Born Free Four

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Seeing these young riders totally immersed into chop culture brings a tear to my one good eye. The kids are all right, they’re old school, love the vintage motorcycle vibe and just dig riding. Their first Born Free event at Classic Cycles in Orange had a turn out of around 200 bikes. BF2 at Pacific Coast Cycles in Signal Hill blew up and by the timeBF3/BF4 hit Oak Canyoun Park 10,000 attebdees rolled in from all over America.

In a time of recession downsizing Born Free has grown exponentially in attendance and vendors. The future of motorcycle culture flourishes via the youth. Standing in a sea of chopped, bobbed, and customized Honda 750’s, Yamahas, Triumph Bonneville’s, vintage Harley’s or Indian’s it’s a veritable cornucopia of chrome. They are Impossible to ignore because they’re the real deal riders who run what they brung. Be it a stock 1948 Indian brought back to life from a barn in Kansas or the Born Free award winners this event is the place to be.

The Born-Free Show is about the love of old motorcycles and like minded individuals having a good time enjoying each others company & these bikes of the past. It is also a family event, young and old a-like are welcome to come out and enjoy the day. The show is meant to unite people from all walks of life by bringing the passion that we all have of these old machines together for one day. The formula for success to BORN FREE is in the name. There’s no event entrance fee, no parking fee, no award registration fee and that attracts lots of vendors. The beer is good, the food is good, and the free music is good. Toss in the coolest bikes you’ve seen submersed into the youth culture of motorcycling what’s not to love about this. Born Free just covers their expenses.

I spoke with Mike Davis of Born Free, a working stiff with a family his passion for the scene is obvious. Mike owns a 53 Harley Panhead, 46 Knucklehead an a few old Triumphs. He and his partner Grant Peterson who also is crazy for old bikes are solely responsible for all aspects of the event. From securing the location to permits and picking up trash we do it all

“We knew there would be people riding from Canada, the Midwest and east coast and were able too offer camping for riders at O’Neil Regional Park. I think we filled 100 campsites with up 8 people a site. The campground coordinator was very impressed with how cool everybody was and extended an invitation for any other event we may do. Believe me, it’s a monumental challenge for two guys to organize an event of this proportion. Mike stated: Our second event at Signal Hill we weren’t granted permits until the Thursday before the show! Everything we do reflects on Born Free & the future of the show from the behavior at the campground to the way we treated the grass at the event site…and everything was treated with respect and that means a lot to us and we want to thank everyone. We are trying to keep this show free and fun for all but ran in professional manor with care and we really care. The whole day was filled with a feel good attitude and the authorities, security, event staff, site owner and everyone else who was present could feel it”.