Motorcycle Money Making Ideas

• Whether you're raising money to ride in a pack down to Sturgis or Black Bike Week, want to equip your service shop with the latest paints and decals or are interested in adding a few cycles to your fleet, raising motorcycle money doesn't have to be hell on wheels. Get your motors running and pull up hard on the throttle, then point your wheels in the direction of money and go after it.

Date a Biker

• Why settle for making one date with a biker when you can make 365? Create a fundraising motorcycle calendar and feature 12 months of biker-friendly images for a way to ride off with money in the coffers. With the aid of a desktop publishing program such as Adobe InDesign or Microsoft Publisher or word processing program such as Microsoft Word, quick-start templates for calendars get your engines revved. Take photos of your motorcycle club's members perched on bikes, at a rally or hitting the blacktop. How bikers pose is up to you -- determine the calendar's target audience and keep things kid-friendly or go for a more risqué look to bring in the big bucks. If your club has more members than months of the year, have bikers pair up for the pages or even donate money to appear as the Mr. or Ms. for the month.

Rally Up

• Motorcycle rallies, large destination gatherings of bikers and biker-friendly folks, are a bright spot, but they may feel too few and far between. If your local area is too far from Daytona, Myrtle Beach or other big rally areas, consider hosting a rally and raking in the bucks. While putting together a rally isn't an easy rider, there's money to be made at every bend in the road, from ticket sales to logo apparel to fees from vendors and hotel sponsors. Consider aligning with other nearby motorcycle clubs to maximize the moneymaking potential; yes, you'll have to split the profits but you'll have increased your manpower and have more folks to handle different rally events. Keep the rally local and small to start, then after a successful event, let the rest of the biker world hear your rally cry.

Picture Perfect

• Whether it's due to financial constraints, lack of a need for speed or fear of the two-wheeled machines, not everyone gets to be a biker. But when you need some quick cash, a biker-for-a-day (or five minutes) photo shoot can spin your wheels. Select some of the finest-looking bikes from your group, especially ones with mods or created by personalities such as the Orange County Choppers crew. Advertise a photo shoot with the bikes where people can come and get their portrait taken sitting on the cycles for a fee. Artistic members of your club can even create painted backgrounds to sit behind the bike to make it look as if the person is racing down a rally road, beach or crowded freeway. Instant film works well, or you can opt to work off a digital camera and laptop, sending photos directly to the donor's email address.