Clean Cut called me up last night and told me about a bike show northwest of Ann Arbor taking place today. We got the "All Clubs Day" flyer at the Battle of the Brits and I had forgotten about it. Luckily, Clean Cut rallied the troops because it was a GREAT freakin show and well worth the ride.
It was about 150 miles round trip. A little chilly, but overall a crisp, sunny, pleasant ride there and back. Clean Cut, Captain Sparkle and I made it out there. It wasn't a big show, but the quality was better than any other gathering. It was almost like an elite congregation of cycle snobs. Norton, Matchless, Ducati, BMW, Triumph, Velocette, Inidan, old HD, Honda, Yamaha, BSA, you name it. The parking was really well organized and became a show in and of itself. The best thing about it was that the show took over a small square plaza in the middle of this town and the bikes just lined both sides of the street going all around the whole square. The townsfolk were nice, the food was cheap, the bikes were fantastic, and everything was just very well organized and pleasant (for lack of a better word). It ruled. I wasn't planning on posting pics or anything cuz I just had my crappy iPhone3 camera, but I HAD to snap some shots b/c we saw some freakin awesome rides...
the helmet sticker says "my favorite color is chrome."
we saw a bunch of nice ducs, but this color scheme really stood out. gorgeous bike.
a fucking goldwing café w/ a crazy engine setup. it says "white trash" in rhinestones across the front forks. if you swapped out the white mags this thing would be pretty cool, actually.
the dictionary definition of RAT BIKE. after seeing and smelling this bike, i'm genuinely surprised it didn't spontaneously combust before our very eyes. i believe it's held together w/ bubblegum and prayers. a really gnarly bike!
this Velocette is 46 years old and the original owner was showing it today!
this photo doesn't do it justice, but the fairing was gorgeous. you wouldn't normally expect to hear those words come out of my mouth, but this thing was deco-inspired and just a freakin work of art.
speaking of art, look at the instruments on the Velocette. incredible.
this bike is truly unique. we'd never seen anything like it. while it's not something we'd ever ride, it certainly turns heads. i wouldn't be surprised if it were built by Cyberdyne Systems. look at that front end! it's a straight up sci-fi / anime bike.
here's a shot of the rear of the anime bike, but it was really a cunning ruse to take a pic of the old school momma w/ the spiked bracelet and faux fur vest.
definitely one of the coolest bikes at the show. look at the awesome custom gas gauge on the tank! genius. this bike had a lot of nice details. the dude who built it is a sculptor. awesome stuff.
the same guy who did the previous bike did this one too, i think. lots of cool details again. mad talent.
what vintage bike show would be complete w/out a bunch of classic beemers. sculptural.
Thinking back, almost every bike was worth looking at in some form or another. Whether it was great vintage paint colors or something crazy and off the wall, every bike offered something worthwhile. Even the Harleys were representing strong. Not the usual sea-of-similarity.
I can't forget to mention that Clean Cut gave the r
oyal wave to every
"Adventure Rider" he passed... haha. The Professor would not approve.
