View thousands people flock to Tobacco Docks in London for the Bike Shed Show, it’s amazing to see what can grow out of a mere love and admiration for custom motorcycles. The Bike Shed started out as a motorcycle tuning blog in 2011, but has eventually grown into a restaurant, retail space and accessories brand. It first opened in London, then expanded to Los Angeles last year.
Now, the brand has hosted more than 13 of these custom shows between London and Paris—so it’s safe to say they’ve broken the formula. In fact, so much so that the Bike Shed Show is often on many custom builders’ calendars, the deadline for any project they’re working on.
The exhibition not only showcases a wide variety of custom bikes, but also live music, delicious food, top vendors from around the world, and panel discussions with brands and manufacturers. make.
This year’s London edition takes place at the end of May at Tobacco Docks, a large, two-story warehouse building built in 1812. Stone walkways lead from room to room, each with a row. Various customized machines. The ‘Grand Gallery’ is for the well-known no-store garage builders, with more base construction downstairs in ‘Shed Row’. Mini-bikes and electric scooters occupy the ‘Future Room’.
So you have a 430hp Suzuki sitting next to a single-wheeled towing motorcycle going over 200 mph, right next to a Triumph Tiger helicopter, a Honda Cub and a motorcycle. Sinclair C5 reclining electric bike. Other highlights include a modern engine and chassis covered with an 80s superbike body, a KTM LC4 engine-powered scooter, and even a fully virtual bike. (It exists only as an augmented reality design, shifting from cruiser to sport to adventure, right in front of the viewer as they point their phone at it.)
Major OEMs also support the program. Dozens of custom BMW R 18s form a circle in the middle of the downstairs walkway—perfect views from the upper balcony but still easily accessible for closer inspection. From a custom cruiser that hangs on gibbons to a fastback-inspired flatline build, there’s been an impressive range of styles to be applied to the heavy airhead.
Indian Motorcycle has revealed a custom collaboration between Cheetah and Sideburn Magazine—a one-piece FTR 1200 with incredible stone inlays and hand-engraved details. Norton Motorcycle’s new V4CR breaks boundaries for the first time, showcasing a new, café racer-inspired style on the brand’s high-performance V4 platform. And Royal Enfield brought in a few bikes from their own custom program.
The large venue is easy to navigate and it looks like no matter where you are, you’re not too far from bars or bathrooms. Food carts line the piers outside the venue, offering everything from fresh pasta made with raw ingredients, to Korean fried chicken or smoked barbecue. There’s direct screen printing, leather jacket drawing, and even an artist who has completed a black and white pencil sketch just like the photo.
The Bike Shed Show runs from Friday night until Sunday night, but the Bike Shed locations in London and Los Angeles are permanent works, with custom bikes on display year-round. And if LA is closer to you than London, there’s good news—a Bike Shed LA show is scheduled.
bike garage | Image of Shane Benson
