The debut of ‘INTERMOT Customized’ in Hall 10 at Koelnmesse/INTERMOT in October has been widely acclaimed as heralding the start of a new headquarters event opportunity for the international custom motorcycle industry. Featuring the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building as the primary attraction, here is a selection of exhibitor information.
DAYTONA TWIN TEC: Florida based fuel injection tuning specialist. International Sales Consultant Hector Melendez told AMD that “sales in Europe are strong. There is a very real demand here for products that combine comprehensive features with ease of use”;
www.daytona-twintec.com
DETLEV LOUIS: Bought last year by legendary US investor Warren “Sage of Omaha” Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway investment group, Hamburg based Detlev Louis is a well known parts and accessory distributor, mail order specialist and owner of a network of over 70 retail stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The company can trace its origins back to the 1930s and used ‘INTERMOT Customized’ to launch its new custom parts and accessories program. They also entered their bike “Alouise” into the Cafe Racer class at this year’s AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building; www.louis.de
FRED KODLIN: The well-known German customizer was one of several prior exhibitors to return to INTERMOT to contribute to the critical mass achieved at the first ‘INTERMOT Customized’ show-within-show concept that saw exhibitors benefit from the draw of the AMD World Championship; www.kodlin.com
INDEPENDENT CHOPPERS: Independent Choppers of Dusseldorf, Germany, was founded in 2000, and 15 years on have built a strong reputation, garnering awards and international press recognition for their work; www.independent-choppers.de
ESSENZA: A collaboration between leading customizers and selected OEs (Harley-Davidson, BMW, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha), “ESSENZA – The Essence of motorcycles” is a 1/8 mile sprint race series for custom bikes (as opposed to dragsters) – 16 bikes in 2016, including a custom R nineT by Winston Yeh of Taiwan, the 2013 AMD World Championship Modified Harley-Davidson World Champion. The concept is limited to twin cylinder machines of no more than 1200cc displacement. Two prizes have been at stake – fastest bike and a design prize sponsored by German parts and accessory specialist Detlev Louis – with both counting 50/50 towards an eventual winner; www.essenza-the-essence-of-motorcycles.com
SULTANS OF SPRINT: One of two new custom bike race series in Europe in 2016, the final rounds of the “Sultans of Sprint” was staged in the outside activity area race track of INTERMOT, and saw Young Guns Speed Shop of Switzerland take the series win. The Sultans of Sprint challenge was a gathering of “motorcycle freaks from all over Europe to race custom sprint bikes - air or oil-cooled 4-stroke twin cylinder engines of up to 1400cc. Not focused only on speed, performance and power, the 'Sultans of Sprint' challenge also rewarded the contenders for their style, creativity and craziness. The participating bikes were 100% custom built by the best custom workshops and enthusiasts. The Sultans of Sprint is a class of its own … a race for turbocharged flying carpets built and raced by creative gearheads”; www.sultansofsprint.com
SW-MOTECH: Several mainstream exhibitors doubled-up their INTERMOT booth investment – SW-MOTECH showcased their recently introduced ‘Legend Gear’ modular fit system soft luggage range. They are currently expanding their product range of soft luggage for Harley-Davidson, look out for details in upcoming editions of AMD;
www.sw-motech.com