he wild one-off customs might be the bikes grabbing the magazine covers and, drenched in their delicate layers of bright paint and even brighter chrome all accented with mind blowing graphics they’re the bikes usually taking home the show trophies, too. But when the hoards of envious magazine readers, everyday riders and amazed show-goers get done with their dreaming and drooling over these largely unobtainable machines and get down to the real-world business of throwing a leg over a bike themselves you can bet, most often, that bike will be something from The Motor Company. It won’t be completely stock, of course. No Harley-Davidson ever stays that way for long. That bike will have been personalized and customized with changes big and small, changes made to the performance, the ride, the handling, the touring functionality, the appearance or maybe all of the above. And it’ll all have been done with bolt-ons, the sort of parts filling the FatBook and fueling dreams of another kind, the kind that can indeed come true. Pro-built one-offs might be the showstoppers but it’s the bolt-on customs making up the bread-and-butter of our industry.
     All of that was front and center at Biketoberfest 2006. October in Florida has undergone some big changes recently, all playing right into that aftermarket business plan of providing riders with the sort of good-looking/good-riding Harleys that can go all day and all night long without a hitch or a hiccup. Biketoberfest has morphed into a real riding event. Even the local newspapers get into the spirit now with daily outlines of interesting rides to take, complete with maps, directions and points of interest clearly marked and scored for recommendation. So between hanging out on Main Street, cruising Beach Street, running over to the Speedway, motoring up Highway 1 to The Iron Horse, Broken Spoke and Boot Hill Saloon and then continuing on to Bruce Rossmeyer’s giant Destination Daytona megaplex and then out into the surrounding countryside or over to historic A1A for an oceanfront ramble, anyone coming to Biketoberfest now is dropped right in the middle of a non-stop whirlwind of two-wheel running. Exactly the sort of activity where a trouble-free, comfortable and most of all reliable modified stocker excels. Which, of course, is why eight-, maybe nine out of 10 bikes spotted out on the roads were factory Harley-Davidsons. Almost factory, that is.
     From that sprawling Destination Daytona complex chock full of vendors and industry insiders, to the Speedway with more of the same, to the mini-mall set up around Miller’s down in So. Daytona, Biketoberfest riders had plenty to look at, talk about and then add to their factory rides. As always, Daytona was a “Who’s Who” and “What’s What” of all the latest and greatest from the aftermarket, and with all that riding around bikers were quick to spot what they wanted, what they needed, and what was just plain cool and too good to pass up. Plenty of vendors brought along their own mini-shops to install these parts and accessories right on the spot. Instant gratification–not to mention an instant sale. Someone who’d just spent a couple of long days out on the roads, as an example, was more than happy to talk with they folks from Saddlemen, Corbin, Mustang or Danny Gray and then trade out their factory saddle for something better. Riders just back from a day of looking and listening to a Road King or Softail or Dyna just like theirs, only set up with a much sweeter sounding and better appearing set of pipes, made a bee-line to Samson, Vance & Hines, Rinehart, BUB, SuperTrapp or one of the many other manufacturers whose gleaming product line might have just caught their eyes and ears and wouldn’t let go. The Kuryakyn tent was packed solid with shoppers every afternoon, too. Along with a giant display of every bolt-on, add-on and two-wheeled accessory imaginable Kuryakyn was one of those savvy vendors who had set up an installation center right next door. Was it a set of grips someone liked, or maybe a new air filter or floorboards or mirrors or taillight? They’d pick it off the shelf and roll the bike into line around back. The Kuryakyn techs were spinning wrenches morning till night. It was the same story with the tire suppliers, the windshield companies and, over at Speed’s Performance Plus the dyno-tuning/Power Commander sessions were non-stop, not to mention all the complete big-bore engine kits being installed. All on factory Harleys.
     Despite reports of a soft market here and there, riders at Biketoberfest weren’t just looking. They were buying and they were buying big-ticket items. It’s hard to put a total number on a spread-out event like this, but attendance matched or even exceeded years past. Biketoberfest is a big party, one that can pay off just as big for dealers in the know, dealers showing up with what the vast majority of Harley riders want. And that’s the “bolt on” stuff. As always, it’s the bread and butter, the meat and potatoes of our industry and it’s always good business.

Kuryakyn knows how to get bolt-ons done. Their mini-mall under a tent had it all and, more importantly, had riders looking and buying.

Place the order up front, have it installed around back. That’s the beautiful thing about bolt-ons–the customer gets to ride away happy right now.

The baggers are coming on strong. A bigger bike means more area needing bolt-on attention, too. What’s not to like, especially when the result can look like this.

Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona seemingly grows by the minute. New buildings are still going up, new businesses moving in.

Belt drives are always a popular option, and Rivera Primo has them all.

Where’s the market for all that bolt-on stuff? Right here, inside showrooms like this. No Harley stays stock for long.