MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.-
The South Carolina Grand Strand will host hundreds of thousands of bikers starting this weekend and running through the end of the month.
Residents either love or hate the two annual bike rallies that have continued to grow despite some efforts to downsize the events and increased restrictions and regulations.
The first event is the Harley Davidson rally, which has been held for 66 years at Myrtle Beach.
The rally begins Friday and is expected to draw about 300,000 bikers.
But bikers will have to watch their noise. North Myrtle Beach police cracked down on noise violations last year, writing 368 tickets with a $129 fine for noise violations.
This year, Myrtle Beach police will be doing a similar noise crackdown, but bikers shouldn't worry too much if they have the proper equipment on their motorcycles, Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea told The Sun News.
"Having a functioning, factory-installed muffler is pretty foolproof," he said.
The city has also restricted vendors and outdoor activities to the city's Convention Center and Broadway at the Beach.
Despite all the changes and restrictions, the number of people booking hotel rooms is up, The Sun News reported.
For the final weekend of the rally, occupancy is 6 percent ahead of last year at this time.
