Hooniverse Bike Weekend Edition: All The Craziness That Is Main Street


So, last Sunday, this olelongrooffan took a first time ever during Bike Week stroll down Main Street here, Beachside, in Daytona Beach. It was, shall we say, rather enlightening.


As I mentioned, it was on Sunday. I was heading over the Main Street bridge from the Mainland and arrived at the intersection of Peninsula and Main and was directed by the very same female bike cop I had met out at the Speedway a few weeks ago to turn either north or south off Main as Main Street, from here to A1A, is closed to anything with more than 3 wheels during the entirety of Bike Week. So I headed on north looking at all the vacant land surrounded by orange tape and badged with signs that offered parking for vehicles such as my Comanche for ten bucks. While not as expensive as parking is out by the Speedway, this olelongrooffan cringes at the thought of paying to park. Luckily, just three blocks north of Main Street, I spotted an empty parking space along the curb next to a church. I snagged it and hoofed it on down to see what was up. (Now my fellow Hoons, don’t go all ballistic on me, it was 1:30 in the afternoon and I am sure those church goers that space was reserved for had gone out to save all the bikers in the area from their wayward activities. At least that is my rationalization for the day.)

One of the first things spotted in the parking lot of my parts friend’s shop was this bike sized pop up trailer. It was strictly a bed with no other comforts and a mere $2,495!

I had previously seen these trailers of this size all over but did not realize what some of them had hidden inside.

Yeah, Main Street was full of biker dudes and dudettes that Chamber of Commerce weather bearing Sunday.

My fellow Hoons, you must believe me when I tell you that entire street was filled to capacity with both ass and breast cleavage. Does the phrase “Butter Face” ring a bell? Well it applies here but I wasn’t alone in gathering this image.

It occurred to me at the time to check out the variety of motorcycles, as well as the variety of personality types, all mixed together for this motorcycle extravaganza. I mean check out the following image…Harleys, Crouch Rockets, Can Ams and is that a BMW in the background?

There were also many, many customs such as this member of the chain gang.

I thought the gear foot rests were pretty clever as well as the kick stand that looks like the skeleton of a foot.

And the owner of this ride is not just a Yankee but a Yankees fan. Every one of those baseballs on the luggage pods of it had a Yankees baseball player’s name on them. Semper Fi and my thanks to the owner for your service.

It appears the low rider, rat rod movement is also present in the two wheeled hobby also.

I tried to capture an image of the yellow front wheel on the one in the rear of this image but these two motorbikes were rather popular and someone always was in the way of this olelongrooffan while I attempted to do so.

And can any of my fellow Hoons say Orange?

I captured this image of this older dude, well, probably my age, cruisin’ down Main and thought he looked pretty cool and very unassuming on that classic old bike.

Next up, I spotted a pair of side car wielding choppers based out of California.

This orange and black one even sported a fender ornament

with spinners on the side car

and a rear fender hood ornament to match.

Parked in front of that orange and black one was this yellow Stud.




And this is the matching helmet for the driver of that ride. And, NO, this olelongrooffan did not touch those studs to see if they were plastic or some sort of billet. What sort of deviant do my fellow Hoons think I am? Plus, I most likely would have gotten my ass kicked clear down to MickeyMouseLand by its owner who was probably sitting in a nearby bar keeping an eye on it.

Yes, it also has the mandatory skull tail light on the side car.

Now for 45 or so weeks a year, Main Street, Beachside, a short six or eight block long street, is populated by several bars and many, many vacant storefronts. Well, there is a jewelry store, Bruce Rossemeyer’s Beachside store and a few leather shops, but mainly it is a sleepy little commercial neighborhood. However, during Biketoberfest and Bike Week every storefront and parking lot has something to offer. The Doghouse’s upstairs is not open most of the time. This time of year beer and cheap T’shirts are the norm. Next week, those T’s are 5 for $20!

Yes, there was a BMW parked along the curb.

And no blogpost about Main Street Daytona Beach would be complete without an image of the Boot Hill Saloon actually located across the street from a cemetary.

I spotted this thing heading in the opposite direction and have no idea what the hell it is.

And for the last of the craziness, I offer this monstrosity for your viewing pleasure.

And as I was leaving, I ran into that female biker cop, once again, as she was pulling some barricades to block off Peninsula. I asked her what was up? “The Budweiser Clydesdales will be here in about ten minutes. You aren’t leaving are you?” Not now I’m not but that is a whole other blog.
And I have to share with my fellow Hoons, in the past Main Street has gotten its share of bad press however this year the biggest concern this olelongrooffan had was pulling a PeeWee Herman on the continous rows of bikes. But know this, I won’t be going down there after dark!

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  1. RWB Avatar
    RWB

    That gal's got some strong lats and triceps, and by golly what almost looks like knuckle tape.
    Hopefully she ain't readin' this!

  2. Manic_King Avatar
    Manic_King

    Really, this thing on 3rd photo up, this closed bike? Is there rubber "bumper" on the side of this vehicle, visible above traffic cone so that when it needs to stop in say traffic lights it just falls to one side and riders crawl out (dignified!) or….what is this, I don't even….

    1. mdharrell Avatar

      That's a Peraves Ecomobile:
      http://eco.peraves.ch/
      The things on the side are essentially retractable training wheels/kickstands.

      1. longrooffan Avatar

        I googled the shit out of that thing!! How did you know what it is? Got one of those in your garage also? 🙂

        1. mdharrell Avatar

          No, everything I've got is listed in my IntenseDebate profile. Truthfully, I couldn't recall the name. I just remembered seeing an article on one a few years ago and that it was (1) Swiss and (2) called an Eco-something. That was enough to track down the rest.

        2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          Among bikers the Ecomobile is fairly renowned. They've been in production in Germany since 1982. And while they are a much, much different experience than a traditional bike, they truly rock. (No pun intended…Okay, yes, it was intended.)

          1. mdharrell Avatar

            Looks like they went out of production in 2005 and have been succeeded by the fairly similar Peraves MonoTracer. No Snap Judgment on any of the variants?

          2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
            Peter Tanshanomi

            Not something I would feel qualified to evaluate.

  3. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    I don't see the point of the bike pop-up trailer. Seems to me a tent is about as useful and convenient at a fraction of the price.

    1. mdharrell Avatar

      There's enough storage in the box that you don't have to hide your dope money in the gas tank.

    2. CptSevere Avatar

      Not much difference between the two, but I'd rather spend a rainy and windy night in that trailer. It's up off the ground. I hate it when I pitch a tent, and wake up in a puddle.

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        "I hate it when I pitch a tent, and wake up in a puddle".
        I thought you were older – that sounds like a symptom of adolescence.

    3. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
      Peter Tanshanomi

      There's the problem of how to strap your tent onto your motorcycle, which a trailer would make a much easier task. And as long as you're pulling a trailer, then there's not a big downside to this arrangement.

  4. NothingHappens Avatar
    NothingHappens

    The 3 wheeler is a Campagna T-Rex.
    Some observations:
    1) Are there helmet laws in sunny Flor-i-da?
    2) Some of these bike themes seem overdone/tired/predictable
    3) As an elementary school pupil I can recall "borrowing" Easy-Rider mags from our local pawnshop, their pics of bikeweek were a tad different….