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-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
BOTH: Welcome to Sturgis, baby!
NARRATOR: It's the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally...
It's kind of like the motorcycle Woodstock.
NARRATOR: ...the biggest biker party in the world.
ALL: Sturgis!
NARRATOR: In this episode of "Sturgis Raw,"
the police crack down on drinking and driving...
Follow the tip of my finger.
a bike explodes in flames...
Grew very, very fast.
NARRATOR: ...and at One-Eyed Jack's,
Kitty's rookie staff can't handle the pressure.
Seeing all the veterans and how they bartend,
it definitely was really intimidating.
I'm just not sure they're gonna survive.
NARRATOR: From the campgrounds to the rally's biggest events,
it's Sturgis like you've never seen it.
[ Siren wails ]
It's "Sturgis Raw."
Sturgis, it's the greatest motorcycle rally in the world.
It's extremely wild. [ Laughs ]
WOMAN: Extremely wild.
[ Cheering ]
Every August, hundreds of thousands of bikers
descend on the small South Dakota town
for one week of mayhem.
[ Crowd cheering ]
[ Engine revving ]
BOTH: Rage, rage, rage!
Yeah!
Whoo! Sturgis 2013, baby!
Whoo!
NARRATOR: They invade Main Street
and turn this quaint strip into a motorcycle Mecca.
WOMAN: I have yet to see a bike that's the same.
They're all unique.
It's one big adult carnival.
I like to come down here just look at all the weird people.
NARRATOR: But the town is braced and ready.
The Sturgis police have beefed up their numbers.
More than 100 officers are ready to take on rally duty.
Officers Clint and Aaron
have been partners at the rally for years.
Everything we say can and will be used against us.
NARRATOR: The entire force will be patrolling by car...
229 gonna be out with an open container.
...on motorcycle...
[ Siren wails ]
...and on foot.
No open containers here in Sturgis.
NARRATOR: Today, Clint, Aaron, and the foot patrol team
are gearing up for a long shift.
You guys set at the Junction Inn?
Riding dirty.
Riding dirty.
NARRATOR: Aaron and Clint are proactively
on the lookout for people
violating the open-container law.
They head to a busy intersection.
An S.U.V. fits the M.O.
What you got in the bottle there, son?
Pull over in this right lane over here.
Right up in here.
Let's hop out on the sidewalk here.
You guys have I.D. on you?
You guys mind if we look through quick?
Okay.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: The deadly combination of driving and alcohol
will be a constant battle for Sturgis police.
CLINT: People seem to feel like
they're comfortable drinking and driving here.
The rally's always had a pretty good history
of kind of being the old Wild West
where law doesn't exactly exist.
But when they get here, they kind of find out
that the law's still the same
here as it is back in their own hometowns.
NARRATOR: Even though
they pulled a handful of bottles from the vehicle,
the driver has not been drinking,
so the officers give the group a pass.
Here's what we're gonna do.
You guys are gonna dump out the ones that are still open,
keep that cooler closed
till you get to wherever you're going.
All right? Fair enough?
Perfect.
NARRATOR: These guys are happy
to dispose of their empties and move on.
These Sturgis cops are pretty damn good guys.
[ Laughter ]
Come to Sturgis!
AARON: All right, you guys have a good week.
Yup, take care.
The police keep a high profile in Sturgis.
Officers are everywhere, including Main Street,
the heart of the rally.
Hello! [ Laughs ]
Main Street is crazy.
There's people just walking all the way down, up,
getting in the middle of everything.
BOTH: Party time, party time!
NARRATOR: This popular drag has a carnival-like atmosphere,
and is a constant parade of metal.
There are choppers, baggers, and full-blown custom jobs.
This is where you come to see
the most beautiful bikes in the world. Right here.
They're coming from all over the United States,
all over the world, to be in Sturgis.
NARRATOR: Every kind of bike imaginable is here.
My name is Buck Trader. I'm from Oriska, North Dakota.
It's built --
Made it look like it was built in 1950.
All the parts on it are pre-1950.
It's a flathead Ford 1949 motor, 239 cubic inch,
has a four-speed transmission.
Found the motor at an auction sale
and just decided to build a bike 'round it.
NARRATOR: Sturgis attracts all types of riders.
MAN: You got lawyers and doctors,
affluent people that ride motorcycles that are here.
