What's Happening at the 71st Daytona Bike Week 2012

 

The 71st Daytona Bike Week enjoyed nearly picture-perfect Florida weather, March 9 to 18 with temps in the low to high 70s and only a couple of rain days. Bike Week 2012 was one week later than usual, due to a scheduling conflict at Daytona International Speedway. So bikers mingled on the beaches and in the bars with spring breakers on the last weekend, but no one seemed to mind.

Cold beer, hot biker chicks, world-class racing, bike shows and hundreds of vendors draw an estimated 500,000 visitors to the Daytona Beach event every year. 

Related story: 70th Bike Week Anniversary.

Click here for a Google Map of Key Bike Week event locations

Saturday, March 10th 2012 - many bike riders headed to DeLand (20 miles west on US 92) for the Pro-Am Bike Show & DeLand Rally that featured bands on two stages downtown and bike-only parking.

The historic downtown is filled with building-sized murals that make a beautiful backdrop for motorcycle photographs. 

Biker author, Edward Winterhalder was at the Seminole Harley-Davidson booth in DeLand on Saturday. He is also the creator and executive producer of the Biker Chicz reality TV series. 

Because NASCAR pushed the date of the 2012 Daytona 500 back one week, Daytona Bike Week 2012 started a week later in order to give Daytona International Speedway time to prepare for the Daytona Supercross and Daytona 200 motorcycle races.

Saturday, March 10th

Daytona Supercross by Honda.

The race draws the world's top Supercross riders such as Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey to battle on a course designed by five-time winner Ricky Carmichael.

Thurs & Friday, March 15 & 16, The Daytona Flat Track hosted  AMA Pro Flat Track racing on a quarter-mile lime rock track in the West Lot, just outside Turns 1 and 2.

First Turn - by David Uhl

Saturday, March 17th, The Daytona 200 kicks off the AMA Pro Racing season with a 200-mile battle on Daytona's road course with America's top motorcycle stars.

During Bike Week 2012, the artist David Uhl was juggling events at two locations -- the Uhl Gallery at Destination Daytona (Ormond Beach) and the new Uhl Works Patio at Beach Street Harley-Davidson, downtown Daytona Beach.

Tuesday, March 13, David Uhl, Cris Sommer-Simmons and Pat Simmons (Doobie Brothers) signed signing limited-edition giclee prints of David's latest masterpiece, "Leading Ladies," and Cris's new book, "The American Motorcycle Girl's Cannonball Diary," along with a solo acoustic concert by Pat. Special appearances by Gloria Tramontin Struck, David's new "Woman of Harley," along with appearances by Laura Klock and Jodi Perewitz. David Uhl painted "Leading Ladies" last year, but waited to release it until Cris had completed her Cannonball book.

Tuesday, March 13, the 5th Annual Harley-Davidson MDA Women's Ride rolled out from Riverfront Park on Beach Street at 10am and returned at 1pm. Details:  mdariders.org.

The 2012 Bike Shows

This year, the Limpnickie Lot of "next generation" builders was at Stone Edge Skate Park, 1848 S. Ridgewood Ave. in South Daytona, with Led Sled/ Street Chopper across from Limpnickie and a new lot at Iron Horse, 1068 North US 1, Ormond Beach.

Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Ocean Center,  101 N. Atlantic Ave. - March 14 to 17 featured the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike United States Championship, affiliated with the AMD World Championship Competition. There were Smage Brothers Stunt Shows every afternoon, and  "A Century of Motorcycling" historic bike display presented by Motorcycle Magazine. Staff from the National Motorcycle Museum was on hand to answer questions and relive stories of the historic bikes on display. The show floor was open Wednesday, March 14, from 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.; Thursday, March 15, 11 am – 7 pm; Friday, March 16, 11 am – 7 pm; Saturday, March 17, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

Saturday, March 17 • Paul Teutul, Jr. of the Discovery Channel hit show "Senior Vs Junior American Chopper" unveiled a new custom bike and filmed an all-new American Chopper TV show that debuts March 26th on the Discovery Channel.

Victory Motorcycle demo rides weree open all week at Daytona International Speedway.Tuesday, March 13th, Big Engine was in concert for a Victory Motorcycle Bike Night at Dirty Harry's on Main Street.

