European Bike Week 2026: What Remains of the Harley Rally at Lake Faak

• The Creators Custom Clash goes to Jack NBC with a Breakout built by H-D Legnano
• Best in Show in Villach for Vito Klemenčič of VK Custom Works from Slovenia
• The next European Bike Week takes place from 7 to 12 September 2027

From 8 to 13 September 2026, everything around Lake Faak revolved around motorcycles, music and group rides. Harley-Davidson speaks of thousands of riders and fans from Europe and beyond, while the police in Carinthia counted tens of thousands of visitors. The manufacturer describes the European Bike Week as its largest rally in Europe. It has been the fixed late-summer highlight in the brand’s calendar for years. Despite rain on individual days, the organisers, the tourism board and the police all draw a positive conclusion.

What was there to see in the Harley Village at Lake Faak?

At around 40,000 square metres, the Harley Village was the centre of the rally. Harley-Davidson showed its current models there, joined by custom bikes, live music and a supporting programme running all week.

At the Harley-Davidson Expo, the focus was on the 2026 model year novelties, among them the Street Glide Limited, the Road Glide Limited and the Pan America 1250 Limited. In the Demoride Zone, visitors could test ride the current models on the roads of the surrounding area themselves. Anyone who preferred to head off-road was in the right place in the Pan America Adventure Zone. It offered off-road tours and training sessions led by instructors Marco Belli and Alberto Cecotti as well as former Dakar competitor Joan Pedrero.

Around the village there were more than 100 stands run by authorised dealers and exhibitors. They showed clothing, parts and accessories, joined by food stalls and stunt shows. Many visitors also used the week for tours through Carinthia and into neighbouring Slovenia.

Who won the Creators Custom Clash 2026?

The Creators Custom Clash 2026 was won by Italian builder Jack NBC. He built his Breakout together with the dealer H-D Legnano.

Six custom builds competed against each other. They came from Harley dealers and content creators in various European countries. Thousands of visitors cast their votes. The award ceremony took place on Thursday evening in the Harley Village. The prize was presented by Artie Starrs, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, and Bill Davidson.

Bill Davidson is the great-grandson of company founder William A. Davidson. He ran the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee for many years and has been a brand ambassador and adviser to Artie Starrs since the end of 2025. Away from the stage, too, it was a special visit for him. At a dinner with Klaus Ehrenbrandtner, Managing Director of Kärnten Werbung, the conversation turned to Carinthian traditional dress. Ehrenbrandtner reported: “Bill told me that as a child he was given a pair of leather trousers from the region by his grandmother. Only over the years did he understand what the traditional dress means. He told me that he now wants to buy himself a pair of leather trousers again.” In the end he did not have to buy them: Ehrenbrandtner and Carinthian traditional-dress manufacturer Thomas Rettl gave him an original pair of Carinthian leather trousers.

Who won the custom bike show in Villach?

The Best in Show title went to Vito Klemenčič of VK Custom Works from Segovci near Apače in Slovenia. His black-and-gold clubstyle motorcycle also won the Sport and Clubstyle class.

The show, presented by Metzeler, took place for the second time on the historic main square in Villach. The year before, a customizer from Kuwait had taken the Best in Show title there. This time the square was already packed long before the award ceremony. Customizers from several countries competed in six classes. The jury included photographer Horst Rösler, Pierpaolo of LowRide Magazine and Gary of tour operator Tour1. Creativity, craftsmanship and fresh ideas were judged.

The winning bike rode onto the stage with start number 82 and its headlights on. It has a Harley engine with 132 cubic inches (around 2,163 cubic centimetres). Frame, wheels and bodywork are made of carbon fibre and set off with gold-coloured details. Second place in this class went to Dreamachine Motorcycles, also from Slovenia. The prizes were presented by Bill Davidson and Alberto De Luca of Metzeler. Davidson described the exhibited motorcycles as rolling sculptures and said that there were no losers on that day. The Metzeler prizes and Best in Show each came with a set of tyres.

The winners of the individual classes

In the Antique and RestoMod class, Hannes Happ from Austria won. He competed with a turquoise board track racer, a motorcycle in the style of the early board track machines, with Firestone tyres and a highly polished V-twin engine. Among the cruisers, Kim Lara Bergerforth from Hamminkeln took the win. Her orange chopper has a rigid frame, a long chrome fork, gold accents on the engine and a tall sissy bar. She accepted the trophy sitting on the motorcycle.

