Custom Chrome Europe retained its presence and sponsoring at MOTOR BIKE EXPO , with " Highsider " and CPR Custom Bikes present at the display .
the builders or owners without presenting bikes or even images of the winning bike on the available big screen ( you can later find the printed canvas awards placed next to the bikes all over the halls ), the " Top Ten " as selected by MBE staff are first lined up on the limited room in front of the main stage , then presented one by one on stage while the jury ask the builders about their bikes . As ever , not everybody was convinced that the best bikes won the best prizes , but narrowing it down even to a Top 10 is a near impossible task . The judges did a great job though and crowned Geneva / Switzerland based Stephane Grand of " T4 " with the top award - and a new ' Ultima ' brand Shovelhead engine donated by Custom Chrome Europe . Despite the Friday accident , which , unsurprisingly , garnered local TV and Radio time , the Saturday and Sunday crowds were good , with more bike awards on Sunday and the OE halls taking more of a central role in the day - with the likes of Aprilia , Benelli , BMW Motorrad , Harley-Davidson , Kawasaki , Keeway , Moto Guzzi , Moto Morini , Ohvale , QJ Motor , Royal Enfield , SYM Sanyang , Suzuki , SWM , Talaria , TM Racing , Triumph Motorcycles , UM Motorcycles and Yamaha all present at what has become a mini mid-Winter ' EICMA ' - esque gathering of the major mainstream brands as well as the custom industry .
Of particular note was SWM ( Speedy Working Motorcycle ), one of the many legacy Italian and other European market brand names to have come back in Chinese ownership in recent years - and their display created quite a buzz . Featured in AMD last year , SWM are the company that has taken advantage of Harley ' s lapsed design rights and protections with ' Stormbreaker ' - an as-close-to-original Chinese made copy of the 1200 cc Sportster ' Forty Eight ', with the Euro 5 emissions compliance and € 9.990,00 price tag that Harley said they neither could meet , as they could not justify the costs and poor returns on such a project . No matter that it would have attracted ' fresh meat ' to the brand - after all that would have compromised the much sought after exclusivity that now drives its sense of self . Ironic , since most of the Harleys sold in Europe are built just south of the " People ' s Republic " in Thailand anyway . SWM are now finally forecasting that it will be available through its growing European dealer network from June 2024 . One of the exhibits that did come from the USA , however , was shown by Italian custom shop Hazard Motorcycles - last year ' s " King of Verona " winners , this year displaying a superb original , restored Harley- Davidson " Topper " scooter in pristine condition . www . motorbikeexpo . it
New set-up in Hall 2 , the Eternal City Bikeshow attracted the Chopper crowd at its display and gave U . S . magazine " Choppers Magazine " the chance to hand out its " Best Chopper " trophy to the 1954 ( H-D ' s 50th anniversary year !) " Shitty Shaker " created by " Wild Wheels ."
Paul Yaffe ' s BMW R18 Bagger
Motorcycle Storehouse again presented a great variety of new parts and bikes in Hall 1 . The Zodiac truck did big business , as always .
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