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Friday, February 20, 2015

The One Motorcycle Show - 2015

Last Saturday Troubadour and I woke up early and managed to get out of the house prior to 9 am headed to Portland to attend The One Motorcycle Show.

The last time we attended the show was two years ago.  We were going to attend last year, but over half a foot of snow put a stop to that idea.

The day started out foggy, but soon the sun was shining high.  Finding the show was a little tricky as the interweb listed two different locations.  We tried the first.  Not it. Luckily the other location was just a few blocks southwest of the first try.

The show runs Friday evening, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday.  It opened at 11 am on Saturday and we hoped that by being there shortly after opening we might beat the crowd.  Not even close.

Luckily we drove the Fiat so parking wasn't too hard to find a few blocks away.  As we walked towards the warehouse we saw a line-up out the door and all the way down the block.  Doh! Bikes were lining the streets even as we approached. I cheated and took this photo after we left the show so it doesn't show the line up.

(Site of the 2015 One Motorcycle Show)
We thought about leaving and trying later, but chose to stay since we were there, already found parking, and figured it wouldn't be any less busy later.  We also thought we'd have to deal with the drunks later on as beer is served.

We lined up in the queue and made our way inside.  The show was in an old warehouse and the bikes lined the perimeter and were also displayed randomly in the center.  Moto-inspired artwork hung on the walls and were for sale.

(Cool Scooter artwork)
We tried to get close enough to the show bikes to 'ooh' and 'aah' and get a few pictures, but it wasn't easy.

Here are a few of the pictures I was able to take. Normally they have a listing of bikes on their websites so I could share a little info about each bike.  Not this year, and I wasn't able to get close enough to see any of the identifying tags.  Luckily the interweb is a good source of information. I didn't identify all of them so you'll need to use your imagination on a few.   

(Super Rat's 2004 Yamaha WR450F)


(Super Rat's 2007 "Jigsaw" 998)

(Aaron Egging's 1923 Triumph T140)

(Lossa Engineering's 1977 Honda CB550)

(Front view of the CB550)

(Kick Start Garage's 1974 Honda CL 350 with skateboard)

(Huge metal press still in the warehouse)
We made one loop around, getting frustrated more and more by the minute.  We went outside into a fenced area and looked at the booths set up.  That is where we saw this cool bike and also this humongous rig.  Don't they look like they'd be fun?

(The Mercedes-Benz Unimog)


We decided to go back inside and make another loop to see if the crowd has dispersed a bit.  It seemed pretty much the same.  But with a little elbowing we managed to take a few more pics.

(Lance Forney's 1976 Yamaha RD400 named "The Belmont")

(Honda CB160)
All in all the show didn't seem as cool as it was two years ago.  To me the show seemed more crowded and the bikes were mostly raked out choppers rather than the inventive Icon Tiger 800 named  Dromedarii, the Ducati 998 named Menta, and other creative bikes from 2013.  Visit my post on the 2013 show HERE.

They did have custom painted helmets again this year.  One stood out to me among the others.

(Timebomb Kustoms' "Intergalactic" Helmet) 


Not sure if we will return next year.  I'm thinking not.

Back outside we decided to wander down the street a bit and check out the bikes ridden to the show.  






A few stood out.






From the show we headed to Back to Eden Bakery, an all vegan/gluten-free eatery. We don't normally eat gluten-free on a regular basis, but they have good treats and actual vegan soft-serve ice cream.  We purchased a few treats to go and a small ice cream cone each to hold us over until lunch.

In heavy early afternoon traffic, we made our way to the west side of Portland to Bob Lanphere's Beaverton Motorcycles and to Sweet Lemon Vegan Bistro for lunch.  Beaverton motorcycles sells several different makes of new bikes as well as used.  The upper portion of the walls on both floors are lined with Bob Lanphere's personal collection of restored vintage bikes.  More fun than the show and the bikes were cooler too. Did I mention it was less crowded?  Here is a sample....

(1984 Yamaha RZ350 - Kenny Roberts replica)

(1968 Honda Z-50 Mini Trail Roadster - Big Bore Engine)
Stay tuned, the rest of the vintage collection pics to come in a follow-up post next week.

- Au Revoir

" Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses." - Proverb
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32 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tour! I'm not really a go to shows guy cause I don't enjoy the crowds either, but once I forget the last time I said, "I'm not going there again," I find myself there.....the worse my memory gets the more often I repeat. The biggest events in Central Oregon are the hunting and gun shows....I'm able to remember to avoid those.

    Don

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    1. We too are not fans of crowds and somehow forget from year to year how busy events can be. We decided our day in Portland just served to remind us how much we really dislike big cities.

