17th of September 2005: the one and only Hokfeest, organised by bikebuilders group Hok 14.
Familiar components: live music, BBQ, beer and good mood.
Special guests this year were ... reclining bicycles.
And there were some big V8 Americans; done useful lobbying for my next project.
Like with this guy, Marco K. He ain't got much hair on his skull, but a lot of V8-madness inside it.
My favorite bike at the party was this nicely modified Suzuki GS750. Patrick 'Mr.7/11' Fonck, like always at the party, took this picture.
The owner agreed that his bike wasn't ready yet. And I'm not talking about the flat front tyre ...
... because I was more concerned about the unsupported length of the outgoing axle.
They put up a tent so I didn't have to drag too much luggage this weekend: a nice gesture. The bitter cold night didn't last very long: 07.45h the trip continued from Oldenzaal to Utrecht, some 140 km.
The only serious Dutch sreetfighterevent: Street or Track. Because I was part of the jury, I had to be there so early.
As the wheater was great, the parking lot soon was flooded with bikes.
Some bikes had potential to join the show.
Some bikes told the story of longlasting abuse, like this Bandit 1200.
Streetfighter Day, as the event was called this year, was not a large-scale event with a large-scale atmosphere.
Many stands promoted their parts.
A lot of special bicycles on show here, like at the Hokfeest. Is it a conspiracy...?
I put the CBX on the Street or Track stand. And like always visitors were unable to use only their eyes.
RTV Utrecht came with a nice interviewer who didn't know sh*t from bikes. But you know the statement: "Any publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right".
In a hall next to the show the traditional 'No Bullshit Competition' took place, as always organised by Mr.7/11 (kneeling here). A turbo GXR1100 pressed 311 bhp at the roll.
This angular bike looked slightly like my CBX. I didn't like the bumpy tank and seat; the swingarm was nice though.
Klaus Sarembe's racer posed in front of the stand from the (slightly hungover) Fighters Magazin team.
Antoinne Collignon, the famous French bike cartoonist, worked concentrated on a new drawing.
Organizer Jon Tober interviewed builders on stage. Here you see Antoinne with his modified TL1000.
The streetfightershow had many familiar face, like this CBX.
We gave this Z1300 an award two years ago.
The jury for the streetfighter streetfighter contest this year were designer Seroj de Graaf, journalist Jeroen 'Spike' van der Veen, German journalist Sabine 'Bine' Welte, and me.
And we took our work very serious. Here you see Sabine and Seroj studying a very special RGV250 powered by a DR800 onecylinder engine. The thought 'I sure would like to ride this bike' is always a big plus. We rewarded it with the 'René Tober Award'.
We chose this Suzuki as winner. Nice line, clean finishing, sober but still an eyecatcher.
Its 916 rear nicely matched the self built seatpipes; details do matter.
My favourite though was this Bandit 1200: no nonsense, non-shiny black, brutal. A pure streetfighter.
Nice line, stretched swingarm, monoseat: just great. But well, I wasn't the only judge.
And another Suzuki: this time for best paintjob, by G.L.Paints. The paintjob added to the form of the components. A pity I don't have a more detailed picture.

After the prize giving ceremony we concluded that all prize winners were Suzuki's this year; the three preceding years it were only FireBlades. Is it a coincidence that Mr.7/11 is no part of the jury anymore ;-)
The jury agreed not to reward the 'German styled' bikes, known for their kicked-up asses.
This bike really puzzled us: is it a streetfighter, or just a joke? But: nice frame!
The third place was for this GSXR1100: the sloppy finishing kept it away from a higher ranking.

The Streetfighter Day was a quality event that deserves continuation!