I went to the Bike Shed event in Shoreditch in London today. It was an outing for my red custom bike, Tradewinds. I met a few friends there, so what better way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon.
Part bike display, part art show, it was a small but busy event that showed off custom bikes. Most of the bikes were old and had been modified on a budget. No high-end expensive bikes here, which was refreshing.
A few pictures from the event, all taken on a camera phone….
Many café racers….
A nice BMW café racer….
A Triumph with extended forks and a hard seat….
A lovely bobber….
Nice air intake….
An unusual JAP engine in a Harley-Davidson frame….
Um, some sort of a bastard bike….
Old and dirty….
My favourite bike at the event. I am looking for an engine like this right now, for a new custom bike project I have in mind….
Goggles and gloves….
I met this guy, Martin, sketching away and was impressed by his art….
Motorcycle park….
My friend Paul, as ever, taking pictures….
I think they may need to find somewhere bigger for next year.....
When designing my custom motorcycle Amelia, I knew two things for sure.
1. I would be touring long distances on this motorcycle. 2. I needed to be able to fix luggage to the bike, but I didn't want an ugly rack to spoil the look of the bike.
Good looks and practicality don't always go well together, so, it became clear that we needed to be quite innovative in devising a solution for fixing luggage to the bike.
I was looking on the Harley-Davidson HOG website and found a cool picture of yours truly riding my Amelia bike in St Tropez.....
Also, in an e-mail HOG sent out to it's members, there is a video form the recent rally in St Tropez and somewhere near the beginning, is Amelia parked up in the marina....
Many of you know a new custom bike has been built for me recently. I have posted a few pictures of the progress of the bike as it developed and of some of the details of the bike, but it is now time to reveal the completed motorcycle.
Called Amelia, the bike is based upon what old school choppers used to look like, with long forks and high bars. The bike looks amazing with its stunning engraving and paintwork. Here is the bike as it was rolled for the first time, ready for its first ride....
I didn’t post any pictures at the time as I didn’t want to give away the overall shape, but here is the bike a few weeks ago in its full mock-up form. Pictured by the bike is Charlie Stockwell, of Warrs Harley-Davidson, who built the bike. He did an amazing job and full marks must go to him for creating a wonderful motorcycle. Some of the parts were made by Charlie....
Due to its unusual form, Charlie and I wanted to ride the bike as a mock up before it was painted in order to check out the handling. We needn’t have worried as Dave Batchelar of P&D Custom Bikes did a terrific job of modifying the frame. The bike rode like a dream and took the bends with ease. Yes, I know the bike looks odd and yes, that is tape holding on the temporary instrument panel, as yes, the seat isn’t covered yet....
Here is the bike being assembled after painting and engraving. The engine had stage 4 modifications to give it much more power....
The engraving and paint is simply incredible. Here are a few of the details of the front end....
A view looking up at the front brake pedal, reservoir and engine....
The paint was done by Keith of Classic Cycle Works and I have to say he did a fantastic job. The paint scheme just leaps out at you, with big metal flake, pinstriping and glorious colours....
The engraving just makes the whole bike gleam in a riot of chiselled metal. It is difficult to remember that this engraving was all cut by hand with a hammer and chisel. Remarkable!....
Here are a few shots from last weeks custom bike show at the HOG Rally in Grimaud in the south of France. Amelia was awarded second place in the Custom Bike category....
A few more shots from last weekend in St Tropez....
Wherever I parked the bike in St Tropez, it seemed to get quite a lot of people looking at it....
Finally, a couple of pictures of the guy that owns the bike. Most of the time, he has a big grin on his face....
Along with a few friends, Ian, Paul, Preben and Andy, I went riding to Cannes and then back to St Tropez. From the back of a bike, Ian used his phone to capture a short video of me riding Amelia.... its not a great quality video, but you will get the idea.... oh, and the sound of the bike is wonderful......
It is fair to say, I am deligyhted and very happy with the new bike. In just a few weeks time, I am going to ride it to Portugal on a 2,000 mile round trip. I can’t wait!
Thanks to everyone that helped to create such a fantastic motorcycle!
Work on my custom bike, called Amelia, continues. Now only a week until final assembly is complete, here are a few pictures taken over the past few weeks....
Engraving of all of the parts is now complete....
The build is complete. Here are a few partial pictures....
The bike was then dismantled and all parts are now being painted or chromed...
Parts in the paint booth....
In just six days, I should be able to ride the bike. I can’t wait!