Wednesday, March 14th was the 3rd Annual Victory Custom Bike Show at Volusia Motorsports, 1701 State Road 44, New Smyrna Beach.

Friday, March 16th, Victory owners rode with Zach Ness. Kickstands up at 10am from Volusia Motorsports. The ride ends at Halifax Harbor Marina, where Victory owners are invited to a luncheon from noon to 2pm at the Blue Grotto.

Thursday, March 15th - Bike Builders Dave Perewitz and Paul Yaffe played host to this year's Biker Fusion "Salute to the Troops" benefit, 7 to 10pm at  Dog House Bar & Grill on Main Street that featured a live auction, entertainment and a number of great bikes from an impressive line-up of builders, moto-journalists and industry notables. 100% of the proceeds went to Soldiers' Angels, a volunteer-led non-profit that provides aid and comfort to active servicemen and women of the US military, as well as veterans and their families.
 
  

Thursday, March 15th, Willie's Tropical Tattoo Old School Chopper Time Show at 824 S. Younge St. Ormond Beach. (click link for photos and details.) 

One of the biggest crowds, ever turned out for the 2012 Chopper Time bike show. Three bands performed this year: The Dirty Chucks, Hair of the Beast and The Kings. Bigger every year, excellent bobbers, choppers and rats, hot rods and hip place to spend the day: The lot is always packed, and is always a great "adult" party time, with BBQ and cheap beer -- noon to 4pm on the last Thursday.

Friday, March 16th, the 22nd Boardwalk Classic Bike Show @ Oceanside boardwalk at Main Street.

- 20 classes from domestic to metric with 50 trophies. Call Bill Chaffin at 386.871.0398.

      

Saturday, March 17th - the World Famous Rat's Hole Custom Bike Show celebrated a 40th anniversary at Daytona Bike Week with an all-day show at Daytona Lagoon: 601 Earl Street (north side of the Ocean Center.) Trophies in 23 classes. 

2012 New York Ultimate Builder - Steampunk wins FreeStyle

Congrats to Copper Mike Cole: 2012 Freestyle Winner in the AMD Championship NY Ultimate Builder Show, January 22, 2012 at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. - Photos by AMD World Championship. (Click to read all AMD news posts.)



Here are the AMD World Champion Show Results - New York Show, Jan. 20 to 22, 2012.

FreeStyle
1 – Copper Mike Cole, Gravesend Cycles – Steampunk, 2011 Gravesend Cycles
2 – Stu Speigal, Stu’s Auto – 1989 Custom Chopper
3 – George Stinsman, Chaos Cycles – Model “33”, 2011 Chaos Cycle

Mod Harley
1 – Steve Iacona, Iacona Custom Cycles – Challenger, 1996 H-D XL
2 – Ron Cirocco, Thundercycle – thunder Bagger, 2008 H-D Street Glide
3 – Eric Schoder, Tribal Iron Choppers – Facet, 05 Buell SB12R

Performance Custom
1 – Roman Levin, Full of Hate– FOH Café, 2002 Suzuki
2 – GIO, Blacksmith Motoring Co. - El Patron, 2003 Suzuki Volusia
3 – Harold Bracero – Sephira, 2008 Hayabusa

Retro Mod
1 – Fred Montalto – Spitshine – 1960 H-D Panhead
2 – Dennis Harold, TT Cycles – 1970 Triumph T120R
3 – Steve Baufeder, TT Cycles – Tri Flyer, 1970 Triumph Tr6R

Performance Custom
Roman Levin builds highly detailed street fighters that are extremely light and powerful. His personal motorcycle, FOH Café, took first in the Performance Custom class. The bike started out with a 2002 v-twin Suzuki 998cc engine on his hand built jig. He then fabricated the frame and added a Triumph-based single-sided swing arm. The tank and tail section is made from carbon fiber and then painted so that panels of the flawless carbon can be seen.

MOD Harley
The AMD World Championship alums are unstoppable as last year’s second place finisher, Steven Iacona’s Challenger, took first place in the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show MOD Harley class. His bike is built off a 1996 XL and sports a Springer front end with Invader wheels front and back.
Steve hand formed the fuel tank, rear fender tail section, oil tank, exhaust pipes, handle bars and mounts, rearsets, headlight number plate, seat suspension, tail light, battery box, steering damper mounts and motor mounts.

