Black Hills Journey
By Burke Allgood

Hi I just got back from an awesome trip with my SV650s 2001. I went on a trip across Nebraska, South Dakota, and Part of Wyoming.

Day 1

Started out of Omaha, Nebraska….traveling through the Sandhills of Nebraska to Chimney Rock…….to Scotts Bluff Nationall Monument…..to…Chadron, Nebraska. Crashed at Super 8.

Day 2

To Hot Springs, South Dakota……to Custer State Park.

This is where the trip started to really rock. In Custer I went through the Wildlife Loop. Here I was charged by Buffalo but was no match for the SV650s pick up and go…not to mention the bobbing and weaving abilities.

The Wild Life Loop heads into Needles Highway. This is the best Highway for tight turns…beautiful scenery…and swooping turns. Ride it…you will love it. The views are incredible..but it is hard deciding to look or concentrate on the awesome road.

Needles Highway rewards you with an astonishing landing zone called Sylvan Lake. Just Beautiful and relaxing after tearing up the Needles Highway. Here is a good place to stop…take a picture of the SV650s and have a Buffalo Burger….Especially delicious after weaving through Buffalo in the Wildlife Loop. (Don’t get me wrong…this is an awesome experience..playing Tora Tora with Buffalo and and SV650s is exhiliarating and a blast)

After the burger I proceeded to Hill City, South Dakota checked into the Super 8 and chucked the saddle bags. I headed back out…took Iron Mountain Road….back to the Wild Life Loop….back through Needles….landing again at Sylvan Lake.

Went back to the motel….crashed a bit….took a ride up to Mt. Rushmore and watched the Nighttime Lighting Ceremony of Mt. Rushmore. Awesome Experience…Rode Back in Nighttime to the motel and crashed for the night.

Day 3

Woke up at 6:00 am. Took off on a journey to Sturgis, South Dakota….flipped off the Harley Davidson Shop…hopped on the interstate I-90 all the way to Spearfish, South Dakota.

Spearfish Canyon, Rocks. Period. Never been on a better road in the mid-west…and probably competes with others across the nation. Swooping turns…120mph….wide open….all of this through a Canyon of tall trees….great roads…and a creek running by your side…..On the turns (you know the ones where you lean hoping not to scrape your boots) you could look to your side and it would seem you were hovering over the Creek. No matter what…I repeat…No matter what…RIDE Spearfish Canyon. I rode it twice up and down.

From here I took off to Devils Tower, Wyoming. This is the tower filmed in the movie Close In Counters with the 3rd Kind. This is an awesome sight and the ride there is decent. But this tower is incredible. After taking a few pictures I took back off toward…Spearfish…rode it twice again…..then back to Hill City, South Dakota to eat and crash for the night.

Day 4

Woke up at 5:00am. Started Journey Back Home. Went through the Bad Lands National Park. This is beautiful. It feels like you are riding through the Joshua Tree Album Cover of U2. It is Volcanic ruins. With plenty of twisties and great views.

Then I proceeded to Murdo, SD…to Valentine, Nebraska…..to….Oneil, Nebraska….to…OH CRAP.

State Patrol….98mph ticket 20 miles from Norfolk, Nebraska…and 2 hours from Omaha. This sucked. 60 Mph all the way home never felt so slow in my life. However, considering I averaged around 90 to 100 mph the entire 4 days….I justified it as paying for a ticket of pleasure…..226 Dollar Ticket not to mention.

Finally back to the driveway in Omaha, Nebraska. Home. Just about 2000 Miles.

(Note: This trip was taken with my friend Andy. He was driving a Honda VFR. We had a blast.)


This email Contains Pics of the adventure: Hope to see them on your site…….It will be a great guide to anyone living or traveling through the Midwest. Feel free to use above as an article as well.

Peace Out.

Burke Allgood. Omaha, Nebraska.