It’s the end of May and that means it’s time for the annual pilgrimage of raw denim and Red Wings to Tobacco Dock for Bike Shed London. Last years visit reignited my interest in this event and I was looking forward to seeing all the new bike builds. Friday evening is the VIP/Press preview, but anyone can buy a ticket, although numbers are limited so you need to get in early when ordering. As per last year, there was a large queue waiting when I turned up, but this moved pretty quickly. Once again the door staff were really friendly and seemed genuinely pleased to see us.
As the evening rolled on the atmosphere just got better and better. Everyone was was in high spirits and there was such a great vibe throughout the venue. Plenty of food and drink available with live music thrown in to entertain the ears after all the visual delights on offer.
Heading up the stairs I was greeted by the beautiful sight of a Krazy Horse Hooligan. A flat-track inspired Indian Scout which looks ‘just-right’ and sits there with a menacing stance, waiting to be unleashed.
I’d previously read about Sinroja motorcycles in Built magazine. Based just outside Leicester they turn out a great looking bikes. ‘Two Smoking Barrels’ is based on a Royal Enfield Continental GT650 and was their first purpose-built race bike. It was built to enter Sultans of the Sprint race where it finished 3rd overall in the factory class.
The great colour combination on this tidy Norton really stood out in a sea of black and silver machines. I really liked the balance of the candy and satin black across both the bodywork and the seat. Also, the gold forks tying up nicely with the Ohlins rear shock. It’s details like this that can make a real difference to the end result.
Another bike that stood out in among the shed-builds was this dialled-in custom Yamaha v-twin. With its yellow tank and seat cowl sporting neat racing stripes giving that nod to those mid-80s glories with Kenny Roberts YZR500.
Not what I was expecting to see in the Triumph Bobber build-off, but this 70’s racer looked super cool with its sweeping bodywork. My guess he builder was influenced by Triumph’s X75 Hurricane and drag bikes from the same era.
Amazing engineering details on Rafale, built by Storik. Based on a 1975 Triumph Trident Triple this bare bike highlights the traditional coach building skills of the team. So many details give a nod back to the early aeronautical, boat and pre-war industrial design. This is a bike I could just sit and admire for a long time.
This Low slung Royal Enfield looked stunning but had no details on its show plaque so I can’t enlighten you to who built it.
Helmets for India uses the power of art to raise awareness of the lack of helmet and safety regulations in India. They’re working to improve road safety and help bring about a change in the perception of wearing a helmet. The initiative auctions off the individual art-helmets to raise funds to give away crash helmets to people in India.
Broken Dollars were on stage filling our ears with sweet music. If you’ve not heard them play you really should check them out.