The ignition coils are located near battery box along with all electrical connections. Brake and oil lines are hand formed stainless steel. Oil cooler has been mounted behind front number plate. The frame has been converted to a hardtail. Engine rebuilt using Buell heads and cylinders, dual 30mm Mikuni carburetors, Stainless steel hardware has been powdercoated.

FreeStyle Class
Copper Mike Cole of Gravesend Cycles brought his latest piece of rolling art called Steampunk to the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show and took 1st place in the ultra-competitive FreeStyle class. The 1973 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead features a rebuilt engine with engraved heads and 10:1 compression. The Copper-one re-purposed numerous antique gauges and parts and rebuilt them into functional pieces. He built a hand clutch with an old Harley mouse trap. The bike is fabricated from equal parts copper and brass.

The floor boards come from old fire extinguishers and the air cleaner is a brass box with a welded –in trumpet horn. Head light and taillight are sourced from a submarine. He also fabricated an analog GPS---a retooled dash mounted compass. The saddlebag is sourced from a leather Russian ammunition bag.

Retro Mod
Fred Montalto rolled Spitshine into the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show and took 1st place in Retro Mod with his 1960 H-D Panhead. It sports a Harley 1200cc mil in a custom bobber frame with a pin-up girl integrated into the tank. Paint was handled by Hi-Tech Auto Care, Inc.

John Shipley of Hoosier Daddy Choppers left the Ultimate Builder show in Cleveland, Ohio on February 1st with $3000, a class winner's trophy and a guaranteed AMD World Championship spot after taking first place in the Freestyle class with 'Whiskey Bent', a heavily customized 1977 Ironhead featuring a bar stool seat and 102 year-old brass headlight. Last year's winner Jesse Bassett of The Gasbox was runner up with a 1949 Panhead, and Misfit Custom Cycles was third.

The AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building (click link to see all news posts)

The world finals will take place Aug. 5 to 8, 2012 at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally at the World Championship of Custom Bike Building, 1205 Lazelle St., Sturgis, SD 57785 USA. Located on the lot at Lazelle & 3rd St. next to Lynn's Dakotamart.

Upcoming AMD World Championship Qualifying Shows:

• Llunatica, Oropesa Del Mar, Spain Feb 2-5, 2012
• Progressive International Motorcycle Show, Daytona, FL, USA Mar 14-17, 2012
• Progressive International Motorcycle Show, Minneapolis, MN, USA Feb 3-5, 2012
• Moscow Custom & Tuning Show, Moscow, Russian Federation Mar 30-1 Apr, 2012
• Progressive International Motorcycle Show, Chicago, IL, USA Feb 10-12, 2012
• Africa Bike Week, Margate, South Africa Apr 27-30, 2012
• Progressive International Motorcycle Show, Charlotte, NC, USA Feb 24-26, 2012
• Biker Fest, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Udine, Italy May 10-13, 2012
• London International Classic & Custom Show, Alexandra Palace, London, UK Feb 25-26, 2012
• Twin Club MC Norrtälje Custom Bike Show, Norrtälje, Sweden Jun 2, 2012

European Motorcycle Events: 2011 & 2012

Here are video highlights of the 14th European Bike Week - Faaker See Rally and AMD Affiliate Bike Show, September 6 to 11, 2011. Europe's biggest and open bike event saw more than 70,000 bikes from all over the world circle the shores of Faaker See in Austria. 



Top winners in the AMD Affiliate Bike Show will be heading to compete in the AMD World Championship Custom Bike Show in August at the Sturgis 2012 USA Rally.

More ...European Motorcycle Event News




The 20th European H.O.G. Rally and Croatia Harley Days, May 2011 

Returning for a second year, the 20th European H.O.G. Rally & Croatia Harley Days 2011 were staged in the beautiful coastal region of Carinthia near the Italian border.



20th European H.O.G. AMD Bike Show Winners, May 28, 2011.



European H.O.G. Rally 2012 moves to Cascais, Portugal
Watch the video preview.

