In another post Perrydasavage wondered if anyone had been to Sturgis.  I've been stuck at home sick all day so during those times that I just had to get out of bed for a bit, I have put together a little something.

http://hometown.aol.com/bikernanatx/Sturgis2002.html

There is only one reason to go to Sturgis, for bragging rights.  Yep, been there, did that, bought all the tshirts.  Which is a good thing because I will never go back during bike week.  Please take note of all the traffic jams.  This is what happens when 400,000 bikers show up on top of all the other turists that had no idea what was going on till they found themselves in the middle of it.  The weather.......... freakish!  If you ever go, take everything.  It can be calm and hot, then suddenly there is a streak of lightning, clap of thunder and it will turn cold and windy.  The wind blew so hard that it pulled tents out of the ground and they went rolling across the pasture.  Thats right pasture.  If you want a room while in Sturgis you need to plan that well in advance, like a year or more and it won't be cheap.  Otherwise you camp and when the campgrounds are full they open up the cow pastures.  All in all I'm glad I went but if I ever go back I want to be able to ride the country side and it is beautiful but being locked down in traffic jams in the middle of nowhere is not my idea of riding.

i have brothers who are bikers, and they won't even go these days. they say it's spoiled by all the posers. you know the guys, they spend twenty grand on a bike,  2 grand on cloths, they buy their wife/girlfriends boob jobs
so they will look good on back.  they trailer the whole kit and kabbodle to within a few miles then "ride" in thinking they be some kind of road warrior.
i'm speaking of both daytona and sturgis. ask law enforcement and they will tell you there are way to many riders out there at these events that don't have a clue on how to ride but because they can afford the machine that makes them "BIKERS".

I have  much respect for the people on the two forums because they choose not to follow. just look at what we have done with the basic platform. we got choppers,baggers,cafe races, and i've even seen a TT version.  i don't know anyone who has left his/her machine strickly stock.

here's my proposal.  this year for stugis, organize you're own charity ride in the community you live in.  this way you get to meet other bikers, and help the people in the community that need it..  

any thoughts....

PerrydaSavage wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:12:


no  perry i do not consider you a poser, for you see you ride a savage and are proud of that fact. i would see nothing wrong with you flying to either sturgis or daytona to take in the "party", because you would not be going there pretending to be something you are not.
heck who doesn't like a good party.

i quess what i was trying to say with my origingal post was, i have a problem with those who think they can "buy" a lifestyle rather than live it, and events like sturgis and daytona just rub my nose in it.

when i purchased thumper with cash i could have afforded a h.d.  but just to many people buy them as the status symbol, and i wanted to be different.  when i'm done with all the mod's i'm making it will be as sweet looking as anything you see being built on the tube, at a fraction of the cost. i want a custom machine that is my daily driver so when i wreck it (and i will) i can put it back together again on the cheep.

8)Hi guys! First off Sluggo my friend, I wasn't trying to imply that you may have thought of "yours truely" as a poser ... on the contrary ... I fully admit that if I were to attend one of these events, I would in fact be a tourist!
As far as Bikes go, I like 'em all ... in fact my 3 faves of all-time are the Savage/S40, Intruder/S50 and Harley's new 883L ... sluggo my man I admire your guts in chopping a brand new '04 Savage ... and a cooler Ride I've seldom seen anywhere! I also understand your reasons for wanting to own an LS650 rather than something else ... I too love the fact that it is a very unique cycle!
Diane ... if I were ever to get to Sturgis, I'd like to fly in to the nearest airport with nothing more than the basics, bus into Sturgis and then try and hook up with some decent folks who wouldn't mind me pitching a small pup tent on their campground. The "romance" of going solo and then makin' some new friends to knock about with for a few days to take in the spectacle really appeals to me ... the safety issue of not Riding isn't lost on me ... hell I'm still a noob when it comes to Riding ... besides, I have a wife and daughter that'd I like to be able to return home to!

I went to Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach in October. It was interesting to go to a big biker event but one was definitely enough. Very little real gear for sale -- mostly Harley stuff, t-shirts, souvenirs etc... Got to see a few vendors I wanted to see but not as many as I had hoped.

Not a lot of biking goes on -- mostly people-watching and drinking. It was fun seeing all the custom bikes cruising by. There were some really beauties. And as my husband would say, the bikes weren't bad either... They did have demo rides which was cool but they took people out for a limited time in fairly heavy traffic so you couldn't really get much of a feel for the demo bike.

All in all, lots of Harleys, not enough helmets and too many riders drinking too much. I like to drink too but I wouldn't want to hop on a bike afterwards in a t-shirt and shorts and no helmet!!