Nov. 11, 2016: Thank You To All Veterans

For Many Veterans, "Live To Ride - Ride To Live" is profoundly true.

Tribute to Vets
Sturgis 2014

Rat Patrol - Daytona Bike Week 2009

Rolling Thunder - Run to the Wall 

Today, we honor our family & friends, who are veterans and we pray for PEACE.

Kansas Bike Builder Big Winner at Daytona Bike Week 2015

Bike builder Larry A. Moore of Wichita, Kansas is a big winner this year at Daytona Bike Week. 

He picked up a first place extreme-radical custom's award and "Best of Show" at Saturday's Rat's Hole Custom Bike Show, staged for the first time at the new Indian Motorcycle dealership, 290 N. Beach Street.

He also picked up top awards at this year's Daytona Boardwalk Merchant's bike show, near the pier at the beach.

His custom shovel head, Kontrolled Kaos was named "Best Bike of the Year 2015" earlier this year at Easyrider's annual invitational competition -- after a win at the Easyrider's Columbus, Ohio show.

New Cafe Racer Class in Rat's Hole Biketoberfest Show

Café Racers have become almost as popular today as they were in the 70's and they will be included as a new class at the 19th Annual Biketoberfest Rat's Hole Custom Bike Show, Saturday, October 15th at Daytona Lagoon, 601 Earl Street in Daytona Beach.

The show will include 21 classes with 100 trophies to be given away, and a special invitation is going out to all Cafe Racers.

"The top three Café Racers will be invited to participate in a Café Racer Showdown judged by the public at the 40th Rat's Hole Show during Daytona Bike Week in March 2012," said show owner, Ted Smith.

As usual, there will be plenty of magazines, tv and radio shows present. Registration for the ride-in bike show is 8 to 9am. Line up on Ora Street and proceed to the pre-registration table to get your show card. No bikes will be accepted after 10am, when judging begins. Trophies will be presented at 5pm. All bikes must fire at the gate. 

'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.

23rd Sturgis Rat's Hole Bike Show, Aug. 11th

The 2011 Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show is headed back to the Buffalo Chip to help celebrate the Chip’s 30th Anniversary during the Sturgis Rally.

Admission is free at the Chip's East Gate entrance to see the competition: 10am to 4pm Thursday, Aug. 11, featuring 100 or more top bikes from all over the world.

The Rat's Hole Bar will be open throughout the Sturgis Rally, serving cold draft beer every day in economic souvenier mugs. Come take a look at their incredible collection of Rats Hole bikes, and don't miss the bike show near the Chip Event Center.

"Come out for the fun, and with the coverage we got last year, if you want to get noticed enter the show and show us what you got!" said show owner, Ted Smith. 

The Rat's Hole Show will be one of the best events at Sturgis, and the "Best of Show" trophy winner will take the stage with the winning bike to receive the award before thousands of fans on the main stage at the Buffalo Chip on Thursday night. 

To register a bike visit: www.Ratshole.com


"Best of Show" builder, Mario Kyprianides of Chopper Kulture in Abu-Dhabi, UAE on the main stage at Buffalo Chip with his winning bike, "Courtesan" at the 2010 Rat's Hole Show.

  

Congrats to these 2010 Rat's Hole Sturgis Bike Show Class Winners:

OVER 1000cc STOCK – Sponsored by Custom World
3rd Place – Doug Wood – Everett, WA
2nd Place – Marwan Mansour – North Port, NY
1st Place – Garry Kriz – Minneapolis, MN

OVER 1000cc CUSTOM – Sponsored by Cimo & Cimo Inc.
3rd Place – Craszy-Drive.com – Zurich, Switzerland
2nd Place – Dan Dabney – Roy, UT
1st Place – Bob Wyman – Bowie, MD

OVER 1000cc RADICAL – Sponsored by Custom World
3rd Place – Sam Baldi – Cherry Valley, CA
2nd Place – A T American Cycles –Neuffen, Germany
1st Place – Bugs Custom – Irsingen, Germany

Over 1000cc SUPER RADICAL – Sponsored by Ride Now Magazine
3rd Place – Hugh Whitsit – Setauket, NY
2nd Place – Waco Wilson – Montrose, CO
1st Place – Troy Kyne – Greeley, Co

Posted by MJ Lloyd Reynolds/MJR Media marketing services for the motorcycle industry - mjr.media@earthlink.net

70th Daytona Bike Week Images at Rat's Hole Show

I Love Daytona Bike Week! My first bike week was in 1969 and I was there for the 70th Daytona Bike Week and the 39th Rat's Hole Daytona Show, March 12th 2011! To register a bike for the Sturgis Buffalo Rat's Hole Show, go to http://www.ratshole.com/.

