Motor Bike Expo 2018 – Veronafiere, 18/21 January 2018 –
www.motorbikeexpo.it
This special edition of the show dedicated to motorcycles
has finished,
promising of a return of the extra day in 2019
MOTOR BIKE EXPO 2018, OVER 160.000 PRESENT FOR THE TENTH
EDITION OF THE SHOW IN VERONA
The final day was still filled with grandeur, spectacles,
and events
Motor Bike Expo, the show dedicated to motorcycles and
riders, has crossed the finish line of its tenth anniversary edition in Verona
with over 160.000 visitors.
Four full event days: an extra day added to the show
schedule to celebrate the tenth anniversary together with over 700 exhibiting
companies from the motorcycle industry and the most important motorcycle
manufacturers, custom bike builders, and the biggest brands in clothing,
accessories, and components.
Motor Bike Expo has once again confirmed itself as an
international point of reference for the industry thanks to the presence of the
most famous motorcycle customizers in the world, coming not only from Europe
and the United States, but also from the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Thailand, Japan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. For four days, the five
outdoor areas – a total of 21.000 square meters – hosted more than 60 events
ranging from races, test rides, and shows put on by riders and stuntmen. There
were a number of new features during this edition of MBE, from the debut of the
MBE Award which crowned the best custom bike as the “King of Verona”, “The Art
of Kustom” which saw the best helmet artists compete for the trophy, to the
very first Indoor Trial Italian Championship.
“This year’s experiment was a complete success,” said the
organizers, Paola Somma and Francesco Agnoletto, “and therefore will become
part of the future. Motor Bike Expo needed the additional day in order to grow.
The extra open day was appreciated and allowed us to reach 167.000 visitors.
Motor Bike Expo will continue this with the next edition of the show.”
The Special sector is yet again the undeniable leader among
what was offered at Motor Bike Expo.
Among the acknowledgments given out on the closing day of
the show was the prestigious Magazine Award, with winners being selected by top
international publications who are invited to find their winners at Motor Bike
Expo. Andrea Radaelli, the bike builder from Radikal Choppers in Milan,
collected a number of trophies for his works of art; the Japanese magazine
Vibes and German magazine Dream Machines both selected “Angel Dust”, with
paintwork done by Cisko Art, as their Magazine Award winner. Another one of
Radaelli’s works, “The Skinny”, made in collaboration with 70’s Helmets, won
the award from Easyriders in Germany. Another Italian builder, Boccin Custom
Cycles, was awarded the Magazine Award from Madness Photography for their bike
“Mala Chica”. The pick for German magazine Bikers Power went to the
Indonesian-built bike “The Trident”; the pick from Eliot Iron (Spain) went to
“Swamp Water” from English builder Pete Pearson of Rocket Bobs Cycle Works. The
pick from U.K. flat track magazine, Sideburn, went to the Triumph Trackmaster
from the Swiss builders of Young Guns Speed Shop; 100% Biker Magazine from the
U.K. chose “MAG 1919” from Abnormal Cycles, the same bike that had won the MBE
Award on Saturday.
Another contest held on Sunday was the Bike Show organized
by Italian publications Lowride and Chop & Roll which saw many trophies
given to worth motorcycles. The best Custom, also according to these judges,
was “Angel Dust”, a Harley-Davidson Shovel made by Radikal Chopper. From
amongst the most awarded builds, most notable are the Indian Scout presented by
Bad Boys garage (first place Tracker), the Triumph Triton CR 650 by Stile
Italiano (winner of the Café Racer category), and the colossal MG-32 from Biker
sheriff, winner of the Bagger category.
Among the numerous contests that took place at MBE this
year, the Custom Chrome International Bike Show Series Italian Championship
proved to yet again be one that should never be missed. The aftermarket giant
awarded the best custom motorcycles by hand-selecting the top works on display
and dividing them into catories. Awards this year went to motorcycles from
Harley-Davidson Padova, Asso Special Bike, 70’s Helmets & Radikal Chopper
for “The Skinny”, and to the Spanish builders at Old Custom Flames. The title
of Italian Champion this year again was given to Rocket Bobs Cycle Works from
the U.K. for their H-D Shovelhead “Swamp Water”.
Speaking of American motorcycles, many expressed great
interest in what Indian Motorcycles had to offer in Hall 2, among which was the
brand new Chief Dark Horse, an appropriate name for a modern cruiser with a
black look throughout, completed with a powerful twin cylinder Thunder Stroke
111 1.819 cc engine. The V-Twin 1000 cc was instead used for the beautiful
street tracker that Bad Boys garage built, the first Italian-built Indian Scout
Sixty.