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  2. Some nice custom bikes there. I really liked the CB550. I have a soft spot for those as I owned one for a few years - a great bike for the times. Was there any dealer presence at the show at all?

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    1. No dealers there since it all about customization (of usually older bikes), but they did have a table set up selling souvenir T-shirts and stuff, See-See Coffee was there and a food/beer vendor. A few booths were set up outside, but they were informational such as the Oregon Road Racers.

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  3. I love those bikes. Never seen a chopper sidecar. The custom painted helmet is awesome.

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    1. I'd never seen a chopper with a side car either. I could picture a boxer dog wearing doggies and a vest riding in there.

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  4. My money is on the Honda CL 350 but the skateboard is unnecessary ;-)
    I like these shows every once in a while but I am uncomfortable in crowds so I am not going very often.

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    1. That was my favorite one too, but a close second was the Yamaha RD400.

      This was pretty crowded unlike when we went to the LeMay with you and Roland. Now that was fun.

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  5. Some very impressive and cool machines. I for one am glad that you attended.....and shared!

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  6. Thanks for the photos. The one standout for me was the Unimog. I looked hard for one of the surplus ones to come on the market back in the late 80s.

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    1. I was surprised at the size of that rig. I'd never heard of a Unimog before. Guess I don't get out much.

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  7. I echo everyone's thanks for the pics, I hate crowds and probably wouldn't have lasted as long as you guys did. That Unimog would be a great URV (Ural Recovery Vehicle). As to that chopper with the sidecar.....not my cup of tea.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the pics Dom. I like your idea of the Unimog being a URV.

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  8. Agree about the crowds. I love the venue though and the big press. I think I'd enjoy those as much as the bikes. Fun times.

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    1. Funny how the general consensus with the comments is that none of us much care for crowds. Must be a motorcyclist thing. We were surprised at how many people brought their dogs, both big and small. I was looking at one bike and some guy behind me was holding his pug and the dog was almost on my shoulder.

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  9. Very interesting stuff, especially looking at their sites which celebrate motorcycles as art..."The result is over 125 rare, weird, custom, and amazing bikes from all over the world." Indeed! Naturally my painfully prosaic outlook, motorcycles as transport makes me look twice at the Lambretta and the ugly BMW K bike as icons of my rides! Great fun.

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    1. I like that they bring art into it. It can be a work of art and functional. I guess not everything has to be utilitarian. I am a girl, I want it to be pretty and functional, lol.

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  10. Great photos, great bikes.

    And the Unimog... I love to fantasize about owning something like that.

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    1. Thanks David. Think that Unimog would help you through the snow this year? Wouldn't want to foot the bill for petrol.

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  11. Even if you didn't like the show it was probably great just to get out and do something different for a day. How are the roads in Portland these days?

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    1. The roads in Portland are fine, it is the traffic that will get you. Where we were in the northeast the roads are older, narrow and crowded. Of course when we headed back to the west we were stuck on the interstates getting across the city. No fun there in weekend traffic, but the roads themselves were fine.

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  12. Yikes, crowds!! I get itchy just thinking about being in a crowd of people. So its a treat when someone else suffers through it and I get to see the pictures! :) Thanks!

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    1. The comments are a resounding NO to crowds. I think we all feel the same way. Glad you enjoyed the pics.

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  13. Ugh, crowds. The unimog does look like fun. And look at THAT blue sky.

    Warmer days are coming. Yay!

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    1. We have really lucked out with our winter weather. We actually dropped down to 28 overnight the last two night. First time we'd been below freezing in I can't remember how long.

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  14. Finally catching up on some reading...

    Some interesting bikes there. That RD400 is probably the one that catches my eye the most. Oh, and yeah I like th mog camper, I think I need one...

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    1. I think the RD400 was one of the most popular bikes. I had to go back to it a few times in order to get a picture of it. It was luring me back. What do you think the import tax would be on a Unimog for NZ?

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  15. Late to the party!

    What fun! Look at all those people outside without parkas and hats and gloves, just wandering around in the sun having a good day!

    Love the helmet! I would have enjoyed this show. And especially the trip to the bistro!

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    1. Better late than never, lol.

      It was a nice warm day. Our winter has been unusually warm this year with more sun than typical. Not that I am complaining.

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  16. Wow, some nice bikes. The Super Rat's 2007 "Jigsaw" 998 is one weird bike, what's up with all the pipes?
    The Honda CL 350 with skateboard is cool. Love the Unimog, they will go anywhere and would be a perfect round the world truck.

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    1. We couldn't really get close enough to the bikes to see much detail so I can't tell you what they were thinking with all those pipes.

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