August 8-13, 2007 – My six days at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
in Sturgis, South Dakota, along with the Black Hills and famous Badlands and surrounding areas, were filled with fun and adventure. This post – our first of many – will offer an overview of this great event and the people I met and highlight a few places I visited. While some may think the rally is about bikers, beer, and babes, it’s much more. I saw choppers, pro street, baggers, and rats bikes – American iron and metric alike. As expected, cool motorcycles were everywhere! Some of the most incredible bikes featuring custom paint jobs we’ve seen anywhere were at Sturgis. Impressive custom paint (or ‘kustom’ depending on your locale) and quality airbrush art was abundant, and the airbrush community seemed alive and well. Tattoos and tattoo shops prevailed as well, along with airbrushed body art. Beautiful ladies, too, were everywhere! And bands – live music is the rule. So, given that, here’s a quick rundown of what we saw…
DAY 1 – Wednesday, August 8th… First, I was excited to see what my team was up to in the days before my arrival, so my first stop when I arrived in Sturgis was to swing by the A.D. COOK Fine Art display at Custom Corners on Lasalle Street. The aisles were busy with event visitors, so hanging out there and meeting great art fans was great. After a while, I took time to wander the rows of vendors and catch up with some old and new friends. I stopped in on the Arlen Ness display, checked out their new bikes, and made a pass-through and a hello to our friends at American Motorcycle Company. Other bike vendors in Custom Corners included Swift Motorcycle Company, Big Bear Choppers, Precision Cycle Works, and others. Of course, there were babes – this is a motorcycle rally. The Purrfect Angels roamed the aisles of Custom Corners for a plethora of eye candy, complimenting the bikes with their beauty. At the end of the day’s business, it was time to roam the streets and do a little tourist sightseeing. After a hearty dinner on Main Street, followed by some live music and a couple of beers, the day was over, and we drove to Spearfish, our final destination for the evening. With as much as we could fit into my first evening there, I had to remind myself that it was just day one!
DAY 2 – Thursday, August 9th… On day two, my buddy and pinstripe extraordinaire Bob Spina stopped by the booth. A long-time visitor to Sturgis, Bob was instrumental in sharing Sturgis with me from a different perspective. We strolled the streets, and Bob introduced me to some of the rally’s more colorful attendees. It turns out that Bob has attended Sturgis more often than not since the ’70s, so he knows lots of people. We walked the streets of Sturgis, and I shot tons of pics of cool bikes and interesting individuals worldwide. One of our first stops was Buddha’s Body Art on Main Street, where tattoos and airbrush bodies were abundant. The chairs were full of new tattoo owners with works in process, and there were lines of willing people waiting to be adorned with their unique flavor of body art. After people-watching, it was time to head back to my display and hang out. On the way back, we stopped in on Corbin, manufacturer of great motorcycle seats and accessories, to check out their impressive display of custom show bikes and visit with Mike Corbin, Inventor and CEO, and Erik Solorio, Corbin’s painter out of Southern California.
Bob Spina and Erik Solorio Later that evening, Bob and I joined a couple of hundred guests for a celebratory dinner and presentation at the Sturgis Press Party hosted by Corbin, Barnett, and Performance Machine. The parking lot was full of trick motorcycles, and many of the Hamsters, an exclusive club of motorcycle enthusiasts, were also there. I finally got a chance to meet world-renowned custom motorcycle builder Dave Perewitz in person. I’ve been a fan of his bikes for years, and it was a pleasure to meet him in person finally. Learn more about Mr. Perewitz and other famous builders on the International Master Bike Builders Association website.
With dinner over, Bob and I said our goodnights and headed different ways – he headed to the world-famous Buffalo Chip, and I went back into town to meet up with some friends. This was my chance to meet an old friend face-to-face. Charlie Brechtel of The Charlie Brechtel Band was in town performing a few songs with The Fryed Brothers Band. Regular visitors to AirbrushTour may remember Charlie from our posts last year when I helped him with his album cover design. Charlie is also the man behind Big 7 Productions. Anyway, it was a great evening of hanging out with creative musicians. Charlie also had his buddy Randy Simpson, Founder and President of Milwaukee Iron, out of Lynchburg, VA. Anyone who’s seen his Discovery show ‘Southern Steel’ knows Randy and his crew to be great bike builders.
DAY 3 – Friday, August 10th… Friday was a big day at the A.D. Cook Fine Art booth, but I had a few opportunities to stroll the streets and shoot more pics. Hey, I love this stuff! I saw custom bikes with V-twins and V-eights, bikes and trikes, and a trick trailer painted by airbrush artist Jason Doll. I met up with airbrush artist Ken of Old School Art, who has been working in the same spot in downtown Sturgis for the last 17 years. I checked out the bikes by Roland Sands Designs, along with an amazing work of ridable art soon to be featured as the Easyriders bike of the year, and the impressive airbrush skills of Monte M. Moore (patience – we’ll bring those to you soon).
Arlen Ness 2 Bad 2 – the $500,000 bike DAY 4 – Saturday, August 11th… While most of my day was spent in the booth, I finally got to check out the Arlen Ness $500,000 motorcycle featuring two engines and trick paint – wow. A visit to Tough Customs left me wanting more. They build some highly-detailed works of art that look like they belong in art galleries and yet somehow scream to be ridden. The engraving on their custom copper bike is amazing. We’ll bring you more on these bikes soon.
DAY 5 – Sunday, August 12th… A little sightseeing in the Black Hills and Badlands leads us to Deadwood, SD, home of the infamous demise of Wild Bill Hickok. A visit to the Adams Museum & House, Deadwood’s coolest museum, where legends live, was fascinating, and a stop in at the No.10 Old Style Saloon made for an interesting time. A feeling of connectedness sat at a legendary bar where untold many had sat before. They host a show there several times daily detailing Wild Bill’s last card game, where he was shot while playing poker. He had aces and eights – also known as the dead man’s hand.
Later that day, we made our way to Mt. Rushmore. What an experience to see it up close. After some quality time there, we headed back into Keystone, just a couple miles from Rushmore, had a quick dinner, and then returned to Mt. Rushmore for the evening light ceremony. This is a ‘must-see’ for anyone living in our great country. The presentation, which includes a film and showcases the presidents’ faces against the night sky, is impressive. DAY 6 – Monday, August 13th… It was a touristy day before we headed home… we stopped in on the Cosmos Mystery Area just outside of Rapid City, SD, then off to the Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns, where we saw the world’s largest dog-tooth spar crystal ceilings, billed as the only cave on the road to Mount Rushmore. If you visit, be prepared to climb. These caves are a full ten stories below ground. With the rally wrapped up and plane departure times approaching, it was time to head home to Las Vegas. Alas, who’d have thought anyone would head to Vegas to relax?
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A.D. is an artist who started drawing at a young age. Throughout his life, he has worked with different creative tools in traditional and digital art and design. His art and writings have been showcased in various publications such as Airbrush Action Magazine, Airbrush Magazine, American Art Collector, Art & Beyond, Dream To Launch, Easyriders, Las Vegas City Life, Las Vegas Weekly, L’Vegue, ModelsMania, Quick Throttle, and The Ultimate Airbrush Handbook.