What a fun day with friends:
Bike builder Ron Finch, (me) MJ Lloyd-Reynolds and painter Dixie Olin in this photo.

This is Tako Siccasso's new "Death" chopper in the Rat's Hole World Showdown!

Here's a link to 2011 Rat's Hole Show photos at Bike Week.

Here's a link to 2011 Willie's Tropical Tattoo Old School Show photos at Bike Week. 

Posted by MJ Lloyd Reynolds/MJR Media marketing services for the motorcycle industry - mjr.media@earthlink.net

June: Thunder in the Valley Rally, Johnstown PA

The 2011 Thunder in the Valley Rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania featured a Rat's Hole Ride-in Bike Show on Saturday, June 25th.

For more details, visit the rally website.

Interview with World-Class Bike Builder Stephen Galvin

Stephen Galvin of Wikked Steel has probably won more major bike shows in recent years than any other bike builder in North America, including back-to-back "Best of Show" wins at the Rat's Hole 2011 Daytona Bike Week and Leesburg Bikefest Shows. Here's his advice.

You can move to Southern California when you become as rich and famous as Jesse James. But if you want to make a name for yourself by winning bike shows, you should probably move to Florida where there are a lot more big-name bike shows and bike rallies.

“We only had three bike shows to look forward to when I was building bikes in Southern California - LA Calendar Show, Love Ride and Santa Maria Bike Fest,” said Stephen, who relocated to the Tampa-Saint Petersburg area in 2005.

He now has 8 Rat’s Hole trophies for “Best of Show” and 1st Place wins at Daytona Bike Week, Daytona Biketoberfest and Leesburg BikeFest, 2008 to 2011. He has “Best of Show” trophies from the Boardwalk Shows – Daytona Bike Week & Biketoberfest, and he won “Best of Show” at the 2010 Thunder Beach Rally Spring & Fall bike shows, as well as “Best of Show” Easyriders – Atlanta 2010 and New Orleans 2009; and “Best of Show” Great American Bike Show – Atlanta 2008; and “Best of Show” - Pro Builder Rick Fairless Bike Show 2010 in Dallas. He won the Florida Bike Builders Invitational in 2008, 2010 & 2011 and was the 1st Place People’s Choice Award at the Ultimate Bike Builder’s Show at Daytona Bike Week 2011.

“My first experience with bikes was with my brother's Triumph 650 Bonneville chopper,” he said. “Cool bike but it WAS English so I was the one to keep it working.”

Stephen grew up in the suburbs of Boston, where he worked on bikes and played guitar. He followed a career in music to California, and for several years owned his own music store. “It wasn't until the late 80's that I started really focusing on bikes and went to work for Bartels Harley-Davidson. Bartels was THE hotbed of HD customizing at the time.”

Working on his own in a 2-car garage, Stephen learned the art of steel fabrication by way of books, videos and experience and became totally hooked. “With each bike I build, I learn new things and apply what I’ve learned to the next bike,” he said.

He decided on the company name Wikked Steel to emphasize his passion for steel fabrication. “Because of the complexity of the shapes in my bike builds, many people incorrectly assume they must be fiberglass,” he noted. “But they are all hand-crafted steel fabrications.” - http://www.wikkedsteel.com/

In 2008, Stephen built a Dragon bike that collected a string of “Best of Show” wins.

Click images to enlarge.

“I finally understood just how much you have to focus on every detail, and I’ve been doing that ever since.” The Dragon bike was built on a Pro-Street frame with a 45 degree rake, 6-inch stretch and stock height; Springer front end, Ultima El Bruto 120-inch engine with a Trik-Shift 6-speed gearbox. It has a 330 Avon rear tire and 120-70 front tire with wheels from Tight Customs in California.