AMD World Championship Sturgis 2011 Show Results

Japanese bike builder Ken Tabata came to Sturgis as an unknown to win the 2011 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, on Wed., Aug. 10th. Tabata of Tavax Engineering, Yao City, Osaka, worked for more than 3 years on "TAVAX 2011V," a bike with dynamic movement and power, "designed to look like a Cheetah about to pounce."

Top 3 in the Freestyle class: Satya Kraus of Kraus Motor Co (left) (3rd place), newly-crowned World Champion Ken Tabata of Tavax Engineering (center) and Larry Houghton of Lamb Engineering (2nd place).    Click images to enlarge.

TAVAX2011V effortlessly combines sculpted aluminum bodywork with one-off hand-made pieces that form the suspension and replace the stock engine and transmission covers. At the rear of the bike the swingarm pivots from behind the rear cylinder, arcing over the transmission, and carrying a linkage system operated single shock, a design similar to that found on many modern sports bikes.

At the front of the machine the suspension begins at the axle as a leading link fork, which then changes via a pair of links to finish as a Springer fork.

To demonstrate the performance potential of his bike Ken has forgone tall and wide wheels, favoring instead a pair of Marchesini 17in sport bike rims carrying floating rotors and Lockheed brake calipers.

Taking a less complex styling route, Larry Houghton, of Lamb Engineering, secured second place with Son of a Gun. Based around a 1951 BSA single cylinder engine (found on eBay) and Talon motocross wheels. Larry built the rest of the bike himself, often collecting material from the scrap bins of friends in the engineering trade. His careful recycling of material meant that he was able to build a World Class custom motorcycle for less than $9,000, including the gold candy silver metalflake paint wrap.

Third place winner Satya Kraus believes in the bare essentials, aptly demonstrated by his entry, "Bolide." He achieved his aim by putting a 93ci S&S Shovelhead motor in a one-off frame carrying a mono-shocked swingarm, telescopic forks and 17in Alpina spoked wheels shod with Metzeler sport bike tires.

1st Place - Performance Custom Class was won by Jim Giuffra and the girls of AFT Customs, who rebuilt a 1970 Honda CB750 café racer styled custom, complete with RaceTech suspension, Beringer brakes and numerous one-off pieces.

1st Place, Production Class: The influence that café racers are having on the current custom scene can also be seen in the design of the top placed Production Manufacturer class bike. Best known for its line of Chops and Bobbers, Darwin Motorcycles has built what it describes as an American muscle bike. Powered by a 132ci S&S X-Wedge V-twin, the RLX carries a full range of top spec components including Öhlins suspension, Beringer brakes and BST carbon fiber wheels.

Italian Sidecar Bike wins AMD Modified Harley Class: A first in 2011 for the World Championship was the entry of a sidecar outfit and it was this outfit, Abnormal Cycles' Union, that took the honors in the Modified Harley class. The Model 'U' powered outfit features a stock frame fitted with a custom sidecar body and a leaf spring Indian style front end, which includes a pair of handlebars created to also look like a leaf spring.

The World Championship of Custom Bike Building exists to showcase and promote international custom motorcycle design and engineering quality, craftsmanship and innovation; and to promote the evolution of custom motorcycling in ways that will help secure the unique enjoyment of custom motorcycles for future generations of riders.

The World Championship is a free-public-admission four-day event that opens on the first Sunday of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, culminating in an awards ceremony at 3:00 pm MST on the Wednesday of the Rally. The whole event, including the awards ceremony, is broadcast on the internet and you will find photos of all of the top bikes at www.AMDChampionship.com.

'65 Harley Bobber "Just Add Violence" Ready for Sturgis 2011

Are you ready for Sturgis?

I will be posting photos from the 2011 AMD and Rat's Hole Bike Shows ASAP! Last year's Best of Show winner at the Buffalo Chip - Rat's Hole Show was "Courtesan" created by Abu Dhabi (UAE) builder, Mario  Kyprianides of Chopper Kulture.

Mario is back this year with "Just Add Violence," based on a 1965 Panhead. The bike was built before and after the Sturgis 2010 Rally for competition in the Biker-Build-Off Europe in early December 2010.  J.A.V. is for sure one of the top bikes to beat at Sturgis 2011. 

It won the AMD Middle East Championship, Best of Show, People's Choice, Free-style, and Best Paint Job at Dubai Bike Week in February 2011. Click on images to enlarge.

