Your motorcycle will also need to dress up warmly for a ride in cold weather. You will not need to worry about putting on warm blankets over your bike, but you will need to be careful that your poor ride does not get frostbite.

Radiator

If you have a water-cooled motorcycle, just like with a car, you will need to put in antifreeze in the radiator. If not, you will have severe problems when you have stopped and the radiator cools down.

Read your motorcycle’s maintenance manual how much, and which kind of antifreeze.

Tires

If you are riding on slicks or race tires, forget it. Just do not bother, you might just as well put on ice skates and go to a skating rink, since that is what you will be doing on your motorcycle. Make sure you have at the very least street tires fitted. Knobbies are much better, since they will bite into snow, but obviously studded tires are the best when you have got snow or ice. At the very least, normal street tires will offer better grip and reach operating temperatures much quicker than slicks.

Oil

The best oil to use during winter months is a thinner oil. They will improve performance, especially right after starting your bike. Get an oil that is made for winter, but do check your motorcycle manual which ones are recommended by the manufacturer, since not all companies allow a different oil type to be used.

When shopping for oil, make sure the viscosity grade has the letter “W” next to it (e.g. 20W or 30W). The “W” denotes Winter use (source).

Protecting Your Bike

When you say winter and snow, I say salt on the roads. In most parts of the world, when it starts snowing or freezing, salt is sprayed on the roads. It’s great to ride, since the roads are far less slippery, but it does mean that you will get salt on your motorcycle, and that means corrosion. If you want to prevent this, spray some WD-40 oil on all the parts that are exposed to salt & slush, typically below your fairing, forks, engine and mudguards.

When you have finished your ride, wash off the salt from your bike. If you leave it on for the rest of the winter, chances are by spring you will find some rust spots.

Lights

It gets dark quickly, and even during daytime, it can get dark, so it’s a very good idea to make sure that your lights are in good working order. Test them out before setting off.

Mirrors (and visor)

Because of big temperature differences, it is wise to spray an anti-fogging spray on your mirrors and helmet visor.

Battery

Check the water level of your battery. If it is lower than normal, you might have a leak, and during the winter, that is not a good thing. Top it up, but make sure you close the tops firmly.

If you will be riding with heated gear, make sure your alternator can handle it. Read your motorcycle manual to see how much wattage gets generated. If the sum of what is used by riding (lights and other components) plus your heated gear exceeds the wattage supplied, your battery will run out. On its own, this will not prevent you from riding, but you will not go a long distance, and you will need to recharge your battery when you are home again.

Brakes

You will need to apply brake grease to your brakes, since sludge and salt will form around the brake pins.

Next, we will look at riding tips.

But if you live in an area where it is cold, rainy and sometimes some snow, you can still ride, but you’ll need to take some precautions.

Trap Heat

The most important factor for riding in the cold, is that you need to trap your body heat. Heat tends to dissipate into the cold, and it is difficult to stoke the fire inside your body to replace the lost heat. So the best way is to insulate your body from heat loss.

In the old days, people would wrap old newspapers against their body to trap the heat. Nowadays you will not need to worry about newspaper ink rubbing against your skin, giving you who-knows-what-kind-of-sickness. A microfiber layer against your skin is the first defense layer against the cold. A microfiber T-shirt is great, better yet a long-john made out of microfiber. If you don’t have microfiber, get a good cotton one. A one-piece is better than two, but having one is better than none.

TIP: You need to put on the first layer, the microfiber, when you are warm, not outside in the cold. In that case, all you will be doing is trapping the cold temperature, so defeating the idea of keeping warm. Put on the microfiber when you are warm!

Next you can put on layers of woolen sweaters or cotton or silk shirts. Don’t put on too much, if not you’ll not be able to operate your motorcycle properly. Alternatively, you can get a heated vest. Plug it into your 12V system, and you’ll be as snug as a bug in a rug.

