Australia's oldest independently owned Harley-Davidson dealership was determined to celebrate in style and pulled out all the stops, putting on an event worthy of the milestone.

The day began with a thunder ride which saw 250 motorcyclists ride from the Deloraine Train Park and back to the Prospect store before the day's main celebrations began.

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Richardson's owner Simon Hrycyszyn said the thunder ride had been well attended by motorcyclists from all across the North of the state.

"The ride this morning was excellent, I would say about 250 bikes turned out," he said.

Mr Hrycyszyn said apart from a little bit of wind the riding conditions were perfect.

"The weather was good, the rain held out and we had a lot of people with all different brands of bikes join the ride," he said.

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A long-time supporter of local charity events, Mr Hrycyszyn said the day was also an opportunity to raise funds for the Launceston General Hospital.

As part of the day's celebrations, Richardson's held a bike raffle with the dealership donating three motorcycles, including a Harley-Davidson FXBBS Street Bob 114 as the first prize.

Mr Hrycyszyn said the bike raffle raised $30,000 for the LGH Children's Ward with tickets selling out before Saturday's event.

"We've been doing this for nearly 30-odd-years now, and it's a good way to support the LGH," he said.

"We were hoping to sell 1200 tickets and we reached our target by mid-week, which was an excellent effort.

"We were well supported by many Tasmanians and Tasmanians really are generous people at the end of the day."

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He said while the day's celebration focused on the American big bike, motorcyclists from all backgrounds had come out to show their support.

"You don't need to have a Harley to join in," he said. "If you have a look around we have sports bikes and we have all sorts of different grades, it's all about motorbikes today," he said.

The day's events included a Harley-Davidson bike judging competition, stunt riders and entertainment for families and kids.

Phil Eddey was one of the riders who took part in the morning's ride and entered his custom 1965 Harley-Davidson Panhead in the judging competition.

He said ever since seeing the movie Easy Rider as a seventeen-year-old, then buying his first Harley in 1988 he's been in love with the iconic bike.

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Mr Eddey said events like the thunder run were great for the community, particularly as it was raising funds for the LGH.

"A lot of people rely on the hospital and motorcyclists are one of those groups," he said. "It's likely if you spend much time riding a motorcycle you are going to end up in hospital at some point needing some help, so it's important we support them."

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