Outer Banks Bike Week

28 The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine Bikers Storm The Coast For Outer Banks Bike Week

by: lincoln infield

went east this past september for the outer banKs

Bike Rally and got a taste of what kind of party Maurice Slaughter and his team at Outer Banks Harley-Davidson could put on. I had a blast, but with their hands tied with last minute restrictions, the rally wasn’t able to be all it could be. This past April the weather was better, the restrictions were gone and Elvis was in the building, these were just three of the things that helped make Outer Banks Bike Week better than last year.

This rally is a must attend event for any biker in the Carolinas’ who likes Carolina history, riding, live music, girls in bikinis, good times or the beach. Speaking of North Carolina history I snagged a great beach house in Kitty Hawk 100 yards from the beach on one side and 100 yards from the Wright Brothers Memorial in the other direction. I literally started each day staring at the memorial while I warmed up my bike. It was a hell of a way to start the day.

I got into town Thursday night to catch the last weekend of the rally. There had been events all week long at the 3 HarleyDavidson locations, several participating bars, and down in Manteo at Vertigo Tattoo. I headed out first thing Friday morning to First Flight Harley-Davidson in Kitty Hawk for the 50/50 ride. The manager of First Flight H-D, Sheila, was a more than gracious host. The event was co-hosted by the American Classic Garage that is next door. It was a beautiful morning to ride and the coffee and doughnuts that were at the registration table didn’t hurt a thing. The 50/50 Charity Ride was heading out on a nice long ride and the proceeds were going to benefit local children’s charities. I hung around and took some photos of the ride heading out and got back on the road myself. I was heading down to Nags Head Harley-Davidson to check out my friends Becci, Pam, and Billy who keep that shop rolling. They certainly had their hands full with a parking lot full of vendors, bikers, and the Harley-Davidson Demo Truck was set up as well! The Demo Truck had all the latest models of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles lined up and ready to roll. The registration table was a busy place and the rides left out every 20 minutes or so. The Local HOG Chapters were helping lead and coordinate the demo rides. It was really cool to see the all new 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America in the demo line up. It was impressive to look at and the folks that came riding back in on it were all smiles. I perused the vendors, snagged a cool patch or two and figured I’d ride north to the rally HQ at Outer Banks Harley-Davidson.

There were a lot of bikes in town and it’s always fun to get in a big pack and roll up the road. Outer Banks Harley-Davidson is across the bridge from Kitty Hawk back to Harbinger which is on the mainland. you couldn’t miss it cause that’s where all the bikes were headed. the large parking lot was

The International Bikini Team Round 1

JAMMED with bikes and vendors. LED lights, cigars, patches, shirts, leather, knives and more were available at the different vendors. There was even a side show act featuring, among other things, a guy sandwiched between 2 beds of nails with a lady standing on top. All the while there was a stage at the corner of the building that hosted live music all day long. It’s always good to know people and the first familiar faces I ran into were Shannon and Dexter Rights with the McGrath Law Firm. They were set up giving out swag and signing people up to win a FREE 2021 Honda Rebel 1100. I got a pretty good parking spot beside their trailer. While I was hanging out, I ran into a few of the key players that make this a successful rally. Sherry Burgess, the bike week coordinator, was there making sure everything was running smoothly and introduced me to the new GM of Outer Banks H-D, Elvis. Elvis has the moves, the style, and definitely the energy to keep the party moving. Sherry even set me up with some time to talk to Maurice Slaughter, owner of Outer Banks Harley-Davidson, and the visionary that started the OBX Bike Week. Maurice mentioned that he loved that this rally has stretched all the way down the coast to Manteo, knowing that it takes the whole area to make this into a great event.

Speaking of Manteo, I was ready to get back on the road and head down to Vertigo Tattoo in Manteo which is the southern point of the rally. Brian, the owner of Vertigo tattoo has secured a large grass field beside his studio to host a large party. Live music, burnout pits, and a ton of vendors were on site. A couple of sweet antique Harleys parked by one of the buildings caught my eye. They turned out to be some of Bryan’s bikes and he graciously gave me a tour of his garage and told me about some of the motorcycle projects he had going on. It was getting on in the evening, so I headed out to Kitty Hawk to meet up with my family and head to Jockey’s Ridge to watch the sunset. I tell ya, it was the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen and I highly recommend scaling the 80-100 foot sand dunes that make up Jockey’s Ridge and take in the sights. There were multiple party locations that evening and it was not hard to find a place to have a good time just cruising up the beach Hwy 12. Saturday was a full day of entertainment at Outer Banks Harley-Davidson. There were threats of rain for the afternoon and evening so the times of some of the events were moved up to make sure they got all of them fit in. I got a bit of time to hang out with Jerry Spencer with the Law Tigers who was accompanied by Meredith Hinton, one of their NC Lawyers. The music stage was hoppin’ all day again but the big show was the bikini bike wash and the Ms. Outer Banks Bike Week Competition with the international bikini team oh, and there was a bike show, too. The Revved Up- Ride In Bike Show was signing up all the hot bikes all day long. First let’s get to the Ms. Outer Banks competition. It was split up into two categories, biker apparel and bikinis. Eight stunning ladies took to the stage and strutted their stuff for the huge crowd that had gathered to see what they could see. The biker apparel round was hot, but the bikini round was where it was at! When all the hootin’ and hollerin’ died down, it was the blonde beauty, Kate Erskine, who was crowned Ms. Outer Banks Bike Week and will be responsible for representing the rally all year long.

Revved Up Ride-In Bike Show Winners

In my opinion, the crowd was the real winner, we got a heck of a show!

The first duty of Ms. Outer Banks Bike Week was to take photos with the Revved Up – Ride-In Bike Show Winners. There were some really rad bikes in the show, and first place trophies were handed out to more than a dozen classes. The big trophy of the day went to the Best In Show bike owned by Erik Keith. He easily took home the top honors with his black, super clean, Road Glide. That was the moment everyone was waiting for and as soon as the trophies were handed out and photos taken the bike show folks started packing up. No joke, the wind was picking up and the rain was on its way. I made a few more rounds, packed up my stuff and headed for the cabana. I got a few rain drops on me on the way home, but it had been a warm day on the lot and it felt good to get cooled down.

Again this year, Maurice and Sherry put together a killer rally with the help of Elvis, a community of biker friendly bars and restaurants, and Vertigo Tattoo. Maurice has plans to blow up next spring’s Outer Banks Bike Rally in celebration of its 20th Anniversary. But you don’t have to wait till next year to get a taste of the OBX. the Outer Banks Bike Fest is coming up this fall and is sure to be a good time. Keep your eye on the Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine for the announcement of the fall dates and the 20th Anniversary Bike Week events. We will keep you informed. See ya out there!

Bike Show Winners: Metric: Joe Smith Street Stock: Lincoln Infield Antique: Kenneth Herrit Softail: Tony Coppeage Softail Custom: George Baker Custom / Pro-Build: Jeff Banard Anything Goes Robert Harmond Chopper / Bobber: Sonny Macmanas Trike: Johnny Issette Cholo: Robert Carr

Bagger Classes 30 Class: Ricky Johnson 26 Class: Eric Keith Fatty Class: Rich Hartnell Mild Custom: Mike Gunter Ladies Classes Sportster: Janice Moore Metric: Rita Smith Choice Awards OBX HD Choice: Greg Baker Evil Iron Choice: Ricky Johnson Law Tigers Choice: Scott Garrett Rev 1 Choice: Jack Armstrong Full Throttle Choice: Chris Rhodes Best Paint: Don Pemberton Best In Show: Erik Keith