12/08/2010 by info.

Freddie ‘Krugger’ Bertrand is now wearing the World Champions’ ring after being named the 2010 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building.

The bike with which he claimed the title was built for Veon Motorcycle’s owner Peer Toftner and features a unique electronically adjustable frame system developed by Peer (pictured, left, with World Champion ‘Freddie’ Krugger). At the flick of a switch the V-Rod engined bike can be transformed from a low-riding cruiser with long rake to sport bike mode with a shorter wheelbase and steeper rake. The radical machine even has two sets of foot controls to match each style of riding.

Krugger’s win in the Championship follows on from third places in both 2004 and 2005, a 13th place in 2008 and another third last year.

The highest placed domestic builder for 2010 is second placed Mark Daley of Thunder Struck Cycles. His placing reflects the level of engineering involved in the building of the engine in his entry - Sniper. The Indian Powerplus motor used in the bike has had the inlet and outlet ports reversed with the heads welded and machined to allow the correct sized valves to be operated by the reverse grind cam.

For the first time in the Championship’s history a builder from Belarus brought a bike to Sturgis and was duly rewarded with third place for his efforts. Yuri Shif, the proprietor of Yuri Shif Customs took inspiration from German ’30s race cars for the styling of his long, low bike and then took the German influence even further by joining two early BMW Boxer engines at the cranks. Not satisfied with the engineering needed to achieve that feat he then reversed the rear pair of heads to allow him to feed all four inlet ports via a supercharger.

Having already placed in the top three in the Freestyle Class at the 2010 World Championship of Custom Bike Building it became a double celebration for Yuri Shif when he was called to the stage to receive the Metric World Champion’s trophy too, having won the class by a clear margin.

The European domination of the results sheet continued with Sergio Bayarri, of Sbay Motor Company claiming the win in the Production Manufacturer class with his race inspired Flying, The bike, which replicates Ducati geometry has been developed and tested on European race track and the tires show the strain of hard riding on the track.

With support from Harley-Davidson and a Screamin’ Eagle motor being awarded to the winner, the competition in the Modified Harley class was the stiffest ever seen in the events history, and once again it was a European builder that triumphed. Shaw Harley-Davidson’s Strike True II polled the votes in the judging and saw the trophy heading to the UK, another first in the show’s seven-year history.

More pictures of some of the winning bikes will follow later…..

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26/05/2010 by info.

Staged at the port city of Norrtelje, an hour North East of the Swedish capital Stockholm, Custom Bike Show is set to again be the Scandinavian Affiliate event for the World Championship of Custom Bike Building; the sixth time that the event has been a part of the program.

Organized by Twin Club MC, and believed to be one of the oldest established custom bike shows in the world, the one-day ride-in event will be staged in its usual Societets Park in Norrtelje on Saturday June 5th.

The event draws large crowds, on what is Sweden’s National Holiday weekend, with competitors from all over Scandinavia, Finland and elsewhere in Europe.

Prior winners have included Stellan Egeland, whose June 2007 win with ‘Hulster 8 Valve’ came just two months before Stellan went on the become Europe’s still one and only Official World Champion.

Traditionally Custom Bike Show sees one of the highest standards of custom bikes at Europe’s shows, and other prior winners such as Hogtech, Mr. Moore Custom Craft, Chemical Chopper, Anders Göth and Flying Choppers have all gone on to do well at the European or World Championship.

Custom Bike Show is operated by the members of Twin Club MC on a volunteer basis, and gets generous support from aftermarket vendors such as Motorcycle Storehouse, Custom Chrome Europe, MotoSpeed and others who put up several thousands of Euro of parts and accessory prizes.

Twin Club MC provides the winner with a 5.000 Euro ‘bike freight prize’ to compete at the World Championship, and prize money for second and third to compete at the European Championship.

This year, Harley-Davidson Sweden is to sponsor the Modified Harley class in the latest international extension to Harley-Davidson’s partnership with the World Championship program.

www.custombikeshow.se

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14/05/2010 by info.

Some 3,000 riders and a total attendance of around 20,000 people turned out for the 2nd annual Mad Builders Motorcycle Rally and Custom Show held over Mexico’s National Holiday weekend (May 1st to 3rd, 2010) at Jocotepec, Jalisco.

Operated by Caballos Salvajes (Wild Horses), a local motorcycle club, the event was, again, an AMD Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building Affiliate.

