By Paul Dail Photos by Olivier Touron
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The world ’ s largest motorcycle rally kicked off to a wet start this year on Friday , Aug . 4 . Rain continued for the first several days , leading to rescheduled concerts and other opening events at the Buffalo Chip . The Sturgis communications director was quoted as saying that although previous rallies had taken place during inclement weather over the years , they “ never had a drenching rain like this .”
The soggy start to the 10- day event certainly contributed to lower attendance during the 83rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally . The South Dakota Department of Transportation reported that traffic into the rally was down by 16 % for the first five days , with the first Saturday being almost 38 % lower than 2022 . When all was said and done , overall rally attendance was down 8 % compared to 2022 .
However , the estimated 458,000 people at this year ’ s rally didn ’ t let the weather get in the way of a good time – and when the sun came out by midweek , most of the rest of the rally saw perfect riding weather , with temps in the 70s and 80s and sunny skies .
Some people had a little too much of a good time , with more arrests and citations compared to 2022 . According to the Department of Public Safety , there were 155 felony drug arrests ( 103 in 2022 ) and 246 misdemeanor drug arrests ( 148 in 2022 ). Fortunately , there were 28 fewer DUI arrests than last year ’ s 148 .
As with previous years , there was plenty of good clean fun to be had – well , good legal fun at least – and American Rider was there to see most of it : from bike shows to the Baker Drags , Motorcycles as Art to motorcycles on the street , catching a high- flying stunt show to getting the low- down from the locals .
Check out our photos and coverage on the following pages . You may just see yourself , and if not , hopefully we ’ ll see you next year .
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1 . The Full Throttle Saloon is adjacent to a campground where motorcycle- related activities take place during the rally . 2 . With its many roads and magnificent landscapes , including the famous Needles , the Black Hills are a big draw for the Sturgis rally . 3 . Native Americans participated en masse in the 4th annual Medicine Wheel Ride , which raises awareness of missing and murdered indigenous women . 4 . A spectacular view of Mount Rushmore from the end of a tunnel on Iron Mountain Road .
AMERICANRIDER . COM | OCTOBER 2023 | 11