2011 EICMA Motorcycle Show
Last Sunday, the 69th edition of the International Motorcycle Show wrapped up and so did EICMA Custom, a special area that was organized directly by EICMA at the bequest of Pier Francesco Caliari, the General Manager of the organization.
The first edition of this show within the show that flanked the three thematic areas already known to the public – MotoLive, Tourism on 2 Wheels and Green Planet – was a runaway success.
During the four-day opening period of the EICMA, visitors crowded the area within Pavilion 2, attesting the great appeal of the Custom world, showcased for the first time ever within an international trade fair.
Great satisfaction was voiced by the exhibitors and the customizers who participated in the initiative, demonstrating that even a highly heterogeneous, international audience, such as Eicma’s, feels the attraction of the Custom world.
The reaction of the press was also enthusiastic, as both journalists from the custom sector, some of them coming from distant countries, and representatives from general-interest media did not fail to underscore the enticement of the Custom world.
Characterized not only by the presence of Italy’s best known customizers, but also by the rock music broadcast by Virgin Radio, EICMA Custom revealed all the facets of the Custom universe, from handcrafted motorbikes to the art forms associated with it, such as airbrushing and pinstriping, and even burlesque. For the first time ever, a motorcycle club such as the Hells Angels MC was present at the EICMA Custom stands.
The corporate side of EICMA Custom found expression on Tuesday, the day reserved for the media, with two world premieres: in one, on the Virgin Radio stage, Yamaha presented its VMAX Hyper Modified project that gave three great customizers – Marcus Walz, Ludovic Lazareth and Roland Sands – an opportunity to interpret its “bracket killer” powered by a 1700cc V4 engine; Headbanger displayed two new models, Summertime and Woodstock Boogie, together with a rich array of novelties.
Saturday was dedicated to the prestigious Bike Show, organized in collaboration with LowRide magazine. The highly competent international jury of the EICMA Custom Bike Show was not composed solely of media people: it also included customizer Luciano Andreoli, and, from the United States, photographer Michael Lichter and artist Jeff Decker.
Jurors from the world of fashion – stylist Elio Fiorucci, journalist Michela Gattermayer, deputy editor of Vanity Fair Italia, and Andrea “Zak” Zaccone, fashion and lifestyle photographer – assigned three special awards to as many customizers.
The prizes for the category winners were offered by Custom Chrome Europe, with a €2500 gift card for the purchase of accessories. The other prizes, including the special prizes awarded by the VIP jury, were offered by companies such as Bike Lift, with a tool cart, DMD, with a number of helmets, Alitalia, with flights to the Daytona Bike Week, Quartodimiglio with its high-prestige watches, and La Marca del Diablo with T-shirts for all the participants.
The Best of Show prize, awarded to the Union sidecar by Abnormal Cycles, was offered by Yamaha Italia: a brand- new VMAX that the Bernareggio-based workshop will customize in the course of the year to be ready to display it at the next edition of EICMA Custom, in 2012, where we shall be treated to even more astonishing art pieces on wheels!
