"A New Record and Lashings of Italian Chaos - Just The Way We Like It!"
38th Biker Fest Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, May 9-12, 2024
Reporting and pictures by Onno 'Beserk' Wieringa, www.madnessphotography.nl
As it became clear throughout the four days of Biker Fest, this was a busy one. Very busy. With the streets packed with motorcycles, the whole region packed with motorcycles, hotels fully booked and no parking spots to be found anywhere, Moreno and son Micke Persello’s ever growing and evolving ‘Biker Fest’ concept did it again!
On the Monday after Biker Fest, the local authorities confirmed an estimated attendance of 240,000 people drawn to the Lignano Sabbiadoro area (on Italy's Adriatic Coast, north of Venice). This record attendance confirmed 'Biker Fest' as Europe's Daytona, Europe's 'Spring Break', Europe's largest gathering of motorcycle riders and American car enthusiasts.
At the Luna Park on the seaside front at Lignano, the set-up was as usual - the established and time-honored mix of vendor stands, showtruck stage, live music, contests, helicopter rides, shows and parties plus, of course, the AMD Approved Custom Bike Show.
On the fields adjacent to the park, it was off-road fun, with hilarious and ridiculously fast Piaggio three-wheelers and other crazy vehicles. In the Demo Zone, every imaginable brand had set up its fleet of demo bikes, and thousands of demo rides were booked. The motorcycle “Light Parade” on Saturday evening saw thousands of motorcycles, and with the addition of the US Car Reunion Parade through town on Sunday, there was more than enough entertainment and fun for everybody!
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| 'Best In Show' Italian Motorcycle Championship (I.M.C.) H-D Nightster 975 Monza, Bad Boys Garage |
Judging the AMD Approved custom bike show proved to be a tough task, with international attendees coming from Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Austria and, of course, many Italian builders - with many new bikes being shown for the first time.
Since the Italians are famous for their custom creations with an eye for design, it was surprising to see that the top three winners in the AMD Approved show saw an Austrian and Belgian customizer taking home the biggest trophies this year!
Wolfgang Mayerl from Austria won a voucher of € 1,000 from exhaust manufacturer VPerformance for the H-D FX Chopper that he had worked on for two years.
The Norton “La Mona” creation by Mannaia received an RG Racing
€ 1,000 voucher, and Belgian builder Ruben Mellaerts of RM Builds received a € 1,000 Rizoma voucher for his extremely cool electric powered custom bike.
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| AMD Winner - Norton 'La Mona', Mannaia (VA) |
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| AMD Winner - H-D FX Chopper, W. Mayerl (Austria) |
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| AMD Winner - 'Murata' (electric boardtracker), RM Builds (Belgium) |
In September, the Italian Bike Week, also on the beautiful Lignano peninsula, will host an AMD Approved show too - at Italian Bike Week. IBW is slightly different, with a similar set-up to 'Biker Fest', but instead of
demo street bikes, an exclusive offroad/adventure site, with many tracks to try, and an extensive range of demo motorcycles from most of the well-known brands.
Billed as a 'season ender/Fall Rally' to bookend the show season in Europe, IBW (12-15 September) is the week after European Bike Week on 3-8 September and only a two-hour ride from the EBW venue at Lake Faak in Austria - the two events make for a perfect opportunity for a final tour before the weather starts to close in.
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| Freestyle Winner - Unbirth Day, American Dreams |
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| Modified Harley-Davidson Winner - H-D V-Rod, Kustomkio (VR) |
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| Bagger Winner - H-D Bagger, proprietario Domenico, Asso Special Bike |
American Motorcycle Dealer
H-D FX Chopper, W. Mayerl (Austria), € 1,000 from VPerformance
Norton 'La Mona', Mannaia (VA), € 1,000 from RG Racing
'Murata' (electric boardtracker), RM Builds (Belgium), € 1,000 from Rizoma
'Best In Show' Italian Motorcycle Championship (I.M.C.)
H-D Nightster 975 Monza, Bad Boys Garage (MB), € 1,000 from VPerformance
Freestyle
1. Unbirth Day, American Dreams (MB), € 500 from Zodiac
2. H-D Ironhead, Il Meccanicamente (MI), voucher from Rebuffini
3. Kawasaki Z 750, Max Vidoni (UD), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
Modified Harley-Davidson
1. H-D V-Rod, Kustomkio (VR), € 500 from Zodiac
2. H-D B-Side Motorcycles (Toscana), € 100 from Faster96
3. H-D Fat Boy Customade Garage (BG), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
Bagger
1. H-D Bagger, proprietario Domenico, Asso Special Bike (CO), € 200 from MCJ Exhaust Systems
2. H-D Road Glide, Shoot Fire (MC), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
3. H-D Street Glide, Punto Moto Factory Bikes (VE), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
Old Style
1. Honda CB750, Andrea Turco (UD), € 200 from Faster96
2. Styl’son CR 250 SV 'Pel e Os', PDF Motociclette (BG), IMCO Motorcycles
3. H-D Dyna, G. Design Custom (CO), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
Café Racer
1. Yamaha XS400, VM Cycles (UD), Shoei Helmet
2. H-D XL 1200, Mirco Maranini (FC), voucher + T-shirt Wemoto.it
3. Garelli 50 Cross, Davide Zannier (UD), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
Streetfighter
1. H-D XR 1200, Niko Bikes (BG), gift card € 300 from Alex De Pase Tattoo Studio
2. Buell XB12S, Rod Motorcycles (Czech Republic), gift card € 200 from Alex De Pase Tattoo Studio
3. H-D Night Rod, Custom THOM, gift card € 100 from Alex De Pase Tattoo Studio
Chicano Show
1. H-D Heritage, Rckroll-Chop (VA), € 200 from Faster96
2. H-D 'El Chapo', H-D Bergamo (BG), voucher from Rebuffini
3. H-D 'Segunda Vida', MC Cycles (TV), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
Metric Custom
1. Special Suzuki, Overdrive Customs (VE), € 200 from Faster96
2. Honda Shadow, Croy Garage (VR), voucher from Rebuffini
3. Honda Shadow, Goro (MB), € 100 from San Marco Petroli
Scrambler
1. H-D Sportster, Number 8 (UD), € 100 from Faster96
2. Yamaha XT, Raw Custom (PD), voucher + T-shirt Wemoto.it
3. BMW R45, Motoatelier (UD), € 100 from San Marco Petroli