And Now for Something Completely Different - Daytona Biketoberfest

Words and photos by Andrew Kohn

As you may have seen in a few of my other posts, I just spent some time at the AIMExpo in Orlando, FL. As it turns out, AIME was going on at the same time as Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach. To say these two events are polar opposites is an understatement!

AIME is corporate, air conditioned, and sparkling clean. Biketoberfest is geographically dispersed, mostly outdoors, and punctuated by lots of vendors selling t-shirts, cheap, sunglasses, and alcohol of many varieties. I'll also mention that I didn't see a lot of helmets or protective gear while in Daytona. The DOT approved dew-rag was often the headgear of choice. Definitely NOT the ATGATT crowd!

The variety of motorcycles at Biketoberfest was interesting. The vast majority of the bikes were from a particular hyphenated manufacturer from Milwaukee, WI. Many others came from the bar and shield's competition at Indian Motorcycles. Even though most were from the two big American manufacturers, I definitely saw some interesting machines including a Cagiva Elefant, some very cool Triumphs, and a herd of about 30 Honda Groms storming down Beach Street. I also saw more trikes than I've ever seen in one place.

I'm not saying one event is better than the other; they're just different. I appreciate the grassroots enthusiasm of Biketoberfest. Everyone was friendly and the crowd seemed to be having a great time, even though the weather was less than perfect. AIME was much more conservative and technically focused (even on the consumer days). Regardless of which you prefer, I hope you enjoy these images from Daytona.