Biketoberfest

Last updated
Biketoberfest
StatusActive
Genre Motorcycle rally
Date(s)Weekend following Columbus Day
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s) Daytona Beach, Florida
DeLeon Springs, Florida
Coordinates 29°13′N81°01′W / 29.217°N 81.017°W / 29.217; -81.017 Coordinates: 29°13′N81°01′W / 29.217°N 81.017°W / 29.217; -81.017
Inaugurated1991 or 1992
FounderJanet Kersey, [1] Georgia Turner [2]
Most recent15–18 October 2020
Next event14–17 October 2021
Attendancec. 100,000
Patron(s)Halifax Area Advertising Authority
Website biketoberfest.org

Biketoberfest is an annual motorcycle rally held in the fall in Daytona Beach, Florida since 1991 [3] or 1992. In 1992 it was known as "Daytona Fall Tour"; in 1993, it started to be called Biketoberfest, [4] [5] and is now known as the "little brother" of the spring Daytona Beach Bike Week event. [6] Attendance for Biketoberfest 2013 was estimated to be c. 100,000 visitors. [7]

Contents

The event's organizing authority is Halifax Area Advertising Authority, whose director has noted attendance has dropped off since 2004, and the 100,000 attendance figure is an approximation as entry is free without a ticket, [7] and that the true attendance is "nearly impossible to count". [5] Local merchants have asked to have the event extended from four days to 10 days in duration. [8] [9] The advertising authority withdrew plans for a $300,000 advertising campaign in Ohio after studies showed negative perceptions of the Daytona Beach area. [9]

Reporters have noted that compared to the spring Daytona rally, Biketoberfest features a higher proportion of choppers in attendance, [10] warmer local waters and weather in transit from the Northeast United States, [4] more new-model introductions from manufacturers, [4] and less crowded streets and more abundant lodging. [5]

The Buffalo Chip Campground (better known for its Sturgis Motorcycle Rally presence) opened a site at Daytona just before Biketoberfest 2004, [11] [12] raising concerns about public nudity. [12] Earlier concerns had prompted the creation of a city ordinance with unusually detailed definitions of body coverage, gaining international attention. [13] The ordinance was deemed unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds by a Federal judge in 2006. [14] [15]

Like the spring bike event in Daytona Beach, Biketoberfest features coleslaw wrestling. [16] [17]

While the racing at Daytona International Speedway is more club-oriented, the CCS-sanctioned Fall Cycle Scene races at the Speedway are technically part of Biketoberfest, similar to Bike Week's Supercross-oriented draws. The 2020 event will have the most races of a previous event, as the COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation of all Bike Week road racing events, with the majority of events (including Bike Week's Flat Track races) moved to Biketoberfest. (The Daytona 200 was not held.) In 2022, Biketoberfest will extend to DeLeon Springs, as American Flat Track will hold the season finale of their series at Volusia Speedway Park for Biketoberfest, as the season starts at Daytona Beach Bike Week at the circuit.

In media and the arts

The American Chopper television show pilot aired in January, 2003, titled "Biketober", concerned a custom motorcycle presented at Biketoberfest. [18]

The pilot for a 2006 show, The Metric Revolution, was filmed at Biketoberfest. [19]

The first Orange County Choppers themed motorcycle, a Spider-Man themed build, was done for Biketoberfest, [20] as was the very first OCC bike "True Blue", shown there in 1999. [21]

Performance artist Paul Zaloom created a 2006 shadow puppet play based on his experiences at Biketoberfest. [22]

Related Research Articles

Orange County Choppers American motorcycle manufacturer based in Orange County, New York

Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in Orange County, New York, that was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr. The company was featured on American Chopper, a reality TV show that debuted in September 2002 on the Discovery Channel. The series moved to Discovery Channel's sister channel TLC in 2007. Following cancellation of the Discovery series, the company was also featured on Orange County Choppers on the CMT network in 2013. Orange County Choppers returned to Discovery Channel in March 2018.

Chopper (motorcycle) Type of motorcycle

A chopper is a type of custom motorcycle which emerged in California in the late 1950s. A chopper employs radically modified steering angles and lengthened forks for a stretched-out appearance. They can be built from an original motorcycle which is modified ("chopped") or built from scratch. Some of the characteristic features of choppers are long front ends with extended forks often coupled with an increased rake angle, hardtail frames, very tall "ape hanger" or very short "drag" handlebars, lengthened or stretched frames, and larger than stock front wheels. The "sissy bar", a set of tubes that connect the rear fender with the frame, and which are often extended several feet high, is a signature feature on many choppers.

<i>American Chopper</i> American reality television program

American Chopper is an American reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul Sr., and his son Paul Teutul Jr., who manufacture custom chopper-style motorcycles. Orange County Choppers is in Newburgh, New York. The contrasting work and creative styles of the father-and-son team and their resulting verbal arguments were the series' hallmark until 2008 when an explosive argument led to Paul Jr.'s termination and departure to start a competing chopper company, Paul Jr. Designs.

