As evening turns to night in Atlantic Beach and North Myrtle Beach, motorcycles begin to light up like Christmas trees. Many bikes have neon-colored lights built into the side, illuminating riders as they rev their engines.
The lights are practical and increase safety, but at night ensure that passers-by can still see the fine details of the cyclist’s steel wheels. Motorcycles are not always just a means of transportation or a statement of freedom; sometimes they are also works of art and memorials to loved ones.
Jermaine Holly’s motorcycle is an extension of him. Designed in a mix of light blue, pink and purple, Holly took inspiration from the sights of South Beach, Miami for his 10-year-old bike.
“I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing with the solid colors,” Holly said. “I wanted to keep it fruity.”
Wherever you go along the Grand Strand, bikers show off their passion projects, personalities and the significant effort they put into their machines during Black Bike Week. Whether it’s in the parking lot of the Myrtle Beach Mall, where bikers congregate in the Hooters parking lot, or on North Myrtle Beach at one of the many ongoing house parties, bikes of all shapes, sizes and colors pass by, on and off. and then the rider’s hair flows inward. the wind.
At Atlantic Beach, the proverbial heart of Black Bike Week, bicycles line Atlantic Street. Police placed a barrier between the center and rightmost lanes of North Kings Highway, creating a funnel where motorcyclists could pass through Atlantic Beach and bikers could enter the street carnival festivities in mass groups. They passed vendors serving homemade food, stalls serving alcoholic pineapple-shaped slushies, and people dancing.
Roddney Rich, 53, of Washington, NC, has been attending Black Bike Week for more than 30 years and has been riding motorcycles since he was 5 years old. He attended the festivities with his wife, the pair at the helm of two custom-built bicycles parked at the Myrtle Beach Mall Hooters. His wife’s 2005 Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle is painted mint green, which Rich helped mix himself. Roddney’s ride, a 2018 Harley-Davidson Road Glide, is dark green with black-line accents, although the similar color schemes were not intentional. Rich’s bike also features 10 speakers designed for stereo competition.
“I knew what I was looking for in construction,” Rich said. “I just started ordering parts here and there on the Internet and from different places I know because I’ve been into motorcycles for so long.”
Chris Coleman also brought his custom motorcycle to the festivities, a nearly 1,500-pound purple, turquoise and rose gold 2019 Harley-Davidson Road Glide with 10 speakers.
Coleman, originally from Albany, New York, said it took about three months to customize his creation, which includes a huge front wheel. Larger, specialized front wheels were popular during Black Bike Week, although this came at the expense of maneuverability in more congested areas.
The presence of more Harley-Davidsons at Black Bike Week is a shift from previous years when street and sportbikes were more common, as the big Harleys offer more options for adding sound systems than the smaller rides like Yamaha and Kawasaki -variants.
Kenny Lane also made the switch with a 2012 Harley-Davidson Street Glide.
“Well, it was (but), we chopped it up and made it into something that you know I always wanted,” Lane said.
His new motorcycle is painted in bright orange and black, with a crown-shaped fuel cap, on which speakers and subwoofers are mounted. Lane added that the paint job would change soon and said he switched to Harley because the bigger bikes, known as “baggers,” were safer but also cooler.
“We’ve had street bikes all our lives, and man, we put a lot of money into street bikes, but you can’t beat this,” he added.