The final layer, your jacket, needs to be totally windproof; leather or nylon will do the trick, and ideally it should be a one-piece suit. If you don’t have a one-piece suit, get one that can be zipped between the pants and jacket. This way, less heat will escape.

Extremities

Your body extremities will see the fastest heat loss. Feet, hands and very important, your head, will loose heat very fast. It’s important to keep them warm.

Hands: Make sure your gloves are the gauntlet type, i.e., fit over your jacket sleeve. This way, no cold air can come in or out via the top. You might also want to get some silk gloves to wear inside your normal gloves, since they keep the fingers warm & dry. Remember that your hands & fingers are exposed to a very cold air when riding. It’s the reason many all-year riders have heated handlebars, or heated gloves.

TIP: If heated handlebars or gloves are too expensive, consider chemical heat packs.

Feet: Your feet will not be moving much on the motorcycle so they will tend to get cold quickly, but they have a source of natural heating; your motorcycle’s engine (unless you are riding a sports motorcycle).

But you will still need to wear warm socks, preferably with silk under-socks. Make sure your boots are rainproof and do not let wind in (and therefore hot air out). In the worst case scenario, get rain boot covers.

Head: Your head, believe or not, is very important. A head, and therefore brain that is exposed for long periods of time to cold temperatures will not function properly. You will start to loose concentration, and make judgment mistakes; your reaction time will diminish dramatically. At the very least, wear a balaclava, preferably with a silk hood underneath it. An advantage of a balaclava, one that goes up to your nose, is that it will prevent your visor from fogging up, something, no matter how good your visor, will happen in the winter.

Since you will find that cold air will enter your back, get a proper neck warmer that covers your neck, chest and shoulder.

Next we’ll look at what you need to do for your motorcycle in order to ride it in the winter.

The easiest thing is to leave it in the garage, but you’ll need to do some preventive steps if you want to be able to ride the motorcycle after the winter has melted away.

First of all, if you don’t have a garage, you’ll not want to leave your motorcycle on the road, especially if you live in an area where there is snow and frost. Your bike will not like it. If you do not have a garage, rent some space in a storage area, preferably one that is specialized in winter storage for motorcycles. These places are usually well adapted, and the good ones will assist you in preparing your motorcycle for the winter.

If you have your own garage, there are a couple of things you can do to make your bike hibernate properly:

1. Service your motorcycle, either yourself or at the dealer. Make sure the oil is changed (leaving old oil in a bike’s engine is not a good idea).
2. Fill up your fuel tank before storing.
3. If you have a carburetor, block the fuel flow and start the engine until all the remainder fuel is drained from the fuel line. This way, there will be no fuel in the lines.
4. Put fuel stabilizer in the fuel tank (if your dealer doesn’t have any, head over to the local marine supply store). No matter how full the tank is, after a while, condensation will form, and that can put a stop to you riding the following season.
5. Clean your motorcycle throughout. Remove all dirt and grease.
6. Degrease your chain (if you have one). Put oil (WD-40) on moving parts; joints and spray some inside the exhaust. The WD-40 will repel moisture from forming.
7. If your garage is not weather-proof, ie, it can get cold and humid, your best bet is to put some Vaseline or other wax based products over your chrome and other noticeable metal bits, including the fuel tank. You can also use a good chrome polish. The last thing you want is to have rust forming on your bike.
8. Preferably remove your battery, and place it on a dry surface (not the ground). But whether you remove the battery or not, connect a trickle charger to the battery. This will ensure that the battery is fully loaded and in good working condition for the day you fire up the bike again.
9. If your motorcycle has a center stand, use it. If you really want to, place your bike on blocks. This will relieve pressure from your suspension and tires.
10. Inflate your tires to the maximum pressure. It is going to get cold in your garage, so there’s no worry that the tire will inflate any further.
11. If you live in an area where it really gets cold, make sure you have put anti-freeze in the radiator (that is, if you have one).
12. Put a cover over your motorcycle. Do not put some plastic wrap, or anything but a special motorcycle cover, since proper covers allow the bike to “breath”, making sure humidity evaporates.

