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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend August 18, 2006 Mark Daley gets his latest creation, Let the thunder roll Saturday's annual bike show and street party features stock and custom bikes, live music and dancin' in the street Grab your leathers, hop on your Hog and cruise to downtown Medford Saturday for your chance to pick up a trophy at the 10th annual "Xtreme Bike Show and Street Party." If you are not a member of the two-wheeled, leather-and-chrome-wind-in-your-beard brotherhood, but would like to see a couple hundred gleaming Harleys and meet some of the folks who customize them, come anyway. Oh, and don't forget the spouse and kids. It's a family celebration, after all. It's been 10 years since Mark Daley, founder of Thunder Struck Custom Bikes, began putting on this custom motorcycle show at 142 N. Front St. between Habañeros and Porters restaurants. Every year the proceeds from trophy fees, sponsors and other sources go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Jackson County. Last year, the show raised $12,000 for the organization. This year, Daley is shooting for $20,000. The continuance of the bike show hasn't always been a given. As the 10th annual event approached, Daley and his wife, Betsy, talked about not holding it anymore. It didn't take them long to change their minds, however. "The Boys and Girls Clubs depend on the money to keep their organization up and running," Daley says. "That's why we're here, to help people. That's why we're still doing it." Advertisement "Bring your family out, it's a family event," Daley says. "It's the reason I and a lot of other people donate our time." And right now, time is something Daley doesn't have in abundance. He's been pretty busy developing a rep as one of the top custom bike designers in the country. Many people are aware of the custom bike phenomenon. Television shows have brought it to the public's attention. Those battling big-boys of Orange County Choppers on the Discovery Channel's "American Chopper," Jesse James of West Coast Choppers in Long Beach, Calif., and the popular "Biker Build-off" series of programs have thrust the once-obscure art of custom motorcycle fabrication into the public eye. And Daley, who started out doing Harley-Davidson tuneups in his Medford garage, is making his mark. Daley's customs have won numerous local and regional competitions in recent years. One of his newer bikes, "Hammer," is on the cover of the 2006 Mikuni Carburetor calendar; his bikes have appeared in Street Chopper Magazine, and he competed in the L.A. Calendar Motorcycle Show last month. And now, Daley is one of 25 bike builders in the world invited to compete in the Artistry in Iron Master Builders Bike Show, sponsored by Hot Bikes magazine, at the Las Vegas Bike Fest on Sept. 17-18. Among the bikes Daley plans to enter is a two-wheeled "Ferrari." "A guy called me and said 'Build me my Ferrari in a motorcycle.,' " Daley says. It took some fancy fabrication and a price tag of nearly $100,000, but the Ferrari bike fit the bill. That bike and many of Daley's other chopper creations will be unveiled at Saturday's bike show before heading to Vegas for the Hot Bike competition. But Thunder Struck customs won't be the only machines to admire Saturday. Local residents enter their bikes to compete for trophies in categories ranging from pure stock to radical custom. There is a "metric" classification for foreign-built motorcycles. Trophies also will be awarded for "mini choppers," dressers, Sportsters, women's bikes and antiques. Members of an antique motorcycle club will have some old bikes on display. Saturday's festivities include more than just the motorcycle judging. The River City Rhythm & Blues Band will play all day. A beer garden will add to the "Street Party" portion of the event's name. And for the kids, vendors will offer ice cream, hot dogs and other delights. The event's local sponsors — too numerous to list here — are donating raffle prizes, including a pool table, patio table, and many others, in addition to paying for the trophies. Raffle drawings will be held throughout the day. Bike show registration begins at noon Saturday and judging runs from about 1-3 p.m. Trophies will be awarded beginning at 3:30 p.m. Reach copy editor Mark Howard at 776-4475 or at [email protected] Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews