The Vintagent’s Custom Revolution Exhibition

The Vintagent’s Custom Revolution Exhibition

More than two-dozen avant-garde customs have been assembled at the Petersen Auto Museum for what is being called “arguably the greatest collection of custom motorcycles ever”

There’s a myriad of truly stellar custom motorcycle shows in North America, but the Vintagent’s Custom Revolution show is on another level. Held in Los Angeles, California’s Petersen Automotive Museum, the ongoing exhibition was curated by none other than walking motorcycle encyclopedia, Paul d’Orleans and boasts machines from some of the world’s most renowned contemporary builders and shops like Roland Sands, Max Hazan, Michael “Woolie” Woolaway, Shinya Kimura, El Solitario MC, Revival Cycles, and Kingston Custom, just to name a few.

The idea of the show is to offer the first ever major museum exhibition that focuses specifically on the modern “Alternative (or Alt) Custom” scene. I see the event slightly differently however, viewing the show as more of a “best of” exhibition, featuring 25 bikes I’d viewed online dozens of times, only this time I got the opportunity to check them out up close. And with the acute attention to detail in each handmade component, even the best professional photographs don’t do these avant-garde motorcycles justice.

“They have millions of fans around the world watching their every move, including the design teams at the big factories,” explains d’Orleans. “Each has been approached to collaborate on prototypes or show bikes by the likes of BMW, Yamaha, Harley-Davidson, or Ducati. Some have created iconic machines using factory support, and the influence of all these designers on the motorcycle industry over the past 10 years is clear. Factory design teams readily admit following the lead of these alternative custom beacons, whose work is now being acknowledged as seminal to a new vision of motorcycling itself.”

The Custom Revolution show kicked off with one very snazzy opening party, featuring a panel of heavy hitters from the customs scene, a book signing, DJ, and some of the best food and drink I’ve ever had the privilege of stuffing my face with. The museum’s parking lot also became an impromptu part of the show, consisting of a diverse range of one-off builds, including some noteworthy customs such as Classified Moto’s “Frank”, a heavily modified 2007 Triumph Speed Triple 1050 with a one-off single-sided chromoly swing arm holding a ridiculously beefy ATV tire.

The show is currently being held in the Richard Varner Family Gallery at the Petersen Auto Museum (where the “Harley vs. Indian” exhibition was previously held), and will run through March, 19, 2019, so if you’re anywhere near Southern California and appreciate custom bikes, do yourself a favor and stop by the Petersen. To book tickets or for additional info you can visit the Petersen Automotive Museum website.