No, this is not an April Fool’s joke…but it has all the makings of one though. Long-time Sturgis rally veteran Tom Bandy must have woken up one day and thought to himself, “man how cool would it be if Sturgis wasn’t held in South Dakota, but instead it was in South Korea!” and boom, Sturgis Asia was born.
In actuality, Bandy told the Rapid City Journal that “[he] had a a dream to bring Sturgis to the rest of the world,” which is starting with a tour of South Korea. While the festival is catering heavily to locals (much of SturgisAsia’s website is in Korean), the group will also fly riders and their bikes to South Korea presumably from China and Japan.
Bandy has planned a plethora of events, from a hill climb and mini-moto, to a traditional Korean performance and escorted tour of the Demilitarized Zone along the North/South Korean border. We have to admit we’re having a hard time wrapping our heads around an Asian version of Sturgis (will the website feature links to where you can get hitched like the US Version does?), but a motorcycle tour of Korean and the DMZ does sound pretty cool.
Bandy must have a good pitch though, because according to the Journal, custom bike builders Arlen Ness, Cory Ness, Eddie Trotta, Dave Perewitz, Donnie Smith will be in attendance along with Scott Jacobs (Harley-Davidson artist) and Michele Smith (host of American Thunder on the Speed Channel).
Bandy’s first Sturgis Asia trip is scheduled for September 17th-21st, and will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,500 for two people (prices vary though). If you go, we recommend the Korean BBQ.
In other news it took us roughly 30 minutes to find a title graphic for this story that was safe for work.
Source: SturgisAsia via Rapid City Journal
Comments