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Daytona Bike Week

I haven't been, for one reason or another, since the early '90s. Early in 2014 my cousin and I had planned to go but as Bike Week got closer my mother was in her last month on this earth (dying from cancer). Haven't had anyone to ride over there with since. There's no point in going in a car or truck unless you take a bike with you to ride around town, traffic is bad enough on a bike. I miss seeing the manufacturers displays and the short track and speedway racing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. And going into the infield at the big track to watch the crowd and racing.
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I remember those days. First time was 1976 and last time 1996. Crazy times were definitely had in Daytona. At the short track the last time I was there Willie G and group was sitting there next to us partying like the rest of us fools. Ah, the good and bad times.
I lived there off and on from 1980-1990 and the best way around during race weeks was a bicycle.
 
I grew up there 1st through 12th grade, first two years of college. We lived 2 blocks from A1A. Usually didn‘t need AC at night. So the windows were always opened at night. Hooligans riding up and down A1A, their Honda’s and Triumph’s almost always had straight pipes, There was no going to sleep until 1 to 3 in the morning when you would fall asleep in total exhaustion. There was a stop light on A1A right over from our house, so they were always racing away from that stop light to see who could get to the next one first. 4-6 motorcycle deaths in one week, every single year.
 
I first went in 1972 while a senior in high school. My father and I had Honda 450s, I had a CL and he had a CB, both bought new late in '71 from the Honda dealership I worked for after school during that period. I had heard about Bike Week from friends and read about it in bike magazines and wanted to see it for myself, so I talked my Dad into going with me (we lived in Lutz north of Tampa at the time). We had no tickets in advance, no hotel room booked, just rode over there on Friday and kept riding until we found a place with a vacancy. You'd never be able to do that today. We saw the Honda display outside the big track, watched the motocross from the grandstands on Saturday and most of the 200 on Sunday before heading back across the state. That got me hooked and over the next 20+ years I went at least 12 times. Yep, plenty of party times, got a careless driving ticket on the beach for doing powerslides with my CB750 in '74 (at night, thought I saw my friends and slid right up next to them, fell over in the sand when I came to a stop right next to a cop on a Police bike - he said "while you're picking up your bike I'll be writing you a ticket")
 
I lived right across from the track for a year. And in Orlando for a year. I always liked the days before and after bike week. Same with bike toberfest. Both are almost 2 week long events when you live there.
 
oldschool said:
I first went in 1972 while a senior in high school. My father and I had Honda 450s, I had a CL and he had a CB, both bought new late in '71 from the Honda dealership I worked for after school during that period. I had heard about Bike Week from friends and read about it in bike magazines and wanted to see it for myself, so I talked my Dad into going with me (we lived in Lutz north of Tampa at the time). We had no tickets in advance, no hotel room booked, just rode over there on Friday and kept riding until we found a place with a vacancy. You'd never be able to do that today.
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'72 was my first year too. Back in those days, we brought a bedroll and just slept on the beach near the broadwalk. The SMYT signs were a big draw for a teenager. :-) Somebody in the motel business must have complained because a few years later we started being rousted and had to move to the campgrounds.
 
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