In 2009, Stephen built the Yamaha SpeedStar Warrior that landed one of six spots in the Yamaha 2010 company calendar. His bike, Geisha built with Will Robertson will be featured in the Yamaha 2011 company calendar.

The SpeedStar was built with an extremely modified Road Star frame, retaining just enough frame to cradle the Yamaha Warrior engine and highly modified transmission with a custom dual carb manifold.

Stephen then went on to build "Area 51," the Ultimate Bike Builder People's Choice Award winner and "Best of Show" at Rat's Hole Daytona Bike Week 2011.

"This bike began as a challenge to myself to design and engineer as many unique parts as I could on this bike," said Stephen "I wanted to create a design that looked like it had either come from the future or from some other place entirely. I knew that this meant that I would have to fabricate almost every element myself to have that level of unique design, but I felt confident that I could muster the necessary effort to make it happen."

He started with a one-off frame custom built by Pro-Tube Frameworks with 45 degrees of rake, -2 in the dual downtubes, 5 inches of stretch in the front and 4 more inches of stretch in the rear. The oil bag is incorporated into the chin fairing(s) and holds almost 6 quarts of oil.

"The sheet metal work was all done in-house as that is my favorite part of fabrication," he said. "The front end design was probably the biggest challenge both from a design and functionality standpoint. The fork legs are chrome-moly and boxed in with 16 gauge steel. The front swingarms are solid billet and were CAD designed by me. The steel fork tips, pegs, grips, axle block covers, exhaust system and many of the other unique parts on this bike are also proprietary designs. I spent a great deal of time teaching myself Solidworks in order to create these elements myself and not have to rely on someone else to interpret my ideas."

The wheels are one-off 7 piece designs created by Pickard USA that use the design of the tank as the spokes and the shape of the rear fender as the elements in-between the spokes.

A Baker 6 speed transmission designed for Big Dog was used, as well as a modified Baker DSSC open primary drive. "I love the narrow design and by moving the starter back and down it kept the space under the seat open and clean," Stephen noted.

The engine started out as an Ultima El Bruto 120 CI, which has become Wikked Steel's powerplant of choice. "I then re-designed the heads and cylinders to have a more modern and unique design and to add to the mystique of the bike," said Stephen. "The Ness pushrod covers and lifter blocks complemented their design nicely."

"After the bike was completed and assembled I decided that, as a result of the rear stretch in the frame, my chain was very long (130 links) and not very attractive. I then got on the computer and designed the billet covers for each link and thus turned a negative into another point of interest on the bike. My speedometer is a Garmin GPS which also plays a slideshow of the build when on display."

In an interview during the recent Daytona Bike Week, Stephen said, he loves watching the reactions of people to this build as they explore all of the intricacies of the fabrication. "I also love their reaction when I explain that this and all of my bikes were built in a 2-car garage behind my home. No fancy shop with thousand of dollars worth of machinery."

Click images to enlarge.

Along with other changes, Stephen also disassembled the bike completely for a new paint job by Jason Trimbach Artistry. "It made me crazy to look at the previous paint job and I felt it compromised all the work I had done," he said. "Now she is truly finished and I am proud of every square inch!"

The Area 51 bike presented a number of challenges, and when it first showed at a Rat's Hole Bike Show in 2010, it placed 4th in it's class. A very disappointed Stephen Galvin sat down with Wolfgang Knitterscheidt, a German manufacturers representative and long-time International Rat's Hole Bike Show Judge, who is also a world renowned private collector.

"I saw the Area 51 Bike first appearing in 2010 and I already liked some of it's appearance," said Wolfgang. But in his personal opinion of the bike, he told Stephen he would have to make a lot of changes to improve the bike's ratings in the major bike shows.

"I did not think that he would put himself through all this," said Wolfgang, " But Surprise, Surprise! I saw the bike coming into the Rat's Hole Show in Daytona, and I was flattered. He did 100 percent what I told him he would have to do.

"I asked him if it is for sale and secured it for myself before it was even judged," said Wolfgang "Area 51 is a real beauty. I can't wait to ride this baby all over Germany and see the crazy reactions of all the jealous people!

"I am a collector of over 1000 Radical - still the King's class. I simply bought THE BEST. If anyone knows I should know. 

