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Event Reports

St. Louis Cycle Showcase ’14

Article By: Milwaukee Mike

Photos By: Milwaukee Mike & Darren McKeag

Originally Published In The November 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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I think they put something in the water in St. Louis, MO. I am going to call it Vitamin Motorcycle, because the amount of sick bikes that I have seen down there in the recent times. Maybe it’s that they have always been there and I was just plain ignorant of the scene, but I am doing my best to rectify that and will be spending more time that way to bring the loyal readers of this fine monthly offering what the Mid-West has to offer. In that vein I was invited back (only God knows why) to witness the 2nd Cycle Showcase STL and all the wonders it beheld this year. The show had an incredibly cool vibe despite the 100+ temperature. A bunch of hearty souls made their way to The Loop again this year for a celebration of sick motorcycles from all worlds as well as the incredible showings of art and two, count them two, live motocentric acts this year.

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The addition of the live trials exhibition and having it indoors and on a tight stage made it extra exciting to watch. I went back and forth from the trials expo to watch the Wall of Death show multiple times, it was so cool to see two different spectrums of the motorcycle world in one place. When the heat got to be a bit too much there was always the refuge of the air conditioned arts commission building, which again held a fantastic array of art from a handful of talented artists including our own Darren McKeag with his amazing one shot work on skate decks, surfboards and radiators. Bare Knuckle Choppers brought down a sportster that Darren did up as part of the build, and stunning is the only word for it, just plain stunning.

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Also featured in this years show was the work of Shawn Long. On top of building unreal bikes (coming in a feature very soon so stay tuned) he also is a hell of an artist and had a number of his works of iconic paintings featuring the main characters wearing ¾ helmets as well as a couple of his metal pieces. As a collector of religious based art I gotta get me one of those! Another addition to the art show was the famous buffalo bike, which used to be a part of every Sturgis over the past bunch of years. I haven’t seen it that much lately but there it was in all its glory, half shovelhead half buffalo all very cool and part of the makeup of the St Louis bike scene.

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After chilling in the gallery for a while, I wandered back out on the street and to the array of bikes that had accumulated. I was absolutely floored, and y’all will be seeing examples of them soon because about half a dozen of these will grace these pages in the future (if I have my say). The street contained a lot of different kinds of bikes from vintage to new sport touring bikes and straight up choppers with the St. Louis slant. All the hot action on the street was a sweet prelude and adds to the ultimately cool vibe of what is going on inside the main venue, The Pageant. This is where the show truly shines. The bikes that show organizer Randall ”The Gentleman of Leisure” Noldge comes up with is nothing short of stellar, I am still amazed how he can come up with all the different bikes every year and keep it about local builders and collectors. Some of the highlights were Justin’s Pan Toby, Darren’s BKC Buell and the American and German WWII bike display but so many more made for an impressive display, with the low lights and spots on the bikes it is apparent who the stars of the day are. As I said earlier there must be something in the water there. Along with sponsors Pabst Blue Ribbon and Doc’s HD it was a definite honor to be personally invited to this show and for Cycle Source to be the official magazine of this great event. This is one not to be missed people so mark your calendars and get ready for the Cycle Showcase STL in August of 2015.

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