Words and Pictures by Onno Wieringa , Madness Photography
Located on Italy ' s Adriatic coast , Lignano Sabbiadoro is one of the most beautiful places to organize an event . South of Udine and north of Venice , Biker Fest has been one of the biggest outdoor motorcycle festivals in Europe for years . Owned and operated by the experienced Persello family - owners of leading Italian custom Magazines including Bikers Life and Kustom World - this was the 36th edition of Biker Fest and it remains a cornerstone of the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building program . Moreno Persello and his wife Carla , their son Micke and his wife Deborah know how to make Biker Fest better and even bigger every year . The fact that we had thirty degrees Celsius and a radiant sun all four days this time helped to flood the coastal town with bikers , no fewer than 92,000 visitors attended . We enjoyed a long weekend of custom bikes , sun , pizza , espresso and sambuca ! Entry to the event is free and all brands are welcome , but the emphasis is very
much on custom bikes . Biker Fest is located along the main road , where the Luna Park site is used for custom bikes , stands , shows and parties , with a gigantic all-terrain park next to it used for dozens of off-road activities . Nearby all the major brands and many smaller emerging vendors set-up for demo rides , with 3,800 demo rides made on the Friday and Saturday alone . The well-known AMD affiliate bike show has the grand Italian finale here after a season in which the winners of the Italian Motorcycle Championship have been chosen during the year at various shows throughout Italy . Showing off against seventy bikes , the Best in Show wins the Italian Motor I . M . C . ( Italian Motorcycle Championship ), and this year the honor was taken by Mirko ' s Harley- Davidson WL , by Gallery Motorcycles ( Brescia ). The three winners who will advance to the next AMD World Championship are the beautiful Triumph " Trinity " of Marco , Lari Motori , the " Greta " of
Stefano Saleve and the SR-1 Sportster of Jimmy Messina from France . The crowds peaked on the Saturday , when the Bike Parade completely blocked the whole city of Lignano in a kilometer-long procession . Rock concerts , pin-up shows , parties , food and drinks reigned supreme right into Sunday , when the whole ritual was repeated - but this time with hundreds
of American cars , hot rods and custom cars making their rounds after their American Car Show . Is it worth going there ? Oh yes . The part of northern Italy where Lignano is located became known as the Florida of Europe , with its lovely weather , beautiful beaches and deep blue lagoons - it was Ernest Hemingway , who loved it there , who compared it to Florida . The Italian Bike Week is on the weekend of 15-18 September , the weekend following European Bike Week in Faak , which is only an hour and a half drive from Lignano , the perfect combination for a nice ride and a wonderful week with two excellent , world renowned events ! www . bikerfest . com www . italianbikeweek . net www . madnessphotography . nl
AMD winners all won a 1,000 voucher towards trav
The Triumph " Trinity ", by Marco of Lari Motori . " Greta ", by Meccanicamente
32 AFTERMARKET MOTO DESIGN - JULY 2022 www . AMDchampionship . com