Love of noise, speed draws thousands of rev-heads to inaugural National Thunder Rally in Tamworth

"When did most motorcycle racing start? Is the day they finished the second one," Paul Rowling said.

The head of Tamworth's area group of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club fell in love with Japanese bikes back in the days when they were by far the most reliable, quickest things on two wheels.

Decades later, the love hasn't died, he said.

The group joined an estimated 2500 bikers at Tamworth's long-delayed, first-ever National Thunder Motorcycle Rally at the Australian Equine and Livestock Event Centre.

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Coordinator of events and operations at Tamworth Regional Council Michaela Stevens said it had been a hard road to the start line of the event.

"This is our third first ever," she said.

"[20]20, [20]21 and now in 2022 we're here."

The concept for the event was born of a 2015 gathering of the country's Harley Owners Group, a major event in its own right. The group and council both agreed that a more regular show was a good idea - and that it was best for the event to be open to enthusiasts of any kind of bike.

"What I'm finding is the fact that all these people are on two wheels, it doesn't matter really what brand they drive. It's just about that that companionship," she said.

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Ms Stevens said participants were drawn as much to the trip as the destination.

"I think it's the journey to get to the destination, I think going on motorcycle rallies is also about the journey there," she said.

"And then I think it's that when they know when they get there, they can probably rest up a bit, talk to fellow motorcycle enthusiasts, and hopefully enjoy some good sunshine, some great entertainment."

Jodie McEwan of the Ms Moto women-only leathergoods stall was one of scores of stallholders at the four-day show. The Gold Coast store had a solid Saturday, and the event was an overall financial success, she said.

She said the historically blokey image of motorcycle clubs is an increasingly inaccurate one, with "way more women than ever" taking up the pastime.

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"They're just seeing that there's freedom out there. They can do anything they want," she said.

"There's a lot of ladies that might start riding at 50 or 60, but from any age, there's ladies from all walks of life. There's no stereotype for a female biker."

Mr Rowling said the event was a success, by any metric.

"I think that, like a lot of these things, it will grow if the council keep doing it," he said.

"I know that they've been itching to do it. But unfortunately, the plague came in and they couldn't."

The event kicked into gear on Friday and will run out of gas today, with Monday featuring the National Thunder Run; thousands of motorcyclists driving on a course around Tamworth.

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