The revival of the two-wheel market also represents an
opportunity for new players in the sector. This being said, the team from
WOOLF, all of whom are from Verona, participated in the event after having been
awarded important European funding for the research of Horizon 2020 and having
been selected along with 30 Italian companies to represent the final frontier
of technological innovation at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. This is a device that can
be worn as a bracelet (for use on a motorcycle) or installed on a car
dashboard; through a dedicated app and a sophisticated system of sensors, it
transmits vibrations when the user is in particularly vulnerable areas such as
dangerous intersections, traffic lights, and speed cameras. Another great story
of Italian innovation comes from Patrolline, the Como-based company that was
reborn thanks to its employees who took over the company in 2015, which
specializes in remote monitoring for motorcycles. The product, called
“PatrolSat”, sparked particular interest among the visitors at Motor Bike Expo.
“We noticed that the motorcyclists wanted to have complete control of their motorcycle
without the added cost of an operations center. With PatrolSat, you can always
know where to find your motorcycle and, in the case of theft, locate it and
lock it from anywhere simply by using the app installed on your smartphone.”
Motor Bike Expo closed with a Sunday filled with great
turnout at all of the shows that took place in the outdoor areas which brought
life to the four days of MBE 2018. MOTUL was once again proved to be a
fundamental presence as a Main Partner of the show; with over 200 square meters
of built space at their stand in Hall 6, visitors were able to appreciate the
technology of their new products and experience it in Virtual Reality. At the
Motul Arena, in Area A, visitors stood literally open-mouthed as they witnessed
the European Stuntman Contest. The contest, now past its fourth edition, saw 18
riders from all over Italy as well as Croatia, Poland, Lithuania, Russia,
Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Denmark, and Brazil. The winner, Mike Jensen, was
awarded first place with prize money and the opportunity to ride in front of
tens of thousands of fans. The Danish stunt specialist placed ahead of Pawel
Karbownick from Poland and Danis Rybalko from Russia. Aside from the
competition, stuntmen performed from the Scuola di Polizia and Quadrift riders,
as well as Nicola l’Impennatore with his specialized Vespas, to put on a series
of shows that have come to be a tradition for the public in Verona.
Speed, excitement, smoke from burning tires, and lots of
fun: this is what you can always expect from the Drift Show and Taxi Drift put
on by Graziano Rossi and his drivers. At the wheel of their 400-horsepower
Nissan 350Z, these Daba Drift artists got the adrenaline pumping for the dozens
of passengers they took on a ride, to the point of Rossi saying, “If I found
myself in their place, I’d want to kill them! Some stayed calm, others said
‘you’ll never see me again!’ But when they understand that there’s no danger
and that drifting is like dancing in pairs with the driver, they get a real
taste of what it’s like.” Among the performers was Alessandra Rossi the
girlfriend of the MotoGP racer Andrea Dovizioso, no worse than he is at the
wheel of a drift car. “Dovi (Andrea Dovizioso)? He never wants to come with me
in the car, it’s already enough that he stays by side when I drive ours… but
let me practice a little bit more and then the challenge is on!”
The 2nd MBE Urban Enduro Trophy, directed by Moto Club Spoleto,
gave the public a true, authentic show on Saturday and Sunday in outdoor area
B. Around thirty riders took to a technical course that, in only a few
kilometers, was able to concentrate and combine many of the difficult
characteristics typical of enduro racing. A challenging circuit was placed
under the supervision of the ex-world champion, Mario Rinaldi, who gave the
riders a considerable amount of reason to concentrate on their task as well as
helping all of the stars and the crowds of spectators have a great time. Mini
65, Mini 85, and Open: three categories, two days of racing with separate
categories for each. On Staurday, the
eleven year-old from from Piacenza Marcello Bruschi (KTM) won the 65, the
fourteen year-old Piedmontese Alessio Gallo (Husqvarna) wont the 85, and Andrea
Spagliccia from Terni won the Open on his Beta. On Sunday, the flagbearer for
M.C. Val Luretta Bruschi gave an encore performance in the lower category, once
again agead of Manuel Dell’Occhio (KTM) and Loris Menichelli. In the 85, the
victory went to Andrea Bocconi ahead of Alessio Gallo and ed Elia Zucconi
(Husqvarna) while at the top of the Open category, after three final rounds,
Enrico Rinaldi emerged victorious ahead of Pietro Pini and Simone Cristini.
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