You got the biker outlaw gangs that are here.
It's from every end of the spectrum.
Including industry professionals.
Hi. I'm Shaun Ruddy,
and I'm from Chop DeVille out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
I wanted a high-horsepower bike
that also had the looks of an old-style board track racer.
I've put about 1,200 hours into that bike.
Everything on it is built by hand.
We've got 600 handmade bolts on that bike,
run into a 127-inch engine that I'm running one panhead
and one EVO head on her.
NARRATOR: Custom bike builders like Shaun Ruddy
don't just come to Sturgis for the party.
We're gonna enter our bike
in the J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Competition
held in downtown Sturgis.
We're gonna be in the Freestyle class,
which we actually won in L.A., so hopefully we can do it again.
NARRATOR: Shaun is heading just a block away
from the spectacle of motorcycles on Main,
to one of the greatest accumulations
of rolling art at the rally.
Some of these bikes are amazing.
NARRATOR: For the very first time at Sturgis,
a world-class competition is being held out in the open air
for all to enjoy.
The finest bike builders in the country
are facing off for cash prizes and bragging rights.
Each guy wants to win, and so they're very, very competitive.
Everything about this show is more top-notch
than any other show in the country.
NARRATOR: It's the Ultimate Builder custom bike show.
We have five classes.
A Freestyle class -- that's, like, the main class.
There's a Modified Harley, Modified Street,
Cruisers.
And then there's the Radical Bagger,
and then there's the Retro Mod class,
which is for bikes from 1984 and older.
Looks good.
NARRATOR: Bob Kay is the show's organizer.
A motorcycle fanatic,
he's been with the renowned nationwide contest
since it started.
Bring the rear wheel of the bike right into here.
We got a lot of Freestyle bikes coming in.
NARRATOR: Of the five classes, Freestyle is the pinnacle.
The Freestyle class is really the ultimate
of custom bike building.
We got about 20 bikes here that are world-class bikes,
just blow your mind.
NARRATOR: And judging from the looks of it,
the competition is going to be fierce.
My name's Kyle Shorey. This is for the Freestyle class.
NARRATOR: All eyes are on this Texas customizer,
who won the big pot
at the Ultimate Builder National Finals last year.
I really wanted to do a '70s style bike.
You know, it's kind of hot right now.
Built the frame, front end, everything, in three weeks.
NARRATOR: Kyle's Triumph is sporting vintage headlights,
a streamlined frame, and an era-specific paint job.
Every style of '70s paint job is on this tank.
Every panel is a different style of '70s paint.
There's never been competition like this at this show.
If I win this one, I know I did something good.
My name is Dar Holdsworth.
I'm from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The thing with the Ultimate Builder competition
is people that really craft their bikes in a quality way
spend the time to cover the details,
they want to compete in this competition,
and those are people who we want to compete against.
NARRATOR: Kyle and Dar have been competing for years.
It's a real love-hate relationship.
What's up?
Get that armpit...
Gar, he's all right. He smiles a lot.
He don't know much, but he smiles a lot.
It looks like he does.
Whatever gets the job done.
The bikes just keep on coming.
I can't believe some of these guys
can actually build such beautiful bikes.
Great custom jobs. I'm jealous.
I want one.
NARRATOR: The winner of the Freestyle class
will walk away with $2,500 in prize money.
Is Shaun Ruddy's handmade sleek board track the clear winner?
Is Kyle Shorey's classic '70s Triumph going to take the title?
Or is the champion among one of the entries still rolling in?
Up the block on Main Street, bikers want to beat the heat,
and are looking for one thing -- a cold beer.
Thankfully, there are five blocks of bars
they can choose from.
This is a good thing for the thirsty biker,
but for Pete Gold, owner of One-Eyed Jack's,
it means more competition.
The trick is to get all these people
to come into One-Eyed Jack's for one or two beers,
plus something to eat.
Now, that's making money.
NARRATOR: Jack's is the largest bar on Main Street,
and Pete's strategy to get bikers into his bar is simple --
hire the sexiest bartenders in South Dakota.
One-Eyed Jack's, it's out of hand. [ Yelling ]
My name is Claire Bloom. Everyone here calls me Rascal.
I come to One-Eyed Jack's every year with my best friend, Emma.
Hi, world. I'm Emma, from Wisconsin.
CLAIRE: Emma is a wild child. She entertains.
