Lessons from a week at Sturgis

[dusty]

1. On a long trip, luggage should be arranged to form a solid lower backrest.
2. Frame sliders double as road pegs when on your 500th mile of the day.
3. Do NOT EVER drive through wet clay. After 10ft, enough will be packed between the front tire and fender to ruin any chance of riding until you've worked for a half-hour cleaning all of it out. And mud will still be flying from the general vicinity through the next 24 hours.
4. Keep a plan to vacate your passenger seat's luggage onto your buddy's bike quickly to allow for giving random local girls rides
5. Superior rider always trumps superior bike around the twisties.
6. The town of Sturgis is one big slow-drive contest. If anyone didn't know clutch control before entering, they'd be an absolute veteran by the time they made it to the other side.

That's all the major bike-related lessons I can think of at the moment. I rode out with a buddy and stayed in Buffalo Chip Monday through Thursday. We ended up coming back early due to lousy weather forecasts for the remainder of our scheduled time.

Saw two other FZ6's while I was out there. I met one of you exiting Needles (blue; dunno year). The other I talked to for a bit at a lookout point overlooking the lake (Red 2007 from N MN, if I recall correctly). If either of you saw a guy on a Red 2006 with a tankbag, it was probably me.

The bike in touring mode:
(Yes there's mud on the side from where I dropped it after the front tire locked up from the stupid clay. On the plus side, the bike wasn't moving when it went down, and it dropped on mud/grass, so no damage occurred.)

[FZ1inNH]

And when you pass an RV, do it as FAST as you can and stay all the way to the other side! Harley-Davidson dealer Bruce Rossmeyer killed -- OrlandoSentinel.com

So, how crowded was it this year? I know a few people that go and a lot of them have given up and started going to Americade instead. Daytona Bike Week is becoming more and more sportbike oriented.

[dusty]

After the first few hundred miles on the interstate, the winds off of Semis and RVs become fairly predictable. We rode back in the middle of one of the semi-storms that sprinkles here and there, but the wind is all over the place. Fantastically fun

Oh. I need to add one more lesson... There. It's at the end.

The town of sturgis was absolutely packed. Took an at least an hour to get through town at the worst times since everyone was coming back to or leaving from the Chip. As for the campground, the Chip was the largest city in SD the night Aerosmith played.

Daytona bike week sounds interesting. When is it?

[FZ1inNH]

It's always in the spring and usually follows the Daytona 500. Keep an eye on this site for next year's calendar. officialbikeweek.com

[Botch]

See any other good acts besides Aerosmith? I guess Mr. Tyler just fell off a stage and is canceling the rest of their tour this summer...

[dusty]

I caught the tail end of Lita Ford and was about 20 ft. from the stage for Toby Keith. I listened to Saving Abel and Aerosmith (well, as far as they got) from my tent, which was a great listening level. I had pitched my tent right next to the chain-link fence that faced the stage, so I had a good view of all the events and direct sound from the mains. I still could feel the kick from the subs as well.

He fell off the stage after their 7th song, so everyone was understandably ticked. Everyone who wasn't camping had to buy a $120 ticket to see less than half a show.

[VEGASRIDER]

Originally Posted by dusty

Daytona bike week sounds interesting. When is it?

Not as huge as Sturgis, but I believe it's the next largest bike gathering in the west. Lauglin River Run, usually at the end of April.