Moore Customs

Moore please

Yes, we’ll take more craftsmanship, originality and attention to detail like this all day long please Larry … you can come again!
Having scooped a 7th place in the FreeStyle class at Sturgis in 2012 (the last time the AMD World Championship was held in the USA), Larry Moore (Moore Customs) of Wichita, Kansas, won an expenses paid trip from AMD Magazine (bike freight, air fare and hotel) to compete at ‘The AMD’ in Europe when he was ready to do so.

 
The cunningly disguised third-tube, leaf-sprung, hard-tail-esque Softail called ‘Kontrolled Kaos’ that scooped Best of Show at Donnie Smith’s invitational (among others) was just the excuse Larry needed to justify racing from a family wedding to the “Less Kontrolled Kaos” that is a week in AMD’s company in Germany! A well deserved 4th place in the FreeStyle class was his reward for doing so.

Touted as one of the favorites for the top title all week, everything you see here (except the engine and drivetrain) has been individually hand-crafted or at least bespoke designed by Larry – from the 4130 chromoly 2 inch stretch (29 degree rake) frame, right through to the 19” 5-spoke wheels (manufactured in Kansas for him by master machinists Monster Race Products) that are uncluttered by calipers and rotors due to the Trans-brake.

Larry built his own H-D primary drive, and the 1976 74-inch Harley Shovelhead has been heavily modified and re-tuned (Werners House of Horsepower) with rare touches including split rocker boxes with individual oil lines, hidden valve stems, Lectron carbs, one-off manifolds and a dual Morris Magneto set-up! 

 

Back in 2012, Larry won through to the AMD World Championship thanks to a $3,000.00 expenses win at the Ultimate Builder Show in Dallas, TX. Larry’s bike (“Bad Influence”) was a custom rigid framed (Racing Innovations), heavily raked springer (Redneck) with an 80ci Harley-Davidson engine, custom 2-into-2s, dual gas and oil tanks, RHS chain final drive, dual calipers (front and rear, with hidden lines and custom-built caliper brackets), hidden and retractable license plate, custom-made handlebars with hand-formed headlight, a hidden taillight and hand-fabricated sheet metal.

EMD (Esteves Motorcycle Designs)

Back to the future with cast rocker box covers

With the family’s engineering credentials in the European aerospace and other industries, personal riding passion saw Nico Esteves take the family name into the custom bike building and parts design and manufacturing business six years ago.

XR ‘Trackster’ rocker box covers - give Evo Sportsters an XR750 flat track racer look

Iron Evo rocker box covers – designed to add a vintage look to Evo engines

EMD (Esteves Motorcycle Designs) has now seen their fast-growing parts and accessory program picked up by Drag Specialties, and seen here are the cast rocker box covers featured in the 2017 ‘FatBook’.

‘Sherman’ rocker box covers – bolt-on upgrades for 1999 – 2017 Twin Cam engines, these stock replacements “add cool, rigid, old-fashioned industrial style and class”

Shovel style rocker box covers – for retro look Shovelhead styling conversions on Evo engines

Manufactured in die cast aluminum with CNC-milled gasket surfaces, they mount in place of the stock rocker box designs, using the factory hardware and gaskets.
They are available in raw finish or EMD’s own ‘Black Cut’ finish.

DRAG SPECIALTIES
www.dragspecialties.com

American Flat Track

Mees takes AFT second round win at Atlanta on Scout FTR750

One week after giving Indian Motorcycle its historic first victory in American Flat Track competition at Daytona International Speedway, Jared Mees made it two in a row on Saturday 25 March, winning at the Atlanta Short Track, presented by Indian Motorcycle. 

A podium clean sweep at Atlanta for the 2017 vintage 'Wrecking Crew': 1st, Jared Mees, Brad Baker second and Bryan Smith third, to give Indian five of the six podium finishes so far, after Mees and Smith scored a One - Two at the Daytona TT

The three-time Grand National Champion was part of a podium sweep for the Indian “Wrecking Crew” in front of a near-capacity crowd at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga.
It was another fierce battle for top honors in the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines class, with Mees on the No. 9 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing Scout FTR750 locked in a back-and-forth battle with Sammy Halbert on the No. 69 Estenson Racing Harley-Davidson XR750. The pair made contact, resulting in Halbert ending up in the dirt on the front straight and bringing out a late-race red flag. 