Damn ....... Area 51 will be amongst some of the nicest bikes ever built in the last decade: The World is not Enough, Triangular, Purple Hooter, Moulin Rouge etc. not to forget all my rideable Vintage Harleys.

"Thanks Stephen," said Wolfgang "This year you were the best!"

(c) 2011 by MJ Lloyd-Reynolds, all rights reserved.

An earlier version of this interview was published in the Leesburg Ratty Rag, April 9, 2011. No part of this interview can be reproduced without written permission.

April: Leesburg Bikefest, Central Florida

The 15th Leesburg Bikefest (April 7 to 10, 2012) featured 40 free concerts on eight stages, the Rat's Hole Bike Show, Wall of Death, Extreme Bike Demos, bikini contests, tattoo contests, Mr. Lucky Man Contest and more.

Traffic on Main Street in Leesburg, Florida is always "motorcycles-only" during the 3-day rally that draws 200,000 to 300,000 bike enthusiasts to the little town in Central Florida.

Admission is free to all venues and all concerts. The 2012 concert schedule included: Slaughter on Friday night and Jackyl on Saturday night, with opening act, The Greg Billings Band (formerly of Stranger.)

Also on stage Saturday night was the AC/DC tribute-band Highway to Hell.





The rally was a joint venture from the beginning between the Leesburg Downtown Merchants and Rat's Hole Custom Bike Shows. The 15th Leesburg Bikefest featured the largest number of Rat's Hole custom-built bikes ever on display at a rally bike show.


Leesburg Bikefest kicked off at Gator Harley Davidson on Thursday morning with vendors and entertainment.


The Opera House Saloon Early Arrival Party on Thursday was 3pm to 2am Friday.


The Rat's Hole Bar Kick Off Party was hosted by Rider NOW Magazine, 3pm Thursday to 2am Friday.




For more details, visit the official website.

V8 Motorcycle Parade & Bike Show Raises Funds for Children's Hospitals at Daytona Bike Week 2011

The crowd on Main Street was four-deep to watch the 7th Annual V8 Motorcycle Parade on Wednesday during the 70th Daytona Bike Week.

Photos - by Bruce Abowitt.

A record 127 of the V8 bikes and trikes participated in the parade and a scenic ride that finished with a free Rat's Hole V8 Motorcycle Show at Daytona Lagoon, across from the Ocean Center at 601 N. Earl Street in Daytona Beach.


All V8 owners are welcome to participate in the parade, scenic ride and bike show that is sponsored by Boss Hoss. The annual event is organized by Bill Taylor and other area V8 owners, who are united by their love of the big machines and a desire to raise money for the Shriner's Hospitals for Children.

The V8 owners rolled out for the parade at 1pm from the Custom Works, Boss Hoss dealership at 806 N. Beach Street.

"We had perfect weather and perfect escort help from both the Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach police departments for a scenic loop ride that was just outstanding," said Bill Taylor, who is president of the Midatlantic Chapter of the Boss Hoss Riders Association.



Last year, 105 V8 bikes and trikes from all over the country participated in the parade and ride-in V8 Motorcycle Show. "We met some V8 owners this year that live in California," said Taylor. "Each year, a few more new people join the parade and it just continues to get bigger every year."


Ted and Pam Smith led the parade and ride on their Rat's Hole V8 Custom Trike. They also played host to the V8 Motorcycle Show at 2pm at Daytona Lagoon. The show was open to the public and free to attend. Custom Works provided food and entertainment.


"Everyone loved the band, One Hit Wonder out of St. Augustine and the party continued until after 5pm," said Taylor. The V8 riders expect to donate more than $1,500 to the Shriner's Hospitals for Children. Donations will also be collected at the 39th Annual Rat's Hole Chopper Show on Saturday. Look for the purple buckets! Here's a link to more photos.



More than 90 bikes have pre-registered for the Saturday, March 12th Rat's Hole Show. "We expect to see a couple dozen more bikes register on Saturday morning," said Ted Smith. This year's show features a "World Bike Showdown" with bike builders from Australia, Canada, USA and the EAU on stage with their newest bike builds. Everyone who attends the show will receive a ballot to cast their vote for a favorite bike in the special competition. A new Rat's Hole custom trophy will be awarded to the first, second and third place winners in 22 classes.