It sound like a lot of work, but it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes maximum, and this way when the riding season starts again, you can go straight for the ride instead of having to bring it to the dealer.

Your motorcycle will thank you.

Many non-bikers who need to shop for a motorcycle loving friend or relative, never know what to get, a problem most people have during the Christmas shopping spree. But in fact, if you’ve got to get a present for under the Christmas tree for a biker, it’s really simple.

So if you are a biker, and want to make sure you get a motorcycle related gift, print out the article below, and strategically drop it where your relatives and friends can see it.

Cut below this line
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Gifts for motorcycle riders come in different flavors; from simple clothing to complicated & technical pieces for the bike.

Clothing

Clothing for bikers can be as simple as a sweater or t-shirt that can be used for riding. Or even if the weather is too cold, how about a shirt, sweater or other clothing piece that has the logo of their motorcycle manufacturer on it? Like how about one of the dozen or so Harley-Davidson shirts? Or a polo shirt from an accessory maker, like Thor’s Polo shirt You just can’t go wrong.

Or an easy gift, but always welcome, how about a Harley-Davidson baseball cap? Officially licensed by Harley, and worn by Harley lovers around the world. It’s probably one of the easiest and most simple gifts you can get, and you can’t go wrong (unless the biker doesn’t ride a Harley).

For the more adventurous shoppers, you could try something practical in terms of clothing, like gloves, or socks made for motorcycle boots. If your friend / relative rides during the cold weather, how about some silk under-gloves or a balaclava?

Giving boots, helmets and jackets are not only costly, but you’ll need to know the exact size, or at least make sure the item can be exchanged easily. These are gifts any biker will appreciate.

Bikers are always cleaning things, like their motorcycle or their hands. A microfiber towel is an ideal gift, and not expensive. Even when they receive more than one (if someone else had the brilliant idea), it will never go to waste.

If you want to get a bit more intimate, and the receiver is a woman, how about pink pajamas?

Motorcycle Related

Getting something for the motorcycle is tricky. You need to know what’s on the bike, and what can be used for that specific motorcycle model. For example, it’s probably a bad idea to buy a topcase for a Suzuki Hayabusa.

Getting stuff for the motorcycle comes into the realm of customization, and that’s a very personal taste affair. Unless the biker has stated very clearly what is wanted, better stay away.

Something that will always go down well with a biker, is a die-cast model of their ride. You will need to know that manufacturer and preferably the model, but many are available. Click here to see many die-cast models.

Novelty

One gift category that is always welcome is the novelty gift for bikers. You can find things like ties, stickers, parking signs, and literally thousands of items for bikers.

If the biker in question likes pranks, how about a Mohawk for on top of the helmet? These things stay on the helmet until 200 MPH!

As you can see, finding gifts for motorcycle riders is simple, there are so many gifts ranging from a few dollars to 100′s of dollars. You can never say you don’t know what to get for a biker, it’s just impossible.

Happy shopping.

Yamaha show their latest concept, the XTW250 RYOKU motorcycle (link). From a first look, it appears to be a motorcycle straight out of a cartoon. All it needs is its own character.

The XTW250 RYOKU concept is a cross between the Yamaha XT250 and the dual-purpose TX225, but modified to carry heavy loads. The closest this bike comes to something we all know in the car world, is the SUV, or more like a HUMMER.

Yamaha-XT250+TX225=XTW250

The concept motorcycle has a very fat tire in the rear, and even the front tire is not as narrow as its “parent” counterparts. The fuel tank is low to the ground, implying a low center of gravity, enabling you to carry heavy loads and still maintain a good control over the motorcycle.

Throw in the rather large cargo rack at the back, and you’ve got a motorcycle that will be an enormous hit in Asia.

Asian Motorcycle Carrying Cargo

Motorcycles will carry anything in Asia, and most of them are low displacement engines. A 250cc engine, rugged, able to carry heavy loads and still maintain control should go down well in those parts of the world. The only question will be the price. The only other real “SUV” on the market today is the Rokon, but that motorcycle is a two-wheel drive and is very expensive.

