FUEL, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
A Tank Full of Ideas
Very few bike shows can actually make good on the promise contained in their name as FUEL Cleveland can. Everything here is fuel: Fuel for phantasies, fuel for wrenching, fuel for just going for a ride. And above all, for the joy of appreciating artfully built motorcycles.
Accordingly, there's an invitation policy at FUEL: if you're a builder of original chops, are the owner of rare bikes, or an artist, know how to handle a camera or have other specialty talents somehow intertwined with cycling culture, chances are you'll end up in the grounds of Hale Farm & Village (near Cleveland) with your work.
This year's special additive
by FUEL makers „Lowbrow Customs“, „The Gasbox“, and „Forever the Chaos Life“ was a peep into the world of 4 wheeled vehicles with its not-so-boring inhabitants. Essentially the FUEL fest is based on the philosophy that the time spent in the garage and on or in the results of the time spent in said garages on the road, is never spent in vain. For us, that's preaching to the choir, indeed we massively agree. We even went so far as to rent one of the coveted stalls to show off our "spend time in the garage and on the road" stuff, namely our Cannonball parts range well known for (among other things) the almost invisible electric start installations for swingarm and rigid 4-speed Harley Big Twins.
Which brings us to the show: Many,
but not too many Harleys in an amazing spectrum from the local AMCA chapter's almost absurdly stock Knucklehead to the wacky go kart mini car with its side mounted Evo engine: quad fans, take a good hard look. Oh, and before we forget, right between 2 and 4 wheels, they had this variation on the venerable Servicar on behalf of a well known American soft drink. The weather gods smiled benignly on this masterfully curated mix of bikes, custom culture and fun, helping some 8 to 10.000 spectators to appreciate the exhibits on display in the lovely grounds with their historic buildings. We strongly expect the ideas tank to overflow next year again, when FUEL Cleveland is back in the calendar.
