Motorcycle Men
Motorcycle Men
Episode 484 - Talking with Dave Ackerman about Sturgis 2026
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Hello Boys and Girls,
Today we’re talking Sturgis 2026, and joining us is Dave Ackerman of Tobacco Motorwear. We’re diving into how the rally went from a business perspective, what the crowds were like, the rides, the food, the rumors, and the overall vibe of one of the biggest motorcycle events in the world.
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Hello, boys and girls, and welcome to the Motorcycleman Podcast. This is episode 484. I am Ted your host, and we're here in the corner booth of the V-Twin Cafe. Hey, we've got a great interview today. We're going to be talking with our good friend Dave Ackerman of Tobacco Motorware, and we're going to be diving into how the rally went. That's the Sturgis rally. Went for him from a business perspective and what the crowds were like, the rides, the food. And we're going to address the rumors and the overall vibe of this year's motorcycle event. And if you were there, you'll relive it. And if you missed it, you'll know exactly what went down. So let's get into that. But first, let's talk about our sponsor, Scorpion Helmets, offering high-quality, innovative motorcycle helmets and technical apparel at an incredible value. So to learn more, get on over to scorpionusa.com and wild ass teats. It can improve your comfort and ability to stay in a style longer with a cushion from Wild Ass Teats. So if you're tired of those painful pressure points and fatigue, go to wildass.com and tell the real Craig Johnson your ass hurts, and he'll get you a cushion. And Viking Bags, a world leader in motorcycle luggage and one of the fastest growing companies in motorcycle parts. Luggage for whatever you need, whatever you ride, and wherever you go. And of course, as always, Tobacco Motorware. For the best in casual riding gear for men and women, there's only one place you should be going, and that is Dave's pants. At Tobacco Motorware. Visit them at tobacco motorware.com. That's tobacco motorware.com. And our listeners will get 10% off your order when you use the code Motomen. Your safety is worth it. So get on over to Tobacco Motorware and get in Dave's pants. Alright. Time for now for that little chat with Dave. Alright, and we're back, and here we are in the V Twin Cafe corner booth, as always. And joining me today for his recap of his trip to Sturgis this year, our good friend, Dave Ackerman from Tobacco Motorware. Hello, Dave.
SPEAKER_00Hey Ted, how are you?
SPEAKER_01I'm pretty good, man. How are you?
SPEAKER_00Great, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I had a ball at Sturgis. Yeah, it was it was probably so I've been uh the last three years. And I think this tops um, we we I had a fun time, man. And it's always been good, but this was a special year.
SPEAKER_01Really? So you would be one of the uh I I guess I guess you would be the the rare one because based on all the stories.
SPEAKER_00Right. So I wanna I I I hope we get into that a little bit. We will and I'm I'm probably gonna make a video about what's being said and and then maybe some perspective that that I can add at least, you know, not not discounting anybody's experience, but um yeah, I had a great surgeon. I might do it a little bit differently, and I think in the long run, maybe a lot of people will do it a little more the Dave way.
SPEAKER_01I don't know. Yeah. Uh well tell you what. For anybody who I mean if if you if anybody doesn't know who Dave is, uh well, Dave, let's let us know who you are, so our our our our new listeners will know.
SPEAKER_00Well, if you if yeah, if if this is the first time you're hearing uh the Motorcycle Men podcast, then then maybe you wouldn't have heard your famous tobacco motorware plugs. But uh I'm the owner of tobacco motorware, and I'm the guy that um you know the guy whose pants you need to get into. Um but yeah, I make all the the stylish um protective motorcycle apparel available at tobaccomotorware.com. And at Sturgis, I set up a booth and I'm a vendor. And um I've been doing that for three years, although um, you know, I was early on, it was always something that we wondered if we should do, but so far we've just had a better and better experience.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. All right. Well, I'll tell you what, you know what's funny is you know, you know, honestly, I've never asked you this, but how long have you been in business with tobacco motorware?
SPEAKER_00Uh we're in, we're gonna be, I I wanna say we started in 2014.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00So uh at the so I think we're coming up on our 13th year.
SPEAKER_01Wow, man. That's awesome. That's awesome.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you and I have known each other for most of that time.
SPEAKER_01Pretty much. I think I had you on in I'll have to go back, but I think I had you on in 2016. On the show. Yeah, it's been a while, man. Yep. So Sturgis.
SPEAKER_00It's been a good run.
SPEAKER_01Sturgis. Um this is this is your third year going to the rally, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, dude. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And um has it been has was this year different from the other two years that you've been? Uh have you noticed a change over these just minor three years?
SPEAKER_00Um I I expected this year to be lower traffic, which I'm sure we'll get into. And I'm I'm seeing these panic videos about Sturgis. Sturgis is dying.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I think there are things, there, there's some valid concerns, but I expected lower traffic this year than last year. But last year was uh anniversary year, they call it, are the ones with uh, so it's the 85th. Right. So anniversary ending in five and zero, yeah. Um, you know, our are special years and and turn out more crowd. And last year they told me that it was down for an anniversary year, that it it felt more like a normal year, and the year before that was my first year, and so I didn't have anything to compare it to, but last year was definitely bigger than my first year, and this year was definitely less traffic, less people there than my first year. Uh or or sorry, last year was probably I I would say this year felt like the least attended.
SPEAKER_02Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01In terms of but it was I'm a vendor there, so I'm I put up a booth and I'm yeah, your perspective is product and yeah, your perspective is a little different than everybody else's.
SPEAKER_00Right, and I work in the show, and I'm pulling long days and and I I don't party exactly the same as everybody else does. I have a great time, yeah um, and I really like what I do. And this was our best sturgis yet in terms of really revenue, in terms of uh reception. Uh I was able to have more fun at this sturgis than ever before. So some of that is internal organization and repetition of knowing how to do the rally. But the revenue, I don't think is that. I think the revenue has more to do with, you know, the increase of revenue has more to do with, you know, we were we were new to the rally and people didn't know we were there, and now people expect us to be there and and they bought the first year, they looked the first year, and now they come back and go, I I wanted to buy, and I've been watching you for a year, and now I'm ready, you know. And so there was some of that.
SPEAKER_01And it's all that great advertising you get on uh Motorcycle Man podcast, too.
SPEAKER_00And it's all of that. Everybody's like, I'm coming for Ted. Um, but uh, and don't let me forget to tell you about being on the news and everything.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, we're gonna talk about that. Yeah, I we're gonna get that out. Definitely.
SPEAKER_00Okay, okay. No, um, but like I would say, and and I have two guys there who'd never been to the rally and never worked the rally, obviously.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_00And they said, and it it might surprise people, it might surprise you. It always surprises me, despite how much advertising we do, 70% of the people who come in my booth have never heard of us.
SPEAKER_01Really? Serious, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's surprising. That's amazing. Seven and ten. And I would say half of the buyers that walk out of our booth with something are first-time contact like encounters.
SPEAKER_02No kidding.
SPEAKER_00So they they don't know anything about tobacco, they come into our booth and they leave the rest. They may or may not buy uh at first contact, but a lot of times they go, I gotta, hey, I just showed up, but I'm gonna walk around and you know, uh, and I may well be back. And a lot of times they come back. I would say about half of the buyers are uh either they'd heard about us online or they'd they're former customers or or like existing, you know, people we've bought before. And and then half our our new customers that never heard about us that are look at our stuff and see the quality difference and see that there's nothing like it at Sturgis, and they go, that's cooler. And and it should be noted, like everybody's talking about Sturgis being expensive. Our stuff isn't cheap.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I get it.
SPEAKER_00We we're experiencing growth year over year uh at Sturgis. And you know, so I think my my perspective's a little a little bit different, but it might be a little more rosy than um than a lot of the doomsayers. And I think there's a few things going on that that should be addressed, but yeah, but we'll get into that.
SPEAKER_01But you know, it it's it's interesting, is that you've you've been doing this for you know for you know almost 15 years now. And you're at the rally. This is your third year at the rally, and increasingly over the last three years, you've seen uh more foot traffic than you've seen before compared to the previous years, right?