But will we see this motorcycle appear in the North American or European markets? Time will tell, but I doubt it.

But you’ll need to get the right size helmet. You do not want the hassle to have to return the helmet because the size is wrong, so let’s get it right.

Follow the red line

The process is quite easy, but there are a few hints that will make this go smoother:

1. Use a piece of string long enough, or if you have one, a measure tape (the soft kind tailors use)
2. Roll the string (or tape) around your head, some ½ inch (10 mm) above your eye brows, and keep the string at the widest part of your head. If at all possible, ask someone to do this for you.
3. If you are using a measure tape, write down the length, if not use a ruler to measure the length of string.
4. For a best possible result, repeat the process once or twice to get a good average.
5. Next wait a day or two, and repeat the process. This is because a head expands and contracts slightly depending on heat or cold.
6. Look at the results, and take the largest measure.
7. A good and responsible web site will be featuring the size charts of that manufacturer (manufacturers have different charts). Take your measure and take the one that is the closest to your, always making sure you round off the result upwards,
8. Order your helmet

Once you have gotten your new helmet just make sure it fits snugly, that there is some movement, but that it is not tight. You should be able to move the helmet with your hand, but only slightly. Too tight is not good, and too loose neither. That’s why it is important to follow the steps above.

Risks are something we all face, from the moment we get up from bed, take a shower, shave, you name it, there’s a risk associated to the activity, and motorcycle riding is no exception. As is the case with any other activity, there are certain things you can do to minimize the risks, or their end-results. Many believe in the ATGATT (All The Gear, All The Time – meaning you always wear your protective clothing and helmet), but that is not all that is going to get you to your destination in one piece.

Body Movement & Muscles

Let’s take one very simple thing; – your body movement on the motorcycle! If by bad luck you get highsided, or just simply drop your bike when parking it, your body is going to make a sudden movement. Let’s take the simple and non-lethal maneuver of dropping your motorcycle while trying to put it on a center stand. It’s common place, and it has happened to many of us. You drop the bike, and as a reaction, you try to keep it upright. But with that movement, your muscles and back and now suddenly confronted with a mass of 100′s of pounds.

So at the very least, your muscles will be aching for a few hours, and at its worst, you’ll have a torn ligament.

The same applies when riding. You might be making a sudden movement, and your muscles will protest, and that can be over in minutes, or might involve a trip to the local masseur.

Why? Because your muscles are cold and not stretched.

Tip: Before getting on your motorcycle, stretch your muscles for a minute or so. Enough for them to warm up and stretch gently for a bit. This way, when your muscles are solicited unexpectedly, they’ll be ready for it.

Traffic Attention

Another thing that happens regularly in traffic, is when a car cuts you off. Or a car that has just parked, opens its doors right in your upcoming path. Usually this is followed by you saying (to yourself, unless you have a Bluetooth communication device) “Ohh #&!! The %$¤£ù#@ did not see me!”. It’s a normal reaction.

But if this happens more than once during your trip, watch out: In fact, you’re the %$¤£ù#@, since you’re not paying attention.

Tip: Remember, it’s your responsibility to ensure you arrive sane & sound at your destination, not that soccer mom riding the SUV with 8 screaming kids, while talking on her mobile phone. That is your job, and you have to look at the traffic with as motto that everyone out there wants to kill you. So if you get that reaction a few times during your ride, watch out … you’re not paying attention! You are responsible for your own life!

Tunnel Vision

It’s a proven fact that once you gain speed, even in a car, your field of vision narrows. The faster you go, the less peripheral vision you have. You start with some 190° vision, and at 60 mph, that is reduced to around 40°. The illustration below is just that, an illustration and not exact.

Motorcycle racers, riding at 200 mph only see directly what is happening in front of them. This means when you start your acceleration, you need to remember that you’re seeing less and less of what happening on your left & right. This means when riding a country road, and you open your throttle for some fun (don’t we all?), you’re not going to see that car approaching the upcoming intersection on your right until the very last moment.

