Italian Bike Week getting adventurous
After huge international success for the first edition last year, the Italian Bike Week - a classic late summer bike fest - returns to the shores of northeastern Italy again from the September 14-17 2023.
Organised by the owners of Biker Fest International (BFI), the AMD Approved Custom Show for Italy and the publishers of leading Italian custom motorcycle lifestyle magazine Bikers Life, this year Micke Persello and his team are placing a special focus on the fast-growing on the adventure bike and off-road scenes.
The venue will again be Lignano Sabbiadoro (UD), north of Venice, on Italy's Adriatic coast, where BFI is staged in May each year, and just a two hour back-roads ride from Lake Faak in Austria where Harley's European Bike Week is being staged during the week before the Italian Bike Week.
Last year, the event's debut attracted nearly 40,000 attendees (the 37th Biker Fest in May this year drew a record crowd of 120,000 people), so the venue and the organisers clearly "have the chops" where being able to draw a crowd is concerned.
The model that the Persello father and son team are replicating for Europe is that of the 'Daytona Bike Week' in Florida in March, which is paired with 'Biketoberfest' at the end of the season in October each year.
The plans for 2023 include a 155,000 sq m (1,670,000 sq ft) off-road arena as the center of the action, with trails dedicated to motocross and enduro - the longest one (7 km/4 miles) running along the track of the legendary 12 Hours of Enduro's special stage.
The demo ride area, which saw more than 4,000 test rides at May's BFI, will also get a dirt bike make-over for the event, with the whole event being geared to attract off-road and ADV enthusiasts as well as the BFI's custom crowd.
The Notturna Tassellata, a nighttime experience on 350 km of unpaved roads to Slovenia and back, and the Adventure Rides, the 70 km exploratory tours organised by MV Adventure, will also take place on on/off trails during the four days of the event.
The Custom motorcycle scene roots that BFI brings to Italian Bike Week will again see the Luna Park Area, with its stalls, ethnic and street food stands, live music and exhibitors, open its doors to all types of bikers, embracing the passion for two and four wheels in all its forms.
On the evening of Saturday, the Luna Park's parking will turn in the 'starting grid' for a spectacular Saturday Light Parade - an impressive event-in-the-event that will flood the streets of Lignano with thousands of motorcycles. The day after, the same area will be the meeting point of the U.S. Car On The Beach 2023, the second edition of the huge American Car scene's late-summer gathering, where the sound of V8s will mix with the V-twins.