SPEAKER_00Well, like I say, yeah, this year was the lowest year I saw in terms of looking out at the rally, dead days, yeah. And when I say a dead day, I'm looking out there and going, oh, there's less people. And it it seemed like, and I've had days like this at a lot of shows, where I just go, oh man, there's no way that we did very well. It just felt like it was slow all day. But then I go back and I'm like, oh my gosh, we did really well. It just so happened that instead of having being hit by waves where it's like, oh, every we I have four guys at the booth and sturgis. Yeah, and so there might be days where it's like it was never so busy that all four of us were attending to customers and people were waiting. Um, but there were consistent buyers. Oh, good. And so so and I would say there were days like that all the way through. There were a couple of slow days, but that's that was one to be expected. So to answer your question, I noted that the traffic for the whole rally was lower.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00But I and I don't know if I had more or less people walking into my booth, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was somewhat diminished. But I don't think it was greatly diminished, if diminished at all, and whether that there was any fewer people in the booth, more of them were buying.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I mean, so but if you so from your vantage point, from where you were, uh on the street and you know, at your booth, would you say that the I'm again and I'm sorry if I'm uh I sound like I'm repeating myself, but would you say that the traffic was well the traffic was obviously lower, but did the energy feel like normal Sturgis or did you did it feel a little more subdued than usual?
SPEAKER_00Um the the rain days kind of took some some energy out of it. Um look, I'll I'll just cut to the chase. I feel like if people want to say Sturgis is dying, it will die.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And and I think there's an attitude problem and an enthusiasm problem. And and I hate to I hate to say it, but I I hear, I watched a some of the videos I'm sure you watched.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I'm like, and and one of my guys is uh is a longtime writer, and he he watched some of those videos that were coming out as you know in real time and going like, dude, nothing's gonna kill the rally like saying it's dead. Nobody's gonna come next year if they hear it wasn't a good time. And I'm not here trying to make crap up about it being a good time to just try to like gin up false enthusiasm. I had a great time. Yeah, and when you say was energy down, I think a lot of people that were there had a great time. Were there as many people? No. Uh but does that mean there were fewer? I mean, la the the count I saw was like four depths. Well, so depths were down, you know? Yeah. Um, and and writing was probably more manageable. And if you went to shows, maybe you got a closer view of the band, you know.
SPEAKER_01And yeah, that doesn't mean a rally's dying, you know, right? It's like just because there was less people, that doesn't mean it's dying. It just means that less people went.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, less people went. And I think there's some people that go, I don't want to go to the PAX rally. Look, Eagle Rider, a little plug for Eagle Rider, they're very generous, gave me two bikes. Oh, did they really? Like, specifically, yeah, they they lent me two bikes, and if you're on my socials, Tobacco Motorware, um the like I went out riding. I'm gonna post some more footage of that and stuff. I specifically asked for Monday. I we rode everywhere. There were a few other bikes out there. We were able to go fast, we were able to go slow, we didn't ever feel rushed, we never had to stand in line to get some food. Like it was it was very pleasant, and I think there's some people who just go, hey, let's plan on going the year after an anniversary year, because we don't need it to be crazy. And I think there's an attitude of like you know, I'm I'm a 90s kid, I graduated high school in '99. So there was spring break, MTV spring break.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, it was the height of Girls Gone Wild, you know, and and and those videos coming out. And what you saw of for spring break was, you know, I want to go to a beach town and get get some booze in me and hook up with some chicks or see some girls taking their chops off her in bikinis. And like, like, don't get me wrong, I completely understood that wasn't my vibe, but I that was what was on MTV. That was what was in the media. And Sturgis at that time had that same party vibe where it's like a frat party. And maybe I'm when I say a frat party, I don't know what frat parties are like today, but you might there's there's a certain generation that when they think of a party, they're thinking of Animal House. One Animal House, one-eyed jack down down at the end of uh of the the strip in Sturgis. Yeah, yeah. Where it's a lot of girls in uh very little clothing and and you know older and and seemingly older crew of that there aren't young guys in there. Yeah, yeah. But I do think there's I think it's okay for Sturgis to be less about that than it is. I'm not shaming anybody who wants that, but I just think like I saw one guy complaining about $11 beers at One Eyed Jack's, and he's like, and I didn't see a lot of people in there, and I'm just going like, well, maybe like the party doesn't have to be in One Eyed Jack's Exactly as much as it was. Yeah, you know, like the karaoke bar was packed, right? And it's a different is a different vibe, you know, and and I mean packed compared to other years, probably not as much, but there's a lot being said about young riders participating, and you know, I don't know how you feel. I've apparently the the average age of a motorcycle rider, any motorcycle rider in the US, like 55. Did you know that?
SPEAKER_01I did not know that.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you're welcome to fact check it, but like in in 1990, it was 27.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_00And it's yeah, and it's going up. So I did a little, you know, as as trusted as anybody listening, you can chat GPT it for yourself. That's where I'm getting the information. So, you know, take that for what it's worth. But um, it's certainly older. So I'm 45 and I feel young there, and I'm going, yeah, I think I think the younger generation parties a little bit differently, yeah, considers different things fun. But you know what we all think is fun is riding the Black Hill.
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Everybody that goes to Sturgis, and so I think for people who came to Sturgis Um to ride, they had a great time. And this is the first time I've been able to ride thanks to Eagle Rider.
SPEAKER_01Well, I was just gonna ask you about that. I was just gonna ask you. Oh, wow. Yeah, so now it's cause now because you're you're located right in the thick of everything, right there, in the center of town. And but now I was gonna ask you, how much of the real rally did you get to experience while you were there? You know, rides, more moments, and maybe some unexpected encounters you might have had with riders or fans.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. So more more than I've ever had, because in past years, I mean, credit to my crew.
SPEAKER_01Um Yeah, you're on call, bro.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, I'm always I'm always in that booth, and we stay in my RB very close, and I haul everything from Utah over there in my RB, and so I haven't had bike, but I had a good crew with an experienced guy and a couple of guys who were were on it and about about the work I'm doing, and that gave me a chance to get away. So I was able to get down to Sasha's on one of the first nights, um, meet and hang out with Billy Lane, who's been uh really been connected. Yeah, yeah. And he, you know, we both ride bad boys now, as you know. And uh and I think I would talk to you about um Billy weighing in on the bike I was getting, and and we have that connection and and uh we have some mutual friends, and so I was able to hang out with him. I was hanging able to see several people from the Instagram, YouTube world that I know, and I you know take a take a second away from the booth, which in past years um I was able to do. Yeah, yeah, and and um and and then I also uh Michael Lichter, the the well-known photographer from Easy Riders magazine for 35, 40 years. Um he's he's a friend, and he invited me to his show that was out at Iron Horse, and a buddy lent me a bike, and so I got to go out there and Ironhorse Saloon, which is a huge campground.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_00You know, and so I got to go and go to his show, which he just He's got this massive building out there that's a gallery, and he invites builders, and it was all Japanese builders, mainly on hardly platforms, doing amazing uh craft building insane custom choppers and things like that. Um, and so more than ever, I saw more of Sturgis. I'd never been in Iron Horse.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, isn't that place badass, man?
SPEAKER_00It's rad. It's super rad. And um and I got to go there a couple of times. I also went to a concert for the first time and uh story. So once I insane clown posse. Okay. So not now, mind you, not wouldn't have been my preferred band, but also if you grew up when I did, the promise spectacle, it was just like, look, I don't, you know, I go to Sturgis for a different. I do you see shows when you're there?
SPEAKER_01I have never been to a concert at the Sturgis.
SPEAKER_00You know, I don't think I I would, especially especially the paid concerts. I I don't know if if when you camp at Buffalo Trip, I've heard their concerts are included.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, I've I've watched bands play, I've watched hairball uh a bunch of times. Like um, but when I went out, so so uh one of my buddies is like, dude, ICP, and if you don't know, Insane Clown Platse, they paint their faces like clowns, and it was a whole movement in the early 2000s that like the young guys that I'm working with, I'm like, have you heard of them? They're like, I don't know who that is. Insane clown potty was like a um metal rap band that all their followers are called jugglos, and they paint their faces, and it's like this carnival, dark carnival theme. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05That's uncool.
SPEAKER_00There's a goofy side to it that's like, you know, it's it's kind of like a you could call it controversial, but a lot of people it's a punchline band. Like a lot of people just, you know, no offense if you love their music. I I have not a lot of exposure to it until Sturgis. But a buddy was like, we have to see this. This is just a like an exhibit almost that you can't miss. Yeah. And so we went and we were able to, but VIP passes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so um, not everybody's gonna do that, but we were able to do that and didn't expect that, and it just kind of fell in our lap. And so I'm in my black and white striped, I'm known for making those banditos.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, the banditous are cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, but it also happens to blend fairly well with the scene. And so we wind up on stage with the band spraying Diet Cola on everybody, and you know, so you know, I have a saying, and I'm like, Sturgis gives you what you need, and I I literally feel this having done it for years and having worked and brought people to the show to work with me. And you know, without getting into their stories, Sturgis gives you what you need. Like it does. Like if you're looking for like this guy that was just like, dude, we have to go see ICP, we have to go ICP.
