Day 6, 03Aug2025 - A short ride, Full Throttle and Buffalo Chip

On Sunday the weather forecast called for rain in the afternoon so we planned a short ride in the morning followed by a visit to some of the saloons on the east side of Sturgis by car.  Terry was nice enough to be our chauffer. 

We left about 09:15 from the downtown RV Park and did a short ride that took us through Spearfish Canyon, Lead and Deadwood; classic Black Hills historic towns. 

The riding is scenic, and really has to be experienced to appreciate. 

We did not stop in any of the towns, we just wanted to get a quick ride in before the rain hit. We were surprised that the town of Deadwood streets were all under construction, no motor cycle parking downtown. Deadwood is normally swamped with bikes, I can't imagine how much business they lost due to the construction...seems like poor planning for the 85th event?

After the ride we returned to the downtown RV park and got in Terry's truck to visit the eastern saloons. 

Sturgis from Bear Butte Road

Of course John knew the back way out of town that avoided all the traffic, Bear Butte Rd. It was dirt but took us to a high point that overlooked Sturgis for a nice view of the town.

The Full Throttle Saloon burned down in September of 2015, right after we had visited in August.  They have since took over the Broken Spoke location and rebuilt the saloon. It is similar to the old one, but it has better shaded seating and a concert venue that can be viewed from the three bridges, which are still under construction. 

Arriving at FTS.

Full Throttle Saloon

Some of the iconic symbols the FTS are still there, there is no mistaking where you are. 

FTS Entrance

FTS

The inside of the FTS has an industrial theme now. 

We enjoyed a drink in the shaded courtyard and moved on to the Buffalo Chip. 

Buffalo Chip

As you arrive at Buffalo Chip they have a huge field of flags to honor our armed service.  It is quite spectacular. 

Bear Butte from BC

The view of Bear Butte from inside BC is moving, unfortunately when I took this picture, the big flag had been taken down. 

BC Bike Wash

From the bar you can watch your bike get washed...damn it, I forgot my bike!

BC Entertainment

We watched the bike show, burnouts, wheelies and jumps from the elevated balcony, what a view. 

BC Burnout

At the end of the show they burn the tires until they blow, it makes some smoke. 

BC V-Twin

Before we left we had to get the classic photo in front of the big V-Twin.

After BC we returned to town and tried to get food at the Oasis, but it wasn't going to happen so we went back to the Knuckle and had a good meal, despite a limited menu. It seems the restaurants poorly planned for 700K visitors, they are running out of food. They were out of Brisket, Shrimp and Chicken...hmm. 

By the way, it seems the weather forecasters here went to the same college as those back home. It never rained, it was beautiful all day.  We could have ridden, oh well. It was good to visit FTS and BC on 4 wheels. :)

Today, Monday, is our last day here, we are going to ride, but we are still trying to decide what ride we want to do.