I’ve always wondered what attending the iconic two-week Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota would be like, and this year my new role on Rabaconda’s marketing team rewarded me the bucket-list experience and chance to be a part of Rabaconda’s record-breaking sales event – talk about a good first impression! 

This was actually the Estonia-based company’s second year at the show – the 84th running of the world’s largest rally – and two years since releasing the legendary Rabaconda Street Bike Tire Changer, which we cranked on for two weeks drawing in thousands of visitors who strolled by our booth. The event drew an estimated 470,987 attendees during the rally – up 3 percent from last year – as the small town of Sturgis became the fourth-largest city in South Dakota from August 2-11. 

As a near lifelong motorcycle rider, my excitement began before I even stepped foot in The Mount Rushmore State. I boarded the plane to Rapid City seeing familiar industry logos and overhearing talks of where to go and who’s playing at what bar. A few rows ahead, a couple boasted about spending their honeymoon in Sturgis: “Our friends brought our motorcycles up.” Another passenger on his phone watched practice for the Black Hills Half-Mile flat track race scheduled for the next day. 

Upon arrival with boots on the ground, we set up at the Black Hills Harley-Davidson for two weeks of Street Bike Tire Changer demos, boasting about the EU-designed tool’s compact, portable nature – fitting neatly into a small duffel bag – along with its lifetime warranty on defects in material and workmanship, which proved to be crowd-pleasers. 

For the Harley-Davidson crowd, the Street Bike Tire Changer is becoming increasingly popular for both seasoned riders and curious newcomers.

We ran into our friends from the Dakota 600, a yearly all-inclusive motorcycle adventure in the Black Hills

We shook up the scene showing off the simplicity of the Street Bike Tire Changer and the recently-released Wheel Balancer and Lift Kit – garage game-changers. We were also on hand to answer technical questions like, “Does it work with tubes?” (Yes.) and “How do you break the bead?” (Good question. Let me show you.) 

Having the chance to learn the product myself, I was amazed by the tool’s intuitive design and ease of use. It’s so user-friendly that even a novice like me (I can count on one hand how many times I’d changed a tire before now) can master it quickly. Hearing the audience marvel at what looked like tire-changing magic was even more rewarding, and I started collecting comments from passersby:

• “That's cheating. You’re just showing off.”
• “I gotta say, that’s pretty neat. I need that for my garage.”
• “Hang on, I gotta video this. I gotta send this to my buddy.”
• “Don’t make it look too easy. That’s cheating.” 
• “I was telling my wife. I saw this on Facebook. I’ve gotta see this in person.”
• “I see it all the time. We didn’t believe it until now.”
• “I see you guys in my future. That’s pretty badass.”
• “I’d have everybody’s bikes over changing tires. I love this thing.”
• “So easy even a girl can do it.” 
• "That would make my life so much better." (My personal favorite.) 

Even the pros on-site with Performance Machine and Coastal Moto were using the Street Bike Tire Changer for swapping out TPMS sensors on delicate aftermarket wheels.

If you haven’t seen any of Rabaconda’s rider-developed designs in person, stop by our booth at next year’s 85th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, or keep following our social media for exciting demos that will change the way you think about changing tires!