Sturgis Rally Good for Business

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally started in Sturgis South Dakota in 1938 Since then the popularity of the event has grown dramatically It s estimated that over half a million people will attend this year s rally The event officially starts Monday but pre-rally events have started in the town that is about half the size of Valley City Many bikers have been traveling through North Dakota on their way to the rally And one store in Mandan has seen a boost in sales because of it Roughrider Harley-Davidson sells clothing and provides motorcycle services such as tire replacements and oil changes Manager Bill Coyote Stork says they ve seen a lot of Sturgis traffic Bill Stork Manager We see more of an increase in bike sales and motor clothes to the locals in the week or two leading up to the rally But during the rally itself most of the business that we do that we pick up on is people traveling through buying motor clothes Stork says many people collect Harley Davidson pins from different stores throughout the country And many have picked them up in his store in the last week Bill Stork Manager They all like to have those souveneirs and the t-shirts from all of the different Harley dealerships that they visit across the country They pick up these pins that have the name of the store on them also They collect them and put them on their bikes It s expected that about 50-thousand bikers will travel through North Dakota on their way to Sturgis