Major Motorcycle Rallies for 2012

In the off season, many riders like to plan rides to various motorcycle rallies. I have just updated my motorcycle rally article and schedule for 2012 to assist you.

Motorcycle rallies (biker rallies) are simply gatherings of riders and motorcycles at specified times and places usually with attendant vendors, food, games, and other activities.

Motorcycle rallies or biker rallies may last from a day to more than a week. Some major motorcycle or biker rallies are built around organized professional motorcycle races.

Motorcycle rally attendance varied widely from a low of a couple of dozen riders or less to huge organized rallies with hundreds of thousands of riders.

My updated article, Motorcycle Rallies (Biker Rallies) - Major Rallies for Motorcycles, gives basic information about motorcycle rallies. The second page of this article contains my list of the top motorcycle rallies.

The picture shows me raising my arm after I parked my bike on Main Street at the 1993 Sturgis Rally. That was the year of the great Midwest floods.

Daytona Bike Week - Get a Start on the Rally Season

The 69th anniversary of Daytona Bike Week is being held February 26 - March 7, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The start of Daytona Bike Week is often announced on the morning TV news shows. You know, where somebody sticks their face in front of the camera and announces: "We're at the opening of Daytona Bike Week. Good Morning America," and then you see a whole line of bikes roar off in front of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the remainder of Bike Week will not be seen by non-motorcyclists.

Check out my article, Daytona, for details.

Here in the frigid Northeast, I hear plenty of people talking about going to Daytona. Some are riding down with friends. Riding sometimes means riding in a car and towing a trailer with the bike on it. After all, the 1500 miles down with uncertain weather conditions has left many a rider stranded in a snow storm or Nor'easter. After that happens to you once, you tend to be a little more cautious the next time you go.

Maybe you want to skip Daytona and concentrate on planning to go to some smaller rallies this year. Be sure to read my article, Motorcycle Rallies, where I discuss rallies and give you information about the top rallies that I like. Of course, your views may be different -- this is Motorcycle Views after all.

I just got my registration information for the Americade Motorcycle Rally. That one is my favorite and I've gone almost every year since 1994.

It can get expensive going to lots of rallies, especially if you're taking two bikes. Double gas, double tolls. You just have to pick and choose what appeals to you most in these uncertain economic times. Motorcycle rallies are a lot of fun. If you've never attended a rally, you owe it to yourself to go. You just might find a rally or two that you'll want to go to every year, just like I go to Americade, regardless of the weather.

Lost, Found, ah Heck With It...

I'm not going riding today, I'm kinda on the broke side...all is well, I do have things to do here at home...you know the mundane house mouse kind of stuff that keeps our hard working men happy, our homes almost sparkly, and did I mention our men happy? I love my man...I'll do it! House mouse for a day... right after I play with the blog! (I love ya Jeff....)

I was conducting a search of my photos on this PC. It's the one that cost so much to "fix"...and I only did it so I could save my pictures. I started downloading them to Picassa. For some reason, I'm unable to use my DVD player to burn after the guy "fixed" my PC. I don't wanna go there folks... it's not worth going to jail over...

Anyway...I like these pictures of my time in Daytona with some of the crew from Accurate Engineering and some other characters you will most likely recognize. It was one of the last great times I ever had at rally...

Well here we go....
When I got there, I met up with my buddy, Rogue, from Biker Magazine...we were to catch up with a band he was promoting heavily... The Charlie Brechtel Band.





They had four rooms over at some dump hotel...which was more than me and half of the people I met that day had...so by the time it was all said and done...the four rooms were sleeping at least four people...more often there were at least six or seven sleeping every where...the band mates had the beds, the rest of us crashed where ever there was floor space...

The guys in the band were the house band for Kick Stand City... Something The Chip had cooked up for camping in the infield of Daytona Speedway... what a cool idea... great fun! This is what it looked like the first day though...empty...like a ghost town...



The band did their sound check for the day... and we all jumped on our bikes and headed out looking for trouble...well at least we found lots of great things to do!
Our bunch included Rogue, (Pictured here with a gal who came down from Milwaukee, but dang if I can remember her name right now...)



Here is Barry Wardlaw, the builder of the "World's Fastest Panhead Engine"... also the builder of the famous Outlaw 120 Panhead Engine that so many of the big named bike builders put in their bikes...



This is my dear friend BeeB....



I'm not gonna go through the list... it was too large... so here are some of the pictures that are really too cool to just sit in Picassa without being admired.

This is the Barry Wardlaw signature series Outlaw 120 Panhead....



The engine sits here...in a Covington Bike....



Mr. Covington, Bill (a member of our entourage) and Barry Wardlaw...



Two proud builders admiring the handy work of each other!



Here is an example of the genius that is Barry Wardlaw.... and yes, it cranks, runs, and will haul your ass anywhere ya wanna go... it is in a tribute bike to Indian Larry.



Keno, Barry and the Tribute Bike...



Barry and the crew from Indian Larry's....



We also ran into Michael Lichtner



Billy Lane was doing his First Blood Sweat and Gears Show....



We found Sam Morgan and her Wall of Death as well as... oh hell what's her name? GOTH GIRL! Weird lady....





Man I have sooo much more...but this is it for now...

Hope y'all like what ya see.....

