There's always something new at Sturgis, and this year it's the 2006 AMD Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building that will be held at Thunder Road August 5-7 kicking off Sturgis Bike Week with a bang. American Motorcycle Dealer Magazine (AMD), headed by Robin Bradley, is a V-twin industry journal that is working hard to make this the premier event of custom building with over $50,000 in cash going to winners of four classes of customs.

This annual international event had builders from 34 states and 13 foreign countries at the 2005 competition held in Las Vegas last November and a return of the world's best is expected again. Tickets for this event are $10 daily while a $15 fee buys a multi-day pass. This is a unique opportunity to not only see and photograph the best of the best customs, but the chance to meet the builders in person. Builders will be available for autographs and photos in the Meet the Champions Lounge. Judging for the championship will be by the entrants themselves and hopes are that this will make for a fair system of picking the winners. Possibly the best part of the many rules for entrants is that all bikes must start and run and entrants may be required to do so. Good idea, Robin. After seeing the quality of the bikes at last year's show, I can't imagine what the builders are cooking up this year. For more information check out www.amdchampionship.com.