Never been to a HOG rally. Are they worth it?
They can be fun, like any other rally, but we found we enjoyed other rallies more. Of course, it's neat to see all the bikes and get ideas from them and the owners, and who knows, you might make new friends or riding buddies. It's always nice to meet new like-minded folks in your area.
We must be wired differently, cause after doing the rally thing for a few years, we tired of it. We prefer weekend adventures with smaller groups, or just heading off on our own and see where the bike wants to go.
We also got spoiled after doing the HOG rally here and doing the Hot Springs all-bike rally for about 7 years. For one thing, the concerts were awesome, and we always got front row plus it was indoors. We saw some awesome groups, whereas the HOG rally seemed to be out of touch with the people who would attend and got some weird/funky/crappy groups. I can only remember enjoying one of their concerts over the years. Must've been the Arkansas team that put it on, as I'm sure not all the states were like that. Plus I know it's personal preference, too.