Travel Channel To Film Rat's Hole World Bike Showdown

The Travel Channel will be filming the 39th Rat's Hole Chopper Show - World Bike Showdown on Saturday, March 12th at Daytona Lagoon, 612 N. Earl Street during the 70th Daytona Bike Week!

Come join the party.. everyone through the gate will receive one ballot to vote for their favorite bike in the World Bike Showdown.

Bike builders from Australia, Canada, EAU & USA will be live on stage! Come early to pick up your copy of the free Daytona Beach Ratty Rag, featuring interviews with bike builders Cyril Huze, Dave Perewitz, Ron Finch, Tako of Sickasso Creations, and more...

First published for Daytona Bike Week 1974, the first, oldest and longest running (free) biker newspaper went out of circulation at the turn of the new century... and now it's BACK! A limited 20,000 copies will be issued and available (free) at the Rat's Hole Show, so you better show up early this year on Saturday, March 12th to grab your copy! The all-day show will feature 22 classes of bikes, Miss Ratmate & Tattoo Contests, emceed by Radical Randy at Daytona Lagoon water park, next to the parking garage, just off of (A1A) Atlantic Ave. beachside - 614 N. Earl Street, Daytona Beach.

"If you were awarded one of the big, bronze colored Big Daddy Rat trophies in the last couple of years, get ready to add a new trophy to your collection," said Ted Smith, owner of Rat's Hole Shows. "We are going to unveil a new tri-colored custom trophy that will be awarded to the top 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners in every category."

There is always excitement and anticipation going into a Rat's Hole Show, said Tako of Sickasso Creations. "I will be bringing three bikes that have never been shown. Mostreet that I built for former Boston Red Socks player, Mo Vaugn; plus another Pro Street bike that I am just finishing called "Twisted" and then the Gothic & Old School "Death Bike."

To register a bike, go to http://www.ratshole.com/

Click here to view a Rat's Hole Facebook gallery.

Extra! Extra! The Ratty Rag is Back

More than one million copies of the Ratty Rag have been distributed at major bike show events all over the world since it was first published for the 1974 Daytona Bike Week. "I still have six light tables at my house that were used to lay it out by hand," said Ted Smith, owner of Rat's Hole Custom Bike Shows. "There were no other motorcycle newspapers. The Ratty Rag was the first, and it's the oldest running FREE motorcycle newspaper in the country."

Click to enlarge or download the poster for advertising contacts.

20,000 copies of the Daytona Beach Ratty Rag will be printed for the 2011 Daytona Bike Week rally. 20,000 more will be printed for the Leesburg Bikefest in April; Thunder in the Valley in June; Sturgis - Buffalo Chip in August; Daytona Biketoberfest; and the Lone Star Rally in November. There will be interviews with the best of show bike builders and of course, photographs of the Miss Rat Mate contests.

Events and Schedule... The Travel Channel will film the 39th Rat's Hole Chopper Show - "World Bike Showdown" - so come join the party. Bike builders from all over the world, live on stage!Everyone through the gate will receive one ballot to vote for their favorite bike in the World Showdown.

- Click the poster to enlarge.

MC Radical Randy, tattoo and rat mate contests. The show is all day Saturday, March 12th at Daytona Lagoon water park, beach side at 601 N. Earl Street.

Registration in 22 classes with brand new custom trophy awards for first, second and third places.

Register a bike at RatsHole.com.

Daytona Bike Week March 4 - 13, 2011 Daytona Beach, Florida http://www.daytonachamber.com/ Leesburg Bikefest April 7 - 10, 2011 Leesburg, Florida http://www.leesburgbikefest.com/ Thunder in the Valley June 23 - 26, 2011 Johnstown, Pennsylvania http://www.visitjohnstownpa.com/		Sturgis - Buffalo Chip August 8 - 14, 2011 Sturgis, South Dakota http://buffalochip.com/ Biketoberfest October 13 -16, 2011 Daytona Beach, Florida http://www.daytonachamber.com/ www.biketoberfest.org Lone Star Rally November 3 – 6, 2011 Galveston, Texas http://www.lonestarrally.com/

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Daytona Bike Week 2011 Bike Shows & Races

Here's the latest update on the 70th Daytona Bike Week - March 4 to 13th, 2011.

