#ben boyle

Ice Racing// The day after Mama Tried. This was some seriously awesome stuff to watch. The rest of my photos from the ice should be up on Iron & Air soon. For now, enjoy this photo of Ben "Bender" Boyle doing his thing!

Brooklyn Invitational Custom Motorcycle Show

Saturday, September 17, 2011

   On a near perfect late summer morning the Saddle Bums gang motorcycled through the tunnel and over the Williamsburg Bridge to the nation of Brooklyn. We were expecting a chopper event but hoping for a lot more. We weren’t disappointed.

   On this particular morning “the gang” comprised my daughter, Stephanie, riding passenger on my Kawasaki 750 Turbo,  and Team-Six Urban Assault Leader Marco Lau on his Suzuki 400 Bandit.

   That’s right, two Jap bikes at a chopper event. Who you lookin’ at?

   Williamsburg is a little tough to make out on first blush. Greeted by long, low rows of warehouses you’re not sure if it’s a neighborhood on the way up or on the way down. A quick glance towards the East River and the high rises assures you it’s the former. 

   Clinching the deal is the army of joggers, who reminded me of the Monty Python “Silly Olympics” sketch where the 100M runners line up, and at the sound of the starter’s pistol scatter in all different directions. Is this any place for a custom motorcycle show?

   Indeed it is. This is where the late chopper-builder legend Indian Larry once set up shop. Though late in the day those tall high rises may cast a forboding shadow over the low warehouses, right now this part of Brooklyn is a little bit of motorcycle heaven — a great place for a motorcyclist to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. 

   Arriving unfashionably early, we found ideal parking spots right it front of the “gallery” (hey, this is New York City). Inside, the crew was on step ladders hanging lights — right over where the some precious custom bikes had already been rolled out for display. 

   Trouble brewing.

   Work progressed slowly (and noisily) until the forklift arrived on the loading dock and began unloading cases of Asahi. Everyone stopped to give advice. So this is how it’s gonna be. I took a few videos of what bikes were already on the floor ("before" footage?) and then we headed out to explore the neighborhood.

   The Custom Motorcycle Show was the event of the day, but for us the real show was wandering the ‘hood in search of surprises.

   Is that custom motorcycle fabricator Works Engineering over there? Yes, just down the block from the main event. “We’re here for the custom bike show up the street,” I said to the guy minding the garage door to the shop. “Really, I didn’t know anything about it. Choppers aren’t my thing.”  

   “Well, yeah, not mine either but it’s right up the block and...hey, where can we get something to eat?” He pointed us north and off we went.

   Stephanie spotted some scooters on Dobbin Street so a detour was in order. The scoots lining the curb belonged to a shop called Carbon (-), (that’s “carbon negative”), where I saw my first Zero electric motorcycle. Interesting, but I’m not ready just yet.

   Strolling through the back of the shop I spotted a twenty-something woman wrenching on a Vespa. Where were these lady mechanics when I was... oh yeah, almost forgot. My wife once worked at a motorcycle junk yard. Really. Barry’s Cycle Salvage. She was a dismantler.

   The main drag of Williamsburg is rather trendy, right down to the hour-long wait for a lunchtime table. Pass. On our third try we lucked out. Didn’t even know the name of the place until we were handed our menus. The Matchless. An obvious motorcycle-themed joint right down to the huge, metal Matchless logo out front and motorcycle mural near the bathroom. Our waitress didn’t know anything about the restaurant’s motorcycle connections. I was beginning to suspect that in Williamsburg being oblivious was hip (if that word is still being used).

   Leaving the Matchless we stumbled across our third surprise of the day — Genuine Motorworks. In what only can be seen as a truce between the warehouse denizens and the hipsters, GM sells motorcycle and motorcycle-related clothing, gear and what-not to the style conscious. Definitely worth the visit, but in truth I enjoyed eating donuts and talking with the motorheads on GM’s loading dock just a bit more.

   Back to the gallery at around two-ish we weren’t surprised to see that the crowd had grown considerably. The show on the street was well underway, but the main event wouldn’t officially open it’s doors until 3. Not a problem. Bikes rolled in, bikes rolled out, apprehensive hipsters pedaled by looking lost or perhaps just thinking, “WTF?”

   After an hour of metaphoric tire kicking we entered the gallery and were relieved to see that no fallen klieg lights had brought any fabricator to tears. The star of show (at least for us), was the Walt Siegl Ducati Café Racer. Oh, was it sweet! The choppers were wonderful in their own right, but that Ducati... sinful (check out the video). Best chopper of the day? Steve Schuller’s supercharged, Art Deco monster. And he was outside the gallery. Go figure.

   There were lots of in-your-face, baddass-biker photos to ponder, T-shirts and trinkets to take home, and plenty of Asahi.

   Back on the street I saw a young couple eyeing my Kaw Turbo. Inching closer unnoticed, I overheard the woman, pinching her chin, remark to her partner, “A little too ‘Mad Max-ie’ for my taste.”