Bike Week 2014

Bigger! Better! Bolder!

Once again, Arizona Bike Week rocked the southwest in the true spirit and style of riders and enthusiasts alike. This past couple of weeks BIKE WEEK celebrated its 18th year of motorcycles and the lifestyle around the biker passion and culture.

The Cave Creek Rally during Bike Week in Arizona expanded this year to include more music, vendors, entertainment, and much more. Click here for details.

That biker community has changed in many ways over these last few years, but many things have remained constant. Comradely and community still rule. Beyond that, creativity and innovation are more prevalent. I’ve been going to motorcycle rallies since the mid-nineties and each year I’m still impressed with the machines man makes in the name of artistic expression and freedom. That’s what many of today’s motorcycles are to me — art. Sure, they are functional art, but art none-the-less.

A.D. Cook and Steve Soffa, Bike Week 2014

This year, like last, I went there for the entire ten days and worked with master artisan Steve Soffa in presenting his line of timepieces and one-of-a-kind jewelry. Check out last year’s blog post here > adcook.com/kindred-spirits

Steve Soffa’s rolling showroom is impressive.

Steve Soffa is celebrating too… this is his ten year anniversary of creating beautiful custom timepieces and jewelry for the motorcycle community.

Like last year, Steve was set up at the Cave Creek Tap Haus Grill with his rolling showroom.

Every year he brings out new designs and this year was no exception. New timepieces. New jewelry. Tons of new stuff. Do you like bling? He’s got plenty of it. His designs are diverse too. Naturally, Steve offers a lot of designs that feature skulls and flames (staple themes of the biker community). But Steve also creates cool playing card and poker-themed timepieces and jewelry, some new tiki, and reaper designs, along with timeless ladies’ rings in his new “Just for Her” Collection.

Steve, along with Maria will be showing his artistic creations at Laughlin River Run next and other venues over the summer, including the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. Look for him at One-Eyed Jacks.

All-in-all it was an awesome event as friends, old and new, came out in celebration and support of this fantastic annual biker rally. It was such a great event that I hardly even know where to start. I took a ton of pictures (it’s hard not to take pictures). There is so much to see there — bikes, babes and beautiful weather ruled the week.

Big wheeled baggers rule at Bike Week.

Custom baggers rule. It seems everywhere you look it was baggers, which is cool since I really like the newer custom baggers that are out there. The front wheels just keep getting bigger and bigger. There was no shortage of bikes with a 30″ front wheel and there was plenty of talk about the new 34″ wheel coming out soon.

Dirty Bird Chrome Bagger.

Speaking of big wheels, when was the last time you saw a see-through Plexi wheel on a bike? It was all new to me as it was for a lot of people who checked out the Dirty Bird Concepts Chrome Bagger.

Beautiful from any angle, this chrome chopper has it all – looks and power.

There were, in fact, a ton of custom big-wheel baggers. A few years ago it was long choppers, but today’s trend has changed the motorcycle landscape too long and low extreme machines featuring a little storage space for your jacket, gloves, a couple of cigars, and stereo speakers.

MRI creates stunning baggers – tasteful and elegant. Check them out at MattRisleyInnovation.com

Completely wicked. Check out the custom bikes by BaggersIncAZ.com

This bike is stunning from any angle. It boasts a 30″ front wheel and custom paint from our friends at Devious Designs in Las Vegas.

Crazy paint. The view from the front is pretty wicked.

This Dirty Bird Turbo Flyer 42 is sweet.

This stunning black and white custom bagger was among my favorites.

Ms. Behavin’.

This P-40 Warhawk-inspired is a nice tribute to WWII fighters.

This lean and mean green machine is sweet.

Of course, not every bike at Bike Week is a big-wheeled bagger. There were several beautiful “old-school” rides as well. Everything from totally custom to the newest thing off the showroom floor. This event drew thousands of riders to Cave Creek. Some rode Harley, some rode metric, and some rode big. Boss Hoss big.

The BOSS HOSS V8 motorcycle.

The Boss Hoss motorcycle is big. Really big. It’s 106″ long and weighs in at 1100 pounds (dry weight). The Boss Hoss features a liquid-cooled V8 with 295 horsepower – like a car, but without all those unsightly bumpers and airbags. This is a serious muscle machine.

V8 trike.

Later, another V8 beast took the same spot. I’m guessing it has something to do with a fire hydrant. This time it was a red V8 powered trike. This actually looks like fun.

And there was quite a collection of custom cars, street rods too and exotics. I saw a few Lamborghini, Ferrari and other exotic machines drift through town over the days I was there.

This beautiful white Lamborghini Murcielago was right at home among all the custom bikes…

…as was the Ferrari 458.

The Trask Lead Sled – very retro.

And what is a bike rally without beautiful ladies? Hopefully, we’ll never have to answer that question.

This girl seemed to get a lot of attention. Relentless too, she posed all day and never seemed to tire. A true professional.

The stunning Jen Republic at the Trask display.

The Dulce Dorada Tequila ladies stopped by with samples and smiles to warm our day.

I suddenly have a craving for honey tequila. Maybe it’s the smile, but I’m thinking this looks good. Cheers!