Tip: Train yourself to look left & right when reaching speed. It’s a mind-over-matter thing; even if you’re going fast, nothing prevents you from checking what’s happening on the side. It means you can see that car approaching the intersection at a high speed, and it means you can anticipate its movement.

Better safe than sorrow. Be safe!

But did you know that the sounds are engineered? It used to be that engineers and designers looked after the engine and then the motorcycle frame; the sound came automatically afterward. The only thing the engineers looked at when it came to the sound of the engine, was if it stayed within the legal regulations envelope.

(c) Harley-Davidson

If the sound sounded dull, they adapted the exhaust noise. But Harley wanted more. They continued their research and found that people liked the potato-potato-potato sound, so they set out to replicate it on all their motorcycles. During the ’90s they even went so far as to patent their sound, but despite popular believe, their attempt was unsuccessful.

This brought in a new profession in the motorcycle industry; Acoustic Engineers. Almost all, if not all, manufacturers have at least one. Their job is to ensure that when you fire up your engine, it doesn’t sound like a lame duck with a severe flu. Nothing turns off a biker more than the sound of a lawnmower, not a real motorcycle when starting up their bike.

(c) BMW Motorrad

BMW have a special wind tunnel that generates a wind flow of 200 kph, but is totally silent. This allows their engineers to measure and analyze the sound coming from the motorcycle’s engine, exhaust and frame. Special care is taken with vibrations from different parts of the motorcycle, as to ensure that they do not disrupt the bike’s melody. A test dummy sits on top of the motorcycle, and hears everything a normal biker will. That sound is recorded, and analyzed for further improvements.

(c) AVL

The motorcycle sound is made out of three different parts; the air intake, the engine noise and the exhaust, but other parts of the motorcycle can negatively influence the engineered sound, like a dry clutch. So next time your ride your bike, enjoying the throb and sound of your engine (especially in a tunnel), remember that the sound was made, not an accident.

Of course all this goes away with the coming of the electric motorcycle, unless you use a CD player with the desired sound.

Motorcycle Injury Areas - Source: Unknown

Riding a motorcycle is thrilling, but it entails a certain degree of danger. It’s almost impossible to ignore the inherent perils, but unfortunately, some bikers do ignore it. It’s often the thrill that attracts us to riding, but best is to be prepared. If the professionals anticipate problems, who are we to ignore it? Professionals known what’s best, so let’s not ignore what they have to say.

To reduce potential problems, there are a certain amount of steps we can undertake. Mind you, we can never eliminate them. Apart from learning properly how to control the bike under difficult circumstances, riding alert and pro-active, the only other thing we can do is wear a certain amount of protective clothing and gear. Ideally, we’d we wearing a protective bubble, but that’s not realistic. 

Your Egg

Obviously the biggest protective gear we can purchase is the helmet. There are many debates about the use of helmets, many bikers want to have the freedom of not wearing one. But the same bikers have no problem wearing a helmet when playing football! Many see the helmet on a motorcycle as only good for when they have an accident, and since they are “great” riders, they never see themselves having an accident. And it’s not just protecting your head from accidents, but what do you think about your hearing. You may be deaf to those arguments, but that’s probably because of the wind and engine noise in your ears. Not to mention all those bugs hitting you in the face. Add to that sunstroke, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

But numerous bikers have died from head injuries because when they arrived at their destination, or at a stop, their foot slipped from under them, and the bikes went down, taking the rider with it. All you need to do is hit your head on the pavement from your seated position, and you can injure yourself badly, or worse.

Many bikers believe if they ride safely, and don’t speed, they will be fine. The European Constructors Association (ACEM) have spent a long time researching motorcycle accidents in Europe, and they have issued a very detailed report on accidents involving motorcycles. The majority of accidents happened at relatively low speeds, typically lower than 30 mph.

