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26 EA t R h
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T H E L E A D I N G B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L C U S T O M M O T O R C Y C L E A N D PA RT S I N D U S T RY
AMD World Championship in October
Headed for ‘Record’ Number of
Competitors at INTERMOT Customized
s this edition of AMD
Magazine closed for press,
more than 85 custom bike
builders from 30 different countries
had confirmed plans to enter over
100 bikes in the five classes of the
13th AMD World Championship of
Custom Bike Building at INTERMOT
Customized, Cologne, Germany,
October 3-7.
By far the largest number of entries is to
the Avon Tyres Freestyle Class, from which
the 2018 Avon World Champion
Custom Bike Builder will be chosen
by the competitors themselves.
The largest total field ever seen at the
‘AMD’ was in its second year when it was
co-staged with the 2005 Custom Chrome
Dealer Show at Big Twin West at the
Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las
Vegas. With some shops entering as many
as five bikes into the same class, the rules
were refined to restrict total entries to two
bikes, with only one in any given class,
therefore we’re unlikely to reach this
artificially high number of competing
bikes again.
As the downturn took its effects on the
domestic U.S. builder community and the
Freestyle Class formula started to
showcase the changing nature of the
custom industry, the event moved to
A
Europe in 2013 (after seven years at the
Sturgis Rally) and has seen its popularity
and competitor numbers growing
annually ever since.
The move to INTERMOT in 2014 and the
creation of INTERMOT Customized in
2016 has made the ‘AMD’ the highest
attendance custom bike competition in
the world. The results of that popularity
have been dramatic and immediate with
record numbers of competitors set to field
over 100 bikes for the first time since the
‘AMD’ was established as an independent
show.
Verified as genuine ‘runners’, World
Championship bikes are always among
the best builds seen anywhere in the
world in its biennial cycle, with at least half
of the bikes making their global debut at
the ‘AMD’. With most of Europe’s major
custom parts and accessory distributors,
many of the leading custom shops,
builders, vendors and OE manufacturers
set to showcase their custom market
offers, it looks like all 22,500 sq m (over
240,000 sq ft) of Hall-10.1 at the Cologne
Exhibition Center in Germany will be
used, which may well make the ‘AMD’ and
INTERMOT Customized the largest
custom bike competition and indoor expo
ever seen.
Explaining Avon Tyres’ decision to sponsor
the Freestyle class and the World
Champion Custom Bike Building award,
Dog Ross, Head of Global
Motorcycle Tyre Sales for Avon, said
that “as a company Avon is proud of
its heritage and, as a custom bike tire
market trend setter, we are especially
proud of our reputation as the tire of
choice for so many of the market’s
greatest and most innovative designers
and craftspeople.”
Avon’s pedigree as a custom bike tire
maker came to the fore in the ‘70s, thanks
largely to its work with custom bike
legend Arlen Ness. Its Venom product
quickly became the favored option for
custom builders worldwide. The Cobra
range offers extra wide sizes for custom
bikes and a number of whitewall variants.
Avon continues to work with the makers
of the modern classic bikes that form the
basis of many custom builds.
SOFTAIL
MEETS V-ROD?
Described as a “Power Cruiser”, the new-for-2019 637 lb FXDR is a
10th addition to the Softail line-up with the M-8 engine, cast aluminum
swingarm, composite components, race-style exhaust and inverted front forks ... see page 64
SEP 2018
ISSUE #230
THE FUTURE
ACCORDING
TO ZACH
AIMEXPO 2018
DEALER SUMMIT
DOT BRAKE HOSE
AND BRAKE LINE
ASSEMBLY TESTING
BOB KAY TO
HOST UBCBS