Daytona Bike Week - Get a Start on the Rally Season

The 68th anniversary of Daytona Bike Week is being held February 27 - March 8, 2009 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The start of Daytona Bike Week is often announced on the morning TV news shows. You know, where somebody sticks their face in front of the camera and announces: "We're at the opening of Daytona Bike Week. Good Morning America," and then you see a whole line of bikes roar off in front of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the remainder of Bike Week will not be seen by non-motorcyclists.

Check out my article, Daytona, for details.

Here in the frigid Northeast, I hear plenty of people talking about going to Daytona. Some are riding down with friends. Riding sometimes means riding in a car and towing a trailer with the bike on it. After all, the 1500 miles down with uncertain weather conditions has left many a rider stranded in a snow storm or Nor'easter. After that happens to you once, you tend to be a little more cautious the next time you go.

Maybe you want to skip Daytona and concentrate on planning to go to some smaller rallies this year. Be sure to read my article, Motorcycle Rallies, where I discuss rallies and give you information about the top rallies that I like. Of course, your views may be different -- this is Motorcycle Views after all.

I just got my registration information for the Americade Motorcycle Rally. That one is my favorite and I've gone every year since 1994.

It can get expensive going to lots of rallies, especially if you're taking two bikes. Double gas, double tolls. You just have to pick and choose what appeals to you most in these uncertain economic times. Motorcycle rallies are a lot of fun. If you've never attended a rally, you owe it to yourself to go. You just might find a rally or two that you'll want to go to every year, just like I go to Americade, regardless of the weather.

Knucklehead Antique Motorcycle Club of America

I came across something I feel is quite interesting today.
Have you ever heard of the Knucklehead Antique Motorcycle Club of America Youth Program? No? Me either, that is to say until just a few moments ago.

I get up pretty early in the morning, this morning I was up and sitting at my computer by 3.15 AM. What I do is cruise the internet looking for news or information about the motorcycle industry that is of unique interest. I often find it…but then so do about a half million of you other people out here…which means (as far as I’m concerned) the information is not that unique.

It’s for this reason, I like to peruse BikerNet.com.
Bandit (Keith Ball), owner, publisher, editor, and supreme being at Biker Net Interplanetary Headquarters, has been heading this singularly unique biker e-zine for many years. I remember him from Easy Riders Magazine…circa 1978…through the early 80’s. After that, I didn’t buy magazines…just got too busy…and too poor to afford them.

It’s thanks to Bandit that a lot of otherwise obscure information gets out to the public and read. It’s because of Bandit that I now have heard of the Knucklehead Antique Motorcycle Club of America Youth Program, and I now would like to pass on what I’ve learned to you!

This new youth program is run by a guy by the name of Matt Olsen. He tells Bandit in a press statement: “To me, it seems like the biggest problems with antique motorcycles, is people not knowing enough about them, and being intimidated by them.” Olsen further states: “I am amazed by the amount of people my age who love the way bikes look and sound, but have no clue about the old bikes or how they work. I figured that if people in my age group were confused about the details of starting and operating ‘40’s era bikes, then there were probably more people that would benefit form some grass roost motorcycle promoting!”

According to the article in BikerNet…Matt’s objective is to run a two pronged promotion. First…an essay contest. The winner of this contest will find himself in a booth at the Limpnickie Lot in Daytona Beach in Spring of 2009…here the winner will find him/her self involved in a restoration build, hands on, learning what goes on in a restoration project of an antique HD.

The second outreach will be aimed at the crowd…Matt plans to introduce young people to “vintage kickstart motorcycles.” In other words darlin’, Matt plans to have several vintage motorcycles on stage or nearby…rear wheels propped up off the ground, and the entire bike stabilized, so that intrepid youngsters can learn how to kick an early Panhead or Knucklehead without fear of gravity and the physics of natural selection and the thinning of the species coming into play as they learn what we “oldsters” learned the hard way.

So, according to the news release, there will be two people manning the booth during it’s open hours, teaching people how to kickstart a 1948 Indian Chief and a 1946 Harley Davidson Knucklehead. You know what? As I was coming up, I remember how rare it was to see an Indian Chief…much less find someone willing to let you stand on it’s kick starter. And a 1946 Knucklehead?...well I know people who would kill for the chance to simply sit on one…never dreamed of really being able to kick start the machine! Granted…it isn’t the same when it’s propped up in a sling, being supported from dropping to the ground. The person doing the kicking isn’t sure about balancing his weight as they cling to the handlebars, right foot on the kicker pedal, left foot hanging out somewhere behind him…or where ever it happens to dangle until the actual attempt at throwing one's weight into the effort of kicking a big V-Twin to life! Ouch, you guys remember...your friend didn't tell you about retarding the timeing...so when you kicked...your knee bounced up into your chin...or the engine would throw you over the handle bars...naaaa these kids will not know these joys...and in later years...their knee replacements will NOT be because of their time kickstarting a V-Twin. Kids today...they have everything so easy! (I say that with tongue in cheek...they just have a different handful of anguish to deal with...that's all.)

So if you would like to learn to kick start a V-twin motorcycle…or perhaps you have a kid you like to have this very unique experience…head on down to Limpnickie’s lot in Daytona…but not before March 4th…and wait your turn for this really cool opportunity… Learn how to kickstart a big antique V-Twin…
Chessie