You can't get her off of the bar.
NARRATOR: Claire and Emma are veterans
and know how to attract customers to their bar,
and more importantly, get them to stay and spend money.
We just click very well together.
It's not forced, it's not fake.
NARRATOR: They work one of the highest-grossing bars
at One-Eyed Jack's.
Over the course of the rally,
Emma and Claire could make up to $20,000 combined.
CLAIRE: I get more compliments from customers saying,
"You guys are the most fun bartenders,"
and we get people coming back every night.
NARRATOR: This is easy for the girls
who have been doing it for years,
but there are a lot of bartenders
who are rookies to the rally, like Jessica and Paula.
The twins are struggling to figure out
how to bartend at Sturgis.
Being rookies, we are struggling more
with breaking out of that shell.
I thought I was just gonna come in here and bartend,
and that's it, dress a little bit more skimpier than normal,
but seeing all the veterans and how they bartend,
definitely intimidating.
NARRATOR: The twins need to put on a good show
to attract customers and make more money,
but in order to entertain the bikers,
they must have their dancer's licenses.
KITTY: Girls, bring it in, bring it in. All right.
Dancer's licenses, who all has them?
Okay.
Who doesn't have them?
And why don't you have them?
Where do we get 'em?
$100. Police department next door.
If you do not have a license, you do not dance,
get on your bar, or nothing.
If they catch you, you will go to jail.
NARRATOR: Without a dance license,
it's going to be tough for the twins
to draw more attention to their bar and make some moolah.
I'm not sure how they're gonna expect to make it
if they don't go ahead and do that.
If they don't, they're gonna wish they did.
NARRATOR: Coming up, we meet
one of Sturgis' most famous tattoo artists.
Not bad, brother.
And later...
the One-Eyed Jack's twins are dropping the ball.
I want you to show these rookies how it's done.
Whoo-hoo! Sturgis!
NARRATOR: The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
is in full swing,
and Main Street is jam-packed with bikers.
This is the epitome of a biker lifestyle.
You will never get bored here.
Anything goes.
Sturgis 2013, rocking it out!
I'm always looking forward and happy to come up to Sturgis
and work the bike rally.
It's always interesting.
No two years are ever the same.
NARRATOR: The Sturgis police are back on the beat.
Foot patrol officers Monthey and McLaughlin
will pound the pavement for the equivalent of 12 miles.
How's it going?
MAN: Going good. Yourself?
Not bad.
NARRATOR: The police goal is to let the party roll,
but only to a point.
You know, the myth of Sturgis.
You're gonna come up here. There's no rules.
It's a live free or die mentality,
but there's rules for a reason,
and as long as people are cooperative with us,
you know, we're gonna give 'em as much leeway as we can,
'cause we want 'em to have fun, be safe,
and then come back again next year.
NARRATOR: Bikers who abide by the law
are free to enjoy the party...
ALL: Sturgis!
NARRATOR: ...hang with their brothers and sisters...
The camaraderie among everybody is just amazing.
...and enjoy the open road.
We are in the Black Hills, just riding all over.
There's a lot of great riding out here.
NARRATOR: At Sturgis, street cred is all about the bike.
What you ride is who you are.
My bike is like a piece of me. It's a working art formation.
I love color, I love attitude. I love to be different.
I just like to stick out in a crowd,
and that's the way I like to build my bike.
NARRATOR: While Benko's colorful softail
may be a personal statement,
it's nowhere near as permanent
as another form of biker expression.
My inspiration for the tattoo
is I like scary movies and the macabre.
NARRATOR: You can't walk a block down Main Street
without seeing some of the wildest tats
the biker world has to offer.
And the street becomes tattoo alley for the week of the rally,
drawing tattoo artists from all over the country.
My name's Dusty Ullerich. I've been tattooing Sturgis.
This is my 23rd year.
NARRATOR: Dusty is a Sturgis icon and rally veteran.
Over the years, he's become a local celebrity.
Not bad, brother.
Right on.
I've been here a long time,
and I've beat a lot of ground on these city streets.
So, yeah, a lot of people know me.
There's only maybe one or two tattooers
that have been up here in Sturgis longer than I have.
He is, by far, the best.
DUSTY: I'm a second-generation tattooer.
I started tattooing myself at the age of 18.
NARRATOR: Every year, Dusty sets up his shop right off Main.