An increased bike entry competed for prizes in Modified Harley-Davidson, ‘Metric’ custom, and ‘FreeStyle’ classes with the Best in Show prize being expenses to compete at this year’s 7th annual World Championship at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August.

The event was supported by Rivera Primo and local dealer Harley-Davidson Jalisco, with the Best in Show ‘Sturgis’ affiliate event prize win being taken by Gabriel Solis Castillo of Puro Chingon Custom Choppers, of Hermosilio in the desert state of Sonora in Mexico.

His bike, ‘La Joya del Desierto’ (Jewel of the Desert) is a celebration of the colors, landscape and riding experience of the desert region in which he is based. Built on a heavily modified Redneck frame, the bike features a modified 1965 Harley ‘Pan/Shovel’ combination hybrid engine and modified Kiwi Indian leaf spring front-end.

www.madbuildersmotocicletasmexico.com

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07/05/2010 by info.

AMD is proud to announce support from Harley-Davidson for the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building at a new level.

Building on Harley-Davidson’s official sponsorship of the AMD Modified Harley-Davidson class, starting at this year’s 70th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Harley-Davidson will also become AMD’s new World Championship event production and staging partner.”

Following the success of its changed locations at Daytona Bike Week, Harley-Davidson has already announced that after 20 years it is to re-locate its Sturgis activity from Rapid City to the City of Sturgis itself, with the Harley-Davidson Road Tour being headquartered at the Lazelle/3rd site on which the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building has been hosted since 2007.

In a further extension to its world-wide support for the World Championship program, the Motor Company is now putting its considerable event resources behind the AMD Magazine team’s presentation of the four-day World Championship at Lazelle/3rd.

Located at the heart of Rally visitor attendance, the critical mass that Harley-Davidson will bring to the downtown Sturgis Rally experience has been welcomed by the City and vendors alike.

For the World Championship program, it represents an opportunity for attendance and profile to be taken to a new level as it heads into its 4th year on the site, and the 7th annual event.

“We got an excellent response to the changes we made in Daytona for Bike Week,” said Harley’s Steve Piehl. “Moving our displays outside, focusing our show on customization and personalization was the right thing to do. And we loved being where we could hear the rumble of big V-Twin engines all day long.”

“Given the relationship we have with the World Championship of Custom Bike Building, when it came to planning our activities for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the opportunity to be adjacent to the Championship was really attractive. We are excited to be able to work with AMD and partner even more closely with them in Downtown Sturgis.”

As at press-time, some 50 plus custom bikes were already signed up to compete, including 15 international bikes. The class structure will again showcase the latest radical custom projects and craftsmanship, air-cooled v-twin and otherwise. Alongside the ‘FreeStyle’ class, the fast-growing Modified Harley-Davidson class will again be sponsored by Harley-Davidson, with the Motor Company saying that this year they’ll put up a new, crated motor for the Modified Harley World Champion.

The Championship will also include the regular ‘Metric’ and ‘Production Manufacturer’ classes. Bike registrations will be on Saturday August 7th, with the event itself running from the morning of Sunday August 8th to the awards ceremony on the afternoon of Wednesday August 11th. It is anticipated that this year will see the awards ceremony being broadcast live on the internet with regular Facebook, Twitter and blog updates throughout, with the event itself being seen by the largest number of riders yet.

The World Championship can be entered online at www.amdchampionship.com

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07/05/2010 by info.

The second annual Hardy Butts Bike Rally will be staged at Lloret De Mar, north of Barcelona on Spain’s north east coast, from June 11th to 13th.

This year the event makes its debut as an Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building Affiliate, with the winner of the World Champs-scrutinized custom show winning an expenses contribution to compete at the World Championship at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Being staged with city and regional Costa Brava tourism authority backing, the event made its own debut last year, and will be headquartered under the palm trees of the city’s picturesque downtown Mediterranean beach-side plaza.

With additional backing from Spanish Custom Machines magazine, Custom Chrome Europe and Girona Custom Motorcycles, the event will feature ‘FreeStyle’ v-twin and liquid-cooled platform customizing.

www.hardybutts.com

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07/05/2010 by info.

THIS year’s European H.O.G. Rally is the latest to join the World Championship of Custom Bike Building’s Affiliate event program.

Being staged at Campione-Lugano in Switzerland (July 16-18) at Switzerland’s annual ‘Swiss Harley Days’ event, one lucky Modified Harley owner will win expenses contribution to be able to take his or her bike to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2011 to compete at the World Championship of Custom Bike Building.

