The 2012 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show
The 21st edition of the LA Calendar Motorcycle Showsponsored by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys featuring top Celebrity Builders,the Calendar Bike Building Championship & Concours d’Elegance, selectedVendors and Exhibitors, Calendar Girl Music live performances, took place inCalabasas, California.
The current 3-year decline in the economy and the resultingimpact on the enthusiast motorcycle market with loss of so many custom bikemanufacturers, builders, part manufacturers and buyers meant the LA CalendarShow needed to downsize as well. Show producer Jim Gianatsis of FastDates.com,was excited to secure the Calabasas Inn private event facility.
The 2012 Calendar Show was spread across 3 separate woodedareas at the beautiful Calabasas Inn facility. In the background of one displayarea was a duck pond and waterfall. An adjoining area just as big under coolshade trees held more exhibitors, the Pro Builder Class, the live band stagewith spectator seating, dining tables and food and beverage trucks. And the airconditioned Calabasas Inn Banquet Facility where spectators entered the Showheld more exhibitors, restrooms, and the Sportbike Class.
The Show’s activities include the Calendar Bike BuildingChampionship, selected Vendors and Exhibitors, the Motorcycle Machine Dyno, andCalendar Girl Music live performances featuring the Japanese girl rock bandNylon Pink, singer songwriters Rachel McGoye and Marina V.
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As always the Show marks the world premier of next year’snew 2013 FastDates.com Motorcycle PinUp Calendars photographed by Calendar Showproducer Jim Gianatsis. The Calendars include Fast Dates World Superbike andMotoGP roadrace bikes , Iron & Lace Custom Motorcycles, and Garage GirlsHard at Work, hosted by beautiful Calendar Kittens and SBK World Superbike gridgirls Sabella Shake and Kinsy Ray featured in the in the FastDates.comCalendars and Website. The new 2013 Calendars are available now atFastDates.com, Amazon.com, at Cycle Gear Stores and your favorite dealer, orphone Van Leeuwen Distributing at 1-800-461-1226.
The Show park featured top industry names including Jim’sMachine, Edelbrock Engineering, Frog Specialties / Beringer Brakes, AXOstreetbike apparel, and Universal Technical Institute training school.Spectators were treated to upscale dining on lined covered tables under shadetrees, with food and beverages form some of LA’s top food trucks – Baby’sBadass Burgers, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Maui Waui Hawaiian Smoothies andSugar Babies Cupcakery. The fresh baked heart topped cup cakes were passed outby the Calendar Kittens complimentary to show spectators.
The Calendar Motorcycle Show continues to feature many ofthe world’s top Pro and Amateur custom street bike builders with their newest2-wheeled creations of rolling art to compete in the Calendar Show BikeBuilding Championship for fame and awards including the coveted Best of ShowTrophy. The Calendar Show broadened its focus to include the growingCollector Bike Market with Exhibitors and Bike Show classes for classicEuropean, British and Japanese motorcycles, along with American V-Twins andCustoms. Show Entries were place in a Concours d’ Elegance display throughoutthe venue on the grass and under shade trees at the Calabasas Inn.
Among the top custom and racebike builders in attendance andfeatured in FastDates.com Iron & Lace Custom Motorcycle and Fast DatesRacebike PinUp Calendars over the past 20 years included Russell Mitchell /Exile Cycles and Richard Pollock / Mule Motorcycles, Shinya Kimura / ChabottEngineering, Jim Giuffra & Spokesmodels / AFT Customs, Todd Silicato /Todd’s Cycle, Chris Redpath / MotoGPwerks, Caleb Owens / CRO Customs, YanivEvan / Power Plant Choppers and Steve Storz / Storz Performance.
Chris Redpath of MotoGP Werks used the Show to display tworeally neat Ducati’s he had just built for Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, one anaked MotoGP Ducati Desmosedici streetfighter valued over $100,000, and theother an old Ducati Bevel-Drive 750 custom Cafe Bike. Redpath also broughtalong couple of former AMA National Superbike Championship racers, one a MikeBaldwin CB900F, the other a Matt Mladin Yoshimura Suzuki GSXR750, plus aclassic Mike Hailwood type Ducati racer.