SPEAKER_01Look, you get out of it what you put into it. Really?
SPEAKER_00It's it no, it's mystical, man. I don't even know if it's the Black Hills, but it's it's just like he wanted to go see the band. We thought we'd be in general admission, just kind of observing from the back of the crowd. Sturgis provides, dude, and we got we got VIP passes handed to us at the gate practically, and didn't even pay.
SPEAKER_01No shit.
SPEAKER_00It just it just it just manifested it because this guy was just kind of laughing, like, oh, should we go? We gotta go. Like, he's not a fan.
SPEAKER_01Let me ask you something. I I'm gonna I'm gonna just detour. I just want to detour just a little quick. Well, now as a vendor, do you get a wristband that says you're a vendor?
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01You don't. So so you're no you're no different from then Joe Blow walking down the street then.
SPEAKER_00Nope.
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_01Really?
SPEAKER_00So like nobody and no, and and mind you, 70% of the other Joe Blows on the street, at least 70% that come in my booth don't know who I am. So the people out there, I'm imagining, know even less. And and and certainly they might have heard of the brand, but there are people who know the brand that come in my booth and don't know who the hell I am.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Which yeah, but you know, I drag myself with a helmet on, and they go, you know, I I've seen that video of somebody getting dragged behind a motorcycle, and I go, Yeah, that was me. That was you, and then they start to put it together. Wait, do you own this? A lot of people don't know. And so when I say, look, Michael Lixir, I I I got invited to his show by him. You know, I know I'm, you know, I've known, I'm blessed to to know you, to know a lot of people who are making content. That has opened some doors. But when I say we Sturgis gives you what you need, and I could go through the guy by the guy. Like I had a guy out last year, and he's divorced, and like one of the like midweek, uh, this girl comes into the booth and is uh and I go, you know, well, what do you ride? You know, I'm wondering if she she's buying, and she's like, I don't I don't ride. I'm like, oh, well, what's your what's your what's your guy ride? She was in there with a couple of guys, and she's like, not with him, he's with this guy. I'm like, oh, what do they ride? They don't ride either. So it's like a girl that's there, and and a and a gay couple that's there, and none of them look particularly like riders. I'm like, what are you doing? Are you from the local area? No, we came from Ohio. I'm like, what do you what are you doing here? And she's like, I just really want to meet a biker. And I'm like, this could go really bad for you. This could go really bad for you. And she's and I'm like, look, I'm married, and I but I go, hey, and I I say, you want to go on a motorcycle ride? She's like, yeah. And we and I say to one of my guys, hey, this girl wants to go on a motorcycle ride. And he rode in, and he just takes her hand without a word and takes her to his bike, and they spend every possible minute that they had together over the last three, four days of the rally.
SPEAKER_01No shit.
SPEAKER_00It gives you so Sturgis gave her what she was looking for. It it totally made the show for him, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's selling and he's just, and just that little bit of of a of a Sturgis romance that he needed. Uh, another a kid, uh, you know, a young guy, 26 years old, that was there with us last year. Same thing. Uh, one of our guys this year, similar story, like where they're just like these lonely heart guys that you know, and and lo and behold, Sturgis provides.
SPEAKER_01That's a that's that's amazing, really.
SPEAKER_00I I'm not even joking about it. It sounds like uh a funny thing, but like uh my guy that I I was saying that that that that's a friend that's worked my boost in the past, he comes out because it's a change of scenery. Yeah, it's he gets a little coin in his pocket working for me. We wouldn't get to hang out. He's in California, we wouldn't get to hang out otherwise. We have a riot, we laugh our butts off. Um and he gets to meet all these, he gets he's been to shows with me everywhere. He doesn't need a lot. What he gets out of it is this bro time that you wouldn't get otherwise. That's part of what I get out of it too when I when I go on the road. And then, you know, like I really was this year, I was like, I need to, I need to ride this thing, I need to understand it more. And I so I get to go to a concert and the Michael Licker show, and Eagle Rider hooks me up with some bikes, and I'm just going like Surgis provides, man. It's it's the mystical stuff, but it it uh I really think it gives you what you need. But if you're looking for an excuse to if you're looking for perfection, it's not I kind of say it's also kind of a monkey paw. It'll grant your wish, but not what you think. You know?
SPEAKER_01So look, if you if if you want, if you if you're looking for trouble, if you're looking for a bad time, you'll find it. Right? Yeah. If you're looking for fun, you're looking for a good time, if you want to walk away there happy with memories, you'll get that too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And and there's a lot where I think the the younger generation that's coming out is gonna be looking for a different experience than maybe what it was in its peak in the early 2000s.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00Like wet t-shirt contest at every bar, uh you know, like I don't I don't think a lot of the people that are coming out need that right now. You know, and that's my perspective. I I certainly think there are a lot of families showing up. Yeah. It's a little and I I'm in town. I'm not out at the campgrounds. I I know that there's different stuff that goes on the campgrounds. I've heard the cops have been rough. I've heard I I don't know about all of that. But I'm I'm saying it's absolutely viable. It's a great time. There's everything under the sun there. But we were set up next, we were set up next to people selling um like mushrooms and THC or weed gummies and stuff, and they did a good amount of business, and there were a lot of people that had fun, and we watched people come back to that booth day after day and just smiling, and you know, um Were you on the same street that you were last two years? Yeah, oh okay, yeah, virtually the same spot, just different ventures.
SPEAKER_01It's really a good location.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, it is. And and the guys came through, and the city guys came through, and they say and we asked him, like, does it seem slow? And he's like, I've been working this for four or five years. He's like, there are there are normally 120 vendors in my zone, that includes me. And he's he's like, there are uh a hundred vendors, so they're down whatever percentage that would be. But um, you know, there were fewer vendors that showed up, and and I I can only speak for my experience. I'm not trying to put anybody down that has a crap year, especially vendors.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because it's uh it is a lot to go there. It is the the booth that I rent is a lot of money.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I've heard that now I've I've had some I've had some uh people that I that I know who go to to the rally and they're vendors, you know, aside from you that say that the city is uh they seem to be like raising the rental rates for the spaces every year. Uh plus you know they they get a uh as I understand it, they the city gets a a a tax cut.
SPEAKER_00Uh not a tax cut, but it gets a cut of your sales, which a lot of guys they take their taxes, and it's like for me, it's like seven and a half percent um of everything, and but I don't know if the city is renting space. Maybe there are some spaces that the city owns and it's the landlord of. I I kind of it's it's the property owners who who rent the space. Right.
SPEAKER_01And well, as a as a vendor, how do you go about finding a space to rent in Sturgis? Is it like there's like a site website that says rent my space kind of a thing?
SPEAKER_00There, yeah, there's there's the city, the city, you so you can call up the city, and the city can kind of I think there's a website that kind of helps you look for spots.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00Um we called up uh a friend that had a friend that owns that corner that he's got an antique shop that's there year-round. And then he networked with us to help us get, you know, when we show up, that that tent is a rental, and our booth chant is is there and and put together, and he helped us hook up with uh the guy that where we where we park our RV. And so like, you know, he he's a helpful guy, uh and and helped us get into those places. So I I I can't remember exactly how we connected with him, yeah, but I know the city has like information there. And I I know it it's it can be expensive, um, but I also think everything's negotiable. Um and you know, depending on the year and depending on the time frame, you might go, hey, you know, this is what I can do, this is what I can't do.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00And I think we got a a pretty good location, but I hear that like those those, I mean, there are some massive booths and and structures that go into parking lot all across town.