When the race restarted, Mees pulled away in the ensuing five-lap shootout to win by 1.185 seconds over Indian Motorcycle Racing, backed by Allstate teammates Brad Baker on the No. 6 Indian Scout FTR750 and Bryan Smith on the No.1 Indian Scout FTR750.
“Sammy led pretty much all the race before I started to come into play towards the end,” said Mees, who scored his 18th career victory. “We just started slide-jobbing each other. He’d get underneath me, then I’d get back underneath him. He was trying to protect the lead coming down, and I was coming up where the start/finish line has an arc. We just got together and he ended up with the crappy end of the stick. That’s racing when you’re going with five laps remaining for a Grand National Championship win. It’s hard.”
Mees also recorded a personal milestone, scoring his first AFT Short Track victory to complete the elusive dirt track Grand Slam. Opening the year by winning the Harley-Davidson DAYTONA TT presented by Polaitis & Matovina – his first TT triumph – Mees is now halfway to earning a dirt track Grand Slam in consecutive races, something which has never been done in the 64-year history of the sport.
The next events on the AFT schedule are the Harley-Davidson Charlotte Half-Mile on Saturday, April 1, followed by the Law Tigers Arizona Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle in Phoenix on May 13.

Thunderbike

Editor’s Choice -
Thunderbike, Germany – Andreas Bergerforth’s ‘30th Anniversary Pan’
By Mala Malk, Kopteri Magazine, Finland
www.kopteri.com

 

 

There are always lots of journalists around on the set-up and press days at the AMD World Championship and ‘INTERMOT – with the debut of ‘INTERMOT Customized’ this was even more so in 2016. It has always been of interest to us to know what other custom magazine editors think of the bikes at ‘The AMD’ and in a new idea last year, we asked some of them to make an ‘Editor’s Pick’ for us to use in AMD Magazine, and it is our pleasure here to showcase the ‘30th Anniversary Pan’ built by former AMD World Champion Andreas Bergerforth and the team at Thunderbike to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Andreas’ opening his showroom …

 
“I was honored to be asked by the AMD team to pick my favourite of the bikes at their 12th AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, but it was a dilemma for me.
The show entrants included two of my close friends - Johnny Martinsson with “Jolly Jumper”, an S&S 93” engined Panhead with a 4” over Springer by Mr Moore; and “Hard Soup”, an 80” 1974 Evo/Shovel FLH hybrid Juho Rouhu of Finland with his own frame and a lot of his own parts and work.
Both are great bikes and just to my taste but since they were built, owned and ridden by my personal buddies, I decided to put personal favouritism to one side and from the 80-other bikes settled on another that appealed to my personal tastes – I asked myself which bike would ride out of here if I could get away with it and the one that appealed to me most was the ‘30th Anniversary Pan’ by former World Champion Andreas Bergerforth of Germany.
Built to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his Thunderbike dealership, it looked to me like Andreas had also decided to honor his own personal tastes with a bike that was a classic homage to ‘Seventies Cool’.
It’s an old-school bike that drips with passion and authenticity, with certain things and decisions that really lift it above the average level. It manages to walk that thin line between being really specific without being ‘kooky’ – it is real rather than cliche. It bears several very cool ideas that add rather than detract and it is elevated to its full worth with the glorious finishing. I like that!“

Lonehog “Jolly Jumper”

Spok Moto “Hard Soup”

A former World Champions
returns, again …

Andreas Bergerforth has had a remarkable career in the motorcycle industry. When he opened Thunderbike in 1986 it was as a Suzuki dealership and he was at the cutting edge of building Suzuki customs and showing the ‘art of the possible’ that the Japanese power plants had within them.
He then switched completely and opened up as a Harley-Davidson dealer and now, some 20 years or so from that fateful decision Thunderbike is reputed to be the largest Harley-Davidson dealer by new unit numbers in Europe.
Andreas has always been a custom bike fanatic at heart though and that is displayed graphically in his career involvement with the AMD Championship program.
He competed successfully several time in the European Championship when that was staged in Germany, and took two bikes to the AMD World Championship in 2006, the first year the event was at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and spectacularly scooped-up a second place with ‘Spectacula’.

