2009 Daytona Bike Week First Report

It’s been eons since Ed Kretz rode his Indian Motorcycle to victory in the inaugural running of the Daytona 200. To give you an idea how long ago that was, know that his average speed was a blazing 73.34 mph. Little did Ed know that his accomplishment was the start of something big, something that would attract motorcyclists by the thousands to the same little stretch of beach Ed raced on and would eventually evolve into Daytona Beach Bike Week. After winter months looking sadly at their poor bikes sitting in the garage on a trickle charger gathering dust, bikers don’t need much incentive to crank up the bike, polish the chrome, and head to the beach. Daytona is just the remedy for the winter blues.

The 68th Annual Bike Week got off to an auspicious start. A late season snow storm pounded the southeast, immobilizing motorcyclists along the Eastern seaboard trying to make the trip down. Because of this, it’s still too early for any solid estimates on attendance, but I'll wager that attendance is down. On a positive note, there have been only two motorcycle fatalities reported, and one of them most likely involved a prior medical condition.

Motorcycle USA was not exempt to the tribulations caused by the inclement weather. It took 32 hours to get across country after all flights into Atlanta were cancelled Sunday. One stroke of luck did work in our favor, though. The hotel we are staying at is also where Vinnie DiMartino and Cody Connelly are staying. You might remember Vinnie and Cody from their days working in the Orange County Choppers garage. But the duo struck out on their own in August, 2007, and formed V Force Customs. They’ve been busy building a bike for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League and are now working on the V Force Deuce. We’ll see if we can find out more about their latest build at their shindig they’re hosting at the hotel tomorrow night, so stay tuned.

And though attendance on a whole may be down, the flow of motorcycles up and down Main St. was a constant. Sitting on the patio of my favorite BBQ joint, Hog Heaven, preparing to ‘Put some South in my Mouth’ in the form of a pulled pork sandwich, it was interesting to watch as KLRs mingled with Valkyries and Big Dogs blended with Big Twins. Where else could you see rusting rat bikes with bones dangling from its hide-wrapped bars riding alongside contemporary Can-Am Spyders, a model that appears to be enjoying good sales if Bike Week is any indicator. The event also brings out more three-wheelers than any other rally around, Harley-Davidson tourers and Gold Wings with clean conversions.

The day got better after I got the key to a 2009 Harley-Davidson Road Glide. Traffic is stop-and-go much of the time, so the fact that the new Harley tourer has cylinder deactivation to keep it from running hot was greatly appreciated. It also gave me a means to get over to Bruce Rossmeyer’s Harley-Davidson to check out the festivities at what is claimed to be the largest Harley-Davidson dealer in the world.

And I wouldn’t doubt that claim. The stream of motorcycles into the facility was constant. Rossmeyer’s empire is quite a spectacle, a mini-rally in its own right, with vendor booths, music stages, and custom builder booths spread out for acres. This in addition to Destination Daytona’s own collection of specialty shops, motorcycle manufacturers, restaurants, pubs and even a tattoo parlor. Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ blared over loudspeakers on the stage set up in front of the aptly named Saints & Sinners pub as people perused the wares of Performance Machine and Renegade Wheels. I wish I had more time to check out Rossmeyer’s impressive spread, but I had to cut and run in order to make it to the Lighthouse Landing at the south end of A1A in time for my next assignment.

I was meeting representatives from Triumph Motorcycles to get my first up-close inspection of the 2010 Thunderbird. With the classic cruiser, Triumph aims to fill a void for the British marquee. The motorcycle reminds me most of Harley-Davidson’s Fat Boy, a model I'm sure Triumph had in its targets when building the bike. The liquid-cooled vertical twin will put out almost 1600cc of power and has a high level of fit and finish, making it externally a comparable ride. It will give Triumph a presence in a niche in which it formerly had no presence at all, falling between its behemoth Rocket III and the America.

We got out just in time to catch the final contestants of the tattoo contest the Limpnickie Lot sponsored at the Dog House on Main St. Exile Cycles Russell Mitchell emceed the event, easily slipping into his British accent when a bloke from England hopped up on stage after coaxing from his friends. Mitchell gave everyone who got up on stage props for baring themselves on such a cold night. Even the beer girls were dressed in layers.

On the ride home I noticed that the majority of motorcycles were already parked in front of their hotels before midnight. Thankfully, the unseasonable cold has almost run its course and the action promises to heat up by the weekend. 

For more on the coverage of Daytona Bike Week, check out Motorcycle USA's 2009 Daytona Bike Week Page.