London’s alternative bike show extends its influence

London has always had its own large mainstream show scene through the decades, from Olympia and Earl’s Court to the current ExCeL venue. They do (and did) a decent job in the mould of the Birmingham NEC, with a slightly more wealthy southern clientele. The price of burgers, pints, and coffee may be higher, but the format is pretty similar.

The capital has, and always has had, alternatives too. The Alexandra Palace Road Racing and Superbike Show did stalwart work for the race scene at the start of the season, and in recent years, we’ve had the Bike Shed Motor Company’s custom show, which has a very different feel. Culturally aligned with the ‘hipster’ bike scene of the past decade and a half, this year’s show focused on modified machines, often with a neo-retro classic feel, but it has extended its remit over the years, with bikes that pay homage to classic Dakar racers, late 20th-century Japanese superbikes, and much more.

Perhaps more importantly, the show has also expanded its appeal in a commercial sense. What started out in a small Shoreditch studio with a few hand-built custom bikes is now an important part of the industry calendar, with a slew of big-name brands wanting to take part. For 2024, the show was supported by Michelin, Ducati, Royal Enfield, BMW, Norton, LiveWire, and Alpinestars, with the firms all showing off custom-built and concept machines and products.

Top of the bill was arguably Ducati, which unveiled a pair of new Scrambler concept bikes. The CR24I and RR24I offered two different takes on the basic Scrambler theme: a faired café racer and a stripped-back flat tracker. The models themselves were interesting enough, and perhaps point to some new production models in the coming years. However, the fact that Bologna sees the Wapping-based show as a suitable venue to reveal concept machines is remarkable.

Norton unveiled its new ‘One of One’ custom paint service, illustrated in the metal by a gorgeous V4SV superbike painted as a replica of Steve Hislop’s “White Charger” Abus Norton RCW588 rotary TT racer from 1992. The scheme will allow buyers to specify any paint finish and design they like on a new Norton (within “tasteful” limits, of course).

Michelin had its own stand with some interesting custom bikes, and Alpinestars also showed off its new range of protective gear, designed in the Bike Shed style. They included jackets, gloves, boots, and even a retro-styled BSMC/Alpinestars TechAir 3 canvas airbag vest.

BDN spoke to Bike Shed owner Anthony ‘Dutch’ van Someren and asked him how the show had gone. “It was another belter. We welcomed around 16,000 visitors over the weekend and curated 270 custom bikes. We were a little stricter on entries this year, as last year we crammed a lot of bikes into the space and felt they didn’t all get enough space. You may have noted a much better layout format, especially in the Great Gallery and Shed Row.

“This year’s theme was Common Ground, celebrating all the passions everyone on two wheels has in common, opening us up to even more genres and categories. We added a Japanese-themed room in the vaults downstairs, with a couple of Bosozuku bikes surrounded by Japanese customs.

“We’ve also added a Custom Classifieds area – custom bikes for sale – to coincide with the relaunch of our customclassifieds.cc online service.”

Van Someren underlined the wider range of activities at the show, too. “This year we also screened all the MotoGP races on Sunday alongside extra ShedTalk Sessions in the theatre area on Saturday, ending with Charley Boorman talking about 20 years of Long Way Round to a packed house. We were also pleased to host more test rides over the weekend from LiveWire and Super73.”