Motorbike Expo

Verona is the home of the most important international show dedicated to custom bikes. During the last 10 years, in the third week of January, it has been a place for artists, mostly Europeans, to exhibit their latest creations.

The old school is now “in”, with recognised motorcycle manufacturers that exhibit their bikes, sometimes customised, by the workshops that display in the custom area. Those workshops even have a story to tell, with models born from a blank sheet of paper. The Motor Bike Expo demonstrates that, today, owning a customized bike tailored to your style and personality is hugely desirable.

I’ve made a personal selection of the best of the show.

Special “old conio”

Get a Moto Guzzi V9 and think about the craziest and most expensive customisation that comes to mind. The guys at Rustom Garage had the idea of decorating it with an expensive découpage of authentic Italian ‘lira’ banknotes printed in 1921, the year of the foundation of Moto Guzzi.

Crystal Wheel – Glass power

At the Motor Bike Expo there was a world preview. The first crystal wheel. Its creator, Adam Cinquanta, is a master glazier, who generally worked on large ecclesiastical paintings. He is also one of the best connoisseurs of this material and told me about the ideation process. The glass of the wheel has a thickness of 3.5 cm, manages to maintain its transparency through a complex process and above all guarantees its stability in case of breakage.

 

In addition, glass is an excellent conductive material and therefore lends itself to endless customisation possibilities. You can even insert coloured LEDs that light up without any wires.

In reality, at the moment it is a work of art to be exhibited in the living room, but it has already been patented and will go into production, destined for the aftermarket, with a price of around €7,000 and produced together with specialists at Jonichs rims.

 

DOX – Colour personalization is the key!

As I mentioned personalisation is everything. In fact the most eye-catching stand was the one of “Dox”, alias Lorenzo Dossena. There, a helicopter surrounded by his works attracted people of all ages: there was a Ducati Monster that seemed to come from Transformers movie, up to motorcycles whose profiles and airbrushes were visible only with ultraviolet light.

The King of The Show

Motor Bike Expo also has an international jury, with porn actor Rocco Siffredi – presumably someone who knows a lot about big things. The King of the Show this year was Abormal Cycles with its latest creation: the M.A.G.

M.A.G. – Motosacoche Acacias Geneva, was a small-known Swiss motorcycle manufacturer. Beginning as a manufacturer of bicycles, he became famous for its panniers installed on the rear wheels. In the ’20s it began to put a motor on its bikes. M.A.G. by Abnormal Cycles is a tribute to those years of transition from bikes to motorcycles. A journey through time, in which, as in Abnormal tradition, together different pieces and handmade solutions side by side. The value of time and history (which deserves to be told in a separate article)

Don’t forget to book a ticket for next year’s Expo!