60% of accident involved a car, while 9% involved the biker hitting the pavement by himself, i.e., falling from the motorcycle, often at a low or no speed. As an indication, more than half (54.3%) of all accidents happened at an intersection.

It’s not that the biker was not able to ride properly, since 50.5% of all accidents are caused by a car driver (37.4% are biker error and the remainder are blamed on the environment, like road problems or weather, or technical/mechanical problems). So no matter how good you ride, there’s always someone on the road who is not paying attention, and can cause a (fatal) accident.

So a good helmet, preferably full face, but if not, one that has a visor, and is properly soundproofed is a very first step.

The Emperor’s Clothes

Clothing makes the man, but in our case, proper clothing saves our lives, or at the very least, prevents us from seeking plastic surgery. Usually going off your motorcycle while the bike is still moving is not recommended, but sometimes you just don’t control it. An accident that does not involve another vehicle is usually survivable. The biggest physical risk is the journey you make from your saddle to the ground. After that, just sit down (or lie down) and enjoy the ride. If you’re thrown off from your bike while riding a road, you’ll make an intimate acquaintance with asphalt. If you’re wearing good leathers, both a jacket and trousers, it’s not going to be a big problem. Just hope there’s no traffic behind you and no obstacles to bump into. But if you’re wearing jeans, within a second, the jeans will have burned away and your body will be sliding over the pavement, leaving you with a nice asphalt tattoo.

Normal jeans will not stop road rash. Special motorcycle jeans, usually denim reinforced with Kevlar will prevent road rash, but no material is as resistant as leather. Just look at motorcycle races. A racer gets highsided at 120 mph, and slides along the track and gravel for 5 seconds, and the racer gets up and looks for the crashed motorcycle to get on and continue the race. Try that with motorcycle jeans or other motorcycle trousers. Of course we’re not racing on the roads, so special motorcycle clothes, though not leather, will help us remain beautiful and not scarred. Having armor on your knees is a good thing to have. Maybe not so comfortable to walk in, but if you’re going to go down, your knees will be one of the first points of impact. And knees are not as strong as you think, in fact, they are as fragile as eggs.

The same applies to gloves. Many bikers think gloves aren’t of any use. Apart from protecting your hands from bugs hitting them, and keeping our hands warm in the winter, the obvious one is when you hit the pavement. Going down while riding is going to require medical intervention if you don’t have gloves, it’s guaranteed, but even if you drop the bike while at standstill will involve your hands hitting the ground first. It’s a natural reflex, using your hands to soften the fall. Even then you can scrape your hands resulting in road rash. No matter how minor the road rash, it’s not going to be pleasant.

Jackets, reinforced with armor at the elbows and back are equally important. Falling off your bike when riding usually means the first point of impact is your hands, followed by your elbows and/or back. Your elbows are very fragile, and an elbow fracture will be the least you’ll have on an off. 

Say What?

And finally, one area many ATGATT bikers don’t think about, your ears. When traveling on your motorcycle at a speed of 60 mph, the very best helmets will let through 90 dB of noise. The noise is usually the wind turbulence mixed with engine and traffic sound. Imagine listening to 90 dB noise for hours on end. And that’s for high-end helmets, mediocre ones let through 100 to 110 dB, enough to make you deaf for the rest of your life. Having ear plugs is a good idea. They are small enough to carry in your pocket, and you can either buy generic foam one-size-fits-all, or custom-made ones. You can even buy ones with small loudspeakers in them so you can listen to music. For a few dollars, you can make sure when you get older, you’ll still be able to hear things.

Source: CDC

So you may think that riding in a t-shirt and sandals is cool, but the consequences if you go off your bike aren’t. If you think you are too good to have an accident, I’ve got news for you: you’re a prime candidate for one. Better safe than sorry. Get yourself equipped. Read what the Center of Disease Control (CDC) have to say.

Source: CDC

Normally throughout the year, Sturgis is a small city located in South Dakota with a population of some 6,600 souls. But once a year the city swells to 400,00 to 750,000 people; all bikers or biker wannabees.