Dusty, how are you?
Good, man. How are you, man?
Good to meet you.
He is a man in high demand.
Really hard to estimate how many tattoos I'm gonna do
during the week of Sturgis.
The most I think I've ever done, I did 17 in one day.
It was all day long.
NARRATOR: Greg Frye and his wife traveled from Hawaii to Sturgis.
To ensure he could get a tat from Dusty,
he made his appointment a year in advance.
Today, we have a situation where I've never met this guy,
but he went to great lengths to find me.
He knew that I was kind of famous for doing motors.
So, he rides an Evolution motor, so I'm doing an Evolution motor.
It's not gonna be this big,
but I was thinking something like that.
Oh, my God.
NARRATOR: Dusty is incorporating a nod to Greg's Hawaiian roots.
DUSTY: I'm doing a Hawaiian lei around one side
with a Sturgis banner underneath.
It's probably gonna take us four to five hours.
NARRATOR: Dusty and his crew
have to crank on several hundred tattoos
before the rally is over
to cover the rent and make a profit.
Time is money.
Dusty is feeling the pressure to get this large tattoo done fast,
please the customer, and move on.
We done?
DUSTY: I think we're done, man.
After five hours, Greg has his ink.
Look at that.
Cool.
Yeah, it looks great. Looks awesome.
GREG: I love it.
It captures our first trip to Sturgis
and it captures the Aloha spirit of our hometown in Hawaii.
We've all been cranking pretty good.
I'm extremely happy with my crew.
We didn't have any stress. We didn't have any drama.
NARRATOR: Dusty's clients trust him
because he creates amazing body art,
but in Sturgis, that isn't enough.
In order to do business, all vendors,
including tattoo artists, need a permit or license
to work in the city and hawk their wares.
If you don't have the right paperwork,
you could get a ticket or go to jail,
and the same thing goes for the bartenders at One-Eyed Jack's.
They need a dancer's license
so they can dance and serve beers in every way imaginable.
Come on in. My bar's in here.
The twins, Paula and Jessica,
finally got their dancer licenses, so they can get loose,
but they still aren't filling the tip jar.
Kitty manages the bartenders.
She sees that the twins are struggling.
Starting to come out of their shell a little bit,
but I think I'm gonna have to go show them really what's expected
here at One-Eyed Jack's, and actually make some money.
NARRATOR: She takes Jessica
and shows her how the other girls handle the job.
Watch how she works her bar.
JESSICA: Okay.
She is acting like they're her best friend.
Kitty uses veteran Andrea Munroe's bar
as an example of how to work it.
[ Whistle blowing ]
She is making him feel like...
[ Cheering ]
...he is the absolutely...
the best thing on the face of the planet.
To give the twins another up-close and personal look
at how to get the bikers' attention,
Kitty brings over Claire...
...one of One-Eyed Jack's top earners.
For the next couple of minutes,
I want you to show these rookies how it's done.
All right.
Bring the honey, and get it rocking, okay?
Tend bar.
Go, baby.
NARRATOR: In a matter of seconds,
Claire has turned the twins' bar into pure entertainment.
[ Whistle blowing ]
I really saw, "Oh, this isn't just bartending.
You have to put on a show."
You have to entertain these people.
Just simple, little things.
It's gonna make you more money.
Even though it's a restaurant. Who cares?
It's a bar. We're One-Eyed Jack's.
NARRATOR: Coming up...
metal madness takes over Main Street.
[ Crowd cheering ]
NARRATOR: It's early in the rally,
but Main Street, Sturgis, South Dakota, is already overrun
by motorcycles.
Main Street is quite a spectacle.
You'll see every walks of life, every type of motorcycle.
ALL: Sturgis!
NARRATOR: The stuff of fantasy
parades up and down Main Street all day long.
No, not the girls, the bikes.
The rally's main drag is lined
with the greatest collection of biker hardware conceivable,
and these machines ain't cheap.
A stock bagger, the bikes with the saddles,
come in around 21K.
A simple custom chopper can be worth 50 grand.
A high-end custom bike, $150,000.
There's no end to the amount of money
that can be spent on these things.
NARRATOR: Start adding custom chrome, leather, and paint,
and the costs really add up.
MAN: The paint alone was just enormous.
It cost, like, $8,000. It's just ridiculous.
I wanted everything to be accentuated.