SPEAKER_01Harley, Andy, and all those guys.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, and and I've heard that, you know, I I have no way of knowing for sure how much those are, but um, you know, we walk away with some money in our pocket. That's good that we have three years.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, makes it worth your while. Um, you know, yeah, yeah, and and I think Well, you said you did better this year than you did the previous two previous years you went.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01So that that's that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I think there's there's some of it that's like, you know, look, these there's a bunch of vendors, call it my competition or not, um, where it's the same inventory year after year, and it's the same as the inventory that's down the block. Like every I I try to buy souvenir shirts for my family uh t-shirts, and every t-shirt vendor had the same official, like the kids merch. I don't know about all the adult designs, there weren't that many by the time I was shopping, which was like the last day, so bear with me. But I was looking around and I'm like, dude, all of you have the exact same shirts, and I hear it's like one guy or one family that owns a bunch of those big tens.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it's like they're the same t-shirts over and over again, and the same headbands and tank tops, and and and it's just like, you know, I think part of why I've done well is my stuff's not like every other. Right.
SPEAKER_01It's not that's not typical, that's there. Right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and so, you know, they may crush me in terms of the business that they do because they cover a lot more ground and well, volume.
SPEAKER_01That's that's that's that's where they're getting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, volume. But I think I do fine because I'm bringing a quality product and recognize it. And I think other vendors, look, the the the uh weed gummies vendor next to it, they're coming back. Yeah. And they said they were having great days. And um, and and the woman said she was just sick about having rented where she was the year before because they lost money on that deal. Um but uh sorry, man, I'm still recovering and a little tired. So um that's all right. But you know, I just think I think Sturgis uh is great. I think it's it it people need to not tell people it's dying and it's turning up. Just what is dying, and I'm not trying to be insensitive here, is that generation that has held Sturgis up since you think about if in 1990 the average motorcycle rider was 27, then I would say the average Sturgis Goer was probably 35. And now the average Sturgis Goer is probably 60 or at least 55. Yeah like I'm still I still feel like I'm on the young side of Sturgis Goering. So if if the rally is gonna depend on a certain age demographic, that's a different yeah, no.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00If if that's and that's who built it into what it was. Up until 1990, it was you know 50,000 rider, and then it exploded in the 90s and peaked out at it at like 800,000 or something like that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was the biggest one. I think that was that the uh the 50th, I think, or 75th. It was that was like more of the biggest runs they had.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the the 50th blew it up. Yeah, and then um and then ever since then it was growing, and then the motorcycle, uh, and then it cool it cooled off probably since like the mid-2000s or 2008 or you know, whatever, and and it hasn't been as big. But I think it can be I think it can definitely be 500,000 strong every year, which it wasn't this year.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00And and I and I think, but it it's gotta, to me, I think something like it, I think second weekend, and this this is honestly like this is my thoughts. You're getting the sneak preview. I'll probably do a video. Second weekend this year was absolutely slow. To me, I'm going second weekend should be for like for a lot of people can't when you've gone to the rally, Ted. How many days are you at the rally? I'm I'm there.
SPEAKER_01No, I I go for the whole thing, front to back, the whole, the whole thing. You know, I know a lot of people say, well, I gotta go to work, I gotta get the kids ready for school, I gotta blah, blah, blah, blah. And I've also heard, well, the rally was a week later than it usually is, so that kind of cut in people's vacation plans and whatever. But I think for the most part, you know, for me, like when I go, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna make sure I'm there. Not traveling too, but I'm gonna make sure I am there the very first day and I stay to the very last day. That's what that's what I do.
SPEAKER_00This is my take on that. That's fine. All and that's great. I think the pressure to do that or the expectation for that is is like young people who have so part of it, I I actually think the week later was a problem. I don't know why they did that, but because I had my breakdown, uh, my my RV blue attire, I missed my kids' first day of school. Had it been a week earlier, I would have been back and not missed my kids' first day of school. Right. Right. And so if a lot of people's kids are starting school, look, the the younger guys, and I'm 45, but people that who work a full job, to me, every year I've seen, like, yeah, that first weekend's bigger, the second weekend's slower, and I don't know, this is probably gonna piss some people off, but I'm going that second weekend should be the new guard weekend. Ride your sport bike in.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Ride your Royal Enfield in, ride your Triumph in, trailer your sport bikes and ride the canyons and trailer them out. Miss, you know, miss two days of work, come in on Thursday and ride Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And you can't tell me. That that would be bad for the rally.
SPEAKER_01Oh, hell no. No, not at all.
SPEAKER_00I and like the people that come in on sport bikes when they're twenty-six to ride those canyons are then gonna be your 35-year-old, and they'll now go that will be their introduction to moto camping. Yeah, that will be their introduction to cruisers, and and it's not even like the end-all be-all of motorcycling is necessarily cruisers, they happen to be great tools for interstate motor travel, right? And and I think it's sort of because of that, I think a lot of they're expensive, whatever you want to say about Harley, I to me, and you we've talked about this before, but I I just think it is the bike that a lot of people will wind up with one in their garage. That's right, because it's such a useful tool that that does so many things well. Exactly. And as people get older, that position on the on the on on the sport bike, maybe that becomes a thing that they do at the track, or you know, or they just they don't they can't they can't do it, they can't do it anymore, right? Yeah, yeah, and it's the same reason why there are so many trikes at the rally, and you know, nobody's pissed off that there are so many trikes at the rally because it's just evidence of hey, there's this whole demographics that wants to keep coming to the rally, but what they can do is what they can do, and yeah, they need to write a trike in. Yeah, okay, so we're we're once again accommodating for the boomer generation, and God bless them, they establish so much of the industry that we all enjoy. But let's accommodate these young kids and not make them feel less than for showing up halfway, you know, at the end of the rally for a few days on a bike that you don't see a ton of. You see some sport bikes at the rally, but it's a motorcycle rally.
SPEAKER_01Right, exactly. It's not a Harley rally, it's not an Indian rally, it's a motorcycle rally. You know, it's like accommodations need to be made for that specific demographic. Got sport bike guys, naked bike riders, you know, there needs to be that accommodation for those kind of guys at this rally and at any rally. Uh I I know that like if you go to uh Marricade, which you've never been to a Marricade, but uh it's that that rally started out as a uh Honda Goldwing rally out in Colorado, and then it moved to upstate New York. So when you go to that rally, it's not Harley, Indian Harley, it's not that. You see more Goldwings, you see more Hondas, you see everything at that rally. And that's the kind of thing that needs to happen with Sturgis, I think, to broaden the the concept.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree. And like the great thing about it, and I think individually, like, you know, and again, not to tip my hat too much, uh I'm gonna I'm gonna do some videos where like I'm gonna find cruiser riders to trade bikes with sport bike riders.
SPEAKER_01Oh, really? That should be interesting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Don't you think? I've you know what's funny? I've never ridden a sport bike.
SPEAKER_01Oh, neither have I. Neither have I.
SPEAKER_00Isn't that isn't that crazy?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know what it is? And and and and I'm I'm being a hundred percent honest about this. They scare me. Because they just don't they just don't seem to me, and again, this is coming from a guy who's been riding cruisers for 20 years, you know, they just don't seem as stable as a cruiser does. So but I may be 100% wrong. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00You know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna try to find line up uh a videographer. I'm gonna put you on a sport bike if I can. Just as a challenge. Look, I've never ridden one either. Look, I I don't, but the the kid I hired rides a sport bike. Yeah, he probably weighs 140 pounds.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Like, I have no question that I can keep it up, and I know how the gear shifting works, and there's no requirement to go 150 miles an hour on it.
SPEAKER_04Exactly, right.
SPEAKER_00So, what what I want to challenge, what I think this video will be, is ride the sport bike, touch a little bit of what it's made for. So I'm gonna carve some canyons on his sport bike, and I'm gonna have him cruise some, you know, same canyons, or maybe just go, hey, ride out into the desert on my cruiser. And I let my brother, who's a dirt bike rider, jump on my uh crossbows. And he went out and he he this was his own idea. He's like, I'm gonna stay out until somebody gives me the two-finger salute. Because he's never had that.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00And you know, he he was out for 20 minutes. He lives kind of in a rural area, but a rider rode by and gave him the salute. He came back and he just was just beaming, and he's just like, I did feel kind of cool, you know, and like there's there's a thing that happens. I was telling my my guy, I'm like, if look, a cruiser can be, I know there are power cruisers, and I love the torque that that Harley creates, and I love everything about Harley. Um but to to put an analogy to it, it's it's a sailboat versus a jet ski. It's a different kind of thrill. Exactly. You know, it's a different kind of thrill.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And both are fun. And and uh and so you know, I I think some of these attitudes, and it's funny hiring this this new staffer and and interviewing several people who were writers. I posted the job listing at on our local writer page and got a bunch of candidates in. And there there is this kind of like even coming from them, uh that's a oh, that's a that's like a Harley brand. That's a, you know, and they're nervous about getting made fun of, they're nervous about not like if they do the salute to a Harley Rider, the Harley Rider won't do it back.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's not true. That's not true.