BIKE SHOWS - At least 7 bike shows have been announced: Limpnickie Lot, Church of Chop, Pro-Am, Ol School Chopper, Sport Bike Fest, Boarwalk Ride-in & Rat's Hole Chopper Show.

Bator's Classic Daytona Motorcycle Auction  during Bike Week will include the Eddie James (estate) BMW collection.

The Daytona 200 and Daytona Supercross have been moved to stand-alone weekends.

The Daytona Supercross will kick off race week at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, March 5th. The Daytona Flat Track, just behind Turn 1, will come alive March 5 for three days of amateur racing. The AMA Pro Flat Track events are scheduled from March 10-11 and the Daytona 200 will be raced on Saturday night, March 12th.

DAYTONA BEACH - In preparation for the 70th anniversary of Bike Week, the Daytona Regional Chamber's Bike Week Festival Task Force has selected the official logo design.

The official Bike Week 2011 logo was submitted by Hayworth Creative Public Relations of Ormond Beach, Fla., which has previously submitted winning designs for the 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010. Each of those logos is the work of illustrator and designer Brian Boesch of Itchy Illustration.

2011 DAYTONA BIKE WEEK - BIKE SHOWS

Limpnickie Lot - Stone Edge Skate Park, 1848 S. Ridgewood Ave. South Daytona. Ride-in bike show TBA and a great place to check out a new generation of builders.
Church of Chop - Old School Rod & Bike Show at The Junkyard Saloon, DeLeon Springs - Friday, March 4th and Saturday, March 5th.
Pro-Am Bike Show - at The DeLand Bike Rally - Sunday, March 6th to Thurs., March 10th.
Ol School Chopper Show - at Willie's Tropical Tattoo, 824 S. Yonge St., Ormond Beach -
Thursday, March 10th.
Boardwalk Ride-in Bike Show - Oceanside boardwalk at Main Street - Friday, March 11th.
- 20 classes from domestic to metric with 50 trophies. Call Bill Chaffin at 386.871.0398.
Rat's Hole Bike Show - Daytona Lagoon, beachside on Earl Street - Sat., March 12th.
Sport Bike Fest - Hottest Custom Contest - at Martini's Chop House, 1815 S. Ridgewood Ave., Daytona Beach, Saturday, March 12th.

Bator's Daytona Classic Motorcycle Auction - Thursday's Parts & Memorabilia Auction, March 10 will include the massive BMW (estate) collection of motorcycle icon, Eddie James. Swap Meet, March 9 to 11; Classic Motorcycle Auction on Friday, March 11.

DAYTONA BIKE WEEK 2010 was the backdrop for an Indian Motorcycle Wedding. The bride and groom rode into the Daytona Beach Hilton on their Indian Motorcycles for the reception and lead a parade down Main Street.


BIKE RACES
The Daytona International Speedway has repaved the track. And the 2011 Daytona 200 Motorcycle Week will have a radical new look from season's past as Daytona International Speedway splits its two biggest races into back-to-back weekend events.


In recent years, the Daytona Supercross and Daytona 200 have been staged on consecutive days over the final days of 'Cycle Week on Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday. Now those two major motorcycle events will be held on different weekends during the traditional Bike Week time frame. The first weekend of activity will focus solely on the Supercross course, which will be carved into the infield grass dividing the tri-oval from pit road.

The Daytona Supercross, the birthplace of Supercross in the United States and the longest continuous Supercross event in America since 1971, will now kick off 'Cycle Week on Saturday night, March 5. The Daytona 200, a motorcycle race that has a history back to the 1930s, will be staged one a week later on March 12.

"Moving the Daytona 200 and Daytona Supercross to stand-alone weekends will further allow us to grow both events as well as the remainder of the March motorcycle schedule," Speedway president Joie Chitwood III said. "This new-look schedule gives motorcycle fans a better opportunity to enjoy all the different racing events that are showcased here."


The most historic, demanding and challenging Supercross event of the year, which has recently featured star riders such as Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Chad Reed, Kevin Windham and Andrew Short, this year served as the finale to the two-wheel racing program. For more information, call the Speedway at 800-748-7467.