BikeShed London Motoshow 2023

As I’d never been to the BikeShed Motoshow and just knew it by reputation – as one of the premier custom motorcycle shows in the world – I was thrilled to have two of my Hard Motos bikes chosen to be exhibited there. Couldn’t resist, even if it meant travelling from Amsterdam on Pentecost weekend – and that I had to spend a couple days polishing my bikes to make them look the part!

So off to London and the venue, Tobacco Dock near the Thames River and the Tower of London…

That was the first thing that struck me, such a great place – old buildings but tastefully restored with a couple of old sailing boats outside for decoration. Loads of rooms, all laid out for the hundreds of bikes on display. And for the various bike brands showing off the best customs based on their various models… Plus a sampling of motorcycle-related vendors ranging from clothing obviously, to art, to tea – how British!

Second thing I noticed was the efficient organization and great (mostly volunteer) staff on hand to help you get sorted. Loads of security – such as individual tie-wraps on the bikes, so you could only remove your own at the end of the show. And by having security staff everywhere.

Not that I felt it was needed, the atmosphere was genuinely friendly and relaxed all through the event, even on Saturday morning when the lines went for hundreds of meters before the show opening at 10:00AM.

And then the bikes! The theme this year was ‘Past, Present and Future’, and numerous bikes fitting all three categories present…

For ‘Past’, loads of great bikes, going from pre-war restored to better than original, to choppers, bobbers and caféracers.

For ‘Present’, quite a few retro-bikes, new but converted/modified to yes – choppers, bobbers and caféracers. But remarkably there is another type of custom becoming quite prominent in this category, enduro bikes! A lot more colorful on average than what we are used to from custom bikes – with the possible exception of choppers from the seventies.

‘Future’ – quite a few electric bikes of course, including what Dutch law considers bicycles – fat bikes like Super73.  I saw a prototype of a more performant bike though, so that may be coming…

There also was a virtual presentation of a sort of chameleon bike – taking different shapes for different rides – that you could access by scanning a QR code, but I guess I’m old-fashioned; prefer to see the real bike…

There was a pre-opening evening on the Friday for press and VIP invitees, with some nice music but endless lines at the three only food vendors open that night, so we snuck out to get dinner at the Smoking Goat – near the BikeShed HQ in Shoreditch – amazing!

So got there Saturday early to find a mind-blowing number of folks already in line waiting for the opening of the show. Luckily, we could get in around back – just by showing our exhibitor wristband. And indeed, Saturday was crowded, but never overcrowded, the venue is large enough to accommodate a vast number of visitors without it feeling cramped.

Sunday was a bit less crowded, so enjoyed taking in the 300-plus marvelous bikes on display again!

There was entertainment – both live music at all hours in the main hall and presentations plus panel discussions in the Shed Talks building. There was food and drinks galore on the Saturday and Sunday, a variety of food trucks were parked just outside the venue. Nice weather, so getting a bit of a tan while having a nice latte was definitely part of the morning routine…

All in all, one of the nicest motorcycle shows I’ve seen, definitely worth it, I’ll be back for more!