SPEAKER_00You know, it it well in some cases it may be. I've I've but I never I always assume it's they didn't see it, or you know, or there've been times when I'm clutching, I'm I'm doing it.
SPEAKER_01Right, if you're clutching or if you're turning, stop breaking. Yeah, you can't. Right.
SPEAKER_00I'm not assuming that everything is oh, I got I got, you know, somebody. You know, that's not uh my assumption, and I don't think anybody should. But like the point is there there needs to be more inclusion at a lot of these rallies, they're just included, and and if we do that, no, yeah, never die. But if it has to be about getting wasted in a campsite, if it has to be about, you know, like I saw one guy complain about $500 hotel rooms, and it and and he would he made the point when I come by myself, I camp on the side of the road. But when I bring my lady, and this is a guy with a long white beard, and uh he's like, and who's gonna spend five if you stay the whole rally that's five thousand dollars.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_00And I'm going like, I'm going there look, they're not gonna build a lot of hotel room hotels out here because they can only keep them occupied for the rally.
SPEAKER_03Well, they can keep them occupied for those summer months, right? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, Jesus, there there are only ever gonna be a handful of rooms around in and around Sturgis. Right, of course. And if they made them a hundred, but they're out, they're like that's just how it works. Yeah, you know, and and and I'm like, but the young kids, when I was in my 20s, and still today, what I love to do on a motorcycle when I can find the time is camp off the motorcycle on the ground in a tent, haul everything with me on the back of it. Like I love that. Yeah, and but that's a young man's game, and I get that there's a generation who doesn't want to do that anymore, but also is going, why should I have to pay 500 bucks a night? It's like because there's nothing available, like that's right, they they would sell out all the faster if they were a hundred bucks a night, and this is the only time of year where that venue can put people in there. So maybe you know, maybe figure out a camp situation.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Or you know, and you know even even the campgrounds. Look, the campgrounds aren't aren't I mean they're cheaper than hotels, of course, and bed and breakfast is and all that. But they're they're a little more pricey than most campgrounds otherwise. But you know what? If their prices this and this goes for anything in during the rally, if they kept their prices normal prices, you wouldn't be able to camp at any of these places for years. Because they'd be full, all they'd be booked all the time. Yeah, everything would be booked. So that's what they do. I mean well well, since now we're talking about that, we're talking, we're getting into this price thing and all that. Uh I want to ask, uh I'm gonna lead up to this. What did you do for food while you were there? Did you eat from your camper?
SPEAKER_00I I bought a lot of Trader Joe's meals and ate a lot of. I tried to do that a lot, but we did go out several times. We hit Sweeto Burrito Um a couple of times. My guys, I had two different guys have birthdays. So we of course we hit Gas Monkey and uh which is really close to where we're at. And Gas Monkey is a I think a good deal. $10 burger with a yeah, you know, like and I think you get chips with it and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01And then um was that your go-to place?
SPEAKER_00I didn't really have a go-to place because I did bring I tried to I tried to eat out of the camper a lot.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00Um and like look a lot has been said recently in the news about the $20 burrito. And you know, we hit the grocery store uh that that was there and stuff like that. And again, to me, I I think there are ways to do it, the Dave, maybe the Dave way. And look, if you ride in, you might have to eat out a lot, but you can also probably figure out ways to to, you know, like, hey, let's let's split some things and bring some things back from a grocery store. Yeah, and uh maybe somebody's got a cooler, or if if four of us are riding, let's have one guy bring a van, or you know, and not everybody can do that, and I get that. And and the heart of the rally, I think, at the heart of it, it's a motocamp rally.
SPEAKER_01Pretty much, right?
SPEAKER_00Like most people are gonna be camping.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, you know what's funny is let me just tell you this whole story. The first uh I've I've only been to the rally twice. Now, the first year I went, I rode up from here from North Carolina, and the f one of the first things I did after I got to my the I rented a uh a uh an Airbnb. And the one of the first things I did after after I was checked in and settled is I went to the food store and I bought food. And this way I didn't have to, because I knew how expensive it was gonna be. This way I didn't but the only thing the only thing I would buy out is I I ate out once for dinner, once. And all the rest of the time I ate back at the Airbnb. You know, lunches and breakfast lunches I would eat out. That's that that's a typical but last uh in 2024 when I went, uh I can't believe it's been two years since I've been there already. Holy crap. Um But when I went when I went the last time, I camped and I brought my own food. I everything in a big cooler. Because I trailered my bike up that time. And I again I only ate out once. But yeah, you know, you could save money that way, and I think if you did that, if you did that, you know, hey, you got to think you can you have to just have to plan right.
SPEAKER_00You know, well, and and I said before, like, you know, eleven dollar beers, I don't drink.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, neither do I.
SPEAKER_00I have very little perspective on that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And um, you know, and I would I would say that limiting your alcohol consumption while writing is smart. Yeah. And uh, you know, I don't think I'm being too controversial there. No. But look, like nobody's forcing you to buy that $11 beer, and they're certainly not forcing you to pay the $40 to get a girl to sit on your face. Yeah. So like it's fifty dollars for the beer after you include the tip for the girl who pours the beer or the shot to, you know, and it's just like don't, you know, you don't have like I it's not a requirement. You don't have to have the beer, you don't have to have the the you don't have to buy a beer from that. And I don't think it hurts the rally to go, oh, but that's part of the rally. I'm just like, no. I I go to Born Free, I go to Mama Tride, I go to One Show. No other rally is built around some of the stuff that people are going, well, that's part of the rally. Exactly. Like, look, One Eye Jax can always be down there. You don't have to buy an $11 beer from One Eye Jax. Point in fact, if you don't want to drink, you can still have a great time. Exactly. If you want to drink a little bit, you can have a drink, great time. And you know, the video I watched said, what's gonna stop what's gonna stop uh bikers from just going down and picking up uh a six-pack or a twelve pack for three bucks a beer from the grocery store? Nothing.
SPEAKER_01Nothing.
SPEAKER_00Nothing.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And and if if some pressure on on if that creates downward pressure on a spot that's selling eleven dollar beers, that's a good thing. The price will price will probably come down.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And like, you know, you decide to camp rather than rent a hotel room, and everybody just goes, yeah, this price are too high for these hotel rooms. Or if, you know, for example, if there were 20 fewer um vendors in my area, yeah, then I might be able to next year say to my my landlord, look, man, uh, we got less traffic. They'll go, well, you did better. You were on the motorcycle men podcast bragging about how well you did. But I might as well I might have shot myself in the foot there. But um, somebody who's smarter and doesn't have as big a mouth as me might be able to go, look, man, like traffic was down. I didn't make as much money, whether that's true or not, and go, or just go, look, there were 20 fewer vendors, you're having trouble moving uh your your space.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Don't transfer your loss to me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I'm paying a premium to to be in a in an area that you know is probably not gonna get as much. Let's work something out um and and and negotiate something different. There were spots on Main Street that, and this was the first, where I there were brick and mortar shops on Main Street where I'm I went in and went there's no way this place is paying what I've heard these stores go for. Because they're I'm looking at what they have for sale, yeah. Like a gallery or something like that, and I'm just like, there's just no way it doesn't add up. Like through the whole rally, they're gonna move a few pieces of art, but if they paid $30,000 to be in here, I just don't feel like it's that many pieces of art.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so I'm going, I bet, you know, I go, maybe I could have got in a space like that. And so, you know, it's I I'm I don't look, I don't have enough experience at the rally to be the definitive expert on the matter. I don't think we're looking at the death of Sturgis in a couple of years. Yeah, I think I think we have the same issue that exists across the motorcycle industry that we've talked about many times. That like we gotta stick together. Yeah, support each other, yeah, support the podcast, listen to the podcast, like it, follow, like people who are posting content that you like.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um buy, you know, I had a woman come into my booth and say, you know, you need to make more women's gear and you need to make women's gear in bigger sizes. And she was wearing some of our stuff. I'm like, well, you're wearing it. She's and she said, I mean, I have friends who would buy, but they're bigger and you don't make it. And I go, and I I said, look, I would make more of everything for women if I could sell what I make for women. And uh, you know, and and women is just look, motorcycling is a sliver of the population. Uh, and then you gotta go, do you like the style? Do you like the fit? Do you like all these things? There are a lot of barriers. But I I I go there, I have a stack of, I'm completely sold out of the main sizes. And then in my plus sizes, I have a stat. And maybe I haven't done a great job of letting women know that, hey, I make plus size jeans. I can't make even more plus size. Factories have minimums, yeah. You know, and so I can't I can't just go, oh, even though I'm not selling a size 40, I'm gonna make a bunch of size 44 because I have no evidence that there's a market there.
