📝 usncan Note: Don’t Count Motorcycles Out Yet
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Motorcycle sales are down all across the board in recent years, but you’d never know it judging by the record turnout of bikes for this year’s Sturgis, the largest motorcycle gathering in the world.
Motorcycle riders driving down the street in Keystone, South Dakota during the Sturgis Motorcycle rally.
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From Aug. 1 to Aug. 10, a total of 537,459 vehicles were counted at traffic monitoring locations around town, the South Dakota Highway Patrol reported. That’s a 14% increase from last year and an 11.3% increase over the five-year average.
The busiest day of the rally was Aug. 4, as it typically is, with 68,906 vehicles recorded. That’s 19% higher than the five-year average for that day. The final Sunday, Aug. 10, was also strong, coming in 11% higher than the five-year average.
City of Sturgis director of communications Deb Holland noted that several metrics support “deeper insight into rally attendance,” including mobile device tracking within city limits, vendor sales, traffic counts at Mt. Rushmore, the amount of garbage hauled from Sturgis and the number of photos taken on Main Street.
KEYSTONE, UNITED STATES: This June 1995 photo shows Mt. Rushmore, in Keystone, South Dakota.
AFP via Getty Images
The South Dakota Department of Transportation also uses traffic counters placed at nine different entry points to collect data. Those figures don’t necessarily represent individual visitors, Holland said, since multiple people may ride in a single vehicle, and many re-enter over several days.
Vendor licenses are another indicator of rally attendance: there were 823 licenses this year, up from 794 last year.
“This year’s traffic counts reflect what we heard all week — strong attendance, steady flow of visitors and a high level of enthusiasm for the 85th Rally,” Sturgis Mayor Kevin Forrester said.
Earlier predictions expected traffic numbers to surpass 700,000 for the milestone event. City administrator Aaron Jordan explained that rallies across the nation have been trending toward 30% lower traffic, so Sturgis’ 12% increase over years past means the city is “holding our own.”
“The numbers confirm that Sturgis is the premier destination for motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world,” Forrester added.
STURGIS, SD – AUGUST 07: Motorcyclists ride down Main Street during the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on August 7, 2020 in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Getty Images
Arrests
Of course, with a gathering this large of hard-hittin’, hardcore motorcyclists, you’ve got to expect some miscreants. The Sturgis Police Department recorded a total of 1,700 calls for service during the rally, with 142 subjects jailed. Other stats included:
97 non-traffic arrests, including three for indecent exposure, seven for ingestion of a controlled substance, three assaults and three vendor violations.
55 misdemeanor drug possessions and 47 felony drug possessions
58 DUIs
114 traffic arrests
146 parking citations
For the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the totals were:
119 DUIs
266 misdemeanor drug possessions and 104 felony drug possessions
1,524 citations and 4,959 warnings
Fatalities
The Highway Patrol reported 27 non-injury accidents, 66 injury accidents and four fatalities this year, up one from 2024.
The first two fatalities occurred on Aug. 2 and Aug. 4, both involving male riders failing to navigate curves on Highway 16A — near Mt. Rushmore and in Custer State Park, respectively. The third fatality was connected to a police pursuit near Boulder Canyon on Aug. 3 – the motorcyclist crashed into a ditch on Highway 14A and succumbed to injuries on Aug. 8.
The fourth occurred on Aug. 7 at the intersection of South Dakota Highway 44 and Airport Road, east of Sturgis, when the driver of a Toyota Tacoma turned into a 23-year-old motorcyclist who was wearing a helmet.
