Vengeance Motorcycles took Sturgis 2006 by storm! This year the Vengeance Nemesis show rig rolled into the Rockin-the-Rally venue at the Glencoe campground under sunny skies. The truck was setup Saturday in mild weather following a week of incredibly hot temperatures topping the 100+ degree mark. The first order of business was to deliver our “Twilight zone” Maxis to the AMD World Championship at the Thunderoad complex. The Maxis was the talk of the show with its incredibly realistic imagery the covers every inch of the custom sheet metal.
Sunday morning all the bikes were rolled out on display and by Sunday afternoon the crowds rolled in and were treated to an incredible show. The Sunday line-up included Cross Canadian Ragweed, Shooter Jennings, Keith Urban and Big & Rich. Late in the afternoon, the Vengeance crew got a surprise visit from country-music superstars Keith Urban and Troy Gentry of Montgomery-Gentry. Keith came over to mount up and take a ride into Sturgis to see the sites. Both Keith and T-Roy travel with their own bikes but Keith chose to ride on a new Vengeance Drifter. Keith dug the Aqua and Cream paint scheme with old school pinstripe art and the retro Red wheels. Keith is an accomplished rider and despite the loose gravel and ruts in the Glenco 1/2 mile driveway, he handled the 124 6-Speed retro-rocket with ease. Troy was piloting his yellow custom “Batman” 357 Chopper. We got to ride into town with Keith and Troy and made stops at the Broken Spoke and at One-Eyed Jacks. Keith got to walk Main Street and take in all the sights. Later that evening Keith performed a great show but had to leave to return to Nashville right after his set was over. After Keith played his set it began to rain a little but Big & Rich came on and closed the day of entertainment with a wet and wild show that kept everyone planted until the very last song.
Monday morning we woke up to “moist” ground as it had rained most of the night but fortunately it had cleared by morning. The day was met with enthusiasm and the hope that the rain would stay away until after the show. In the afternoon Gregg Rolie did a great show of Santana hits from his day as the lead singer of Carlos’ troupe, Jimmy Vaughn (brother of the late Stevie Ray) and the Fabulous Thunderbirds rocked the late afternoon and Cheap Trick followed with a high energy performance. Unfortunately later in the evening, the rain started coming down and the Steve Miller Band decided to not go on citing safety concerns with the weather and outdoor venue. Since Steve Miller canceled, we hoofed it over to the Buffalo Chip to catch the Montgomery Gentry show. By the second half of the show, the rain had stopped and we had a great night.
Tuesday the Vengeance staff learned that there isn’t mud at Glencoe, it’s clay. The king of clay that sticks to your tires and picks up rocks and sticks to everything no matter how much water you spray on it. That led us to the conclusion that we shouldn’t be riding our motorcycles (a little to little common sense a little too late). As we scraped mud off everything that moved we hoped the tent would dry out as we were creating our own eco-system under our canopy each night! However, to get our minds off the mud the Gin Blossoms, Live, the Black Crowes and Nickleback performed back-to-back shows. They rocked the house under clear (thank God!) skies from 4 pm to Midnight. Citadel Broadcasting was onsite at the venue and was awarding meet and greet passes and most of the performers were just hanging out backstage and checking out the Vengeance bikes. We moved some bikes backstage earlier in the day to dry out and had a chance to hang with Chad Kroger of Nickleback who took a Vengeance Raven out for a spin around the grounds. Chad lives in Vancouver, BC and he was stoked to hear that Vengeance is one of a handful of manufacturers that can ship bikes into Canada. Nickelback puts on an incredible show with a full pyro display and they were filming the show for an upcoming live DVD release, so if you were in the crowd that night you might just be on TV!
By Wednesday the weather had passed most of the mud/clay had dried out and the town was a buzz. For those of you who have never visited Sturgis, Wednesday is the “big night” for entertainment and this year was no different. At the Glenco Rockin the Rally venue Tom Petty was headlining. This was the first time TP had played Sturgis and he brought Stevie Nicks with him to perform! Wednesday afternoon Vengeance had the chance to do an extended interview with Coming Home Studios who were shooting a special on Sturgis hosted by Matchbox Twenty guitarist Adam Gaynor. Adam was doing “color” for the program scheduled to air on the Discovery Channel. Adam and Vengeance President & CEO Stephen C. Sharpe hit it off and decided to drag race a Vengeance against Adams radical ride. (We’re not allowed to tell you about his ride but it was off the hook in a Brady Bunch kind of way.) That night the entertainment opened with full shows were the Georgia Satellites, Foghat, and Joe Cocker. When Tom Petty went on it was like magic and the performance and show were the highlights of the year.
Sturgis, it’s like we’re a bunch of children.
With barely an ounce of energy left, Thursday again greeted us with clear skies. Vengeance President & CEO Stephen C. Sharpe got a chance to go for a ride with Brian Hitt the drummer for REO Speedwagon. Stephen and Brian did the “loop” heading out 79 to Belle Fouche, south to Spearfish, up through the Spearfish Canyon to Lead and down into Deadwood and back through Sturgis. The three-hour tour was perfect, the weather and the ride couldn’t have been better. Later that day Wolfmother, .38 Special and REO Speedwagon took the stage and rocked with new and classic hits. The evening was topped off by Sammy Hagar with his “bring the party onto the stage” show. Sammy had the girls from the Bunny Ranch tending bar on stage and if you look closely at the pictures you can see Vengeance’s own Jim Overman up on stage checking out the show from the bleachers directly behind Sammy.
The week started out wet and ended with all the great memories that make Sturgis a must-do annual trek for thousands of bikers every year. If you missed Sturgis this year, start making plans now. It is a party that shouldn’t be missed.