SPEAKER_03Right. No, I guess.
SPEAKER_00And so, yeah, and and I say, like, when like if you want more women's gear in any brand, from any brand across the market, buy the women's gear that exists. I'm rolling out with some women's shirts this year because we move a lot of women's shirts and um protective shirts. And so, and and for men, I've you know, I think our biggest size used to be 40, and now we make up to size 46 because the demand has just been consistent from those bigger guys, uh and and we sell out of those bigger sizes, so we go, oh, maybe we should add another one. So it's just as bikers, as riders, we just need to support the industry we're in. Yeah, it doesn't mean you have to go out and buy a brand new Harley or or BMW or whatever. If you want to buy used, if you want to shop uh marketplace, you know I love it. Uh but if you uh yeah, yeah, yeah. Um it's been a problem. But you know, like go to the rallies, pay the ticket.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, uh, you know, be motorcycle supportive. That's it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, hit up a vendor. Yeah, buy something, buy a t-shirt. Um, you know, it it goes a long way, and you know, a lot of these rallies would be a lot more boring if vendors didn't show up. Yeah. So throw throw some support. If you like going to a bar, uh if you like drinking beer, if you like girls dancing on bar tops, go to that bar.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Hey, just you know, you know, yeah, that or to buy a coke, whatever. Right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Just make sure you tip the just tip the bartender. That's it. That's it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and and there's not gonna be a shortage of that.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_00And but like also when you go up, like I think at the end of the day, focus uh of Sturgis is the Black Hills, man. Like riding the Black Hills really was cool. It was really, really cool.
SPEAKER_01What did you ride when I mean where where did you go?
SPEAKER_00Man, I tried to hit them all. I tried to hit the big ones. So Iron Mountain Road, crazy. Yeah, uh really cool twist. And stuff. Um, we uh did Needles Highway, also really cool. We did uh we of course we saw Rushmore from at least the parking lot. Um we didn't we didn't go in. Uh but we only had the one day, so we covered a lot of ground that first day. And then we did um Spearfish Canyon, which was awesome. And and then we did uh you know we went to Deadwood, and that's where I wound up getting my t-shirts uh for my family because at least they there was they were different than the ones being sold at every booth in Sturgis.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But um, but the rides, the riding was awesome. I mean, we did mountain roads, mountain highways. I did a little, we did we were on some dirt roads. Uh what bike were you riding? Uh I I had a road glide.
SPEAKER_01Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And so it was really cool to be able to be, you know, on a on that bike. I may like eating up highway and and really cool bike also. But um, you know, I wish I'd had more time to ride, but I felt like this was an awesome rally because I got to do a little bit of everything that the rally's about. And you know, I always I like working my booth because it gives me kind of a home base, and my friends come to me and I make a lot of friends and meet people who appreciate what I do, and it's kind of an ego boost because people really have nice things to say.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But um, I gotta tell you about being on the news.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, no, it's right. You were on the news. I did see a video on YouTube. You were on uh sorry, on Facebook. You were on the news. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER_00Did you could you hear what I was saying?
SPEAKER_01A little bit. I wish I from from from the I guess I guess it was a cell phone that somebody was taking the video, right? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00We were right by the street and it was loud.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And the the footage that we posted was from a cell phone of the news lady interviewing me with her camera and and and microphone and everything like that. But um I feel like the news was kind of looking for the doom and gloom story. Yeah, kind of figured out, you know, and that's not what I gave them, you know. And they're like, she's like, how's the rally going? This is a local vendor, you know, and how's the rally doing for you? And I was just at the end, she said it was the best interview she's ever given, ever got. But I I yeah, so I go into like best, first of all, I'm just being a little goofy from the get-go, and I'm just going, this is the best ride ever. And she's like, What's going on? You know, many riders riding rapidly from Rapid City to Sturgis, you know, just tongue twister, yeah. And then uh, and just being funny, and she goes, Well, what you know, what are you known for? And I go, Well, I'm I'm most well known for our pants. And, you know, a lot of riders don't wear the helmet and the gloves, but they forget that the first thing that touch the ground is their legs, and everybody would be safer if they just get in my pants.
SPEAKER_01Did you actually say that? You want people to get in your pants?
SPEAKER_00Live.
SPEAKER_01Beautiful.
SPEAKER_00Live. So that's a shout out to Motorcycle Man and your commercials. But um, but so I said that live. And the next day, two different guys said they saw me on the news and had to come in and and bought stuff and just loved everything we were making and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01Excellent.
SPEAKER_00So kind of funny, and the the newsletters just crack it up online, you know, and then she's like, back to you, Jack, and I go, back to you, Jack. And and that that made it into and just you know, giving the locals uh something to laugh at, hopefully.
SPEAKER_01Excellent.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But I'm glad the getting Dave Spans thing works out for you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I would have been extremely disappointed if you because I was gonna ask you that, but I was been I would have been very disappointed if you didn't say that.
SPEAKER_00It's a good line. It's a good line. So um, but yeah, man, I mean we had we had a a million laughs, uh, you know, just hanging with my buddies, these guys that uh I'd known I met on a uh a couple of them I met on a ride uh in like 2016 out to Moab, and we all met and uh have been able to remain friends. And mostly I I'm able to see these guys when I go to shows and I say, Hey, can you work a weekend and come out and you know, and and they support me and they do that, and it puts just a little coin in their pocket. They walk away from the rally, you know, going, I I got to see the rally, I didn't spend any money, I made a little money and maybe got a little gear to boot, you know. And so, um, but I I had a great time with them, met a ton of people, just wall-to-wall laughs. Um, and uh, you know, I did it this time. I really feel like I I had a great time, and I'd be shocked. Like, I you know, I'd just be shocked if that many people are really feeling like well, tell me, like, what are you hearing about it?
SPEAKER_01What am I hearing? I'm only hearing what I see on YouTube and a couple comments on Facebook where people are mostly and bitching about things that I think are it's it's not trivial. Oh, the weather was horrible. Well, you know, it happens. Weather happens. You know, you know, oh the price gouging is absolutely insane. I can't well it I may I've been saying for years. I knew it was an expensive rally. I'm still paying for the rally I went to in 2023. So, you know, I know it's expensive. Yeah, yes, it is. But you know what? Shut up, suck it up, get on your motorcycle, go to the rally, have a good time.
SPEAKER_00And also, like, decide how many days you can afford to be there.
SPEAKER_01Yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_00You don't have to go for everything you don't have to be there for ten days. You don't have to, you could do the rally for free. It doesn't cost you anything to walk around Main Street. That's right. It doesn't cost you anything to go into the Iron Horse, doesn't cost you anything, you know. I don't know if it what venues actually cost money. There are bands playing in bars. There are you like you could bring a sandwich in your vest pocket, you know, and and uncrustables. Hey, and also jacks have big pockets. You can sit a lot of uncrustables.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I look I mean pockets. The inside of a pocket on my California riding shirt, I could easily fit an entire lunch in it. Easily.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And you walk in, sneak it into a bar, have yourself your sandwich. Like you could do it for the price of gas.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00And yeah, and you and there are rides there that are worth it.
SPEAKER_03Yep.
SPEAKER_00And the ride out is is part of the adventure, and the spectacle of the whole thing is part of it, and the black hills are part of it. And there's on your ride out, there's probably five or six things that you could go and see. And you could eat gas, and and if you if you didn't want, if you had a little more money than nothing, or just gas money, you could eat at gas stations and uh. Yeah, and you don't nobody's twisting your arm. Right. And then you go, you know what? I got a hundred bucks that I'm gonna I'm gonna go to this bar or I'm gonna go to that. You know, the ICP show that we were gonna go to was 79 bucks. There were some shows there that were over a hundred bucks or 150 bucks to go to, I think. But like I'm you like I never that's not why I I would be going to the rally anyway.
SPEAKER_01Right, exactly.
