Last week, in my “Just Got Back From Sturgis” article, I described a few ways to NOT spend a fortune attending the rally. I didn’t mention rally T-shirts. They’re everywhere: Main Street, Deadwood, and every gas station and variety store within a 100-mile radius of Sturgis. Most have similar pricing: $15, or 3 for $40. That’s not a bad price for quality Ts. That was early in the week.
If you wait it out, the prices start to drop by the day as the rally comes to a close. Most of the vendors have travelled long distances to set up shop for a couple of weeks. Once the rally is over they pack up and head home. The value of their inventory drops significantly so they slash prices. Who wants last year’s T-shirt?
You can see how much values have dropped when you see T-shirts with prices as low as $5. You quickly find out the shirts are from previous years. Since I go every year and have a huge collection of Sturgis Ts, I don’t care what year is on the shirt - as long as it’s a quality shirt with a design I like.
This year, early in the week, I picked up two nice 2026 shirts for $10 each from a vendor in a parking lot somewhere in the Black Hills National Forest. They were set aside on a separate table with a sign that read “Shirt of The Day - $10”. I was going to ask if they had a different shirt of the day for $10 each day, but I already had all I needed.
Difficult Situation for Vendors
It must be difficult for vendors to try to figure out how many shirts to buy for the rally. If they don’t bring enough, they’ll run out. They’ll still have their fixed costs, while missing out on additional revenue. If they bring too many they run the risk of going home with almost worthless inventory. The loss might cut deep into their profits.
Solution?
I don’t know whether this will work. I don’t know whether it’s feasible. I don’t know the ins and outs of the Sturgis rally T-shirt business. But I would like to share a story that might help.
My daughter was on a competitive cheerleading team as a teenager. They travelled to competitions. One of those was in Dayton, Ohio. There was a T-shirt vendor selling shirts displaying the specific competition and the date. There were about five different shirts to choose from. It seemed like every competitor was buying at least one. There was a long lineup all weekend. The only finished inventory was the five shirts on display.
The vendor had heat transfer vinyl printing machines onsite, and boxes of plain T-shirts of various colors and sizes. Customers chose the colors, sizes, and designs, then paid for the shirts. Designs were pressed onto shirts on the spot.
The vendor left the event with no finished inventory. I assume the designs were changed out as they moved on to the next event. Could this work for motorcycle rallies? Daytona, Laconia, Sturgis, and others in between. Move from one rally to another with no leftover finished inventory. Customers could be given a ticket for their order if things backed up, so they could walk around and come back when their orders were ready. Maybe I’m missing something, since I’ve never seen this business model at a motorcycle rally.
Another Solution
As Jack from Cycledrag alluded to in the video above, you could omit the year from the shirts and sell the unsold shirts the next year at full price. Maybe this won’t work because a lot of people want the shirt with the current year as walking billboard proof they finally made it to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
However, it works for Ryan at the Deadwood Ice Cream Company. His shirts intentionally have no year on them so they can be sold year after year. While they aren’t rally shirts, they capture biker culture and the region’s history at the same time. Ryan had a very cool custom motorcycle built that sits in the display window of the ice cream shop during the rally.
Rich History
The bike has an aces and eights theme, which is a nod to the “Dead Man’s Hand”. Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed on August 2, 1876, in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota). Hickok was playing poker at Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon No. 10. Uncharacteristically, he was seated with his back to the door — normally he insisted on sitting where he could watch the entrance, but that day someone else was already in his preferred seat and he didn’t want to make a fuss about moving them.
A drifter and small-time gambler named Jack McCall walked in, approached Hickok from behind, and shot him in the back of the head at close range. Hickok died instantly. He was 39 years old.
The “Dead Man’s Hand”
At the time of his death, Hickok was reportedly holding two pairs — black aces and black eights (some accounts add a queen or jack as the kicker). This combination became known as the “Dead Man’s Hand” in Western lore.
Ryan’s ride has two revolvers attached to the back fender with the turn signal lights inside the barrels. His shirts say Deadwood South Dakota, Aces & Eights, since 1876, with an image of his motorcycle.
These are very cool shirts and mementos of a visit to the small western town. I’ve picked up a few myself over the years.
If you’re ever in Deadwood, stop by the Deadwood Ice Cream Company at 637 Main Street, have a tasty treat, and check out the souvenir shirts.
The Ace of Spades lyrics If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your man You win some, lose some, it's all the same to me The pleasure is to play, it makes no difference what you say I don't share your greed, the only card I need is The Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades Playing for the high one, dancing with the devil Going with the flow, it's all a game to me Seven or Eleven, snake eyes watching you Double up or quit, double stake or split The Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades You know I'm born to lose, and gambling's for fools But that's the way I like it, baby, I don't wanna live forever And don't forget the joker Pushing up the ante, I know you got to see me Read 'em and weep, the dead man's hand again I see it in your eyes, take one look and die The only thing you see, you know it's gonna be The Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades -Motörhead