 AM
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