I recently had the pleasure of attending one of my favorite motor-oriented events – One Moto Show.
Organized by See See Motor Coffee Co. this one of the world’s best-known custom motorcycle shows, and for good reason.
For me, this year’s event was extra great. The lofty Zidell barge building on Portland’s southwest waterfront encapsulated more than 200 expertly-crafted motorcycles.
Cobwebs and ancient factory equipment elegantly complemented the grungy See See ethos.
Something that makes this show special is its cross-medium nature. The bikes are showcased as art, while also being used by modern stuntmen and vintage era performers.
Not only that, but the underlying motorcycle culture is fully embodied. Vendors selling vintage Harley-Davidson t-shirts, handcrafted leather accessories and jumpsuits coated the perimeter, while artist-painted helmets, crusty bands, vintage Americana cars and food carts with names like ‘Chicken n’ Guns’ were dotted throughout the interior.
No detail was left to chance.
The vision behind the event included many talented individuals, each of whom added a hyper-detailed piece to the whole. The results were overwhelming in the best of ways.
The show was about really excellent bikes at the core, but the schedule included several ultra-engaging live performances.
The first performance I encountered was the Icon show. Rob Carpenter, Sean Sets and a tiny accomplice created quite a scene as they battled each other, sport bike versus dirt bike versus V-twin.
Next up was Aaron Colton, a Red Bull street freestyle rider who seemed to become one with the electric bike he straddled. It’s rare to see someone make such difficult maneuvers look like a natural ability.
Rounding out the afternoon, The Seattle Cossacks performed motorcycle acrobatics with a nostalgic tone.
I’ve been to three One Moto Shows and every year they get better. With success comes more success and Thor Drake of See See is clearly fulfilling a beautiful dream. I’ll leave you with a giant gallery below.
Sara Ryan
Instagram: pockowokosara
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Looks like a sick event for sure!
Wow Sara your index finger got quite a workout that day! Thanks so much for these pics! So much here to enjoy. You dont even have to be a bike person to enjoy. The Seattle Cossacks are very interesting, anything more you can tell us about them? The band pics were cool too! Id love for you guys to make a sister site that goes deeper into the lifestyle parts of all these pictures. You could be the main photog! Keep up the great work!
Yes this is literally art!
Man I need to get a motorcycle and go for a show like this!
It's cool normally motorbikes are not my thing but that's cool.
Bravo Sara. You have responded to my previous request to feature bike. Wow Wankel or rotary powered bike must rev to 20,000 rpm at least given that motogp can rev to 18,000. Any chance you feature GP bike - Ducati Desmosedici or KTM etc - in your next article?
Not really. Thats a Hercules W-2000. 1970s bike, ~30 hp @ 6500rpm which wasn't great even for the time. Even the modern Crighton CR700 only revs to ~11,000rpm.
The Honda CBR900RR Fireblade in the photo above the Hercules reved to ~10,500rpm, and it's baby brother the 250RR would scream it's way to 18,000rpm. A hilariously frantic bike, screaming its heart out and not going much faster than your average modern sedan.
What a rad event, so much to see and experience! Great photodocumentation!
So long didn't see a full event coverage dedicateted for the 2 wheels community here. Thanks for hearing us and hope there is more to come from this even like bike feature, detailed class/style feature,...
what a strange group of individuals
the cossacks are awesome
WOW! great photos and article. Sure wish i had time to attend this when i was passing through Portland heading north to seattle. Thank you for the great coverage.