I had a great time to say the least. Weather was unbelievable, rode the coast 3 times from St. Augustine to Vero and met some interesting people to say the least. Looks as if the Harley dealer has pretty much taken charge of things by moving things to Ormond Beach one bike week at a time. Not real crowded in Daytona the times I was there. Main St. had the usual chit going on just seemed like alot less of it. Don't know if I'm gonna see any more Bikeweeks too expensive for what you get. Same old overpriced things at most vendors. Can remember when you could get some good deals, no more. Ate at some out of the way places and have to say I got some real good meals for next to nothing without the hassle of long lines and rude help that just don't get bikers. Got our own drinks at a little place inland by Ponce Inlet cause the waitress was cooking. The cook burned himself and went to get first aid. Seems alot would rather have the NASCAR crowd instead.
The cops wern't that bad. If you acted like an ******* you got treated like one. One was telling me that they wanted to get the message out to the of state riders that you got to have the insurance riders for the extra coverage for no helmets. 10,000 grand I think. One lady was killed Sat morning walking on the side of the road with her husband by a bike drag racing. I think bike week in march we're gonna see a little more law enforcement. Local leaders were on the news complaining about loud pipes,scantily clad young women and fast motorcycles. damn all the things I go for[sm=devilgrin.gif] Cagers got 2 other bikers that we heard of. All in all a good time but we're gonna do something different next year. Thanks for the memories Daytona

 

Glad to hear you made it back safe. This is one of the reasons I only spend a day in Daytona, whether it's Bikeweek or Biketoberfest. Get your pin, pick up a Tshirt, maybe a patch,....leave. Too much to do in other places.
Yeah, I bet they weren't complaining about the $$$ the 'bikers' spent though.

 

I rode up to spend the day on Sat. man was it hot! A blistering 97 degrees and sticky humid. Had a great time though. Checked out the Rats Hole bike show, and took the tour of Main St. Not much there as previously mentioned but the endless parade of bikes, and the vendors. The ride from Main St. to the new dealer was quite an experience, one helluva traffic jam on US 1 from north of Hwy 40 through the area around the Iron Horse, all the way to the new dealership. Looks like Bruce Rossmeyer built himself a Taj Mahal of sorts there. That place is something to see in itself. two story dealership that has a food court, even building condos that overlook the huge vendor area. All that said, the ride home was probably the most enjoyable part of the day. Took the long road, down some nice forest backroads all the way to Lakeland, even made it back in time to catch Bike Night in Winter Haven.

Think I'll plan to spend a few days for Bike week.

 

I haven't been to Daytona bikeweek since '84 and am headed there this year. I'm even taking my 70 year old dad along with his ride. He was kind of aprehensive at first, but then i shoed him the race tickets and he is really into going now. Last time I was there I had more fun going to the reaces and browsing the pits and sightseeing the local area. Didn't really enjoy the crowd that much, but it is part of the scene. see you all there!

 

I will more than likely never attend Bikeweek again, 20 years ago maybe but, now......Too much $$, to restricted, cops ticketing for no reason. I liked Ironhorse and that area......Main St. sucked......The riding sucked but, of course I did not get too far out of Daytona..But, to ride down there it does not need to be during bikeweek. The weather was good last year, alittle chilly in the evenings. Biketoberfest seems like it would be better in the weather side of it all. I am going to stick with the little,dirty rallies....Boogie, Hog Rock, Beanbloosom......and other ones like that...It is more like spring break for old people......then at the end of the week you get the annoying collage kids coming in for spring break...I will try Sturgis but, expect the same type of situation...$$$, overdone....but, more traditional and better riding .

 

I've doneDaytona Bike Weekfor the past 7 years and am done with it. Lodging is outrageous. For the first 4 years, we camped just to be there. Honestly, that sucked. The past 3 years, we have been renting a house with an attached apartment. That set us back 2k for the week. You get there and can't move around for the crowds. I think I'll spend my money and time in a better place.

 

No problems in Daytona 2006. Ocean walk resort on the beach was $260 a night for a 1 bedroom condo with everything. $3or4 for a beer everywhere we went and food such as BBQ sandwiches were the same cost. The room was split 3 ways. How does that seem to be too much money or am I used to the prices in the northeast. I bought T-shirts 5 for $30 all over the place. It was a very cheap vacation for me. If you want to count gas and travel cost does that really matter since we all pay about the same. There is allot of riding north to St. Agustine or South to Key West it depended on you. Daytona is what you make of it. Did you really think that you would arrive at a biker ralley as big as Daytona and think that is going to be free. Or maybe you think the riding is going to be as good as your home state. Or the ralley is going just the one we went to last year. If that is what you think than Daytona is not for you. It is much more than that. It is a vacation for me and I have the best time of my life. Sturgis is the best and am going in 2008 so lets not go there.

 

To each their own..........

We all have different perceptions of what makes a good bike rally, or vacation, or whatever you want to call it. For me, it's a vacation. A chance to thaw out. The kids are grown, so for me and the better half, it's our spring break.

I'm tighter than bark on a tree, but I still can enjoy Daytona. I don't mind a 30 mile ride to and from every day, so I find lodging out where it's a little cheaper. Yeah, you're gonna pay more for beer and food on the strip, but we don't spend all our time on the strip. The prices for food and alcohol in typical restaurants are no different than they are back home.

 

I just got back, and I am with some of you now. I am not really into huge crowds, but this was very rediculous. Anywhere you went it was just packed with people. I'm not saying I did not have a great time, because I really did, but I just probably would not go back because of the crowds. Met alot of great people also. I am thinking next year to go down on the last Saturday of Bikeweek and stay through the following week, maybe not so congested.

 

I agree with stevem. It's a vacation. It really felt good to thaw out. We were able to get a real nice Oceanfront condo at Crescent beach for $600/ wk. ( That's a good deal) We really had a good time. You can avoid the big crowds if you plan a little. We will probably go back. We are thinking about making biketober.