Full House – CUSTOMBIKE SHOW 2013 with a new visitor record
Three exhibition halls, 25,000 square meters, 330 exhibitors, over 800 radically converted motorcycles and more
Visitors – the CUSTOMBIKE SHOW confirms its position as the world's leading trade fair for motorcycle customizing. The CUSTOMBIKE SHOW took place for the ninth time from December 6th to 8th in the Bad Salzuflen exhibition center. The international significance of the event was underlined by the numerous exhibitors, visitors and bike show participants from abroad. Sweden, England, the Benelux countries, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Russia, Japan and the USA – never before have so many nations been present at the show as this year.
Bill Dodge, a star customizer who traveled from the USA, was impressed: »I would never have expected that a trade fair in a small town in Germany would overshadow everything. I'm absolutely overwhelmed and will definitely be back next year." The EUROPEAN BIKER BUILD-OFF 2013 was a first in the history of the conversion contest. For the first time, there was no winner in the highly acclaimed live custom competition. Aykut Tataroglu (AT American Cycles, Germany) and Stokan Dukic (Seven Star Choppers, Switzerland) each put a radical bike on the bikes over the three days of the trade fair, and in the end there was a high-end supercharger and a classic one Highneck chopper opposite. According to the BIKER BUILD-OFF statutes, both motorcycles must be started and drive independently during the fair. To the disappointment of participants and spectators, neither of the two protagonists managed to do this, which is why the contest did not produce a winner. The opponents took it sportily. Aykut Tataroglu declared overwhelmed: »I still had three fantastic days here at the trade fair. Thanks to my team.«
In contrast, the International Custombike Championship Germany (ICCG) produced 14 winners. The expert jury, consisting of the editors of the magazines CUSTOMBIKE, DREAM-MACHINES and BIKERS NEWS, chose their favorites from 280 motorcycles, and the participants themselves chose the “Best of Show” trophy, worth 2,500 euros, in the voting. - A victory at this prestigious show is like an accolade within the custom scene, so the winners were very happy.
Winner:
- Craziest Bike – Honda Goldwing – Tomasz Pawlos (Poland)
- Best Engineering – Twintrax self-built with two motors – Christoph Madaus (Germany)
- Best Metric Bike – Honda VT 600 Shadow – Enrico Arnold (Germany)
- Best Cafe Racer – Benelli 654 Sport – Vincenzo Ciancio (Italy)
- Best Chopper – Indian-Redneck-XXL – Lars Sundberg (Sweden)
- Best Oldschool – Triumph T120 R – Frank Dilbakowski (Germany)
- Rookie of the Year – Harley-Davidson Shovelhead – Fynn C. Grabke (Germany)
- Best Paint – HD Softail-VG-Trike – Andreas Friedrich (Germany) Editors Choice – Husqvarna 1668 – Lars Sundberg (Sweden)
- Best Streetfighter – Honda Pan European – Nádas Csaba (Hungary)
- Best Power Cruiser – Harley-Davidson V-Rod – Carsten Rudolph (Germany)
- Best Bobber – Harley-Davidson FL – Arno Kruth (Germany)
- Best Radical – Real Steel Homemade – Hans Bozzies (Netherlands)
- Best of Show – Harley-Davidson FXS Low Rider – Pete Pearson (England)
, one highlight followed another at the CUSTOMBIKE-SHOW
There were also many other innovations and premieres, for example the electric custom bike “TEM01 Full Electric” that was on display worldwide for the first time – an exciting prospect for the future.
The supporting program was complemented by a diverse range of shows and activities such as the Miss Custombike election, the Harley fashion show, the spectacular steep wall acrobatics of the Kroeze family from the Netherlands and a massive after-show party at which exhibitors, spectators and organizers celebrated what was probably the most successful CUSTOMBIKE SHOW of all time.
The tenth edition of the CUSTOMBIKE SHOW will take place in 2014 from December 5th to 7th. Copyright: Huber-Verlag 2013 Photo gallery
