Article And Photos By: Darren McKeag
Originally Published In The March 2015 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
The last thing I remember, before my phone started blowing up, was pinstriping at the 11th Annual Indian Larry Block Party. I grabbed my phone, looked at the screen, only to see Paul’s text, “I won the Mooneyes Pick” the text said. I had to take a second look at my phone, look away, and then a third look to read it again. His news came as no surprise, but was so exciting, that I couldn’t wait to tell everyone. I was so happy for one of my closest and best brothers, Paul from Bare Knuckle Choppers. I had told him many weeks before, “If you win the Mooneyes pick with your Knucklehead, I’ll go with you to Japan to support you. My text response to him was nothing similar to this, in fact it was more like, “I f#@king told you”! New York might seem big to most people, but for Paul and I, we were only blocks away, supporting two different, but very great motorbike events. It seemed as though nothing or no one was between us in this large metropolis. It was as if nothing else was going on, as if time had stopped all people and their activities. From that moment on, all I was focused on, was all the delicious sushi I was going to enjoy and all the beautiful motorbikes and hotrods I was going to be around. Paul, his Knucklehead and I were headed going to Japan…to the 23rd Annual Mooneyes Show.
If you’re not familiar with the Yokahama Mooneyes Show, let me give you a little insight. It’s the greatest gathering of cars and motorbikes in the world, on any one continent, in any one city, under any one roof, at any one time that you will ever see in your lifetime. Period! Don’t even try to debate this with me. Well, I mean you can if you want, as I love to discuss motorbikes and hotrods, but I’m simply saying, this is the greatest show on earth. Over the next few weeks, Paul and I would finalize our plans and prepare for this great journey. This would be my second trip to Japan, the first being about 6 years ago to get tattooed and indulge in the Japanese culture. Our plan was to meet up in Los Angeles and hold up there for about three days, before boarding the new Dreamliner 787 to Tokyo. We would be on board with many of our friends in the industry, which made for a fun 12-hour flight.
Once in LA, Paul and I met up at the car rental office, where we splurged on a fancy, mid-sized SUV for our wonderful Los Angeles experience. I can’t remember what type of vehicle it was exactly, but I know it had to have plenty of legroom for his 6’ 6” chassis and was overpriced. Once we were out the T Article & Photos By: Darren McKeag door, we navigated our way to the dingiest shit hole of a hotel, (ok, I’m going to use the word Motel) I’ve probably ever been in. Upon checking in, we had to not only signed a waiver that said we wouldn’t damage the Motel property, but Paul also had to leave his credit card on file. As we negotiated our way up the water drenched steps, past the outdoor meth cooking microwaves, for all your late night reheating needs, we headed towards our room door that barely managed to keep the outside critters, from getting inside. Once inside our room, we discovered that the air conditioner was literally hanging off the wall, the small refrigerator was hard-wired to an outlet and there was a family of cockroaches living under my bead. I guess we didn’t need to worry about trashing the place. Paul and I spent the next three days visiting many friends in the motorbike industry, including the original Mooneyes facility, Speed Merchant and Primo Helmet Design. If you have never been to the original Mooneyes facility in Santa Fe Springs, CA, take the time and stop in if you are ever in the area. The staff is super friendly and you will be amazed at the amount of kool inventory and history that surrounds you while you are there. A must see for any car and motorbike junkie. After surviving three days in that Motel, (keep in mind that being in and around the LA area, wasn’t near the risk as the hotel room) we made our way back to the airport, to board for Tokyo. Meeting up with everyone in the terminal, and the anticipation for the trip and upcoming show, was very exciting.
