Custom-painted, stereo-covered motorcycles are in at Black Bike Week. Take a look here

As evening turns to night in Atlantic Beach and North Myrtle Beach, motorcycles begin lighting up like Christmas trees. Many bikes have neon-colored lights built into their sides, illuminating their riders as they rev their engines.

The lights are practical and improve safety, but at night, they ensure passersby can still see the fine details of the biker’s wheels of steel. Motorcycles aren’t always just a mode of transportation or a statement of freedom; sometimes, they’re art pieces and memorials for loved ones, too.

Jermaine Holly’s motorcycle is an extension of him. Designed in a mix of light blue, pink and purple, Holly took inspiration from the sights of South Beach, Miami, for his 10-year-old bike.

“I didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing with the solid colors,” Holly said. “I wanted to keep it fruity.”

Wherever you go along the Grand Strand, motorcyclists during Black Bike Week show off their passion projects, personalities, and considerable effort they’ve implanted into their machines. Whether in the parking lot of the Myrtle Beach Mall, with bikers congregating in the Hooters parking lot, or North Myrtle Beach at one of the many ongoing house parties, bikes of all shapes, sizes and colors cruise past, the occasional rider’s hair flowing in the wind.

At Atlantic Beach, the proverbial heart of Black Bike Week, bikes line Atlantic Street. Police erected a barrier between the center and right-most lane of North Kings Highway, creating a funnel for riders to pass through Atlantic Beach and allowing motorcyclists to enter the street fair festivities in massed groups. They passed by vendors serving homemade cooking, stands serving alcohol slushies in the body of a pineapple, and people dancing.

Roddney Rich, 53, of Washington, N.C., has attended Black Bike Week for more than 30 years and has ridden motorcycles since he was 5 years old. He attended the festivities with his wife, the pair at the helm of two customized bikes parked at the Myrtle Beach Mall Hooters. His wife’s 2005 Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle is painted mint green, which Rich helped mix himself. Roddney’s ride, a 2018 Harley-Davidson Road Glide, is dark green accented with black line, although the similar color schemes weren’t intentional. Rich’s bike also features 10 speakers designed for stereo competitions.

“I knew what I was looking for in the build,” Rich said. “I just went to ordering parts from here and there on the internet and different places that I know because I’ve been doing motorcycle for so long.”

Chris Coleman also brought his customized bike to the festivities, a nearly 1,500-pound purple, turquoise, and rose gold 2019 Harley-Davidson Road Glide featuring 10 speakers.

Originally from Albany, New York, Coleman said his creation, which includes a massive front wheel, took about three months to customize. Larger, specialized front wheels were popular during Black Bike Week, although at the cost of maneuverability in more crowded spaces.

The presence of more Harley-Davidsons at Black Bike Week is a shift from previous years when street and sport bikes were more frequent, as the large Harleys provide more opportunities to add sound systems than the smaller rides like Yamaha and Kawasaki variations.

Kenny Lane also made the switch with a 2012 Harley-Davidson Street Glide.

“Well, it was that (but), we chopped it up and turned it into something that you know I always wanted,” Lane said.

His new motorcycle is decked out in bright orange and black, with a gas cap shaped like a crown featuring speakers and subwoofers packed onto it. Lane added that the paint job would change soon and said he switched to Harley because the larger bikes, sometimes called ‘baggers,’ were safer but also cooler.

“We had street bikes all our lives, and, man, we put a lot of money into the street bikes, but you can’t beat this,” he added.