Saturday May 28 2016: another edition of ´Koning Zelfbouw Dag´ ('King Bikebuilding Day'). For the fifth time in a row Goos Bos, owner of Motoport Hengelo, gathered garage builders in his shop. Like previous years I was asked on the jury of the bikeshow.

This show has become the stage for Dutch private bikemechanics and -designers.

  
         
 
  The CBX had gotten quite muddy after the Blubber bike meeting, September 2015. It looked fine after some TLC, ánd thorough cleaning.  
       
 
 

On Friday June 27 I headed for Erwin, who lives in Vasse. During that trip I stopped to take this picture. 35,000 km on a unrideable bike, a small milestone. ;)

  
       
 
 

I'd installed a 'new' (as in: secondhand) Garmin navigation system. Uploaded 2016 maps which makes travelling so much more effective then the ones from 2012.

  
       
 
 

At Vasse I was welcomed by Erwin and his wife Ilke. And by a nice BBQ.

  
       
 
 

We talked bikes, we talked life, we drank beer.

  
       
 
  Next morning we had a nice breakfast. On the left you see sidecar builder Kwastert. He joined in on Friday.  
       
 
  Kwastert left early because he had to put his sidecar on the bike show.  
       
 
 

As we looked at the weather forecast heavy rains were heading our way. The red dot shows Vasse.

  
       
 
 

So we decided to leave early for Hengelo as well. Erwin took his classic Ducati 750, and we had a beautiful sunny half hour trip to Hengelo.

  
       
 
 

My bike was the first to park in front of the shop. The lack of better alternatives explains the interest.

  
       
 
 

Kwastert parked his bike in a nice spot ...

  
       
 
 

... and put a bike magazine on top.

 
       
 
  Koning Zelfbouw-organizer and shop-owner Goos Bos was interviewed by local television rtvOost.  
       
 
  My fellow-juror Onno 'Berserker' Wieringa (l) arrived as well.  
       
 
 

The average visitor of this bike show is a connoisseur. Specs sheets were frequently consulted.

  
       
 
 

About thirty bikes showed up.

  
       
 
 

Each of them very different. Like this exteme Honda CX500 by HvMCustoms, with fire extinguishers as fuel tank.

  
       
 
 

I liked this tiny boardtracker very much, built by Winus Trip. It got its power plant (well...) from a 1969 49cc Honda fourstroke moped.

 
       
 
 

And the frame? Bicycle, of course.

 
       
 
 

He took the term 'bike building' very literally.

It got the Encouragement Award. The jury report talked about a full-fledged custom bike that shrunk during hot wash, and: very small ... but very delicate!

  
       
 
 

Next to the private builds there was space for the Yamaha Yard Build. Like this muscular Rough Crafts' XJR 1300.

 
       
 
 

Same style, different engine (and probably different budget): another CX500, by Herman Kleefman. Brutal design, sweet engine.

Tiny engines were more popular then ever before.

  
       
 
  Look what nice cafe racer CM Cycles made from a XBR 500 onecylinder. Front end Yamaha R1, swing arm Ducati 748, flatslide carbs, one-off exhaust. No wonder it won the public award.  
       
 
 

Like board trackers cafe racers are very popular over the last years. Victor Arens based this cafe racer based on a Kawasaki S2 350cc two stroke three cylinder. Beautiful.

  
       
 
  Board trackers are based on sportbikes that were used on wooden oval tracks in the early twentiest century. A very dangerous sport. This one stood out for me: man, what a bike!  
       
 
 

Built by Maarten Poodt a.k.a. Yellowrider. You might remember Maarten: every year (!) he builds a special based on a Yamaha engine. This one has an XT550 heart. Beautiful from every angle, every last detail.

 
       
 
  This was the donor of the engine: not bad of course, but Maarten took it to another level.  
       
 
  From light to fat: I liked this Goldwing, by Robert Schoonderbeek, a lot. It's classic and mean, with a beautiful paintjob.  
       
 
  In the mean while the weather was unexpectedly good: more visitors than ever came to the show.  
       
 
 

Like on the show: all bikes outside were kind of incomparable. Like this sidecar two stroke Ural ...

Picture: madnessphotography.eu

  
       
 
 

... this heavy chopped XS650 ...

  
       
 
 

... with numberplate issues like mine. Well, a bit worse than mine.

This bike must be very hard to handle, with the extended front and a car tyre in the back.

  
       
 
 

Some bikes, like this RvW, had show qualities. I liked it for the mix of styles: the high-end front (with USD fork and radial brakes) and the low-end rear (with original two pot brake calipers). I spoke to the owner/builder, and he told me the bike was not finished: he has plans for a differend rear end. I tried to convince him that his present combination makes his bike very special, very defiant.

  
       
 
 

The atmosphere was perfect.

Picture: madnessphotography.eu

  
       
 
 

Different bikes, different styles, different ages. All ages were present.

Quite a lot of bikers left around 14.00h because the weaterforecast was real bad: code orange, which means heavy rainfall, thunder and lightning, and hail. Too bad for the show.

And for them as well: although the sky looked threatening on the way home, I didn't catch a single drop of rain.

Picture: madnessphotography.eu

  
       
 
 

I was asked to demonstrate the bike. Quite amazing, after seventeen years.

Picture: madnessphotography.eu

  
       
 
 

Talking about 'all ages': this guy, only sixteen years old, showed his first build.

Picture: madnessphotography.eu

  
       
 
 

Next to bikes and visitors, there were commercial stands. Small companies presenting their goods ...

  
       
 
 

... and their skills. Like this pin striping lady. Experience, concentration and a steady hand combined.

Picture: madnessphotography.eu

  
       
 
 

Like previous years, Onno and I had hard nuts to crack. Again we had some quite specific criteria like first impression, unicity, engineering, attention to detail, paintjob, and no deduction for signs of wear due to use.

Still it's not easy to compare bikes that are so very different. We had to pick a third place, a runner-up, a winner and an Encouragment Award. And made a brief jury report for the winners.

  
       
 
 

Goos collected the visitors' vote ...

  
       
 
 

... and arranged them in his own inimitable way.

  
       
 
  At 16.00h the builders gathered for the awards giving ceremony.  
       
 
  Goos thanked all builders for joining the show, and for their fine jobs.  
       
 
 

Third place: the BMW R100, by Gerrit Tijssen.

From the jury report: Germany and Italy combined in a beautiful Dutch way. Many one-off parts. Good finish and consistent style. We're very curious to hear the megaton exhaust.		  
       
 
  Runner-up: Victor Arens' Kawa. The jury report: A three cylinder two stroke with a rich history, and stuffed with one-off parts. Character profile: cute with a bite.  
       
 
 

Winner for the second time in a row, and thus still King Bikebuilder: Maarten Poodt. So well deserved, again. Big respect for this guy: got no clue how he manages to build a quality bike with such a high standard ... every year!

From the jury report: Despite the short time he took to build it, this bike is just perfect: every detail matches, every line. Up to and including the colorscheme: matt grey frame, brass parts, blue rims.

It was a good show, again. Looking forward to next year!

Picture: madnessphotography.eu