2018 - Fuel for Fantasy

Phew! We were almost relieved to find a few halfway normal bikes among the really well thought out and executed examples of custom machinery in this show of wrenching savvy, antiquated two wheeled transportation and plain good taste. You can tell these dudes think that time can’t be spent any better than in the garage and on the open road. The high percentage of awesome bikes went together well with the venerable venue, which is a complex of former industrial buildings dating from the 1900s, now in use as artists’ studios and event location, close to the shores of mighty Lake Erie. The FUEL Cleveland Show used the main hall, which is filled with artefacts ranging from vintage hoists, cranes and insects to mannequins and huge suspended geometric structures, giving a David-Lynch-inspired feel to the show.

All these distractions faded into the background though,

as the bikes took centre stage. There were many Harleys, quite a few Limey bikes, a couple of Japanese bikes, all of them going full throttle into the red on our imaginated inspiration-rev-counter. Even the parking lot kept a few radical examples, many Knuckle- and Panheads featuring prominently among the visitors’ bikes. The streets around the block were full of motorcycles, drawn by the super weather, or the fact that the event was for free, or maybe by the 1972 Ironhead Sporty that was up for grabs in the raffle. Customized by the man himself, Jesse, and the Gasbox team.

Really weird was the Ner-a-car from the 1920s with its interesting front end design, ridden (or rather driven?) to the show by vintage bike eminence Bruce Lindsay. Thanks to Tyler and Kyle of Lowbrow and Jesse of Gasbox and all their friendly and relaxed helpers, the show was all a good show can be. More than enough fuel for the plan to be back next year.