Orlando Business Journal by Jim Carchidi, Photojournalist
Bikes and biker wear make Daytona Harley-Davidson a popular stop on Beach Street.
Sequels rarely live up to the original product, except where bikes and beaches are concerned. Biketoberfest, the offshoot event to Daytona Beach Bike Week, has become a can't-miss spectacle for the biker community and the Volusia County economy.
Since 1992, the weekend-long autumn celebration of biker culture has attracted visitors and vendors to the Daytona Beach area. And like Bike Week — which celebrated its 70th anniversary in March — it has grown.
Bike Week began along Main Street, where biker bars and beach races were the main attraction in the 1940s. It only made sense that the Biketoberfest party happen at the same address. As with Bike Week, custom bike builders, artists and merchants set up shop to accommodate the crowds. And, as with Bike Week, limited space lead to expansion.
Across the causeway on Beach Street, motorcycle dealerships now host their own Biketoberfest events as retailers of all manner annually set up shop by the roadside.
Ormond Beach, New Smyrna Beach and even Orlando have thrown their hats into the economic ring and passed them among the eager masses. Bike shows, contests and parties galore are among the efforts to widen and cash in on the annual event.
The lagging economic turnaround may have affected other forms of tourism, but biker traffic remains thick. The passion that influenced a lifestyle has turned a local event into a national phenomenon, sparking an annual boost in the Central Florida economy.
http://www.hogtalker.com/forums/forum/25-biketoberfest-2011-daytona-beach-photos/