Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show 2018

The plane into Yokohama was filled with familiar faces. Bike builders like Roland Sands and Suicide Machine sat next to photographers and journalists all headed to the same spot. There is a reason so much of the US motorcycle industry heads to Japan for the Hot Rod Custom Show (HRCS) in Yokohama: it’s one of the best custom car and bike shows in the world, and always brings the freshest, cleanest, and most far-out talent in the motorcycle world.

Bikes I had been following for months online were finished and here in showroom shine. Psycho Engine’s psycho W-triple engine made out of three Honda single heads and a custom-machined low end in a rigid frame with a single-sided springer front end—the thing was blowing my mind. An Ariel Square Four chopper that I had pictures of from the ’70s was restored to its former shining glory and sitting in a bed of sunflowers. Vice from Japan had built a replica of HAMC Tiny’s chopper—white frame, huge apes, cylinder tanks, and all. Lap after lap, I kept noticing new bikes and new details.

Pinstripers and artists from all over the world were there doing their thing live and peddling merch. Japan’s top moto gear and clothing companies were set up and displaying their wares with everything from helmets and leather goods to selvedge denim and military-inspired apparel. Vintage toys and Americana were also popular themes, going along with the Southern California-meets-Tokyo vibe of the whole show.

Honestly, I have been home for three days now and I am still reeling, thinking about certain bikes and things I saw. Japan is such an amazing place, with so much that is so different from what we see here in the US, and this show embodied that so well. If you can't get out to Japan for the Yokohama show, the Mooneyes Christmas Show happens this weekend, December 8 at Irwindale Speedway in Southern California. Check mooneyes.com/ for more details!