Audio By Carbonatix
Women and motorcycles. Plenty of men, mesmerized by the subtle science of well-engineered curves, have gone broke pursuing their love of one or both.
“You could say they go hand in hand,” says Mitch Steinberg, director of Godzilla VI: The Pacific Rim Extreme Bike & Music Fest. “A beautiful bike, all chromed out with a good paint job, and a beautiful woman standing next to it — it’s a sight.”
Steinberg promises that there will be plenty to see this Saturday when Godzilla returns for the sixth consecutive year to the Old School Square Entertainment Pavilion at Atlantic and Swinton avenues in downtown Delray Beach. Last year, more than 3000 people came out to admire an army of iron horses and the bikini-clad women who love them. Steinberg expects an even bigger turnout this year.
Godzilla began in the mid-1990s as a small showcase for roughly 30 local riders and collectors of bikes from the Pacific Rim. Claiming to be the “largest South Florida celebration of extreme sport bikes and watercraft,” Godzilla VI will offer a Power Sports Pavilion with about 75 of the newest models in sport bikes and cruisers from the Pacific Rim. This year, Steinberg has also made a place for American bikes and hosts a “Harley Corner” in the competition. South Florida extreme riding clubs, including the Honda Riders Club, will also make appearances with custom-built motorcycles valued at almost $100,000 apiece.
And because it wouldn’t be a party without music, four live bands — Patrick, the Fabulous Fleetwoods, Son of Man, and Smoken — will plug in and play rock and blues sets as attendees take in a ten-class bike show, Poker Run, bikini wash, and the Miss Godzilla Bikini Contest, with contestants coming from as far as Jacksonville to compete for the $1500 prize.
Steinberg, who has been in the bike business since 1988, is quick to quell any misconceptions that the world of motorcycle riding is populated primarily by men. “Every year, we get more female riders attending,” notes Steinberg, who has listed Best Female Owned as a category in the bike show. “I think women are more fascinated than men with motorcycles. Bikes are sleek; they’re exciting, sexy, and fast.”
“Faster is better”: That’s the Godzilla motto. Suzuki and Honda racing bikes reaching speeds of up to 200 mph will be sharing pavement with an Extreme Car and Boat Display hosted by Fort Lauderdale’s New Auto Toy Store and Aqua Toy Store, which means that even more speed will be on hand this weekend, including a customized 50-foot Nortech Cat with twin 1500-horsepower Lycoming jet motors, a 45-foot Hustler with twin 1200-horsepower torque V12 engines, and the new 2003 H2 Hummer. Commence drooling now.