Officially called the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the first rally was held way back in 1938, and consisted of a race with 9 participants and a very small audience.

Over the years it has become world’s largest motorcycle rally and gathering. Not only do bikers from all over the USA visit the hills of South Dakota, but bikers from almost every country in the world attend this pilgrimage.

What To Do And Where To Go During The Rally

There’s always a lot of things happening in and around Sturgis. Once you’re there, your priority will be to find a place to stay (which is something you should have done well in advance). The prime and most “in” place is at the Buffalo Chip camping grounds. It’s pretty close to Sturgis, and not only is it a full service camping ground (meaning showers, toilets), but it also has its own entertainment. Big concerts are given there, and it’s a 24 hour party field. Think of Buffalo Chip as the Woodstock of the 2000′s.

But there are obviously many other places to stay, ranging from hotels to private homes. If you’re planing to attend the event with a RV, there’s plenty of places for those as well. Best is to access the official Sturgis Motorcycle Rally site for a list of places. http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/

Sturgis Main Street (c) Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

As for entertainment in Sturgis, it’s centered around 3 areas. The main gathering point is Main Street. That’s where you’ll find a lot of the bars, saloons and eating places, and where you’ll find thousands of motorcycles parked.

Walk around the streets, gawking at other bikers, and visit the many vendors installed alongside streets and alleys. Or take part in the Beer Belly Contest. At least all the beer drinking is going to pay off.

You’ll find plenty of stuff to buy, from serious motorcycle gear, to souvenirs and if you’re in the market for a tattoo, now’s the time to do it.

Concerts and live music can be found anywhere. The major camping grounds all have big concerts as do several of the big bars.

One of the main motorcycle parades is the Mayor’s Ride, with many thousands attending. The ride is a charity ride, so you’ll need to cough up some money, but the proceeds go to the Fire Department. But if you don’t want to go anywhere but still enjoy the throb of your engine, go to one of the tire burnouts. The better the burnout, the higher the applause, the bigger the chance you get to win the prize.

Another thing you can do, is get married. Of course you can get married almost anywhere, but doing it in presence of 1000′s of like minded bikers can be fun. So what better than two unforgettable events for the price of one.

If you want to try out a new bike, there’s plenty of manufacturers there offering you demo rides. You’ll also find other bikers who have the motorcycle you lust for, so strike up a conversation and find out of the bike is really hot.

Security

Whenever there are crowds, you’ll find problems; it’s a given. Sturgis is no exception, except that the security is provided by police officers from far away (Sturgis’s police force is not big) and almost all of the cops are bikers themselves. So they know what it’s all about. Unless you plan to ride through a busy street at 100 miles per hour, they’re not going to bother you. In fact, they’ll be looking at your bike, comparing it to theirs.

For the rest, remember what you do when you are in a big crowded city. Keep you belongings and valuables close to you. Lock your motorcycle, and don’t leave your helmet and other belongings on the bike. Just because you’re with other bikers doesn’t mean that someone is not honest. You’ll also find many pickpockets working the area.

One item you may not want to forget when attending Sturgis: earplugs! Noise levels can attain very high levels, almost day & night. If there’s something you’ll remember Sturgis by, it’s the constant rumble of motorcycle engines, and the smell of burning rubber. But it’s a well worth visit.

Sturgis Burnout (c) Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Like most popular events, things have become commercial. Although the main events are free, you will be asked to dish out money almost everywhere. But if you go to Disney, it’s the same. Remember, you’re visiting the Mecca of the motorcycle world. It’s a pilgrimage you need to do at least once in your life.

If you want to attend this mythical and magical event, the next date is August 6^th to 12^th 2012.

Since Sturgis 2011 is on at this moment, you can catch a glimpse using one of the several webcams installed. This will give you a great idea what to expect.

http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/webcams/

http://sturgiszone.com/sturgis-web-cam/

http://www.wwolf.net/webcam/

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/app/pages/sturgis_webcam/