The bike was shipped to Daytona Beach at the end of February 2011 to compete in the World Series Showdown at The Rat's Hole Show during the 70^th Daytona Bike Week. It won against bike builders from the US, Canada and Australia, on top of winning Best Bobber.

The Harley panhead engine was rebuilt and customized by Billy at BB Racing. "We wanted to give the motor a more tech look," said Mario. "Billy and I medaled with the idea of making pan tops with glass so you can see the moving lifters  and splashing oil." Parts include an S&S oil pump and Jims hydraulic lifters. Wiseco pistons with 9:1 compression ratio with an Andrews J grind cam give the motor a little edge.

Rowe valves and guides were used and a mew aftermarket cam cover was sent to the engravers for some metal tattooing. The bike utilizes a Morris magneto G5 ignition and Cycle Electric generator. All the gaskets are from Cometic Gasket for a good no "spot marking" bike. With the glass tops on the heads, you can see the brass blocks below, with silver inscriptions: like FTW, FU etc. 
  

Because old Harleys have a unique thread size ¼’-24 that falls in the middle between coarse thread and fine thread, as well as bolts that have a unique and unusual taper of 82 degrees, all of the hardware was custom made from scratch in stainless steel by Jim from Diamond Engineering in Florida. For the transmission, Baker billet covers that look just like the original ones but polish really nice to give the whole unit a rich look.

A Chopper Kulture signature frame was used with a slight variation in order to position the drive train. Instead of the usual gooseneck, Mario decided to go straight up the backbone. "This frame has slightly more rake at 32 degrees and a slightly narrower rear end to house the 180 tire. The frontend is also a custom piece, with 2 inch stretch. The big difference is that it has the dampening springs in front of each other instead of side by side. This gives the whole bike a nice sleek look," he said. Wheels and brakes are from HHI.

The inverted "Cathedral" bars were knocked up from a straight tube and a perfect match for the previously made sissy bar, said Mario. "The forward controls were another special item that took a while to work out. They are the first and the debut of a line of Chopper Kulture forward controls. And what a perfect way to showcase them!"

"I wanted to keep the top of the transmission area clean, so I decided to combine the gas tank and oil tank," said Mario. "I came up with a two-piece idea that has a Frankenstein look, but also has the unmistakable look and feel of a Custom Kulture bike."

As usual, all of the chroming was sent to California MecLec. A seat pan was also sent to California, where Duane Ballard did the custom leather and tooling.

The frame and all important sheet metal parts were sent to Connecticut to be painted by Robert Pradke.  While Mario was showing "Courtesan" at the Sturgis 2010 Rally, Robert worked non-stop for six weeks (300 hours) on the candy tangerine metal-flake wrap. Custom brass units were made for all of the gas and oil fillers and sent to the engraver, along with the handle bar risers and shifter knob -- "Gas Hole" for the fuel and "Lube Hole" for the oil; and on the risers "Love" and "Hate." The brass shifter knob bears the inscription "Thug Life" ... Just Add Violence.

Written by MJ Lloyd Reynolds, owner of Motorcycle Event News at www.MotorcycleEventNews.com and MJR Media.

AMD Show - Swiss Harley Days - European H.O.G. Rally 2011

Swiss Harley Days finds a home in Lugano for 2011 The official announcement by Harley-Davidson management for a repeat of Swiss Harley Days was made. The city of Lugano will once again host Swiss Harley Days - This year's rally is July 8th & 9th 2011.

Also just announced. Harley-Davidson Switzerland confirmed that, this year's event at Campione d'Italia/Lugano, Switzerland will be a Modified Harley-Davidson World Championship affilate event.

With the Campione d'Italia/Lugano Modified Harley Class winner receiving prize money to be able to compete at the world Championships at Sturgis, USA courtesy of Harley-Davidson Switzerland. The affiliation represents another opportunity for a European authorised Harley dealer or private customer to "mis-it" with America's best and try to follow the trail blazed by current Modified Harley-Davidson World Champions Shaw H-D from the UK.

Here's the video of European H.O.G. Rally 2010 in Lugano!

Related Article: Photos & Story of Swiss Harley Days - European H.O.G. Rally 2010