Harleys Liquid: Daytona Dreamin' 2012

Another spring, another Daytona Bikeweek, or was it? Yes, and well, no. To be fair your humble scribe was only able to take part in the first weekend's festivities, having to return to Texas to toil at the gig that keeps the Asylum Spawn in clothes and tuition. That's not to say this year's adventure wasn't chock full of memorable moments.........it wouldn't be Bikeweek if there weren't at least a couple of mind altering images seared into our frontal lobes.....right?

Take for instance the fact that for only the third time in history (a fact confirmed by a number of terminally annoyed bartenders and hotel staffers) Bikeweek and Spring Break converged in an unholy commingling of respective revelers. Bikers and co-eds all vying for cheap beer in the same place and the same time, oh the horror! Speaking of horror, can you imagine the following exchanges taking place on Main St?

Co-eds and Biker's?! Too much for our little friend

Two middle aged bikers (are there really any other kind?) spy a couple of cuties ambling along the avenue just up ahead, when one nudges the other and offers up, "....pretty hot, huh?" To which the other grizzled biker replies, "hey that looks like my......oh, crap....Buffy, is that you!?"

"Oh, hi daddy, hey Uncle Jim" Awkward. And you just know that happened, you know it! A lot.

On the other side of the demographic coin we have the leather clad, hard ass biker couple staggering out of Froggy's, obviously about three Jack and Cokes over their limit, when they stumble through a throng of kids just hanging out. Channeling the freewheeling vibe of their Woodstock youth, they decide to bum a couple of smokes off of the collegiate partiers. Tapping one of tomorrows taxpayers on the shoulder, the bright eyed kid whirls around and, uh oh............."mom!, dad!, oh my gawd, are you kidding me right now!?!?"

Worth every dollar!

Deeply disturbing moments aside...........a pretty routine Bikeweek. The weather was iffy (got much better after our exit, figures), rained some each day, putting a bit of a damper on the crowds at some venues. At times Main St. was actually walkable, kinda nice really. The good news? The iconic beer girls didn't dawn any rain gear......there is a God!

Can you say "project bike"?!

There was the usual mix of machines, as is a staple of Daytona. Lots of metric cruisers, low slung drag bikes, Harley's, sport bikes, and scooters. An eclectic mix to be sure, one you won't find at Sturgis, Laughlin, Street Vibrations, and Laconia. Oh, and there's those Boss Hoss V-8 freak machines. I think I've finally figured it out, those pathetic excuses for a motorcycle are the biking worlds equivalent to the lifted monster truck. Feel free to draw your own "Dr. Phil" inspired conclusions.

We spent some time with John Hamer and the good folks at Seminole Harley-Davidson. Attended a silent auction benefiting the Sam Swoope Charity Ride for Shriners Children's Hospital. Hat's off to the hundreds of riders that braved the rain, and bought some of the cool donated goodies. Great cause, even better people!

You know what else is cool about the Seminole crew? I'll tell ya, and this is totally on the down low, but it looks like Chrome Asylum is gonna get its very own XR-1200X to test, modify, and otherwise ride the hell out of. Think very long term test. More details as we decide to give 'em up........this is gonna be bitchin' fellow Chromies.

Splish, splash, James romps to a big win!

Mudfest, all in a days work for K-Dub

Went to the Supercross on Saturday night, chilled in the Dunlop suite, which was pretty handy considering it was pissing rain right up until the main. The track was pure soup, nasty and rutted, but that couldn't stop Answer's James Stewart (shameless plug, Answer is one of our exclusive brands) from engineering a flawless race and snagging the top spot on the podium, with MSR's (yup, another TR exclusive brand) K-Dub taking a well earned third.......damn good night!

But enough with the words, let's vidi some pics................