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Harley-Davidson Africa Bike Week Rides In Record Breaking Attendance |
Over 10 000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles and other brand riders along with 79 500 enthusiasts converged on Margate, KZN, from 24 to 27 April, for the 2010 Harley-Davidson Africa Bike Week. |
This year’s event attracted 39 500 more visitors than 2009’s rally. |
The event is renowned for being the biggest Harley-Davidson motorcycle ride-out in South Africa and provides a platform for all the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) members to meet and interact with riders as well as other H.O.G members from all over the country. |
The Hibiscus Coast Municipality, Margate Business Association (MBA) and SA Police worked closely with the Harley-Davidson organising team, to ensure that there was minimal disruption to business owners during the set up of Africa Bike Week. |
Harley-Davidson greatly appreciated the valued support and warm welcoming from business owners, Hibiscus Coast Municipality and MBA for accommodating an event of this magnitude in Margate. |
Harley-Davidson and UGU South Coast Tourism are confident that the large number of visitors would have impacted positively on both retail, tourism and accommodation spend in Margate during the period of the Africa Bike Week. |
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Africa Bike Week once again delivered four days of extreme excitement with a thrilling array of activities which included the official Harley-Davidson dealers, traders markets and live entertainment in the Harley Village and Tennessee Village. |
The programme featured live performances from top artists including Dilana, Chix & Stix, Jason Hartman, Ghapi, Clint & Co, Veraz & Jon Dilanger with fans having the opportunity to meet the artists for CD signings at Shelly Centre on the Sunday. |
Visitors were kept entertained with non-stop street parties, VIP lounges and bars, a Ride-in Bike Show, stunt rides, demos and finally concluded with a mass ride out (which included a Parade of Flags) as well as the Jack Daniels and SAB open bar areas in the Tennessee Village zone. |
The unique mass ride out took place from Shelly Centre where 2543 riders embarked upon a ride to Port Shepstone which returned to Margate on Sunday 25 April. In addition to this, 400 bike riders joined in en route. |
Visitors had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the legendary Harley-Davidson motorcycles from excellent vantage points and the grand stands supplied by the UGU District Council enabled onlookers to experience the sound and spectacle of thousands of bikes as they rode through the streets of Margate. |
Exclusive Africa Bike Week and H.O.G. merchandise was readily available, with visitors being encouraged to support the official Harley-Davidson charity, the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of South Africa. |
However, what set this year’s Africa Bike Week a part from previous years was the Custom Style Competition that was run in the Ride in Bike Show. |
Four independent judges had the tough decision of choosing the winner for the following categories: H-D Custom Modified, H-D Lady Big Twin, H-D Lady Sportster, H-D Big Twin, H-D Sportster, Freestyle and People’s Choice awards. |
Due to the outstanding number of 2010 entries, it has been announced that the 2011 prize will exceed all expectations. |
The winner for the “Free Style Custom” category will be whisked away, along with their prize winning bike, to Sturgis in America to compete in the AMD Championship, to represent South African Bike Building against the rest of the world. |
The lucky winner will compete with the best that the USA has to offer as well as other qualifying winners from across the globe. |
This exciting prize has been sponsored by 2 Wheels Magazine and has given Africa Bike Week enthusiasts a year’s warning to prepare their custom made marvels in the hope of being the lucky winner. |
“Free Style Custom” can be best described as building absolutely anything, using a wide variety of engines complimented with the most outlandish and beautiful frames. |
Although the final for The AMD Official World Championship is held in America, preliminary rounds for AMD are held in Europe, Asia, Australia, Japan and South America and 2011 will be the first time that a representative from South Africa is present. |
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