It seemed to me that Bike Week last week was not well attended as in years past. Those that were here left Sunday. I didn't see the huge number of bikes parked at different places that normally would have been packed in years past. The weather was goo too, so I wonder why so few came this year.

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I wasn't around this year for a fishing trip - first grandson's first Communion - but from things I learned in other years a Ford F150 4x4 with a V8 is EPA rated at 22 mpg or so. Being generous and starting at 20 mpg you have to consider the weight and wind drag of a box trailer with 2 or 3 bikes in it. All of a sudden you're down around 15 or less, much higher gas prices,, plus the inflation on the price of a cheap room which hasn't been cheap for 5 or 10 years.

Now, some of the folks rent a cottage or house and we know what they cost. So I'm guessing it's money related.

I know two old guys in Richmond who rode their bikes to Florida one year and Myrtle Beach the next and will forevermore take a trailer. Premium gas for the bikes adds up.

"Do Harleys require premium gas?
The majority of motorcycle engines, including all current Harley-Davidson engines, require 91 octane or higher (Premium) fuel, thanks to high compression ratios."

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I wasn't around this year for a fishing trip - first grandson's first Communion - but from things I learned in other years a Ford F150 4x4 with a V8 is EPA rated at 22 mpg or so. Being generous and starting at 20 mpg you have to consider the weight and wind drag of a box trailer with 2 or 3 bikes in it. All of a sudden you're down around 15 or less, much higher gas prices,, plus the inflation on the price of a cheap room which hasn't been cheap for 5 or 10 years.

Now, some of the folks rent a cottage or house and we know what they cost. So I'm guessing it's money related.

I know two old guys in Richmond who rode their bikes to Florida one year and Myrtle Beach the next and will forevermore take a trailer. Premium gas for the bikes adds up.

"Do Harleys require premium gas?
The majority of motorcycle engines, including all current Harley-Davidson engines, require 91 octane or higher (Premium) fuel, thanks to high compression ratios."

First, these guys have a lot of money in their bikes. Some of these bikes probably cost as much, or more, than a modest family car. The exhaust work, custom everything, etc. are outstanding if that's your thing. I don't see too many stock bikes around right now unless they are the uber plush ($$$$) cruisers.

Second, yes.... many folks have sweet trucks pulling sweet trailers to haul sweet bikes down here right now.

Bike week has been big here for a long time. I haven't driven past Longboards this week so I'll take Tim's word for it, but in recent years there have been a lot of bikes, even when rental prices were elevated. I don't think a few extra bucks to fill the tank is going to stop these guys. They are not poor. If they can't afford an extra hundred bucks for gas this week then they should consider selling off their toys because they're struggling.

EDIT: I'm prepared for the whole inflation comments that are surely coming from some, but I stand by my opinion of johnbt's gas and rental cost points. Maybe elsewhere in life they are getting hit hard, but it's been hard for a while and they still come.

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Sure, but if only 20% or 25% stay home and save their money for a two-week trip to Sturgis, it's a noticeable drop.

Sturgis = 10 days and 500,000 bikes.

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"If they can't afford an extra hundred bucks for gas this week"

You skipped right over the extra $600 for a motel for a week or a couple grand more for a cottage. It adds up. And don't forget the added costs of all those Happy Meals. Everybody isn't well to do. Some of them are just working guys.

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I wasn't around this year for a fishing trip - first grandson's first Communion - but from things I learned in other years a Ford F150 4x4 with a V8 is EPA rated at 22 mpg or so. Being generous and starting at 20 mpg you have to consider the weight and wind drag of a box trailer with 2 or 3 bikes in it. All of a sudden you're down around 15 or less, much higher gas prices,, plus the inflation on the price of a cheap room which hasn't been cheap for 5 or 10 years.

Now, some of the folks rent a cottage or house and we know what they cost. So I'm guessing it's money related.

I know two old guys in Richmond who rode their bikes to Florida one year and Myrtle Beach the next and will forevermore take a trailer. Premium gas for the bikes adds up.

"Do Harleys require premium gas?
The majority of motorcycle engines, including all current Harley-Davidson engines, require 91 octane or higher (Premium) fuel, thanks to high compression ratios."

I can tell you I drove my Harley 23 years on regular.

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Usually down here on HI you just hear them riding through. I have been here 10 years now and this was the quietest it has ever been for that week.

