November 1 - 3, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Words & Pictures Onno Wieringa "Madness Photography"; madnessphotography.eu
Custom bikes from all over Europe came to the Bigtwin Bikeshow & Expo to compete in one of Europe's highest of high-class custom bike shows - 105 custom motorcycles entered, divided into six different classes: Freestyle, Classics, Custom-Modified, Clubstyle, Café Racer-Tracker and Choppers.
The Bigtwin show was booked solid, every inch of the Expo Houten was filled with trade stands, customizers and artists; all three days the place was packed with visitors to enjoy live music and striptease shows, and on Saturday the Biker Wedding drew a crowd that was way too big to fit in the Biker Café!
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| Best of Show: Jan Glas, Indian Chopper |
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| (click to enlarge) |
The jury picked the winning bikes on Friday, the prize-giving ceremony was on Sunday. All styles, models and makes were represented and the quality was exceptionally high this year, which made it a hard job to choose for the judges. From Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Finland and many more countries the coolest custom bikes were represented, along with the finest of the Dutch custom builders.
'Best of Show' was won by Jan Glas' beautiful, handbuilt Indian Chopper. He built it in his clubhouse, PB in Leeuwarden, Fryslân, in the north of Holland. The hardtail chopper has a PowerPlus 1,700 cc engine with Mikuni carburetor, big spoke wheels, and the rest is homemade. The flowing lines, many, many details and Royal Jack's paintwork made this bike stand out, earning top honors as Best in Show 2019! He won the latest TomTom 550 Rider, appraisal by Beerens Taxaties and a custom seat for his next project to be made by Tijger Leathers. He also received an invitation to the 2020 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building in Cologne, Germany, in October 2020.
Mario Kruyswater won the Freestyle class with his stunning Sportster Ironhead called 'The Droose' - equipped with a supercharger and built on a homebuilt gooseneck frame and with self-made front end, drum brakes and many other handmade details; Royal Jack did the 'worn metal' paintjob. Mario put over 2,000 hours into the build. His prize also included an invitation to the 2020 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building.
The coolest chopper was Ape Andy's Yamaha 1000 with a mile-long Springer front end and sky-high sissy bar. Andy built this chop using a VG Motorcycle hardtail frame, a Yamaha 1982 TR1 engine and made the sissy bar, seat, handshifter, foot clutch and much more himself. Friscovosen helped out with the exhaust and Lukas Krufczk did the psychedelic paintjob. Living in Germany, he spent many hours getting it TÜV approved.
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| Freestyle Winner: Mario Kruyswater, Ironhead with supercharger |
In the 'Café Racer' class it was Maarten Poodt who surprised everybody with his Kenny Roberts inspired Yamaha to win the class. Maarten did a great job by starting off with a stock 1983 Yamaha XZ550, fitted a Yamaha YZF-R6 front end with Hyperpro suspension and made the exhaust and all the sheet metal - including the fairing and race seat - himself.
In the 'Custom Modified' class, Giuseppe 'Pepe' Lazzara won the biggest trophy with his engraved, Mexican style H-D Evo 1340 Softail, complete with high handlebars, airride front and rear and long exhaust pipes. It took him one year to build this sparkling Mexican called 'La Peligrosa', which means Danger. Pepe made almost everything himself, including the long, sweeping rear fender. Wheels are from DNA and the paint was done by Daddy Graph.
Fred van Essen brought his vintage '51 Panhead, a H-D Hydra Glide, in perfect condition, with period correct accessories and plenty of patina, winning the 'Classics' class. He won PowerPlus tools, a leather jacket presented by IMG Trading/Grand Canyon, and a trophy made by Toine van Lieshout.
A Mario Kyprianides/Chopper Kulture built FXLR Harley-Davidson was the overall winner in the 'Clubstyle' class. Mario had set his mind to building the perfect Clubstyle bike without changing the original looks of the FXLR. Only high-end quality parts were used - like Hyperpro suspension, Race Tech nitrated fork tubes, Beringer brakes, a JIM's 6-speed transmission and special clutch. The stock looking fenders and other parts are in carbon.
Class winners won a Zodiac International 750 euro check, a beautiful trophy made by Toine van Lieshout at Phoenix Metaal, a Jekill & Hyde goodie bag and a can of Vulcanet water-free bike wash. Second prizes were a Zodiac 500 euro check and a Bigtwin trophy; third prizes were a Zodiac 250 euro check and also a Bigtwin trophy.
Thanks to all the sponsors, Zodiac, TomTom, PowerPlus Tools, Beerens Taxaties, Tijger Leathers, IMG Trading/Grand Canyon, Vulcanet and Toine Lieshout/Phoenix Metaal, and of course Bigtwin Magazine.