SPEAKER_00And I'm just as happy to sit um you know in a bar listening to somebody play some blues rock that as I as I would be seeing a massive show. And if I want to see, you know, Laney Wilson or whoever is gonna play, I'll probably buy a ticket in my hometown.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00You know, yeah. That's my vibe. I I think I think just in general, there's a lot of talk of inflation, and sure, that's happening. Yeah. And gas isn't cheap by any means. Right. Um, but that price gouging word gets thrown around like business owners are raising the price. Everything I was selling was had some kind of deal. You know, and and I've always done it that way.
SPEAKER_01And I think people are mostly I well, not to interrupt you, but I think I think I think a lot of people were really throwing the price gouging thing at the food vendors. Uh, because really $20 for a hamburger and a Coke, yeah, it it's it's a little excessive, you know, and I get it, because they have to and yet well, you're not you're a business owner. You you had you had your space, you had to pay for your space, and they have to pay for their space too. And they have to make their profit. You know, they have to make some money on that, otherwise it's a loss for them, and then they you know, like, well, we can't show up because we can't afford it anymore.
SPEAKER_00So well, and what'll happen is if if they don't show up, prices will go down and they'll be back. And and because these landlords will learn that, oh, there's kind of a top end, but I'm not so sure that they aren't going, hey, you know what? And in the grand scheme of things, like yeah, it $20, like you could eat the hamburger at Gas Monkey, it's $10. We ate, I I had a couple of sweet o burritos, they're $20. I had a I had a bowl, like some noodles and stuff like that. It was $20. And it's a lot, but like in the grand scheme of things, like I said earlier. It's twice as much. Let's say it's twice as much as it should be.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And you're going like, all right, then you're gonna spend you're gonna spend $200 instead of a hundred, you're gonna spend four hundred instead of two hundred. That's not fun for anybody, but it's also also you don't have to do that. No, like we had one day we I just sent my guy to the grocery store, and I think for 10 bucks she brought back a bunch of fried chicken. And I mean, that's cheap for my hometown.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like my, you know.
SPEAKER_01Well, like I like what you're saying earlier. You want to do it cheap, uh camp. Do your camp and bring your own food. Cook your own meals, and maybe if you want to have if you want to eat lunch out, that's fine. You'll save a shit ton of money. I mean, the last two times I went, the bulk of my money was fuel. That was the bulk of my money. That's where it went to. And it didn't go to food. My food bill for the both times that I went, the my food bill never went over 90 bucks.
SPEAKER_00Ever. For the whole rally.
SPEAKER_01For the whole for the whole rally, both times. Because I brought my own stuff.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, you can you can do it. Yeah, you can do it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I had so when we when I went riding, I had a ice uh in um Keystone, I think it was Keystone, one of the towns, we stopped and went into a a spot, and they had a special where it was a brat and some potato salad for 10 bucks.
SPEAKER_04There you go.
SPEAKER_00And I'm like, you know, that probably at one point was a five dollar special, whatever, ten bucks is not bad. But I instead I paid 15, and I'm like, I haven't eaten greens in all you know, two weeks. And I got the salad bar, and they had some awesome chili, it was soup and salad, awesome chili, some beef stew, really good, hearty stuff, and I ate a couple plates of of salad, and it was 15 bucks. 15 bucks is like also like you can't go to I mean they say it's price gouging, but prices are up everywhere. You can't go to I have I have five kids. I take them to like we're spending well over a hundred dollars if we go to like a McDonald's. We're probably spending close to a hundred dollars when we go to a place like McDonald's. Right. And it's just like yeah, it's expensive. It's not the rally's fault.
SPEAKER_01You know, mystic conditions, that's it.
SPEAKER_00It's yeah, yeah. And I I think this talk of that it's the rally and it's dead, it's just gonna it'll be self-fulfilling prophecy either way.
SPEAKER_01You know what, man? I I also blame a lot of this on the media. Because the media loves doom and gloom. They absolutely thrive on that shit because they know people eat it up. And we we all know it's bullshit. Even though they say, oh yeah, well, prices are up. Yeah, yeah, prices are expensive at the rally. You go to any rally, the prices are expensive. But the media likes to promote the doom and gloom because it's ratings for them. That's their thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, and it's it's click, it's clickbait. People are seeing price gouging at Sturgis. Sturge's Sturgis is dying. It's probably a more clickable headline than another great Sturgis.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. You know? Oh man. Uh so you go next year?
SPEAKER_00Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely there again. I might, I might, I might even set up at Rapid City 2. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Oh, there you go. I never thought of it. Where in Rapid City. Oh, you mean you mean down at um Black Hills Harley? At the at the dealership, yeah. Yeah, man. That oh man, that's a that's a tell you what, that's like a vendor heaven down there. They got so many, you know. So I'm thinking about I am I am thinking about going next year. Because I got my I got a travel trailer now. And I can throw my sportster in the back of my pickup and come out. That's a plan. It's just right now, I guess is one the main thing for me is is fuel. So I would have to make sure I have that to cover my costs. But yeah, I'm seriously considering going. And I'll be again, I'll be doing the camping thing. So you know, this be cool. Well, where do you camp when you go there? Well, you just say you just stay right at the site, right?
SPEAKER_00I mean, close to I I rent uh uh part of a yard that's been set up for RVs.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00And so he's got like four RV sites, and he's paved over his whole property uh just for for that. And so um I just parts there and we hook up to power, yeah, and we try and there's he's got a couple of bathrooms that are that we use, so we don't have to use the yeah, because I was gonna ask you, what do you do uh what do you do about your poop tank? Yeah, we just don't use it, and then you know we we dump our gray at the end and stuff. That's not the most interesting part of the rally, Ted. But but yeah, we I mean it's we have AC and it gets but it gets a little stanky four guys live in the C for two weeks.
SPEAKER_01Of course.
SPEAKER_00But you know, uh it it's it's really it's really great.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's like to be as close as we are to the action, walking distance from everything. And then the the one thing I need to to figure out is just how to have a bike on hand from day one. Because I missed hanging out with some people when I because I didn't have a bike.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And that's that's kind of the that'll be the next thing.
SPEAKER_01Why don't you uh why don't you just have a little trailer just get a little trailer and just trailer your bike out?
SPEAKER_00Tow it behind the trailer.
SPEAKER_01Huh?
SPEAKER_00I already tow a trailer. I already tow a trailer.
SPEAKER_01You tow it your trailer. Oh, but it's got all your d m merchandise in it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, why don't you gotta do is get the bike inside the trailer first and then stack your stuff around it.
SPEAKER_00Uh you should see the trailer.
SPEAKER_01You need a bigger trailer.
SPEAKER_00I need a bigger trailer. And if I do a bigger trailer, I probably need a bigger uh I mean that I had a blowout, tire blowout on the way back home, and my suspicion that has something to do with the the added, you know weight and effort that the that the machine was going through. So I think that the idea will be to either get somebody who's going and taking a trailer uh to bring one of my bikes, yeah. Or to, you know, to just tap buddies earlier and say, hey, you know, because there are people who bring up a guy I know had multiple bikes at the show. If that can work again, um, you know, maybe that's what we do. Or maybe, I mean, I go there enough. Maybe I just wind up having a bike up in there and, you know, uh, or find somebody to take a bike for me ahead of schedule, and then, you know, I don't know. You'll figure it out. But yeah, all said and done. Don't believe the hype or the negative hype. Surgis was great, people had a great time, and uh people made money, and I think it's coming back, and it'll be fine. What it needs is people to be about it and and to be open and and inviting to every kind of bike there is and every kind of rider there is, and I think the rally will will be just next for Dave Ackerman and Tobacco Motorware. Um, okay, so we had two releases at the rally. Um, one is we re-released our women's people talk about, oh, you don't make enough for women. We redesigned our women's boondocks, those are really cool. All right. We also released our deep south uh jackets. So we are probably one of our best known items is a California riding shirt. So we made it out of mesh and called it the Deep South riding shirt for all my buddies down in Florida and Texas and Louisiana. It's really cool.
SPEAKER_01I have to look at that.