The Adventure and Offroad class went to Sven Nisch from Germany. The aluminium panniers of his travel bike carry the handwritten stops Berlin, Moscow, Irkutsk, Vladivostok and New York. Among the tourers and baggers, Stanisław Myszkowski of Game Over Cycles from Rzeszów in Poland won with a very low-slung bagger in dark brown. The build is called Slow Burn and takes its cues from the 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster. He also picked up the Metzeler People’s Choice Award, voted for by the spectators.

In the Radical Custom class, Maly H-D from Poland came out on top with a green-and-gold chopper. Engravings on the tank and a great deal of handwork on the engine and exhaust also earned the Polish builder the award for best detailing. There were special prizes on top: Best Inspiration went to Bikash of the Carinthia Chapter for a Road Glide with airbrush work on the fairing and panniers. Best Paintwork was won by Peter Deinhofer from Austria, and the Judges’ Choice Award went to Max Bica from Italy.

What role did Andrea Iannone play at the European Bike Week?

Andrea Iannone signed autographs, appeared on stage and joined in on group rides. For many fans it was a chance to experience the former MotoGP rider up close.

Shortly before the rally, the Italian had won both races at the fifth round of the FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup in Aragón. That made him the first rider in the new series to take a double win in one weekend. He had already won in Mugello before that, where he joined the season. The finale took place a few days after the Bike Week at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Australian Archie McDonald took the series’ first title there, with Iannone finishing the season fourth.

Music, parade and prize draw

More than 30 bands played on several stages during the week. They included the winners of the Harley-Davidson Music Contest. British band Wood Burnt Red opened proceedings on Wednesday in the Saloon Bar. On Thursday, Mad Guz and the Mojos from Germany played in the Harley Bar. Friday saw French band Ocean Daze in the Saloon Bar, and on Saturday the Italian group Known Physics closed out the contest in the Harley Bar.

On Saturday, 12 September, the Harley-Davidson Parade presented by Dunlop was on the programme as usual. Thousands of motorcycles rolled through the Carinthian landscape together. On Saturday evening, the rally ended with the big prize draw. The main prize was a new Pan America 1250 Limited.

As Harley-Davidson’s European partner for 2026, Jeep was on site as well. Both brands build their advertising around the themes of freedom and adventure.

What is the conclusion of the police and the tourism board?

The police and the tourism board draw a positive conclusion. According to the police, things stayed calm, with no riots, no serious acts of violence and no extreme speeding.

Rain on individual days meant fewer day visitors in particular. Georg Overs, Managing Director of Region Villach Tourismus GmbH, said: “Towards the weekend everything was great again. The event ran calmly and in an orderly fashion. We received a lot of positive feedback and everyone is already looking forward to next year.”

The police counted six motorcycle accidents with six injuries. In around 430 alcohol checks around Lake Faak, only one rider had to hand over his licence. There were also about 185 charges and around 230 on-the-spot fines, meaning penalties paid directly at the scene. A total of five criminal offences were reported: two cases of minor bodily harm, damage to a motorcycle tank and two thefts. A motorcycle helmet and a wallet containing several hundred euros were stolen. As in the previous year, no motorcycle was stolen. The thefts at campsites seen in earlier years did not occur this time either.

During targeted checks, officers also examined whether the motorcycles were roadworthy and not too loud. The noise measurements were carried out because residents had complained more frequently in recent years. The police explained: “During these intensive checks, comparatively few violations were found. In most cases the noise measurements produced values that comply with the type-approval regulations. A total of six licence plates were removed during the technical checks.”

When does the European Bike Week 2027 take place?

The next European Bike Week takes place from 7 to 12 September 2027 at Lake Faak. Harley-Davidson has already announced this.

Francesco Vanni, Managing Director and Head of Sales EMEA at Harley-Davidson, summed things up at the end: “The European Bike Week is all about the shared experience of riding. Year after year, riders travel here from all over Europe and far beyond to discover spectacular routes, get to know new regions and share their passion for motorcycling with like-minded people. Experiencing thousands of riders here at Lake Faak is inspiring every single time. Our thanks go to all the riders, dealers, partners and visitors who helped make the European Bike Week 2026 an unforgettable success.”

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