‘Spectacula’

‘Open Mind’

That was the good news – the bad news was that he was hooked. As pernicious as any drug, he couldn’t let it rest there – he had to have a win and after scoring a 5th place in 2008 with ‘Open Mind’ he nailed in 2012, the last year the event was at Sturgis, with the universally acclaimed ‘PainTTless’.

‘PainTTless’

Having scratched that itch we figured Andreas would chill and take a step back, but oh no, this is one stubborn and natural born competitor.
Of course it is a lot easier for him now that the AMD World Championship is just “down the road” from his Hasmminkeln, Germany dealership but we are delighted to be able to see a former World Champion, someone who has graced our stage with so many fine bikes, come back again.

'Unbreakable'

In 2013 in Essen Andreas had ‘Radical Over’ in the Production Manufacturer class; in 2014 he scored a 6th place in the FreeStyle class (his natural habitat!) with ‘Unbreakable’, and in 2016 it was a pleasure to be able to welcome back to the awards stage for a 5th time (if my math is right) with a second place in the Retro Mod class for his ‘30th Anniversary Pan’.

Shaw Harley-Davidson

“Beach Bobber” wins UK and Ireland “Battle of the Kings” contest

Former Modified World Champion Shaw Harley-Davidson, based in East Sussex, UK, have won the UK and Ireland round of Harley’s 2017 “Battle of the Kings” competition with “Beach Bobber”. UK dealers were invited to produce budget capped Sportster customs based on either the Iron 883, Roadster, or in the case of Shaw’s “Beach Bobber”, an XL 48.

Beach Bobber

 
Customized in their ’Speed and Custom’ division by Head Custom Technician Neil Sefton and Service Manager Simon Pocock, judging of the UK BOTK was at the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show (17-19 February); aftermarket parts include a custom fuel tank, Free Spirits top yoke, RSD handlebars and risers, Lowbrow Customs rear fender, Vintage crown fuel cap, Shaw Speed & Custom one-off exhaust, Motogadget vintage speedo, paintwork by Image Design Custom, soft texture wheel paint.

Cookie Cutter

Second place went to Guildford Harley-Davidson with “Cookie Cutter”, by Michael Noble, also based on an XL 48, with third place going to the legendary Warr’s Harley-Davidson, on the King’s Road in London’s Chelsea, with “Super Hooligan”, a street-going flat tracker interpretation of the Harley Roadster by Warr’s Charlie Stockwell, one of the UK’s leading customizers.

Super Hooligan

The 2017 UK BOTK winner “Beach Bobber” will now go forward to represent UK and Ireland against fellow finalists from across Europe at the BOTK grand finale to be held at Milan’s EICMA motorcycle exhibition in November 2017 to decide the overall “Battle of the Kings” 2017 champion.
If you want to see more of the kind of stylish work being produced by authorized Harley-Davidson dealers in the UK currently, many more of the bikes that entered the contest can be seen here …
customkings.harley-davidson.com

2018 AMD World Championship

2018 AMD World Championship forms are available online a year early

Due to the hugely positive reaction to the 2016 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building and the debut of ‘INTERMOT Customized’ as the new international headquarters event for the custom industry, we have taken the unusual step of making the 2018 Championship entry forms available online a year earlier than normal.

At this stage the classes planned are the same as in previous years – the Freestyle class from which the AMD World Champion is chosen by the competitors, Modified Harley-Davidson, Retro Mod, Street Performance and Cafe Racer, however, keep an eye out for news about any changes or additions.
Already we have two entries (from Switzerland and the UK), and with Jordan Dickinson of Union Speed Cycle winning the Championship of the Americas at AIMExpo in Florida in October, we know of three bikes (from three different countries already) who will be competing in October 2018.

INTERMOT organizer Keolnmesse (The Cologne Exhibition Center) is a very generous host and a strong supporter of the AMD World Championship, giving us a substantial space allocation, but with an increased demand for Hall 10 booth space already in evidence, getting your entry nailed sooner rather than later will help us to make sure that there is enough space for all those who want to be a part of ‘AMD XIII’.

To find the entry forms and class definitions, along with information about competing at the AMD World Championship, follow the links at www.AMDchampionship.com

2017 show season

The 2017 show season - a selection

The ‘majors’ may be over for another year (two years in the case of INTERMOT), where ‘INTERMOT Customized’ showed that there is now custom action on the biggest of stages, but now is the time of year when the spotlight falls on the dealer, specialty and custom shows.

