Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson dealership apologized Wednesday for any confusion among bikers that has surfaced over new rally dates it announced Friday, and said it had asked Horry County leaders last month for input on ways to lessen the rally’s impact on county resources.
“We do apologize for any inconvenience to any individuals that may have been misled and event promoters that have been advertising other dates, with that in consideration, their events and dates are stand-alone events and not Harley-Davidson-sponsored events,” the dealership said in a news release. “They, like any others, can operate their events when and how they feel best for their businesses.”
Harley-Davidson hasn’t talked about the changes until it sent the written statement Wednesday, a day after Horry County Council said it would consider doing away with vendors during the spring rally because of the shift in the rally dates that will result in three weeks of biker events.
Confusion has swirled among bikers, rally promoters and elected leaders since Friday, when Harley-Davidson posted on its website that the spring “Cruisin the Coast” rally dates were May 18 through May 28, starting later than usual and continuing into Memorial Day weekend for the first time when Atlantic Beach Bike Fest occurs and holiday-related events have popped up in recent years. Despite those dates, most area biker-related businesses say they are sticking with the original dates earlier in May.
That would result in the three weeks of activities for the Harley rally, with area businesses having events as usual the weekend of May 11, followed by two weekends of Harley-Davidson dealership-sponsored events, as well as others along the beach. Harley says its events will include a world record setting attempt, scenic rides, pier parties, drag races, Harley demo rides and vendors, though only two days of the dates later in May fall under the county-approved timetable for vendors.
Horry County, which approves vendors for the spring rally and Bike Fest, had set aside May 14 through May 20 as the dates it would allow vendors for the Harley rally.
Bikers who already had made reservations for the earlier date still will find plenty of biker-related action. Businesses including Jamin’ Leather, SBB and many other bars along the Grand Strand are sticking with events starting May 11 or May 14. The biggest change will be having Harley vendors during Memorial Day weekend.
“Everyone is going with the regular bike week. It’s still going to be good. It’s still going to go off without a hitch,” said Keith Daniels, a bartender at SBB in Murrells Inlet. “We are not going by [Harley’s] plans. I just hope this doesn’t put a wrench in things.”
Daniels said the rally has been the buzz this week in the bar, which also has taken calls from bikers from Florida, New Jersey and other states asking for clarification on when to come. Last weekend during a bike show in Charlotte, SBB promoted the rally starting May 14, Daniels said.
Calls to the operator of MyrtleBeachBikeWeek.com have eased in the last few days as bikers realized that there would still be plenty to do as usual earlier in the month, said Sonny Copeland of North Carolina, who owns the website, which is still promoting the rally as May 11 through May 20.
“People are going to be down there from the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th [of May],” Copeland said.
But there’s still several rally dates floating out there. And if you’re looking for official dates, “that depends on which business you talk to down there,” Copeland said.
Harley-Davidson said Wednesday it wasn’t trying to control the rally, but was trying to help manage the activates “in the hope to have more community involvement,” according to the news release.
Harley-Davidson said in its written statement Wednesday that it sent an e-mail to Horry County elected officials Dec. 3 “with information and ideas for consideration regarding the resources of the community as a whole during our May events and ways to lessen the impact on our county resources.” The dealership said in the statement that it didn’t get any response.
County Councilman Gary Loftus, who on Tuesday suggested doing away with vendor permits for the Harley rally, said he doesn’t remember getting an e-mail from Harley, especially one that mentioned new dates that overlap Memorial Day weekend. The council will talk about whether to do away with vendors for the rally during its next meeting Feb. 7.
“They have been bending every rule they could, and they just bent one time too many. Eventually, something’s going to break, and with me, it broke.” Loftus said.
Staff reporter Brad Dickerson contributed to this report.
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