Bike Shed Moto Show 2024
It’s hard to believe that this year’s Bike Shed Moto Show is our thirteenth event and the ninth show hosted at London’s stunning Tobacco Dock venue. From our humble beginnings at Shoreditch Studios back in 2013, where we welcomed 3,000 visitors to see 55 curated custom motorcycles, we’ve come a very long way, and we’re not stopping anytime soon.
Bike Shed Moto Show show was created as a reaction to the Motorcycle Shows of the mid to late noughties, which were all Trade Fairs, created by and for the trade. It was all a bit gruesome and stuck in the 1970s with lycra clad promo girls chasing down sales leads. It was no place for families or your better half, and it was always best to eat before you go.
Considering how motorcycles have always been elevated to represent individuality, adventure, speed, travel, these shows were as uncool and as unwelcoming as you could get for anyone who wasn’t an aficionado or lifelong rider.
Despite spending so much time and money on bikes, none of our crew wanted to go. We decided someone needed to create a modern show show by the people and for the people, fit for the modern era. We wanted to create an experience for people who love motorcycles, and the people who love people who love motorcycles, …which is probably most people.
Several beers later, at the Landseer pub in North London, back in 2012, we came up with our show concept, designed to feel like a pop-up club (because all bike riders are part of a collective club/community), which would require a stunning, central-London, characterful venue, with good food, drink and comfy lounge seating, framing curated custom motorcycles from the best builders we could find (all new to that year’s show). We also needed art, photography, live music, tattoos, barbershop and anything else we could think of to create a welcoming, inclusive vibe that would appeal to fans and newbies as much as aficionados. Our formula is exactly the same today.
Our 2024 Moto Show curated 270 stunning custom motorcycles from a mix of Shedbuilders and Pros, supported with sponsorship from most of the major manufacturers in our category, Michelin, Ducati, LiveWire, BMW, Norton, Royal Enfield and Alpinestars, plus hundreds of exhibitors, artists, retail brands, indie food vendors, performers and guest speakers on our ShedTalks stage, headlined by Charley Boorman talking about 20 years of Long Way Round, while hinting at his next adventures. …Shhh.
At the heart of the show are the bike builders, showcasing curated invitational bikes built by people from all walks of life across almost every category of motorcycle. Some bikes are literally built by a guy in his Shed for his own personal use, all the way up to pro builders who make a living selling custom bikes. Even the major brands take part in custom culture, commissioning famous builders to take their brand new motorcycles to the next level and help inspire others to do more to OEM bikes.
Alongside the bikes and major manufacturers show support and sponsor the show every year, there are also the sole traders and privately owned companies who make gear and apparel, accessories and equipment to serve the community and the lifestyle with everything they need on and off the bike. Visitors can browse or buy anything from handmade wallet to a high end exhaust system, a screen printed poster to a tailored leather jacket.
Art and photography is also very important to bike culture. Documenting the people, the skills, the adventures and stories is a huge part of sharing and celebrating what we love with others. We also showcased live art, with huge canvasses and even motorcycles being painted throughout the three days.
16,000 visitors turned up over Friday, Saturday and Sunday – including families and kids. Everyone left with a smile, new friends and another year of inspiration, eye-candy and a belly full of great food & drink. Camera phones were also filled with great memories, and those who came to the afterparty at our London venue in Shoreditch needed a full English breakfast to recover the next day.
Legendary Automotive Photographer, Amy Shore, was there, capturing the event as our official photographer, and her images tell our story better than another thousand words. See more of her stunning photos HERE.
There will be another show next year, so, if you’re a bike builder, get building, and if you’re a show visitor, save the date, as we always hold the show on the last bank Holiday weekend in May, with a VIP & Press preview on Friday night (with limited public pickets) plus multi-access tickets all day Saturday and Sunday, 23rd, 24th and 25th May 2025.
Be prepared to come for more than a single day, or come early, …and come hungry.
Pics by @AmyShorePhotography
