BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2020 OVERALL WINNER - BEST NEW SKOOL

OF ALL THE CLASSES IN THIS YEAR’S CUSTOM CHAMPS, ‘NEW SKOOL’ WAS THE ONE I HADN’T A CLUE AS TOWHAT WAS GOING TOWIN. THE BIKES IN IT – TOMMY’S XS650 FLAT-TRACKER, STEVE’S INSANE TURBOCHARGED CAFÉ RACER, JESSE’S 250 VIRAGO FLAT-TRACKER RACER, AND BEN’S DIMINUTIVE SIDECAR OUTFIT – WERE ALL SO DIFFERENT, SO ECLECTIC, THAT I COULDN’T WORK OUT WHICH ONE’D TAKE TOP HONOURS.

- NIK

The winner, by a very close margin, was Ben Hall’s chair – a bike I saw first at Motorcycle Live! at the NEC last year and, pretty much, my favourite machine there that wasn’t on the BSH Custom Heroes stand. I’d seen his work before in the days when I worked for another magazine, but the addition of the little Watsonian Squire sidecar to one of his Valespeed 28 bikes was just inspired, taking his build to another level.

Having built the bike, one of his signature double-cradle rigids with internal teardrop fuel tank, a little earlier, he added the Lilliputian sidecar, one of Watsonian’s Prescott models (a design that dates back to 1946, y’know), shortly before Motorcycle Live! as part of a tieup he has with the world-famous sidecar builders. It is, of course, not just mounted as is, because it’s a custom, isn’t it, but’s been set to ride lower to suit the size of the bike it’s attached to, and has had the suspension removed to convert it from a sprung chassis to be as equally rigid as the wee beastie next to it. It’s also had a much smaller and tidier light fitted into the upright that’d hold the mudguard on a stock chair and, of course, the actual mudguard was left in Watsonian’s Blockley workshop where it belongs. It also received a re-upholster to match the seat on the bike (more on that in a mo’), but hasn’t been painted the same lovely blue, done by Neil at Tazart Designs, as he felt it’d be a bit too twee if it was. I get that – the black keeps the sidecar as a very different element to the blue n’ silver bike.