Ho-hum, another bike rally. Sure, this one’s in Las Vegas, but across this great land of ours, from Laconia to Albuquerque, Myrtle Beach to Mountainfest, bike rallies are pretty much standard issue wherever you go. You’ve got Sturgis, Daytona, and everything else.

What differentiates one rally from the next is the riding. The rolling hills of South Dakota make for great motorcycling, as do the Green Mountains of New Hampshire, the wide-open spaces of Florida, and those famous West Virginia switchbacks. If not for the riding, then a bike rally’s not much more than a glorified swap meet.

Now as everyone knows, Vegas is great fun (what happens there stays there!), and the desert is an excellent place to ride. But, traditionally held Labor Day weekend, the first six editions of the Las Vegas BikeFest suffered because of the late summer weather, which limited the amount of riding you could do — the oppressive desert heat effectively prevented folks from riding to the event, and once they got there, it kept them indoors for the duration. It was just too darn hot to be outside, in the sun, on a motorcycle.

Not anymore. Starting last fall, the organizers of the Las Vegas BikeFest pushed the annual event back three weeks, to late September/early October. At that time of year, there’s a 20-degree difference in mean temperature, which opened up the valley to motorcyclists from California to Colorado and beyond. Over 30,000 paid attendees — police estimated the number of bikes at around 50,000 — came to the 7th Annual Las Vegas BikeFest last September 27-30 to enjoy the desert riding and the multitude of festivities downtown, including yours truly who motored in on a beautiful black Stratoliner (nicknamed the “strato-recliner” due to its plushiness), courtesy of the kind folks at Star.

The glittering lights of the Fremont Street Experience provided a stellar backdrop for the 150 or so entries in the Custom Bike Show. Vendor Village at the Cashman Center housed more than 300 vendors for the swap meet, and also hosted live music as well as the contestants in the Miss and Mr. Las Vegas BikeFest contests. Belgian Fred “Krugger” Bertrand of Krugger Motorcycles won the title of Master Builder 2007 at the Artistry in Iron Championship for his racing-inspired creation Goodwood.

The weather was superb, and many who would have otherwise holed up in air-conditioned casinos instead spent 80-degree afternoons tooling around the desert in shirtsleeves and taking in sights such as Lake Mead, the Valley of Fire, and Mount Charleston. Bike traffic was considerable, especially at the winding entry to Hoover Dam. But a crowd of bikes beats a crowded casino any day.

Being in Vegas is great; being in Vegas at a bike rally is better. And being in Vegas at a bike rally where you can actually ride is best. With a simple change of date, the Las Vegas BikeFest just became a major player on the motorcycle rally circuit, and immediately catapulted itself from being just another rally to must-see status. This year’s BikeFest takes place on October 2-5. RB