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EDIT: I'm prepared for the whole inflation comments that are surely coming from some, but I stand by my opinion of johnbt's gas and rental cost points. Maybe elsewhere in life they are getting hit hard, but it's been hard for a while and they still come.

Well it is the bull in the china shop euphemism. I see your point though it's not worth debating on a OBX vacation forum.

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"If they can't afford an extra hundred bucks for gas this week"

You skipped right over the extra $600 for a motel for a week or a couple grand more for a cottage. It adds up. And don't forget the added costs of all those Happy Meals. Everybody isn't well to do. Some of them are just working guys.

It does add up and I'm sure some folks may have stayed at home this year. I can't tell because I'm in South Nags Head and the bike activity picked up here, but it's only passers by. There are no events here like you see to the north and I didn't drive by any of the hot spots last week to notice. To me it seemed normal, but it's rarely heavy down this way.

I didn't skip passed the extra rent, I addressed that by pointing out rent has been inflated since 2020 and bike week has been jamming in recent years. Rental cost increase did little to change the dynamics or maybe it just kicked out some of the less fortunate bikers and replaced them with those having means to splurge. EDIT: Technically I said "it's been hard for a while" but I was implying rent, gas, food, and everything has been effed for years, but bike week didn't care over the past few years. At least not on any significant level.

The cost of a week down here has been high for several years. Food is more $$ now, for sure, along with other necessities, but... these guys have big time money rolling around on the road and I'm assuming less affected than say your average biker who does not roll a vacation around a destination bike week.

Regarding your Sturgis post... yeah, BUT... this thread is about OBX bike week and Tim thinking it was less attended. Sturgis is irrelevant and, being Sturgis, will probably always be well attended. It's easy to cut out some fluff throughout the year to save for stuff you really want to do if you're in a financial position to do so, e.g. affording a $100k+ rolling rig consisting of nice truck, trailer, and bike.

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I spoke with my sister who works Bike Week writing loans (though since Covid - long distance) and she said the same thing as above. There are a lot of bike weeks and perhaps finances have lead people to pare down the number of events they attend.

That being said - driving down Saturday there was certainly many many bikes we passed and plenty of placed that were full of patrons.

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Okay, you're right and I'm wrong and totally screwed up and didn't think properly about the situation or nothing.

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Okay, you're right and I'm wrong and totally screwed up and didn't think properly about the situation or nothing.

We just have differing opinions is all. I could be very wrong. I saw a lot of bikes. There was nothing to indicate a lesser attendance this week from SNH so I'm taking another's word on it. In other vehicle destination news... this week is awesome hot rod week it seems. I've seen a few in SNH today and yesterday, but did not check the events site(s). I'll wait for the official report on attendance levels.

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No one has mentioned what kind of events they have. Ocean City has really good entertainment.Bikers like a good party.

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Bought me a brand new hawg a few months ago. Every time I get on it I feel 17 years old again and hear Steppenwolf in the background. Best thing about it is that you can ride it on the bike paths.

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Bought me a brand new hawg a few months ago. Every time I get on it I feel 17 years old again and hear Steppenwolf in the background. Best thing about it is that you can ride it on the bike paths.

"Born to be Wild"......good for you!!! I love it!

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Look, there are lots of bike rallies around the country and OB BW is one of the smaller ones. I've been to Daytona a few times and it's huge.

Here we have vendors at basically the HD dealer and Longboards restaurant. The club associated with the dealer (HOG) puts on some rides and poker runs. So we have fun, that's what counts.

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No one has mentioned what kind of events they have. Ocean City has really good entertainment.Bikers like a good party.

Here ya go:

Separately I'm chuckling through my coffee thinking about EZ ridin' to John Kay - there's a guy in the villages that rides around with a BT speaker wailing The Dead, Stones, and others

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Like others said, there are lots of Bike Weeks. Seems every town in a resort area has one these days.

Friend of mine does Daytona every year, but outside of Sturgis is probably the biggest one there is.

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Bought me a brand new hawg a few months ago. Every time I get on it I feel 17 years old again and hear Steppenwolf in the background. Best thing about it is that you can ride it on the bike paths.

"Born to be Wild"......good for you!!! I love it!

Yes Mam. I’ve had it up to 21 mph and it don’t get much wilder than that.

Click to follow link...

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