INTERMOT 2018 was a great success, repeating the record result of the previous event. Around 220,000 trade visitors and motorbike fans from almost 100 countries gathered on Oct. 3-7, 2018 to explore what 1,041 suppliers from 40 countries had to offer. An important factor in the success of INTERMOT 2018 was the “Customizing” segment, which grew significantly in its second edition and was noticeably more international.
In Hall 10.1, 217 suppliers and customizers from Germany and abroad exhibited everything a customizer’s heart could desire: amazing custom-builds, accessories and clothing of the highest quality, and of course the exceptional creative figures behind the products.
Following the trend for individuality, emotionality and esprit, some of the major manufacturers also exhibited their customizing expertise with an additional space. BMW Motorrad, Harley Davidson, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki and Indian Motorcycle were represented in Hall 10.1. Notable distributors such as Custom Chrome Europe, Louis, Motorcycle Storehouse and parts specialist Zodiac were also represented, as were the internationally known customizers Berham Custom, Harley Factory, JvB, Fred Kodlin, Walzwerk, Wrenchmonkees and Sultans of Sprint, an alliance of customizers and sprinters.
INTERMOT customized brings together the Harley and New Heritage scene, and exhibits the whole spectrum of custom-built bikes. Exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the huge number of visitors and praised the quality of trade visitors on the first trade fair days.
According to a representative survey, 70 per cent of INTERMOT attendees also visited INTERMOT customized, i.e. around 150,000 visitors flocked to Hall 10.1. The survey also revealed that 77 per cent of trade fair visitors were very satisfied with what the exhibition had to offer here and the appropriate presentation style, including special features such as the barber and tattoo studios.
Once again this year, the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, which is hosted in Cologne every second year and which set a new record with 107 registered bikes taking part, was the main highlight and a great source of amazement.
The title of World Champion, which is traditionally awarded in the Freestyle Class, went this year to Zillers Garage/Dimitry Golubchikov for his impressive “Insomnia” Yamaha SR 400. Dimitry Golubchikov is the first Eastern European to be crowned Avon World Champion of Custom Bike Building, and he will now hold this title for the next two years. Golubchikov beat 50 competitors from 13 countries in the Freestyle Class to achieve the feat. Omar Jumiran from Malaysia Page took second place with his hand-built “BoneX” – a racing-inspired AJS 350 in drag 2/4 style. Third place went to Károly Orkonyi from Hungary for his futuristic 1700cc
“Speedster King”. Prizes were also awarded for the best bikes in the classes Retro/ Modified, Modified Harley-Davidson, Street Performance and Café Racer.
There was a festival spirit in the air – bike fans got to see cool customized bikes and plenty of showmanship at the sprint track. It was “winner takes all” at the head-to- head races over 1/8 of a mile – you could marvel at the Sultans of Sprint here as well as at the INTERMOT International Class. Among those taking part were Chris Pfeiffer, Nina Prinz, Mai Lin Senf, Jens vom Brauck, Francesca Gasperi, Caro Fitus and of course the Sultans of Sprint, led by “Lucky Cat” Sébastien Lorentz.
The pros showed how custom bikes are built in the trade fair’s “Garage Area.” A brand-new Ducati Scrambler 1100 was given a whole new design and modified over the five trade fair days – including peening and applying new paint in a specially built, transparent painting cubicle.
Under the motto “Schrott wird flott” (Turning scrap into speed), INTERMOT customized searched for a concept idea from the motorbike community in which a certain bike was customized in the Garage Area using parts by the LSL and Highsider companies. Niklas, the winner, gave everything over the trade fair days and learned all kinds of tips and tricks from our customizing experts Danny Schramm, Jochen Lehmann, Ute Jaeckel and the LSL boys. In the end he was delighted by his “almost” new Honda CB 450 S.
On “The Stage,” Jörg Litzenburger, well-known from Glemseck 101, interviewed the stars of the custom scene – designers, sprinters, customizers – and teased some great anecdotes out of them.
The winners of the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building were:
Freestyle Top 10
1. Zillers Garage, “Insomnia,” Russia
2. Eastern Bobber Custom Work, “BoneX,” Malaysia
3. Marusius, “Speedster King,” Hungary
4. Pavel Malanik, “Beast of Brooklands,” Czech Republic
5. Medaza Cycles, “Stechmücke” (Mosquito), Ireland
6. Mannaia, “Flying Marla,” Italy
7. Radikal Choppers – 70s Helmets, “The Skinny,” Italy
8. Union Speed and Style, “SourKraut,” USA
9. Anarchy Custom, “Rise of Anarchy,” Romania
10. Roth Engineering, “Indian Super Scout,” Sweden
Modified Harley-Davidson
1. One Way Machine, “Silver Storm,” Germany
2. Lord Drake Kustoms, “Speedster,” Spain
3. PMS Bike, “HD3- Spritz,” Italy
Retro Modified
1. VM Cycles, “VM 003-16,” Italy
2. Abnormal Cycles, “Anniversary,” Italy
3. American Dreams, “Iceman Scout Boardtracker,” Italy
Street Performance
1. Paul Milbourn Customs, “Titanium V,” England
2. Zen Motorcycles, “Ducati 900 Turbo,” France
3. MatCustom, “Alpha,” Russia
Café Racer
1. FMW Motorcycles, “Hurakan,” Italy
2. Zillers Garage, “Jawa 500,” Russia
3. PDF Motociclette, “Quadrophenia,” Italy
Link: INTERMOT