For the fourth time in eight years, atop Japanese builder used the LA Calendar Show to mark his entrance onto theworld stage, following in the foot steps of former Best of Show and Classwinners Shinya Kimura / Chabott Engineering, Kenji Nagai / Ken’s Factory andHiroyouki Hirata of BB Custom Factory who all flew in with their bikes fromJapan just to compete at the world renown Calendar Show.
Garnering Best of Show in this year’s 2012 Calendar BikeBuilding Championship was Hoshikawa Hideki / Asteris9.com from Miyagi, Japanwho flew in to Los Angeles for just 3 days with his latest custom bike build tocompete and take top honors, then fly back home to Japan. Celebrity judges JimGianatsis, Jim Giuffra, Chris Redpath and Michael Schacht choose Hideki’s 883ccSportster based naked custom sportbike as the most exciting, original and wellconstructed custom at the Show. Hideki said he built it for a customer who gavehim a blank check and no instructions whatsoever, other then to ask him tobuild the best bike he could build. Hideki is not necessarily a sportbikeenthusiast, he builds all kinds of Harley based customs, but this time he said,he wanted to concentrate on the quality of the design and build, utilizing realsportbike feel and performance for the now highly modified 1200cc Sportsterengine.
AFT Customs also awarded Hideki their own “AFTVisionary Awards Trophy” which was hand built by the spokesmodels at AFT,and award by shop owner Jim Giuffra, models and Angela and Shelby to the onebuilder at the Show who they felt exhibited an new direction in custom bikebuilding. In this case Hideki had taken a mundane, underpowered, overweight,not-the-best handling 883cc Sportster and turned it into a 1200cc highly potent,world-class custom sportbike.
In the Pro Builder Class it was Yaniv Evan / Power PlantChoppers who took home top honors with his classically styled bare metal customBlack & Metal” based on a 1970 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead. “Iwanted to build something in between a ‘Rudge Superior’ from the 1930’s meets1960’s chopper, with a bit more power and good handlebar feel.” Evan’sshop PowerPlant Choppers.com is located on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood where healso sells cool PowerPlant apparel to visiting tourists and locals.
Among the Calendar Show’s exciting custom bike worldpremiers was Two-Time Best of Show and now Six-Time Class Winners with thisyear’s Sportbike Class victory, Jim Giuffra and the Spokesmodels fromAFTCustoms.com, Jaskson, CA. premiering their latest build as always at theCalendar Show. Following their tradition of naming their bikes after spiritgods, their bike ‘Halia’ is a Hawaiian spirit named Honda Shadow performancecustom Cafe Sport Racer that will head for the BUB Speed Trials at theBonneville Salt Flats in August with its girl builders Angela and Shelby in thesaddle for speed record attempts.
The 2012 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show’s move to the newCalabasas Inn venue, proved to be a tremendous success. Everyone had nothing butpositive comments about the beautiful new location, how important the CalendarShow was to the custom bike building community on the West Coast, and how theylooked forward to returning again next year on the 3rd weekend of July 2013 tosee the Show continue to grow as the economy recovers.
2012 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show Calendar Bike BuildingChampionship Results
Best of Show: HidekiHoshikawa,’ #19 Asterisk’ H-D Sportster XLH1200 Cafe Racer
Pro Builder: 1).Yaniv Evan, Powerplant Motorcycles, H-D Shovelhead Custom; 2). Andy Iawwacone /TDC Cycles, 1947 H-D Knucklehead custom.
Street Custom: 1).Charlie Mitchell, 2001 H-D Heritage lowrider old school custom; 2). Doug Ide,2009 H-D Road Glide Bagger.
Bar Hopper: 1).Yaniv Evan / Scott Cann, Powerplant Motorcycles, 1951 H-D Panhead Board TrackRacer replica: 2). Manuel Muller, 1967 Triumph TR7 Glitter Cycle tribute.
Sportbike: 1). AFTCustoms / ‘Halia” Honda VT750 Street Tracker; 2). Paul Morris / P&MRacing, G2 Gangster V-Twin Street Legal Street Pro Drag Bike.
Classic American pre 1980: 1). Shinya Kimura, H-D Panhead custom cafe racer; 2). Dave Destler,1970 H-D Sportster XLH stock.
Classic European pre 1980: 1). Chris Redpath / MotoGPwerks.com, 1975 Kawasaki Z1 Daytona 200 RobNorth Chassis / Don Vesco race bike; 2) LACD, 1975 Norton 850 Commando.
