Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126485
~ o 00 O"l ...... STURGIS '80 1--- - - ----. Sometim e in August, _ Some place on Main St . , Somewhere in Sturgis, SD Dear Cycle N ews, F,orgive m e, 1 was go ing to sit down and umt e you a blow-mind article about how neat th e 40th Anniversary of th e Classic was, but if 1 did no one would believe me , so I'll let the pix speak for themselves. 1 could not believe th e stuff that went down . 1 mea n this isn 't a regular rally by any stretch of th e imagaination , it is more like a motorcycling Mardi Gras. One minute you're standing th ere look at some rigid frame wonder from th e thirties and then MaroJorgensen unleashes his air foile d Kawasaki mega bik e at your sleeve . Unrea l. Sm oke, fire, steam all over the place. Or som e 8I ·year.old cyclist runs over your foo t with his antiq ue Harley side hack festooned with A m erican flags . No wonder people head f or Gunner's bar. 1I's at least a haven ofsanity. 1 th ink. This yea r had more people, more vende rs hawking th eir wares, more local merchan ts involved, three city blocks closed offfor cycles only , more and different races, and more ar rests for spee ding, ex hibitio n driving , and open alcohol containers. Bu t really , everything went down smoothly. Bob Bitchin turned to me one night an d remarked that th e bikers were so orde rly it was disgus ting . May be, but I'll tak e it . Total receipts may reach 11 million for th e week for th e local econo my and th e city had a j um p in cash of 68% over last year which was already a record. This year th e city grabbed close to 1120,000 f or its coffe rs wit h liquor and beer sales, camping f ees, f in es, etc . R eaction against th e event seems to center on th e public nudity in th e park. It would be nice if thos e who indulge in such actions would be more discreet. 11 would also be nice if certain local citizens would qu it look ing on th e bikers as animals in a cage to be taunted with cries of "Show ye r . .. .. T he park scen e is gell ing a tad out of hand in reality, however, and plans are curren tly being made to deal with th e sit uation more st rongly next year. What people fail to realize is that th e Classic is a multitude of events, not j ust one show. It 's a cross section of motorcyclists and bikers, tw o distinct gro ups. Th e st rength of Sturgis has always been th at it was ab out th e only pla ce left in th e count ry where so many dif erent eleme nts could be drawn togeth er and g et along so f well. In anoth er locale it would be next to im possible. Ne x t year 1 wan t you to get some body else to come out, 1fear that 1 am gelling tired of having to work while th e party is in th e st reets. After so ma ny yea rs, I'd lik e to go out an d have some fun too. 1 am even th in king of buy ing an admission tick et, a Sportster. That 's right , clan ky , cranky , th undering, antiq ue that it is. 1 finally broke down and rode one the ot her day. God knows in his heart of hearts every cyclist wants a Ha rley, if only Ha rley could be dragged kicking and screaming into th e 20th cen tury. But 1 think 1finally figured out t he Ha rley mystiq ue that is suc h an incredi bly unb elieueab le myth . u» hu man. No kid ding, those Ha wgs have blood and sweat umtten all over them, pro bably th e.owne r's. Th e Harley is everyt hing its critics despise and everything t he Ha rley cultists ad ore. N ow what else can you name that can do that at t he same tim e. Let me t ry to pu t it t his way. Tak e a Ho nda CBX . Please. It 's got so much technology wrap ped up in its six cylinde rs and countless valves that it ma kes a V-8 Guzzi look like a moped. N ow, let m e ask you. Wh o do you really kn ow who can really pull all that a CBX has to offer out ofit and use it properly' Besid es Freddie Spencer, 1 bet th e fingers of one hand will dof or cou nting . So th e bik e stands as.a monument t o ma n's desire to go fast , f aster, f astest on two wheels. But , it 'sj ust like a monu m ent, cold, awe inspiring, somewhat fright ening , intimidating . A CBX doesn't need a human being to make its state me nt. A Harley definitely do es. It needs love and care and st roking and it will probably eat up more mo ney than gamb ling , a bad hab it , or a mistress on th e side. But , it needs you. It's nice tof eel wanted . That 's a very human need . A nd here is this big lump of pig and pal metal, with its lumb ering girt h and lumping heart crying out fo r you. How can anyone refus e that.pleat . . Love and kisses, you bett er com e out here next yea r, Richard Creed 18