I wanted that real long front end.
I wanted this bike to, when you look at it,
it's like, "Holy crap."
NARRATOR: While the customized bikes on Main Street turn heads,
for serious builders, the real show is a block away.
It's the first time a contest has carved out a space
in the middle of the rally for all to enjoy.
The Ultimate Builder Bike Competition showcases
some of the most tricked-out
and creatively built bikes at the rally.
Registration is under way,
and top customizers from around the country
are lining up to battle it out
for cash prizes and bragging rights.
Shaun Ruddy's sleek board track, with 600 handmade brass bolts
and cadmium plated chain is a strong contender,
as is the 1970s-style Triumph
built by last year's National Finals winner, Kyle Shorey.
And the entries are still rolling in.
TD Ward is doubling down with two bikes in the competition.
He's banking on one, if not both of them, taking home a prize.
I'm in the Freestyle class with both bikes.
NARRATOR: Having won a custom competition the day before,
he is confident.
TD: They're both 100% hand built.
Neither one of them started out
as anything other than raw steel.
I do an old-school theme with a twist of new as well.
I like the old colors and big tires.
I worked all year to try to make sure that I brought
the best that I could possibly build.
NARRATOR: The eye-popping baby-blue trike
and gold-accented bobber are garnering some attention.
Each bike here has its own unique personal story.
Jeff Hudson's depicts the tale
of the battle for South Dakota's Black Hills.
This is called Black Horse.
I wanted to do something
that told a story about the Black Hill Indians.
Down here, you see the Black Indian horse is meeting,
for the first time, a cavalry horse,
and on the other side of the bike, you got --
the two horses are fighting.
The cavalry is trying to take these Black Hills.
Well, old boy named Two Feather, he rode a black horse,
and sent the cavalry packing.
NARRATOR: Jeff is hoping his softail chopper is strong enough
to take the Freestyle class, but this competition features
some of the most breathtaking builds at Sturgis,
and judging will be brutal.
Good afternoon, everybody. Voting has officially started.
NARRATOR: Unlike other bike shows,
the judging for the contest has a twist.
BOB: We use a system called peer judging,
whereby the builders vote on the other builders.
I mean, really, who knows better
what goes into building a custom bike than a builder?
NARRATOR: The winning bike will have to blow 'em away
with its engineering and its creativity.
I love this.
This is all about, like, old school, but also new.
This is kind of like what I would do.
It's definitely my taste.
NARRATOR: Brass Balls custom builder, Dar Holdsworth,
is really digging some of the fabrication he sees.
Right off the bat, Sam Baldi's bike catches his attention.
Nice to meet you.
Whose motor is this?
It's Patrick Racing.
Very cool.
With, like, some cool pan tops.
Very nice.
It's got its proprietary ground cylinders.
Yeah, yeah.
Talked him basically out of retirement to do them.
NARRATOR: Sam's bike, Lost Angel,
is dedicated to his late granddaughter.
It's a full-blown custom. Everything was built by hand.
Very clean, a lot of work involved.
It flows.
You want it to be proportionate,
like you'd like your female friends to be proportionate.
Yeah, good luck to ya.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Competition is very stiff this year, very stiff.
KYLE: There's some good stuff here.
I got a little bit of competition.
I know a lot of folks here that dig it, so we'll see.
There's a lot of great bikes here,
so you never know what's gonna happen.
NARRATOR: Coming up...
the police crack down on bars...
You'd have to be like 7'10" to make that legal.
...and the Ultimate Builder comes down to the wire.
Getting real tense.
The competition's been real close this year.
NARRATOR: The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota roars on,
and the bikers are letting loose.
For eight days, the Sturgis police
work to stay one step ahead of the chaos.
[ Siren chirping ]
Get your hand out of your pocket.
You guys aren't in possession of that right now?
They're number-one goal is not to clamp down hard
or chalk up arrests...
Be quiet, get back in the vehicle right now.
NARRATOR: It's safety.
Shut 'em down.
NARRATOR: And that goes for the bikers
and their bikes.
Sturgis riders are on the street with bikes
they have customized to the hilt...
...chopped, or even built from scratch.
[ Horn honking ]
[ Engine revving ]
But not all of what they do is street legal.
Officers Aaron and Clint are always looking out
for illegal bike customization, specifically illegal handlebars.