The beautiful Jägermeister ladies were there as well.

Captain Morgan, Jack Daniels, Bacardi, or just a smile. Whatever you want, The Hideaway is center stage as party central in Cave Creek. My kryptonite?… Old No. 7 for me, please. Cheers!

The Hideaway features as many pretty ladies as drinks. Lovin’ the ink darlin’.

What a smile.

1 ticket. 2 bikes. 2 chances to win. Hey, you can’t win if you don’t enter. For a mere $10 you could win one of two cool Harley-Davidson Sportsters from Buddy Stubbs Harley-Davidson. For a smile, you can take a picture of these two lovely ladies. That folks, made me the winner that day.

Love the shades… and the smile.

Beauty abounds in Cave Creek.

Tony Murga from Murga Boot Company.

Of course, Bike Week is more than great bikes and beautiful ladies. Tony Murga from Murga Boot Company was there showcasing his custom hand-made boots. Check him out online at MurgaBoots.com

There is a lot of talented folks at this rally. From master boot designers (like Tony above), to airbrush artists and pinstripe masters alike, talent abounds.

Master pinstripe artist Mark Brodie laying down some lines.

It was a pleasure to see master pinstriper Mark Brodie lay down some lines. With a steady hand and a lifetime of practice, he truly does amazing work (and I don’t say that lightly).

MARK BRODIE is considered “NASCAR’S Celebrity Artist”. Between his custom-built motorcycle designs gracing the covers of magazines like AMERICAN BAGGER, and his work with NASCAR greats Dale Earnhardt Sr., Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Mark Martin, his work can be found everywhere. The fine art is all one-off originals. Mark has performed custom work for many of the world’s top bike builders and has also, in ’03, had the privilege and distinction to helm the paint-scheme for logo changes for the WINSTON/NEXTEL changeover with NASCAR.

From old-school pinstriping to in-your-face head-turning paint schemes and FINE ART, Mark is one to see this year. Come and meet him for a signature or photo, or, pinstripe on your car or bike, modifying it from your usual “STOCKER”, to something personal and custom.

I really like his splatter painted bagger (left) which featured bursts of energetic paint from front to back.

And his other red bagger is pretty amazing – my kind of bike. Both beautiful and road-ready. I have no doubt that this stunning custom Harley-Davidson touring bagger is a head-turner wherever he rolls. Well done Mark.

Mark Brodie’s Custom Bagger.

Among other great talents at Bike Week was airbrush artist Shawn Wilken showcasing his designs on bikes and panels.

Artist Shawn Wilken at Bike Week.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Shawn grew up with a passion for drawing. Self-taught at a young age, he became interested in all forms of artistic media.

He started his career in the early 80′s, as an artist in the textile industry. This experience helped him expand his knowledge. From there, he ventured into multiple industries – tattoo, motorcycle, automobile, and fine art. I’ve known Shawn casually for years and didn’t even know until recently that he has over twenty-three years of experience in professional tattooing. Shawn prides himself on the ability to paint anything and everything – being versed and highly experienced in all forms of artistic media.

He currently lives and works out of his private home studio in Phoenix, Arizona. Contact him at ShawnWilken.com to make your ride stand apart from the others. He actually painted several bikes featured in this post. His style is all styles and no style.

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And Cave Creek is so much more than Bike Week. This little town has lots of great attractions, awesome food and fun places to see.

I loved Z’s Asian Fusion. I could easily become addicted to their deep-fried salmon dish and their calamari was as good as any I can find in Vegas. We dined there a couple of times in our ten-day stay in Cave Creek and have never left there less than unsatisfied.

Another great spot just down the street from Z’s is Big Earls’s Greasy Eats. They have a diverse menu featuring everything from burgers and burritos to awesome daily specials. It takes me back a bit to dine at these “old school” eateries with a flair for the past.

Big Earl’s is Located in the heart of Cave Creek, Arizona, and started out in the 1930s as a gas station. In 2002 it blossomed as Big Earls Greasy Eats. When they say “The Last HONEST Hamburger!” that is exactly what they mean. Check it out next time you roll through Cave Creek.

And of course, there is the Cave Creek Tap Haus in the center of town. The Tap Haus and Hideaway are really the heartbeats of the whole Cave Creek motorcycle rally experience. Large gatherings of motorcycle enthusiasts center around these two hot spots and spill into other venues around Cave Creek, but for the most part, if you miss what’s happening at Yap Haus and Hideaway, you pretty missed the event. Seriously.

But in reality, it would be impossible to miss these two venues. Both locations feature fantastic music every day and host all the contests and events worth seeing. Pretty much all the shots in this post are from those two venues and trust me when I say that these shots barely scratch the surface of festivities and eye candy.

Mark, owner, Cave Creek Tap Haus, Cave Creek, AZ. Peace Mark. Kudos to an event well done.

Artisan Steve Soffa takes a little time between customers to work on his next creation.

No rest for the creative, with a pencil in hand artisan Steve Soffa is always working on new creations. Join him next year at Arizona Bike Week to check out his latest creations or visit him online at SteveSoffa.com

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Somewhere in Cave Creek, the party continues…