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Shake the Sheikhs: Dubai Week 2010
Gulf Bike Expo & 5th Annual Dubai Bike Week
Nickelback and Status Quo Rock the Dunes
Story and Photos by Thunder Media Service, Frank Sander
The fifth edition of the Dubai Bike Week turned out to be the biggest ever and was made even more popular being combined with the Gulf Bike Expo. Just like in Europe and the US, the organizers offered shows, popular music acts and international exhibitors, creating a showcase for motorcycle fans in the Gulf region. Located close to the international airport, the event site was perfectly situated to allow great access the show. The expo and show featured new motorcycles, custom bikes, FMX Freestyle shows, and Super Moto demonstrations. There was also a nearby shopping mall with two hundred plus stores should any pillions get bored with the biker events.
To cut the red ribbon at the opening ceremony on Thursday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Sulayem himself attended the show. He is one of the most prominent businessmen in the Gulf region. The majority of bikers from neighbouring Arabic countries rolled into Dubai on their own bikes. The parking lot was crowded with a mixture of Harley-Davidsons, Japanese V-twins, Streetfighters, and American-style Hayabusas with long extended swingarms, turbochargers, and fat rear tires. International custom builders offered trend setting ideas, clearly leaving their impressions on the sons of the desert. US-based Scorpion Customs represented the American Streetfighter scene and Boss Hoss exhibited their powerful V8 bikes and trikes. Austria-based Area presented a new turbocharger prototype for Harley engines. That summed up the list of European customizers, which still need to develop, if not discover this powerful market. Manufacturers like Triumph, Victory, BMW, and even Big Dog Motorcycles took advantage of the opportunity, as did cult brand Ed Hardy, presenting a brand new helmet collection at this expo. Harley-Davidson United Arab Emirates (UAE) had one of the biggest presentations at the show, as the Milwaukee-born manufacturer is now looking for new markets all over the globe. Harley also signed on as co-organizer along with Mecom Forums.
Such a massive assembly of motorcycles seems to call for rain even in the desert, a fact we know from biker meetings all over the world. Incredibly for Dubai, the Friday parade saw a few drops of rain. But in the hot desert, the water does not last long and the 250 bike parade was on dry ground before they came back to town. When the bikes returned, the stage was set for rock stars Nickelback, who performed in front of 15,000 fans on a huge open air stage rocking the desert. The Arabic and European audience enthusiastically followed the two-hour show, singing along to the hits.
Saturday started with the traditional bike show, now held in twelve categories and featuring two special awards. Harley-Davidson UAE sponsored the show which was organized by Thunder Media Service. Many participants lined up before the bike show started, just to secure a good display position. This show would crown the first-ever Middle East Custombike Building Champion, establishing the show as an affiliate event of the AMD World Championship of Custombike Building. In the Streetfighter and Sportbike classes, bikes of incredible quality and variety lined up; the jury composed of five nationalities had a quite difficult job to determine a winner. Chief judge Frank Sander had to have numerous conferences with the judges in both categories before the winner was finally announced. There was no discussion in the Custom class, however, as Mario of Chopper Kultcha, a well known and a high scoring competitor in European shows, was the unchallenged winner. He received the ticket to the Sturgis World Championship sponsored by Al Masaood Logistics. At the 70th Anniversary of the Black Hills Classic, he will compete against the world’s best bikes and builders.
Rounding out the event on Saturday, the Arabs knew who would really shake the cake and rock the party. Status Quo, who have been on stage for more than 40 years, still know how to boogie. It didn’t matter if there were Europeans in t-shirts & shorts, or Arabs in their traditional clothes, the grandpas of the 3-bar boogie just blasted them away. It took two encores for them to leave stage, a great sign off for a great event.