This is the latest international extension to the World Championship sponsorship that Harley-Davidson embarked on last year, and follows on from the first Modified Harley-Davidson affiliate event win (Shaw Harley-Davidson, UK) seen at London’s Ace Cafe Motorcycle & Custom Show at the end of February.

The spectacularly beautiful Lake Lugano area of South East Switzerland, near the Italian border, will see the 19th annual staging of Harley’s popular European H.O.G. Rally with several thousand riders expected to make the trip from all over Europe.

The Ride-In Custom Show is open to dealers as well as owner customized bikes, and will showcase customizing on all the factory’s platforms, including V-Rods, as well as ‘old style’ Harleys of all kinds.

www.swissharleydays.ch

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07/05/2010 by info.

THE second annual Hardy Butts Bike Rally will be staged at Lloret De Mar north of Barcelona on Spain’s north east coast from June 11th to 13th.

This year the event makes its debut as an Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building Affiliate with the winner of the World Champs scrutinized custom show winning expenses contribution to compete at the World Championship at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Being staged with city and regional Costa Brava tourism authority backing, the event made its own debut last year, and will be headquartered under the palm trees of the city’s picturesque downtown Mediterranean beach-side plaza.

With additional backing from Spanish Custom Machines magazine, Custom Chrome Europe and Girona Custom Motorcycles, the event will feature ‘FreeStyle’ V-twin and liquid-cooled platform customizing.

www.harleybutts.com

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30/03/2010 by info.

The annual Custom Chrome Europe Dealer Show once again played host to the prestigious AMD Official European Championship of Custom Bike Building at the Phoenixhalle, at Mainz, near Frankfurt in Germany on March 27th and 28th.

In an event that saw some 119 custom bikes from 20 different countries (making this the most international AMD European Championship yet!), Italian builders continued to confirm their emergence onto the international scene by scooping most of the top honors.

Garage 65 from near Pisa in Italy followed up their Verona, Zuerich and London successes by taking the win in the Freestyle class, claiming the title of European Champion, with their hub-center steered, radically styled ‘KCosmoDrive’ lowrider.

Headbanger Motorcycles of Milan were second with ‘Morning Sunrise’ by Luciano Andreoli, which features a radical rigid fork and pivot frame, down-tube shocks chassis concept.

The top three was rounded out by ‘One Eyed King’ by the Japanese/US based Cycle Kraft operation.

Affiliate event pre-qualifications meant that the three builders who won the World Championship ‘Sturgis’ bike freight vouchers, courtesy of DHL and Custom Chrome, were Luciano Andreoli of Italy for ‘Morning Sunrise’, Blech & Drüber of Austria for their Norton engined ‘Walton’ (5th in the European Championship) and Hungary’s Mücechoppers, whose much admired communist-era East German made Simson two-stroke single- powered styling masterpiece scooped sixth in the European Championship.

Fourth place was taken by Speed Dept/Mayhem Kustomz with the ‘Energicer’ lowrider that won them the domestic ‘Sturgis’ prize at Swiss Performance at Zurich in February.

Fine Custom Mechanics (FCM) of Moscow, Russia (7th), Bertrand Dubet’s Odyssey Motorcycles, France (8th), Hogtech of Sweden in collaboration with Dutchman Paul Funk (9th) and A.T. American Cycles of Germany completed the top ten for this year’s AMD Official European Championship ‘FreeStyle’ Class.

FCM’s top ten finish backed up their top-twenty at last year’s World Championship, and Bertrand Dubet and Hogtech both have fine track records of success in AMD’s Affiliate, European and World Championship events.

A.T. took tenth with ‘Osmane’, another bike that had already pre-qualified for this year’s World Championship, with a win at the Arneitz/CCE/Bikers Power World Championship Affiliate custom show at the Faak Rally in Austria last year.

In an extension to Harley-Davidsons’ burgeoning sponsorship and support for the AMD World Championship program, Harley-Davidson Europe sponsored the AMD European Championship Modified Harley Class first place with a brand new 120ci big bore kit engine.

The Modified Harley-Davidson class win was taken by Abnormal Cycles of Italy, with their FL ‘48.

