Sturgis Cushman Rally (Buffalo Chip)

On thursday morning I took a walk around the Buffalo Chip main stage area which was a short walk from our campsite. Later in the day they would be running the scooter drag racing. It sure looks alot different now than during the rally. I talked to Rod the owner and he said that they had plenty to do to get ready with about 50 days till rally time. Art and I had this camping area all to ourselves except for the gal in the camping cabin who worked for the forest service. It was quiet with a good view.

In the second photo you can see the main stage in the background over the hill from our campsite.

Our view to the north was Bear Butte.

The Big Engine Bar. This was at the west end of the Chip.

The gate at the east end of the campground leading to the huge main stage area.

I stayed at city park in 1981 and Buffalo Chip in 1982. Does that make me riff-raff?

A few pictures of the grounds.

Nice art work.
In the afternoon on thursday they had scooter drag racing, old school style with a raised arm starter and you race to the pedestrian bridge about 600 feet down track. The two fastest racers both ran OMC V-twins in Cushman frames with CVT power delivery.

The fastest of the men was this guy at 84 years old. The fastest of the women and 2nd fastest overall was this gal in her 50's. Finish line speed was a solid 70mph+.

The machine the gal was riding.

Sturgis Cushman Rally

Tuesday the 5th of June turned out to be another typical South Dakota day. Nice in the morning and hot in the afternoon with a chance of thunderstorms. After helping Art get set up I got on my XT250 and went for a ride. I took the back roads up to Belle Fourche and stopped for a visit with my friends Rich and Lynn. When I left their place it was more back roads into Spearfish for a stop at the Walmart for a long sleeved white cotton shirt so as to avoid a sunburn. It worked well.
In the afternoon they ran a skills event that had a good turn out.

Here is grandpa, daughter and grandaughter. The object was to balance on the teeter totter.

One of the other games was to wrap the rope around the barrel without moving the barrel or the rope touching the ground.

You have to have good balance because you can't put a foot down either.

The day ended with another nice sunset and stormy weather to the north and east.

It was a good day.
On weds Art and I rode the scooters up to Whitewood for breakfast. They ran a little rough and so we spend alot of the rest of the day fiddling with the carb. The elevation in Sturgis is about 2000 feet higher than at home in Hayward WI.

Parade time

The line up for the parade on Monday started about 5:30 and left at 6. I counted 133 scooters. It was a great turnout. Some pictures of them lining up.

Pre parade discussion with the police, don't want any mishaps.
The lineup.

Yummm DQ.

Last nights sunset from Buffalo Chip campground.

Art all set up and ready for business.

Cushman Rally

Arrived today, Monday at 8am.

I've never seen so many scooters in one place. I took a ton of pics of various machines.

Every rally should have at least one honda powered scooter and one Rat Bike type scooter.

I heard that the Airborne troops had these, and the navy.

One of the machines that Art brought.

The scooter show floor. Alot of really sharp scooters on display.

This next machine I thought was really sharp.

Plenty of thought went into that build.

Scooters for sale and being repaired along with just good old conversation in the shade on a hot day.

Many styles and colors. Plus one for my friend back in WI. Green of course.

I like.

I like the v-twin motor option.

Ready for a road trip. Which version do you like?

A few more for your enjoyment and below is one looking for some love.

Will try to post more later. I heard there is going to be a parade later. Everybody loves a parade.

And finally the rig that got use hereI.. More later.