Extra everything! With extra taste! With visitor record and Scandinavia’s best motorcycle builders in the City was this year’s Custom Bike Show everything you could wish for. In the best summer heat, Norrtälje was invaded by 8,000 motorcycles and over 15,000 visitors who came to take part in the action.
The first Saturday every year is Custom Bike Show in Norrtälje, a center for Swedish and Scandinavian motorcycle builders. Here they launch all the new custom construction, and the country’s famous actors were in place. This year, the number of European exhibitors and visitors, were more than ever.
“We celebrate visitors from neighboring countries, Russia, the Baltic States, Germany, Holland, Austria and Italy,” said Twin Club President Micke Sandberg.
“We also have exhibitors from those countries and it shows the level of interest in our event is great even outside Sweden.”
Nearly 300 motorcycles participated in the exhibition, a display with a very high standard. Most of the motorcycles contained awesome style and design with technological solutions of very high class. This, together with a fantastic paint-job created the conditions for a winner’s bike.
One who fulfilled all that was rookie of the year, the Finlander Lasse Tirkkonen from Kuusankoski outside Helsinki. One of the in “bike builder circles” unknown Lasse came to Norrtälje with a classic HD-chopper. His motorcycle was the big winner and the audience’s favorite of the day.
First, he became the winner of the toughest competition in the H-D chopper class. The class was this year the largest and where the competition was hardest. Lasse won the price for best paint-job and finished the year awards by winning the big trophy, The People’s Choice.
This year’s exhibition was dominated by participants from Europe, the exhibition is now very well known as it attracts competitors, even as far away as Austria. Half of the winners this year were foreign guests, three first prizes went to Finland – except from Lasse Tirkkonen was the first prize in the Classic Custom to Lavi Avikainen winner in the Custom was Samuel Heikkinen, both from Helsinki.
Two first prizes also went to Norway. First prize in the chopper class went to Brage Fossum from Trondheim and the other Norwegian winner was Paul Stenersen from Oslo, who won the Trike class with his Harley.
The Swedish winners were found in the Modified Harley- Davidson class where all the winners came from Sweden, including Sarah Lindberg Aspes MC in Västerhaninge. The class for old bikes was taken by Bjorn Synnergren from Stenungsund with a 1948 Indian.
The event, with a mix of exhibition and festival, is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, and is organized by the society Twin Club Mc in Norrtälje. This year’s audience topped 15, 000 visitors, a record and puts Norrtälje on the map of the year’s most important motorcycle happenings.
“It has been a fantastic day, we had about 8,000 bikes through the entrances and around 15 000 visitors to the show, “said press officer Uffe Karlsson.
This year’s Custom Bike Show is the Scandinavian portion of the World Championship of Custom Bike Building. Two winners were selected by an international jury, with support from the organizing society Twin Club. They have the opportunity to participate in the World Cup Finals in Sturgis in August this year.
“Sweden and Scandinavia have during the last 5-6 years been successful in the World Cup and we think its fun to show the world that the Swedish motorcycle builders are world class. Especially fun is the fact we have sent World Cup-winners on a few occasions,” said Mike Sandberg.
This year’s finalists were Lasse Sundberg and Stellan Egeland. Lasse’s Bike is a graceful chopper with a distinct retro-style built with an “ancient” Husqvarna engine and a long front fork. Stellan Egeland’s building is a unique self-construction with hub steering.
Motorcycle Construction has a nearly 50-year tradition in Sweden, and is therefore a pioneer, followed closely behind the U.S. where the culture took off in the ’50s. To rebuild or build your very own motorcycle has not been obvious, but interest has always been there. Sweden has been a trend-setter in the culture and there is a “Swedish style” in the world. Custom Bike Show is one of the events in a good way of managing the culture and contributes to the lifestyle and makes an impression on the rest of the motorcycle world in the world!
CONTACT: Press officer – Uffe Karlsson, uffe@custombikeshow.se