Paul Teutul Sr. American motorcycle builder (born 1949)

Paul John Teutul is the founder of Orange County Choppers, a manufacturer of custom motorcycles and the focus of the reality television series American Chopper. Teutul first appeared on the show with his sons Paul Teutul Jr. and Michael Teutul. In 2013, his new show Orange County Choppers premiered on CMT.

Paul Teutul Jr. American motorcycle designer and builder

Paul Michael Teutul is one of the stars of the American reality television series American Chopper. He started working for his father. Teutul was the chief designer and fabricator. Prior to this, he was head of the rail shop at Orange County Ironworks. He is the owner of Paul Jr. Designs, which manufactures custom motorcycles and sells branded clothing. Teutul, along with his father and younger brother Michael, became celebrities when they became the focus of a reality television series American Chopper on Discovery Channel in 2002.

West Coast Choppers Brand

West Coast Choppers (WCC) is a brand that began selling screen-printed T-shirts and stickers with the company's Iron cross/Maltese cross logo while founder and "master marketer" Jesse James was finishing high school, packaging the accoutrements of the chopper lifestyle long before any actual West Coast Choppers customs had been ordered or sold. Even after the company did begin building custom choppers, 60% of revenue still came from sales of WCC-branded marketing tie-ins such as clothing, beverages and tools. Yearly sales of approximately 12–15 motorcycles at prices of around US$150,000 each actually lost money for the company, but attracted positive attention. Publicizing the names of celebrity clients, including Shaquille O'Neal, Kid Rock, Keanu Reeves, Ty Law of the Denver Broncos, wrestling star Bill Goldberg, actor Tyson Beckford, and NFL running back Jamal Anderson, was a central feature of the WCC marketing strategy. The other key to this strategy was the star power of Jesse James, presented mainly through television on the Discovery Channel in the Motorcycle Mania series and the 2002–2006 series Monster Garage.

Daytona Beach Bike Week

Daytona Beach Bike Week, also called Daytona Bike Week, is a motorcycle event and rally held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida, and since 2021, events have been added in DeLeon Springs. Approximately 500,000 people make their way to the rally area for the 10-day event. The festivities include motorcycle racing, concerts, parties, and street festivals. The event is usually held on the first full week of March and contends with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as the most popular motorcycle rally in the United States.

Daytona Stadium Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida

Daytona Stadium, is a 9,601-seat multi-purpose stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida, built in 1988 and home to the Bethune–Cookman University Wildcats football team. It is also used to host home games for the Mainland High School and Seabreeze High School football teams. The stadium is also known as Larry Kelly Field, a name honoring former Daytona Beach Mayor Lawrence J. Kelly.

Daytona 500 Experience Former NASCAR museum

The Daytona 500 Experience, formerly known as Daytona USA, was an interactive motorsports attraction and museum located at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Intrinsically linked to the Daytona 500, the museum primarily focused on exhibits related to NASCAR. The attraction also included exhibits related to the Daytona 200 motorcycle race, the 24 Hours of Daytona, as well as the Daytona Beach & Road Course.

Volusia Speedway Park Race track

Volusia Speedway Park is an auto racing facility located near Barberville in Volusia County, Florida.

Orange County Choppers bikes are motorcycles featured on the television series American Chopper built by Orange County Choppers (OCC) for a specific corporate or celebrity customer. Theme bikes are motorcycles in which the theme of the motorcycle takes priority over everything else, influencing the frame dimensions, paint scheme, and overall 'feel' of the motorcycle. The function of motorcycle usually takes a backseat to the presentation of the theme, and these motorcycles attract attention solely on the premise of the theme itself. Customer bikes are built for and generally to the specifications of a particular customer. Although the customers typically give OCC creative freedom to do what they will, some clients have a specific idea in mind and expect OCC to reproduce their mental picture literally.

Vincent "Vinnie" DiMartino is an American motorcycle builder, best known for his work from 2002 to 2007 at Orange County Choppers (OCC), the subject of the American TV show American Chopper. In August 2007 DiMartino left Orange County Choppers and founded V-Force Customs, a custom motorcycle shop in Rock Tavern, NY. Several months later, Cody Connelly, a friend and co-worker of DiMartino at Orange County Choppers also left to join him at V-force Customs. In 2010, DiMartino returned to the show; however instead of rejoining his former employer, OCC, he joined Paul Jr. Designs.

Black Bike Week Annual motorcycle rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA

Black Bike Week, also called Atlantic Beach Bikefest and Black Bikers Week, is an annual motorcycle rally in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area, held on Memorial Day weekend. Called a "one-of-a-kind event" and "an exhibitionist's paradise" by Jeffrey Gettleman, Black Bike Week is "all about riding, styling and profiling," in the words of Mayor Irene Armstrong of Atlantic Beach, South Carolina.

