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Rally Venues and Custom Cycle Vendors



PIEDMONT " Phil Flores of Radical Cycle Co. arrived from Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, he was setting up shop at the Top 50 Rally Park, a new venue just off Exit 46, the Elk Creek Road exit.

He was rolling out Radical's lineup of custom bikes, frames and other products, including a monstrous 260-cubic-inch V-twin motor. This is Flores' first Sturgis motorcycle rally as a vendor.

"We've always been a small custom bike shop," Flores said. But with new products, a clothing line and a push to extend the Radical brand, he's got something to sell. "This is the first time I've ever had to come to Sturgis to work."

Flores is one of 50 vendors who are going to be at Top 50 during this year's rally. That's a fair number for a first-year venue. Most of the vendors are makers of custom bikes, custom parts and other high-end accessories.

That's exactly how Jesse Jurrens wanted it.

The Rapid City entrepreneur is a veteran of the custom-bike business. He is the founder of Legend Air Suspension, maker of air-suspension systems, frames and custom parts for motorcycles. He also has Independent Cycle, a company that builds custom bikes.

He started Legend Air in his hometown of Watertown, and moved to Rapid City in 2000. In the early years, the entire operation " assembly, marketing and shipping " was in his Cleghorn Canyon basement. He later moved to a 15,000-square-foot facility off Deadwood Avenue. Through those years, Jurrens spent a lot of time on the bike-show circuit.

"Being in the business and doing 20 to 30 events around the country, I saw a lack of a concentrated area for the custom stuff," he said.

Jurrens said he chose the Exit 46 site because it is away from the din, parking problems and party atmosphere at the larger venues in and around Sturgis.

Jurrens has recruited a pair of custom-bike show veterans to help put the Top 50 Rally Park together. Lon Nordbye Jr. worked the big Thunder Road show in Sturgis in recent years. Sandy Leone is from Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson.

Top 50 has a beer tent, food booths and other rally staples. And it will have live music during some of the events. However, Jurrens emphasized that custom motorcycles will be Top 50's headline entertainment all week.

To help attract foot traffic, Top 50 will stage a series of events next week, including:


Custom bike builders Dave Perewitz and Paul Yaffe have designed "Sturgis Special" custom bikes for the event. They will ride in after a 1,000-mile journey to Sturgis, accompanied by about 50 riders from the Hamsters motorcycle club.

Those who attend the build-off get to vote for the winner, who will be announced at 4 p.m.

n The third annual Legend Top 50 Custom Bike Show is Wednesday, Aug. 9. Jurrens expects about 200 custom bikes and 30 custom automobiles for this all-day event. The awards ceremony is at 5 p.m.

n The Discovery Channel Showcase is Thursday, Aug. 10. The event features newcomers such as Mike Prugh of Independent Cycle and veterans such Deve Perewitz, Russell Mitchell and Detroit Brothers. Builders will have their bikes on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

By the way, you read that correctly " the third annual Top 50 Custom Bike Show at a first-year venue. For past two years, Jurrens staged the event at Independent Cycle's year-around facility off Deadwood Avenue.

The event drew crowds " which made Independent Cycle unpopular with its Samco Road neighbors. "We were disrupting the whole street," he said.

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com