Once we arrived in Japan and had made our way through customs, the Mooneyes crew was right there, waiting and ready to take over as our host. We had a two-hour bus ride to our Hotel and let me say, this was a Hotel, a 5 star Hotel, with a luxurious waterfall/pool area for bathing, right in the lobby. Ok, not for bathing, but it looked as though you could use it for that. Once in our room, Paul and I had a great view overlooking Tokyo Bay, absolutely beautiful. As much as this may sound like a relaxing getaway to the Land of The Rising Sun, I assure you, it was just the opposite. Our schedule while in Yokahama was very busy, down to the hour. The wonderful people at Mooneyes had given us a packet that had our time planned, to the littlest of details. Everything was thoroughly taken care of. The Saturday before the show was set up day. It was amazing to watch this completely empty event center, transform into a facility that would house some of the world’s most beautiful cars, motorbikes and the wonderful people that built them. After Paul and I had set up, we made a few laps around the event center to take in the wonderful sights and visit with new and existing friends. That Saturday evening, the Mooneyes staff hosted an amazing party for all invited guests. Some very talented bands performing some great Holiday hits followed by a wonderful catered meal.
That Saturday evening, I had mentioned to Paul that we needed a banner for his booth. Our only option was to create one by hand, so we made our way to the closest bookstore and purchased a three-foot by four-foot map of Japan. Seems logical, right? Turns out that the flip-side of this map was a beautiful white canvas that I was able to sharpie the shit out of and turn in to a somewhat usable banner for Paul that let the public know who he was and where he was from. As the Sunday sun came up over Tokyo Bay, Paul and I finished up a great breakfast that would kick off the biggest day of our year. Our Hotel was a block away from the event center and getting there took us no time at all. Walking into the event center and seeing the line of hundreds of people waiting to get into the greatest car and motorbike show, would take us a few minutes. Arriving at our booth, we set up our merch and people were already flooding the event center. The visitors to the show were buying up everything they could get their hands on. It was an amazing crowd of people, literally from all around the world.
The buzz of the show was so busy that our table inventory didn’t last long. As a last resort, I took out my sketchbook and created one-off sketches with sharpie, which was a lot of fun and seemed to be a hit with the public as well. Such an amazing mix of people, brought together by the common love of cars, motorbikes and the culture that goes along with these amazing machines. The five o’clock hour came upon us quickly. This was when the show was due to close. The Mooneyes show and its staff are so well organized, that Paul and I simply walked away from our booth and headed back to the Hotel. Before the sun would come up the next day, Paul’s bike would be strapped into a shipping container and ready for its four to six week journey across the Atlantic.
Monday rolled up on us quickly and as much as we wanted to relax, we decided to meet up with Duane and Lisa Ballard and friends, to make the journey to Mt. Fuji. What an epic daytrip this was. We boarded a train and made our way towards Kamakura, to visit the giant Diabutsu. My second visit here and it still is as amazing as it was the first time. From here, we headed towards Mt. Fuji and viewed it from a distance. I can assure you, this mountain is a godly spectacle. As we boarded a train and made our way back towards Yokahama, our only scheduled event was the last event that the wonderful people at Mooneyes would host, the Mooneyes Barbeque at their Yokahama store. Paul and I spent most of the day seeing the sights in the area and we weren’t scheduled to attend the BBQ until later that night.
Upon arriving at the Mooneyes store, my eyes were amazed at the illuminated beauty of this location. Right in the middle of Yokahama, Japan sits the most epic facility of car and motorbike accessories. Anything and everything you could possibly want for you and your machine. Shige and the staff had set up an amazing feast, fit only for kings, but we all decided to eat anyway. This retail building has three levels of merchandise that will amaze you. Out back, they had the barbeque grills going and tables full of all the side dishes you could want. It was a great party, hosted by amazing people. Paul and I were able to say our goodbyes to friends new and old that evening. Our official responsibilities had ended. It was time to get some rest and prepare for the next day’s journey, deeper into the heart of Japan. The last few days in Japan were spent sightseeing and shopping for family and friends. This was my second trip back to the Land of the Rising Sun and it still amazes me how wonderfully gracious and humble the Japanese people are. It doesn’t matter what their profession is, what they are doing or saying, they not only take pride in it, but they are extremely courteous in their everyday lives and activities. If you happen to do business with them or need to speak to them, they are very honored to help you and extremely thankful that you shopped with them. I personally was able to take many great pointers from the Japanese people and their culture. Something I am truly blessed to have experienced and excited to bring back to the States, to implement into my own life, both personally and professionally. So, if you have time, say hello to the great people at Mooneyes, send them some business and I will see you at the next great motorbike event. Much Love-“D”