Howdy instead of Heidi
The European Bike Week fascinated around 120,000 visitors
• Bill Davidson visits Europe's largest Harley party
• Music, expo, custom bike show and big parade
• Riding for the first time: the bikes with the new Milwaukee-Eight engine
(Neu-Isenburg, September 13, 2016) Europe's largest and, in the opinion of its fans, coolest motorcycle event - for many "the" traditional end of the season - attracted more than 120,000 bikers, music and party lovers to Austria's southernmost federal state of Carinthia this year.
No wonder, because instead of contemplative yodeling in grandpa's costume, there's rock 'n' roll and everything that goes with it. So from September 6th to 11th it was all about partying again Faaker See Even Peter played along: except for Tuesday, it was summery, warm, sunny and dry. The sound of around 70,000 V-Twins and the smell of grilled food was in the air, and you could meet cheerful people from all over the world everywhere. The fame of the event has now spread to the Middle and Far East as well as the Caribbean. In Faak you met bikers from Dubai, Vietnam and Cuba, among others. Also in attendance this year was Bill Davidson , great-grandson of one of the Harley-Davidson company founders and director of the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. We also met star customizer Paul Teutul , known from the TV series American Chopper, on the premises.
The heart of the event was once again the tent city Harley Village in Faak.
Here the guests found a dealer mile that had it all: 19 Harley-Davidson authorized dealers from five countries as well as around 130 independent traders ensured that no fashion and accessories wish remained unfulfilled. From the village you could explore the fascinating surroundings on your own bike or set off on one of the five trips over the region's most beautiful Alpine roads led by the Carinthia Chapter of the Harley Owners Group. 30 caterers took care of the guests' physical well-being, and of course there was rock, blues, country and pop on offer every evening: 60 gigs by popular bands such as Tito and Tarantula and Royal Republic took place on the main stage as well as in the bars and cafés , Zodiac, The Picturebooks and Boppin' B.
A highlight for many visitors were the 2017 Harley-Davidson models - including the dark custom types reduced to the essentials and the touring bikes with the brand new Milwaukee-Eight engine . Not only were they on display in Europe for the first time, but they were also available test rides
In the customizer area of the Village, you could get ideas for small and large customizations on your own machine and marvel at high-end conversions from all over the world. In the big custom bike show, in which Bill Davidson served as one of the jurors, more than 80 master customizers from eight nations presented their individual creations and competed for honors and trophies in ten categories. Not only did 21 of them have tears of joy rolling down their cheeks, but also a visitor from Austria, because he had won a brand new Harley-Davidson Street 750 in the big competition at the European Bike Week . The big parade on Saturday lunchtime caused even more of a stir, with over 10,000 bikers, led by Bill Davidson and cheered by countless onlookers, rolling around Lake Ossiach.
If you've been there, you'll be back anyway, and if you don't know the event yet, you should definitely save the date for 2017 and book accommodation quickly: The next European Bike Week will take place from September 5th to 10th, 2017 - of course again in Faak am See. See you!
Text & photos copyright Harley-Davidson
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