With Indian presenting the new Challenger tourer and a new FTR version from EICMA present at Bad Salzuflen, even BMW even world-premiered its second R-18 Concept Bike at the show. But, surprisingly, what was missing was any of the new Harley-Davidson concepts which have been so talked about over the last few months. There was just one Live Wire on display, and that was exhibited by local dealer, Harley-Davidson Bielefeld. Two years after its introduction, the Milwaukee Eight powered model has arrived in customising but it hasn’t replaced previous Harley lines…
If you stepped into the halls of Custombike for the first time, you might have found it difficult to get your bearings. All of the exhibition halls are packed with booths and dealers while the display areas of the bike show are now just stretched over the two main halls—and sorted as much as possible by theme or genre—they also extend the full length of those halls with more than 300 bikes taking part in the bike show itself (with countless others on display), including some of the best custom bikes of the year.
Custombike, held in December, is the last big European show of the year and timed perfectly to introduce new parts and ideas while the building of next year’s projects is in progress or even in the planning stage. While there are many ‘bolt-on’ parts now available for Harley’s Milwauke Eight-powered models, extreme customs with the new motor remain rare. In fact, fully ground-up, handcrafted motorcycles have become less common these days and at this show many of those present were from elsewhere in Europe where there is still a more relaxed attitude which makes it easier to build one-off machines. And, of course, the advance of technology means that it is extremely difficult to modify new models from all manufacturers.
Denne historien er fra Issue 256-utgaven av 100% Biker.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 256-utgaven av 100% Biker.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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There's No Place Like Chrome
When settling down to write a feature for a magazine, it’s necessary to have two things, nay, three things in front of you. A computer is useful, it saves all that messy ink and blotting paper that we used in those long gone school days, a strong hot mug of tea should also be on the desk (goes without saying), and finally, a set of scribbled notes that a couple of months ago resembled a detailed description of a motorcycle, but that by now, are largely illegible…
Spike And Bob's Big Swedish Adventure: Part 5
In 1979 Hasse took Caprice to the Norrtälje show for the first time, but he had changes for the bike in mind and, during the winter, he picked up a jammer frame and a set of 20-inch tubes.
Black Dog Custom Show - The Black Dog, Broadmayne, Dorset
Named after the only pub in the village of Broadmayne near Dorchester, nobody there can quite remember how long the informal get together that is the Black Dog Custom Show has been going
TWEETY
Over the last couple of years, very few if any motorcycles have inspired such bafflement and scratching of heads as Dan Duggan’s Honda CX500
THE DOUBTER
Every project starts somewhere and this one began at the Bike Shed Show at Tobacco Dock in London or, to be more accurate, when my mate Matt Donaldson turned to me and said, “I bet you can’t build a bike good enough for here.” Well, that set me to work!
JBS SPECIAL
Jarno comes from a family with petrol in their blood. His father races classic motorcycles and Jarno was raised on a farm where the barns are full of motorcycles instead of cows! This is his very first project, the Jarno Bastian Special
CUSTOMBIKE Messe Bad Salzuflen, Germany
Sometimes what is missing from a show is more interesting than what’s present. With the German show Custombike celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, the event remains a showcase for European customising in all its diversity— with the additional benefit of a focus on parts that are homologated and approved for Europe
COVERT MISSION
It’s not often that I have to sneak in and photograph a motorcycle without the owner knowing anything about it—something that was made tougher in this case by the said motorcycle being kept at said owner’s house
Carry On Screaming
As is often the case, I first caught sight of Nige Biffin’s cool Honda CB750 at a local show last summer, standing out as it did from the stock stuff and the classics present. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t just the ace paint that grabbed my attention, but the obvious quality of the build throughout. I needed to know more…
Paul's Harley
Ensuring that a custom motorcycle will comfortably chew up the miles is perhaps not always one of the main priorities for every builder, but for anyone in the National Chopper Club, it’s essential. Never more so than when you happen to live in one of the far flung parts of this island which means that you’ve usually got a journey to do before you even start going anywhere, as Paul, NCC National Secretary and member of Chopper Club Kernow, knows all too well. This is the story of his latest chop.