You'd have to be like 7'10" to make that legal.
CLINT: Orangutan.
That's cool-looking, but not necessarily legal.
Sturgis law is that your arms can't be above your shoulders.
When you're riding your motorcycle,
you got more strength in your arms
if they're closer to your body,
but if you get 'em way out like this,
and you got to try to turn it,
it's harder to turn, you got less control over the bike.
And so, they created the law in order as a safety thing.
NARRATOR: And the law is for real.
If you're riding dirty with your bars too high,
the Sturgis cops are gonna slap you with some paper.
Just ask Tim Vorst.
It's a matter of inches.
TIM: My bars are 25 inches,
and the legal height in Sturgis is 15 inches.
And I have my ticket to prove it.
NARRATOR: Lucky for Tim, there's no double indemnity.
Once you're ticketed, you can't be cited again.
Get out of jail free for the next police.
NARRATOR: Some riders have a strategy
to skirt around the law.
What a lot of guys do is they leave the clamp loose
as they're driving down the road.
If they see the cop, they just pull 'em back
and they rotate down, and then they're legal,
then when the cop goes by, they push 'em back up.
NARRATOR: While the parade of bikes continues of Main Street,
a block over, there's customization going on
that makes ape hangers look like sissy bars.
The Ultimate Builder Bike Contest
is just what the title says.
MAN: I just can't believe
what some of these guys are doing with these motorcycles.
The ultimate showdown between America's hottest builders,
with $2,500 going to the winner
of the coveted Freestyle category.
The builders are judging each other
and won't be swayed by nice packaging.
It's all of this, man.
You got to take your shirt off.
I'm just saying.
Do we have this, guys?
[ Crowd cheering ]
The competition is stiff,
but there are four bikes rising to the top.
Shaun Ruddy's 220 horsepower slick board track,
with oil tanks inside the frame,
Kyle Shorey's homage to the 1970s Triumph,
and both of TD Ward's stunning old-meets-new entries,
the blue trike and the gold bobber.
As the builders cast their votes...
It's so hard to pick. I don't know how people do it.
For me, this is the best bike here.
It's black, it's sleek, sexy. It's just awesome.
NARRATOR: They size up the competition...
Our biggest competition is
the one with the big wheels down there.
That is a trick bike.
There's some cool stuff happening on that bike.
Getting real tense here as we're getting down to 4:30,
get the final results and see who the winner is.
The competition's been real close this year.
NARRATOR: Competition is tough in Sturgis,
whether it be at a bike contest, or on Main Street.
Vendors are vying for your hard-earned cash.
Sturgis businesses will do anything to get it.
[ Bagpipes playing ]
At One-Eyed Jack's, it's all about the bartenders.
These girls are the big draw,
but twins Jessica and Paula have been struggling
to make the transition into being Sturgis bartenders.
Michelob Ultra and Light...
So, ladies, I'm noticing a little less energy right now.
Okay.
And it's all about money. Okay?
I guess in our minds, we thought it was one type of sexy,
and then when we got here,
we realized it's a whole nother step up.
NARRATOR: The twins have realized to play the part,
they must dress the part, so they head out to Main Street,
where there is no shortage of sexy biker clothing.
I like this.
Having chosen their new outfits, they head back to Jack's
to find out if their new threads will do the trick.
KITTY: Everybody ready for a big night?
Whoo!
NARRATOR: The twins are ready to take the stage at Sturgis.
[ Yelling ]
Their transformation is complete,
and it looks like it's paying off.
JESSICA: So excited.
Everybody is, like, so stoked, though.
They love us.
Bikers are crowding their bar, and the tips are coming in.
What a difference with these rookie twins.
They're gonna rock it.
We're making so much money. It's awesome.
We need to put everything that we did tonight,
put it in a bottle, and just get it reproduced.
Here we go.
NARRATOR: ...the votes are in,
and we find out who is Sturgis 2013's ultimate builder.
[ Crowd cheering ]
NARRATOR: And later, a bike goes up in flames.
NARRATOR: Every August for the past 73 years,
bikers have invaded Sturgis, South Dakota,
turning the town's Main Street
into five blocks of metal mayhem.
It's wall-to-wall crazy custom bikes, tattoo parlors,
leather and t-shirt shops,
and for the first time in rally history,
a top-tier bike contest has set up shop right off Main.