Second was ‘Forsaken’ by Unique Custom Cycles of Sweden, winning them a ThunderMax EFi kit; third place was taken by Germany’s Sasse van Essen with ‘Skull Racer’. Their prize was a Daytona TwinTec kit, and further reward in the shape of a SCS wide rear end swingarm kit for winning Sunday’s Public Choice award.

The Custom Chrome Motorcycles class saw a clean sweep for German builders with ‘Coppster 36′ by Kraftwerk Customs taking first place and a SuperTrapp/Paul Yaffe ‘Phantom’ exhaust system; second place and a Performance Machine brake system went to Deathfield-Choppers for ‘Gold Nugget’; third place saw Tobias Guckel (TGS Motorcycles) win a Progressive Suspension 430 series shocks kit.

The defining character of this year’s show was diversity. The 119 bikes included American V-twin power plants alongside Italian V-twins, a Norton, a Yamaha single, a pair of single cylinder Simsons and a pair of Japanese in-line fours. Bike styles ranged from traditional Choppers through board trackers and Bobbers to streetfighters and beyond to machinery that gloriously defies conventional categorization as the European custom industry continues to maintain its reputation for creativity, individuality, originality and craftsmanship.

Additional class wins and prizes included a RevTech 100ci engine for Spain’s Sbay Motorcycles, an Autometer speedo/tacho unit for Waka’s Bikes in Italy, and a stylish Thunderbike Germany air filter kit to Marcus Walz of Germany for the one, two and three in the Custom Chrome RevTech awards, and CCE/Jammer and KB Piston prizes for Arno Schmitz of Germany (first), B.C.C., Italy (second), and Oskar’s Chopper of Germany (third) in the Jammer ‘Old School’ awards.

Additional ‘FreeStyle’ prizes were generously awarded by Legend Air Suspension, Belt Drives Ltd., Fred Kodlin Motorcycles, Daytona TwinTec, BSL Exhausts of Austria and LePera custom seats.

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24/03/2010 by info.

The 23rd annual Donnie Smith Custom Bike Show and Parts Extravaganza is being staged this weekend, March 27th/28th at St. Paul, Mn.

Operated by Neil Ryan’s American Thunder Promotions, the Donnie Smith invitational, as it was known for many years, is now the first of a series of three famous-name events that Ryan has developed for consecutive spring-time weekends either side of Easter this year.

All new for this year, the first annual Viper Motorcycle Company sponsored Rick Fairless Strokers Dallas Bike Show & Parts Expo is being staged on April 10th to 11th at the Dallas Market Center, Dallas, Tx.

Following that the 4th annual Arlen Ness Bike Show is slated for April 17th to 18th at the San Mateo County Event Center near San Jose, California.

This year will see Arlen’s three-generation business celebrating 40 years in the custom motorcycle industry with an “adrenaline-producing show that offers a pro class and 42 bike categories”.

www.donniesmithbikeshow.com
www.rickfairlessbikeshow.com
www.arlennessbikeshow.com

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23/03/2010 by info.

This weekend will see the staging of the annual European Championship of Custom Bike Building at Custom Chrome Europe’s Dealer Show at Mainz in Germany.

Staged at the Phoenixhalle, on Saturday March 27th and Sunday March 28th, the event is expected to see one of the largest European Championships to date, with over 120 bikes pre-registered by the deadline.

Harley-Davidson are backing the Modified Harley-Davidson Class at the European Championship, with one of their new 120 inch Twin Cam engines as first prize.

The first three in the ‘FreeStyle’ Class will win bike-freight to compete at the World Championship compliments of Custom Chrome Europe, with additional prizes being provided by Custom Chrome and their vendors.

The CCE Dealer Show will see vendors from the United States and Europe introducing product lines to CCE Dealers, with the company continuing the celebration of its 40th anniversary.

In addition to guest appearances and a market history retrospective, the anniversary will be marked by a toast hosted by Arlen and Cory Ness, with special collectible edition anniversary glasses, marking the double celebration as Arlen Ness Enterprises are this year also celebrating their own 40th anniversary.

The event will also be an opportunity for dealers in Europe to meet Cole Foster and Kirk Taylor, and see the 1970’s style chopper (Foster) and up-to-date 2010 “Birthday Bagger” (Taylor) that Custom Chrome commissioned to mark the evolution of the custom market since the company opened its doors in 1970.

This weekend’s event follows the success of the return of Custom Chrome’s California Dealer Show ten days ago, where the anniversary celebrations kicked-off.

www.amdchampionship.com

www.custom-chrome-europe.com

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