SPEAKER_00And North Carolina probably gets a little sticky, so you might need to get your hands on one. And so, um, and then we have the deep south, our other, our most popular jacket is is probably our trucker jacket. And so we just made it out of that. And what's cool about these is from 10 feet away, it's such the mesh is tight. From 10 feet away, it looks like canvas. So it and then I deleted, or I, you know, as we designed it, is can you go make it more simple, make it more simple. So it doesn't have, you know, and maybe you're into this, maybe you're not, but for me and my style, like we don't have, you know, like high-viz sections and panels that are like, you know, extra. It's just a clean jacket. It looks like a work shirt, but it's completely made of mesh. It's really we released that, yeah. Check them out, tobacco motorware.com. But we almost sold out of our Sturgis inventory on that jacket. Um, and so we have that release coming. And at long last, our sneakers are uh gonna be arriving real shortly. So all those people who pre-ordered are gonna get theirs, and those will go uh on sale. So that's some pretty cool stuff coming up from our brands, and then you know, this strategy, and I've I've I've been you and I've been able to talk a lot more this year, and this strategy there that I had about just and you you were key of this, just you're like, dude, you just gotta get out and ride more. And so, you know, I I bought a few bikes that I liked to ride, and I think that's been court. I don't feel burnt out like I did last year.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00I think part of that had to do with I went, okay, so Monday is gonna be my weekend, and I'm gonna actually ride around and kind of fill my tank a little bit. And that happened. And then of course I had the blowout and that and then I left my computer at the tire shop in Wyoming. So, you know, I'm I'm always gonna be an idiot, but um, you know, I feel I feel a lot better, you know, coming out of this rally where last year it took me took me two months to kind of like get back in the swing. But I'm I'm at headquarters right now barking orders at the staff and having a good time.
SPEAKER_01Awesome. Excellent, man. Uh any closing words about the rally before we get into uh our oh we gotta do our ten questions. Yeah, we're gonna do that.
SPEAKER_00No, I think I I think I summed it up. Okay. Keep going. It's gonna be good.
SPEAKER_01Keep going, it's gonna be good. All right. Now we're gonna do our 10 rapid fire questions. Are you ready?
SPEAKER_00Ready.
SPEAKER_01Okay, here we go. Number one, favorite piece of tobacco gear for the rally.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna go with those Deep South shirts. It was nice warm. A lot of nice warm days. Had to be that.
SPEAKER_01All right. Uh number two, best food you ate at the rally this year.
SPEAKER_00Oh. Oh, man. You know me. Ice cream, dude, like the ice cream down there on Maine.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, dude.
SPEAKER_00If that if that counts, it was probably that. It's not that the team had a dinner at the end of the rally, had a great bison burger, just juicy, delicious bite blue cheese bison burger in spearfish.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And that was also really good.
SPEAKER_01All right. Number three, most surprising customer interaction. Probably the girl, right, that came up that wanted to ride.
SPEAKER_00Well, she was oh. Well, yeah, that was that that was last year, but we basically had the exact same thing happen this year, and my she had a bike, and I sent one of my staffers out with her, and and uh yeah, that was that was that was probably a pretty good one. Um I think uh sh I think we we had um you know Michael Lichner came into the booth and just walked out with some things that um he really liked, and I was that was kind of special to uh I'll go with I'll go with both of those.
SPEAKER_01Alright, cool. Uh number four, one word to describe the 2026 rally vibe.
SPEAKER_00Vibe. Um hilarious. Okay. It's just hilarious. I mean, from insane clown posse to all the all the shenanigans my team was doing, and uh, you know, it was it was hilarious. It was just so much fun. Funny.
SPEAKER_01All right. Uh number five, the ride you wish you had more time to take or to do a second time.
SPEAKER_00I wish I could have that that second day, spearfish canyon and deadwood, I would have loved to spend like a day doing that. We spent we we hit that in the morning, yeah, and Deadwood was so cool, but I wasn't even, I mean, we had to get on the road, and and so I had to cut that short.
SPEAKER_01But I think those were the ones that I don't think spearfish canyon gets the love it should get. Spear Spearfish Canyon Road is really freaking cool.
SPEAKER_00That's what it's really, really cool. And there's um, you know, I I I think yeah, I I think that one was just gorgeous. I I would like to there were some places I rode through where I was like, dude, why why doesn't this just become kind of a low-key rally destination, like a camp spot away from it all, you know, for the for the type of anyway, but uh there was some farmland up there that I was just like, dude, if I could get my hands on some of that and just say tents only, like, you know, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I get it. Uh number six, uh most underrated part of Sturgis.
SPEAKER_00Most underrated part of Sturgis.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I gotta say the corner of Junction in Maine, right in the lot of uh the antique shop, there's a tent there that tells awesome gear nobody knows about tobacco something. And uh it's it's uh good catch. There's awesome gear right in there.
SPEAKER_01Good catch, man. Yeah. Uh number seven, favorite booth neighbor or vendor this year. Not counting your stuff.
SPEAKER_00All right, so the weed vendors were awesome. Yeah. Just they were they were really cool people. They brought like I I neglected to bring my extension cords. We so we hooked up with them. They weren't riders or like they're not cruiser riders. Like the guy was a dirt bike rider, and we went over to the Harley tent and shops bikes for him, and and uh I don't know if he he wound up getting one, but but you know, they were really maybe because they weren't riders, they like talked to us a lot about trying to get kind of the perspective, and they brought such a cool, such an interesting crowd and interactions were always happening kind of right next to our booth. And so, yeah, I mean they were awesome. And then Max, the owner of the Emporium, the the antique shop there, yeah, also he's like family, he's a really good dude. And so those people right there were were great.
SPEAKER_01Cool. Uh number eight, biggest challenge of running a booth at the rally. Biggest challenge.
SPEAKER_00You never know what's gonna move, and so we had we had certain, we have these brother t-shirts.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I saw those. Yeah, they're cool.
SPEAKER_00They come out online, sold out super fast, had a had a box more of them shipped out that got there like Friday, but by then it was just kind of too late, and um and we didn't we we moved some, but it it's just like guessing the inventory mix you have to do, and then really just the long haul trucking involved. I think those are the two things that just are most taxing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Uh number nine, the go-to rally soundtrack or band.
SPEAKER_00Man, like, look, ACDC might be my favorite band. Like, if I'm driving and I'm dozing off, I can put on ACDC and just hearing it wakes me up.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But I will say that like hearing it blared and all the rock blared from you know motorcycle speakers all rally long, like kind of uh kind of wind, you're you're kind of over it by the by the end of the rally, there's like all that of rock. Yeah. I would say the playlist is definitely classic rock, which is what I listen to most. Yeah, yeah. Um, but like in the camper, like the last couple of days, I had on classical music because it was just yeah, so much, it was like nice to just hear sometimes silence is the best thing. Something different. Yeah, yeah. So I had I had an those two perspectives.
SPEAKER_01All right, number 10, your personal must-pack item for Sturgis. Ooh, baffled him.
SPEAKER_00Um I mean, this is for me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, I get it.
SPEAKER_00And we we already talked about it a little bit.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00But I think this probably applies to most everyone. A motorcycle. Yeah, exactly. A must-pack item. Because I've done two Scourges where I God, what was I I forgot that damn motorcycle. And um, so you know, and this one I had them, and it was definitely better.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I would say if you're going to Sturgis, get a motorcycle. If you can't, apparently you can show up to my booth, and I will find you a gentleman to take you out on a motion.
SPEAKER_01Apparently. Excellent. Dave, listen, thank you very much for being on the podcast and giving us your perspective of the rally this year. Uh, as always, you're extremely entertaining and just a joy to have on the show.
SPEAKER_00Always love coming on the show, man. Keep it up.
SPEAKER_01All right. Thank you very much. Don't go anywhere. I want to talk to you when we're done, but thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_01Huge thanks to Dave Ackerman for hanging out with us and giving us his first hand take on the 2026 Sturgist Rally. Now, whether you're a seasoned rally veteran or you're planning your first trip, hearing it straight from someone in the trenches does kind of make the difference. So thanks for tuning in to the Motorcycle Man podcast. And remember, boys and girls, there's many things you should know. Also, hey, listen, if you want to support the show, there is a link on the website to buy us a coffee or buy us a pizza, as usual. And also, uh don't forget to get on over to the uh Ride with Ted YouTube channel to check out many of the videos that I have there. More are coming. It's just been too freaking hot to ride, especially here in North Carolina. And you listen, you can get a copy of my book, The Road Most Traveled, from me here on the website at motomenpc.com. You'll save eight bucks. And if that's good, then define. Buy it that way, and I will even sign it for you if you want. Well, that's it, boys and girls. Thanks for tuning in. Uh, this will be episode 484, and I appreciate you listening and hanging out with me and Dave today. All right, kids, that's it. Ride safe, and remember, kids, we say stupid crap, so you don't have to. Right safe.