Thousands of rally goers are stepping off the main drag
right into the Ultimate Builder championship.
With 7,000 bucks in prizes,
the finest builders have come to win,
and the highest honor
is top prize in the Freestyle building category.
The competition is severe.
You'll see the nicest bikes here in Sturgis
right here at this show.
NARRATOR: The winner will be determined
by the toughest critics possible -- the competition.
They're gonna know the detail, they're gonna know the work.
They're gonna know what you put into these things.
NARRATOR: The winning bike
will have to be tops in creative design,
function, and cutting-edge engineering.
The judging is over, and the Sturgis ultimate builder award
is moments from being announced.
Based on biker response, there are several front runners.
Shaun Ruddy and his black and brass
super sleek board track racer,
Kyle Shorey's '70s-style Triumph with the era-specific paint job,
and there is always the one-two punch
of TD Ward's big-wheeled, candy-blue trike
and his classic gold-accented style bobber.
However a dark horse can always take the field.
We had 18 bikes in this category,
but there can only be three winners.
So, I'd like to bring up our third-place winner.
Our number 1 entry, Sam Baldi,
with his 2013 Profile Cycles custom.
Thank you, Sam.
NARRATOR: Sam's beautiful handmade creation
impressed his peers enough for third place,
but there are still two more winners to be revealed.
The runner-up goes to our number 54 entry, Kyle Shorey,
last year's national champion,
with his '72 Triumph in a hardtail,
stainless-steel frame.
Beautiful bike.
One more, one more.
Oh, yeah. That's right. We got a winner here.
This is the big one, you know,
the winner of the Freestyle champion.
Shaun Ruddy with his 2012 Chop DeVille for $2,500
and the Freestyle champion of Sturgis.
NARRATOR: Shaun's impressive engineering and fabrication
on his old-style board track racer
locked down his peers' votes, and made him the first-ever
Freestyle Ultimate Builder champ of Sturgis.
To win number one from the builders,
that makes it even better.
Congratulations, man. Congratulations.
Thank you.
I guess it's time to go home.
NARRATOR: Things didn't go the way TD Ward expected.
I don't know what to say really. I'm kind of speechless.
I kind of hoped that I would've won something with two bikes,
but I didn't today, so...
[ Sirens wailing ]
NARRATOR: A block away, traffic is at a standstill.
A bike has ignited and exploded into flames
in the middle of the road.
The flaming bike is captured on an iPhone.
I saw the guy jump off his bike, and I didn't know why.
And apparently a flame was coming up on his leg,
but he had nothing to put it out with.
And it grew very, very fast.
NARRATOR: The rider, Richard McColcaugh,
narrowly escapes the blaze.
I stopped here at the corner and went to take off and poof.
It just backfired one too many times with all the heat.
NARRATOR: Police and the fire department are on the scene.
Richard's motorcycle, a family heirloom,
is a melted, charred piece of metal.
RICHARD: 1955 Harley Davidson panhead.
My dad bought it in 1963 for $763.
NARRATOR: In a show of compassion,
the biker community steps up to help one of its own.
You all right?
Damn.
Traffic is too slow for an old girl like this.
Well, it's not much, but I hope that helps.
All right.
NARRATOR: Though his bike has been torched,
Richard plans on rebuilding.
It will be running again. I guarantee.
NARRATOR: Once the sun goes down,
Sturgis kicks into overdrive.
Whoo!
And Officer Aaron and the others
are forced to deal with intoxicated rally goers.
AARON: Why don't you put the kick stand on
and hop off for us?
They cut the corner a little short around the barricade,
panicked, slammed on the brakes, forgot to put his feet down,
and tipped it over, threw his wife off the side on her butt.
Sir, come on over here, if you would.
How much you had to drink today?
I've had about a quarter inch...
NARRATOR: Aaron suspects
that the rider is over the legal limit,
so he gives him a few simple tests.
I'm gonna demonstrate something for you.
Hold out your right hand.
You're gonna touch the tip of your thumb
to the tip of your fingers in order.
You're gonna count out loud.
Follow the tip of my finger, just follow it with your eyes.
Pretend your head's in a vise and don't move your head.
Yes, sir.
Okay. Don't move your head, sir.
Don't move your head.
So far, the rider is not doing so well.
We're gonna take a real deep breath, okay,
wrap your lips around the tube
and blow hard until I tell you to stop.
