In addition to MotoGP this weekend, motorcycle enthusiasts were also able to check out the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show, which just turned three years old. There’s no particular theme for the featured motorcycles, it’s just a collection of the coolest bikes in the country. Here are some of my favorite bikes and moments from the weekend-long show.
The Handbuilt Show is more than just custom motorcycles – on Friday they featured some flat track racing and all throughout the week they had a Wall of Death show. Nathan and I got there Friday after a day of MotoGP practice at CotA and the first thing we saw after we parked was this classic Caddy – a good sign.
Also in the parking lot was this vintage Chevy panel van:
Look closely – there’s a burger on the header:
We got buzzed by a flat tracker warming up in the street before practice started:
Someone pulled up on a bike that seemed familiar – I’ve featured it before when it was for sale in Portland for $15,000. No idea if it sold or not:
Revival Cycles (the shop behind the show) brought in several thousand yards of dirt to turn a parking lot into a tiny flat track:
The track got prepped before practice and before racing started, but it got rutted very quickly:
Practice started and it was a joy to see the variety of motorcycles that were going to compete. You had some professional rigs:
Vintage bikes:
And of course, Donald Trump on a KTM. For the race he put on a mask, too, but by that time I was inside checking out bikes:
Jamie Robinson of MotoGeo was there on a Ducati Scrambler that I enjoyed the aesthetics of:
The first race of the day got red flagged when 3 of the 4 riders jumped the green flag. #278 was the only one who didn’t, so they restarted like this…he ended up winning:
Revival doesn’t just make pretty bikes, they get them dirty, too:
Just a few months ago that R9T went ice racing, as well:
Little bit of lift:
Racing a bike that wasn’t designed for flat tracking has its disadvantages – like being a pain in the ass to pick up:
Jamie gets his Scrambler sideways on some TKC80s:
As you probably guessed from The Donald, there was a costume class. I think this guy was my favorite from that group:
The flat track racing was great fun, but I wanted to go see the show itself. Just like this guy, I left the track, I just didn’t do it with as much style:
The show took place in the 16,000 square foot Fair Market, which is in a great part of Austin:
There were cool bikes on the street and sidewalk, which was good because there was a bit of a line to get in at first:
One of the first bikes I noticed upon walking in was a Ducati 250 “Super Sport” custom built by reader Ted Clough. Nice work, Ted!
Untitled’s Hyper Scrambler was also featured – you may remember this as one of my favorites from the Custom Rumble Scrambler Contest
Revival’s Landspeeder was one of the coolest motorcycles there. Let Paul d’Orleans tell you all about it here on Cycle World, it’s an excellent read. If you want more photos of this beautiful bike, head on over to the Revival page.
’72 Bonneville custom from Iacona Custom Cycles in Brooklyn:
Paul d’Orleans’ Moto TinType (previously featured) was also at the show as part of some art on display:
One of the highlights of the Handbuilt is a Wall of Death/Silodrome show. If you look closely, you may notice that the guy on the bike is sitting in a relaxed position. You may also notice that the wheels are moving! He was showing off his balance on a dyno while the announcer explained what was going to happen. Unfortunately, the line was simply too long for me to check out the show this time around:
Max Hazan’s newest build was there – it’s powered by the Enfield Musket engine built by Aniket Vardhan, whom you hopefully remember from last year.
BMW engine cutouts:
Other art that caught my eye was the work of DownShift Studio. The artist (Jeremy Lacy) was there and he was a very nice guy, so check out his site!
Here’s a detail from the piece which shows the Hyper Scrambler from Untitled Motorcycles.
Jeremy’s business card holder was pretty slick. Actually, it was literally slick, as it was slightly saturated with oil!
Cockpit of a Honda 50 racer:
There were even a few stock bikes – this K1 caught my eye:
One of Kenny Dreer’s VR880 Commandos – I had never seen one in green before:
I couldn’t help but notice that there were a few motorcycles I’ve featured for sale before, like this “Olds” with a Honda 350 motor (bidding reached $6,300, but that wasn’t enough to reach reserve):
This XT500 from h Garage – did not get any action at a BIN of $13,500.
Another h Garage custom, this time a Honda Ascot that also did not sell at a BIN of $14,500.
Also there was the Walt Siegl Toronto, though I didn’t snap a photo of it, so here’s one from the listing. This did not sell at an opening bid of $30k…are you noticing a trend?
Another one of Walt’s bikes was there – a MV Agusta from his “Bol d’Or” series. Factory chassis, amazing new bodywork (which weighs just 8.5 pounds!), and a weight savings of 81 pounds from a stock MV F3. Read more about it here on BikeEXIF.
A turbocharged Ducati 848:
Siamese’d carb setup on a Yamaha custom. I still can’t figure out why, but it does look cool:
One of the more interesting gas tanks I’ve ever seen:
Speaking of tanks, I’m in love with the beautiful sunburst tank of this XS650 built by River Rat Cycles.
Phew, that’s a lot of photos! But if for some reason you want to see more, click here for an album with more photos from the show.
There were so many wonderful bikes that it’s hard to pick a favorite. Even the bikes that weren’t my personal style had numerous details that I had to appreciate. If I had to pick a bike to just stare at as sculpture, I’d probably pick the Revival Landspeeder. For something to ride on a daily basis, I think I’d like Walt Siegl’s MV Agusta. But ask me again tomorrow and I might have different answers. What were some of your favorites?
Many of these photos were taken by Nathan May.