The new year kicked-off with Motor Bike Expo (MBE) and Sweden’s annual show, MC-Massan in January.  

Meanwhile, in the United States the annual specialty V-Twin Expo will take place at its usual downtown exhibition center venue in Cincinnati, Ohio (Saturday January 28 and Sunday 29 (www.vtwin-expo.com).
Billed as “The Only Show of its Kind,” which it is, V-Twin Expo remains the only independently owned and operated dealer show for the Harley-Davidson aftermarket and custom V-twin parts and accessory industry. Owned and operated by Easyriders Events, their winter 2017 Bike Show Tour reaches a crescendo at Columbas, Ohio, on February 11-12 after stops at Sacramento, CA; Charlotte, NC; Nashville, TN; and Atlantic City, NJ.
At the same time as V-Twin Expo, from 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight on Saturday January 28th, Garage Brewed (www.garagebrewed.com) at the Rhinegeist Brewery, Cincinnati, kicks off a busy few weeks for motorcycle dealers and riders in the United States and internationally.

The market’s two major parts and accessory distributors are holding their own dealer shows in February: Tucker Rocky/Bikers Choice are playing host to their dealers in Texas on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 of February, and just 10 days later Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties set up shop at the RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February.
In fact, that weekend there are at least four motorcycle industry events in play that we know of, with the annual MCN London Motorcycle Show taking place from January 17-19, featuring the Zodiac/Harrison Billet London Custom Bike Show
  (www.mcnmotorcycleshow.com), the excellent Swiss Moto being staged at Zurich from February 16-19 (www.swiss-moto.ch), and the increasingly popular Mama Tried at Milwaukee from 17-19 February (www.mamatriedshow.com).

The following weekend sees the largest annual show in the Netherlands, Motorbeurs, taking place from 23-25 January at Utrecht (www.motorbeursutrecht.nl).

Highlights in March and April include (but are not limited to!) the biennial Carole Nash Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show, taking place at Dublin, Ireland, from March 3-5. Always a popular show that not only dominates the small but growing Irish market, but that also pulls in exhibitors internationally, ‘Dublin’ is an AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building affiliate show and has provided a former World Champion (Don Cronin, Medaza Cycles, with ‘Rondine’ in 2013) www.irishmotorbikeshow.com.


After that MotoSalon and Motocykl (featuring the Bohemian Custom Bike Show), both at Prague, both March 2-5 (www.bvv.cz and www.motocykl-praha.cz), and Moto Days, Rome, March 9-12 (www.motodays.it) and the Radical Custombike Show organized by MC Pecquencourt in north Eastern France, March 11-12 (www.mc-pecquencourt.com) all overlap with Daytona Bike Week, Florida, USA, March 10-19 (www.officialbikeweek.com).
The focus then shifts MotoMadrid in Spain from March 24-26 (www.salonmotomadrid.com), followed by the 30th annual Donnie Smith Bike & Car Show at St Paul, MN, on March 25-26 (www.donniesmithbikeshow.com), followed by the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, March 24-26 (www.motorcycleshow.org); InaBike, Jakarta, Indonesia, March 29-April 1 (www.inabike.net); Custom Show Emirates at Abu Dhabi’s National Exhibition Center, UAE, on March 30-April 1st (www.customshowemirates.com); Arizona Bike Week, April 5-9 (www.azbikeweek.com); Motorcycle Taiwan, 20-23 April (www.motorcycletaiwan.com.tw); with the Moscow Custom and Tuning Show, another AMD World Championship affiliate event, from 21-23 April.

The annual Handbuilt Motorcycle Show, Austin, TX, will be staged concurrent with the US MotoGP on April 22-23 (probably! www.revivalcycles.com); the Laughlin River Run, April 26-29 (www.laughlinriverrun.com); Biker Fest in Italy, May 18-21, another AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building affiliate (www.bikerfest.it); the increasingly popular and well respected Bike Shed in London, May 26-28 (www.thebikeshed.cc); the European Super Rally in the Czech Republic, May 31-June 4 (www.superrally.com) and another of the 2017 AMD World Championship affiliate events, the internationally renowned one day Custom Bike Show staged by Twin Club MC at Norrtalje, Sweden, on June 3rd (www.custombikeshow.se).