The 68th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is still more than four months away, but you can get a sneak peak – without having to fight all that traffic – in just a couple of weeks. The Black Hills Motorcycle Show is set for April 12 and 13 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, and there’s bound to be some awfully pretty bikes shined up and ready to be ogled.

Take the Sturgin.

No, not the sturgeon. The Sturgin is the official custom bike of the 2008 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, built by Sabers Specialties in Mitchell, South Dakota. According to a Rapid City Journal interview with Blake Sabers, one of the company’s grand poobahs, many of the parts used in the bike were supplied by other South Dakota companies, making this machine something of a home-grown beauty.

The show’s organizers say there will be a number of other foreign and American-made bikes competing for awards over the weekend, and with a reasonable $5 admission charge per day, it should be a worthwhile event if you’re a bit of a motor head.

If the motorcycle show isn’t enough to hold you over until rally (slated for August 4-10 this year), you’ve got a few options to keep you entertained in the meanwhile. If you’re feeling lucky, you can enter to win a trip to this year’s rally from Black Hills Central Reservations. The package includes some pretty posh items, from airfare and bike rentals to VIP passes for the event. After you enter, you can go check out some homes and lodges available for rental during the rally – you know, just in case you don’t win.