I finally had a chance to return and attend The One Show in PDX OR again, after several years of work schedule interference, and found its new location in an arena sized stadium a bit off-putting. The show has been held in a variety of spaces over the years, starting out in crumbling warehouses on the gritty east side, moving to a larger space (to handle the crowd) near the airport last year. There were very many kewl bikes, spaced out as if to give the impression of an art gallery, but some bikes were too well lit and others dimly lit. Some were plainly tucked into dark corners, but to me this is where the fun is. The size of the stadium, and the corporate feel, like a custom paint job that is deliberately left dull and ragged, then clear-coated, was forced, and left me a bit cold, as did the fee for parking motorbikes, when there was a heap of useful space right out front. I went on a quiet Sunday, the third day of the show, after the dirt track races and bands had spun their tyres and spilt their beers. Still, there were a whole heap of people, families, crusty bikies, oldies, kids, all seeming to enjoy the show. Thor Drake, owner of See See Coffee & Motorcycles, and founder of the show from day one eleven years ago, wandered past pushing a wheelie bin full of rubbish. All hands to the task. I grabbed a local tinnie of beer and slice and set about on my own wanderings of the two floors for several hours. I'd lived and worked in Portland sixteen years back so there were a few familiar faces to catch up with as well. My, haven't we all aged a tad?!
Alas, this year not a K Bike in sight, but here are the few offerings from the Beemer gods:
Roland Sands' R1200GS. A well-done nod to the winning Paris-Dakar era, in living colours.
Hey, nice S.
A sweet Airhead with not so subtle mods. I liked it.
A sorta retro Oilhead.
Find the missing mudguards and you're good to go on a muddy road, my best guess for the bike's intended purpose.
Another sorta retro nod, Airhead.
A plain Jane Airhead, but tidily done.
Another not so subtle corporate sponsor, placed smack behind the pièce de résistance...
A true Big Block.
BMW kindly supplied its coming-soon-to-a-dealer-near-you, here in the R18/2 concept.
It looks pretty sweet in the flesh, tho' not my style, and I reckon it'll find a better market than the ill-fated R1200C & CL did in the '90s and Noughties.
And again...
There were literally hundreds of bikes, too numerous to show. my typing fingers are sore from this but if interested I'll include some of them later. Was it worth travelling two and a half hours south from Tacoma WA to see these bikes? $17 to get in, $13 to park, $8 for a tinnie and $5 for a thin slice...x two people. Not a bad Sunday arvo. The weather was fine, too.
The Art of Bike Mon Jan 12, 2015 9:56 pm
