Daytona Bike Week 2009

Wet T-Shirt Contest are a tradition at Bike Week in Daytona Beach.

An estimated 600,000 bikers usually descend on Daytona Beach annually to attend Bike Week. It's usually held during the first week to ten days of March every year, with bikers dropping an estimated $300 million into the local economy. During this wild week of partying 90% of the bikes on the road will be Harley but all riders are welcome no matter what they may choose to ride. As you might imagine Harley -Davidson has a massive store in Daytona and sponsors many of the event such as bikini contests and the Ride-In show. The week's events also include; Wet T shirt contests, bikini contests, pudding wrestling, coleslaw wresting, and any other event imaginable showcasing hot biker girls.

Bike Week started on January 24, 1937 with the running of the Daytona 200, this was a 3.2 mile beach and road course race. In 1942, the Daytona 200 was discontinued because of World War II but on February 24, 1947, the famous motorcycle race resumed and bike week as we know it started to Bike Week has always had a flavor and spirit of its own but it was only after the war that the event began to take on a rugged edge. The main festivities were mostly on Main Street in Daytona Beach but have long since spilled out into the rest of not only the city but the rest of Volusia County as well.

Bike Week continues to be the #1 annual biker event, drawing more and more leather clad folks from all over the world each year.

Biketoberfest takes place in October for those who can't wait till March. Some of the planned events include motorcycle shows and rallies that showcase new, vintage and custom bikes; demonstration rides on the newest machines from top manufacturers; and on-track motorcycle events at the Daytona International Speedway. While this is a smaller, quieter event is still draws a crowd of more than 100,000 bike enthusiasts annually and adds over 5 million to the local economy.

Biketoberfest 2008 Photo Gallery
	Main Street was the place to be this year at Biketoberfest. The crowds were friendly and the party was great with plenty of Bikes, Bands, Beer Babes and Wet T Shirt Contest. View Biketoberfest 2008 Photo Gallery »

Biketoberfest 2007 Photo Gallery
	Destination Daytona is an excellent venue for Biketoberfest and Bike Week events. With over 150 acres of space, the location is ideal for all the things a biker would love including bikini contest, live music and beer babes. View Biketoberfest 2007 Photo Gallery »

Started in October of 1992 by Janet Kersey and originally called "The Daytona Fall Tour" the event was focused on attracting visitors in the off season to Daytona and was intentionally modeled after the bigger and more widely known BikeWeek held in March.

Bikers parade their hogs on Main Street in Daytona Beach.

The first event featured a 125 mile scenic tour through Volusia County, bikes shows and races at Daytona International Speedway. That first event attracted 5,000 people, most of them locals and has grown every year since then. In 1993 the biker giant Harley Davidson got involved and sponsored trade shows, concerts and other events, 40 were held that year all together. The name was also officially that year to Biketoberfest.

From 1994-1997 the events doubled from 40 to 80 countywide and produced an estimated 4.6 million in revenue, by 1996 it grew again to include 300 events spread over two counties. The addition of the Pepsi 400 to the schedule of events in 1998 made Biketoberfest a real family event separating it further from the wilder days of BikeWeek and with the 2005 opening of the 109,000 sq ft Destination Daytona Harley Davidson dealership Daytona became a year round destination for bikers.