All right. Here's the deal.
You came this close to going to jail tonight.
If that would've been this much higher,
you'd be going to jail.
Our biggest goal with drunk drivers and DWIs
is to get 'em off the road,
and even though we didn't haul this guy to jail tonight,
we got him off the road.
His bike's sitting here, he's taking a taxi home,
and he can figure it out in the morning when he sobers up.
NARRATOR: This guy got lucky.
He passed the test and dodged jail time.
Coming up...
the Broken Spoke hotties keep the drinks flowing...
It's keeping the party going.
We check on her?
...things get heated.
Hey!
Just shut your mouth for two seconds.
NARRATOR: Night has fallen on Main Street
in Sturgis, South Dakota, and the rally has heated up.
Starting to hear circus music in the background.
[ Humming circus music ]
This is kind of where everything goes down
at the end of the night.
NARRATOR: The dozens of officers policing Main
are looking for signs of any suspicious activity.
Drinking there? You got I.D.s with you?
NARRATOR: Early action is the only way to keep the rally safe.
Officers Aaron and Clint catch a whiff of something,
and it's not tobacco.
Good.
All right. What you smoking?
MAN: Nothing, sir.
Doesn't smell like nothing.
As soon as I walked up there, I could smell marijuana,
and he threw it down on the ground.
All right.
AARON: Then we walked him back over to the corner over here
out of the way and he...
We're on 213.
...threw a cigarette box down that had another joint in it.
There it is.
Why are you arresting him?
Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am.
'Cause he's smoking marijuana in the street.
Go stand over there.
Okay, okay.
NARRATOR: What started as a simple possession stop
becomes a much bigger deal
when they discover the perp has outstanding warrants.
AARON: And it turns out he had a couple of active warrants
and an open container of alcohol in his pockets.
Put his [bleep] down on the ground.
He won't get out of jail tomorrow.
It'll probably be few days before he sees the light again.
Just another night in Sturgis, baby.
NARRATOR: After hours of partying on Main Street,
bikers head out of town to the campgrounds
for the nightly entertainment.
At the Broken Spoke, there's no curfew,
and the party goes later than Main Street,
plus, you can walk to your tent or RV without the fear of a DUI.
[ Crowd cheering ]
But somebody's got to work.
I don't want this back when you give it to me like this.
[ Chuckling ]
NARRATOR: Spoke bartenders Karen, Callie, and the others
are weary, but still going strong.
My day was long.
But I'm fired up, I'm super excited.
Can't wait to work.
We're running out of everything. We're slammed.
I've been working since 10:00 a.m., worn out,
but, you know, have 10 more hours to go,
so it's about to get crazy.
WOMAN: If there's one thing that we're good at,
it's keeping the party going here at the Broken Spoke.
NARRATOR: It's closing time on Main.
Bikers are making their way out into the streets.
The city curfew is 2:00 a.m.
All bikers and bikes must be off the road.
Their 12-hour shift over, the foot patrol calls it a night
and heads back to the station.
It's the last weary walk of their long day.
We had good stops throughout the night.
The whole entire Sturgis PD
definitely had an effect tonight.
NARRATOR: Just when they reach the station,
they find a woman passed out on the department steps.
MAN: What the [bleep] What the [bleep] is that?
Not only is their work not done,
a man appears out of nowhere and escalates a simple situation.
She was sleeping on the step. I came over here...
Hey!
Just shut your mouth for two seconds.
Okay?
You guys just [bleep]
You need to sit down and settle down
or you're gonna go to jail.
Oh, yeah, right.
Okay. Are you all right, ma'am?
Okay. All right.
NARRATOR: Once the gentleman calms down
and the officers are sure the woman is safe, they move on.
It's been another long shift at the rally.
As the "Sturgis Raw" series continues,
the One-Eyed Jack's vets are pushing the limits.
What are you doing up there?
How do you bartend upside down?
NARRATOR: Some of the most dangerous stunts
come to Sturgis...
MAN: I do the one-handed chain saw,
which a lot of guys don't do.
One, it beats the crap out of your bike,
and two, it's just one of those things that if it goes bad,
it goes real bad.
NARRATOR: And body paint is on display like never before.
MAN: We're gonna make this look
almost three-dimensional little symbols in here.
It's badass.
This is incredible.
I think I could stand here all day.
If she's okay with it.