Cody Connelly is an American motorcycle builder, best known for his work at Orange County Choppers (OCC), the subject of the American TV show American Chopper. Cody left Orange County Choppers and joined V-Force Customs where he works with friend and former colleague of Orange County Choppers Vincent DiMartino. Cody has since made several appearances on the show American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior alongside Paul Teutul Jr. and DiMartino, helping out at Paul Jr. Designs.

<i>Back Street Heroes</i>

Back Street Heroes is a monthly UK custom bike magazine that helped to popularize a "new breed" of custom motorcycle, distinct from previous choppers because they combined rat bike-influenced utilitarian and minimalist design with greater use of high tech gadgetry, but catering to an upscale buyer in the Robb Report demographic.

Paul Jr. Designs American motorcycle customizer and clothing company in Montgomery, NY

Paul Jr. Designs (PJD) is a lifestyle brand motorcycle customizer and clothing vendor, based in Montgomery, New York, USA. Paul Teutul Jr. founded the design firm in 2009 after waiting out a one-year non-compete clause with his former company, Orange County Choppers (OCC).

The Raven is involved with Web television, Internet radio, and Citizen journalism. The Raven claims to have reported on Daytona Beach events via video broadcasts through a Web TV station as far back as 2000.

<i>Azeroth Choppers</i>

Azeroth Choppers was a weekly web series by Blizzard Entertainment that ran from April 17 to June 5, 2014. It featured Paul Teutul, Jr. and his company Paul Jr. Designs building motorcycles based on Blizzard's long-running MMORPG World of Warcraft.

References

  1. ↑ Clayton Park (March 2, 2014), "Kersey set to take Bike Week reins", The Daytona Beach News-Journal
  2. ↑ Mike Cavaliere (January 2012), "People to watch: Georgia Turner", Palm Coast Observer
  3. ↑ John Bozzo (October 26, 1999). "Despite Noise, Area Pumped by Biketoberfest Numbers". The Daytona Beach News-Journal .
  4. 1 2 3 Jeremiah Knupp (October 17, 2008), Biketoberfest 2008 — day 1, Motorcycle USA
  5. 1 2 3 Rachael Jackson (October 18, 2007), "Biketoberfest 2007: 10 Things To Know", Orlando Sentinel
  6. ↑ Robyn Sidersky (March 4, 2009), 500,000 pack Daytona Beach for bike week, CNN
  7. 1 2 Jeffrey Cassady (October 12, 2013), "Daytona Beach, other venues face challenge: Keep bikers coming", The Daytona Beach News-Journal
  8. ↑ Jeffrey Cassady (October 21, 2012), "Merchants favor extending Biketoberfest to 10 days, local residents not all in agreement", The Daytona Beach News-Journal
  9. 1 2 Jeffrey Cassady (January 13, 2014), "Tourism experts: Daytona Beach must 'seize' new image", The Daytona Beach News-Journal
  10. ↑ Donna Kessler (October 27, 2008), "Biketoberfest and Bike Week: no comparison", Times Herald-Record , Middletown, New York
  11. ↑ Bill Harlan (August 5, 2005), "Buffalo Chip now a family affair", Rapid City Journal
  12. 1 2 "How Racy Will Biketoberfest Get? Party Known For Nudity, Heavy Drinking". WESH . October 13, 2004. Archived from the original on October 16, 2004.
  13. ↑ Louisa Pearson (October 16, 2002), "Naked cheek", The Scotsman , via HighBeam (subscription required), archived from the original on March 7, 2016
  14. ↑ Federal judge tosses Daytona Beach nudity law as unconstitutional, Associated Press via HighBeam (subscription required), January 21, 2006, archived from the original on August 5, 2014
  15. ↑ Prof. David J. Hanson, Ph.D., Alcohol and nudity, Sociology Department, State University of New York at Potsdam
  16. ↑ Emily McCombs (February 25, 2009), "Coleslaw Wrestling Is the New Jell-O Wrestling", Asylum, AOL, archived from the original on July 30, 2014, retrieved July 29, 2014
  17. ↑ Kelly Fitzpatrick (October 7, 2010), "Biketoberfest events", Orlando Sentinel
  18. ↑ American Chopper II - Biketober (Cody Bike), tv.com
  19. ↑ "Recalibrating Reality TV", Dealer News, via HighBeam (subscription required), November 1, 2005, archived from the original on November 19, 2018
  20. ↑ David J. Spatz (August 28, 2008), "You won't get a song and dance from him. No joke -- Teutul rolls in to present free custom chopper", The Record , Bergen County, NJ: via HighBeam (subscription required), archived from the original on April 9, 2016
  21. ↑ Orange County Choppers bios: Paul Teutul Sr., The Discovery Channel
  22. ↑ Louise Kennedy (November 11, 2006), "Stage Review / The Mother of All Enemies: Goofy romp offers puppets, political riffs, and potty humor", Boston Globe, via HighBeam (subscription required), archived from the original on March 25, 2016
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