Harley conversion from England wins European Custombike Championship at the Custombike Show in Bad Salzuflen

December 5, 2024 editor 2024, Bad Salzuflen, custombike show, European Custombike Championship, Exhibition 5 min read

From November 29th to December 1st, 2024, Bad Salzuflen was once again dominated by the European custom bike scene. More than 21,000 visitors flocked to the East Westphalian city not to miss the largest trade fair for converted motorcycles on the continent.

With three exhibition halls, over 23,000 square meters of exhibition space, around 186 international exhibitors and 252 spectacular custom bikes from all over Europe, the CUSTOMBIKE show has once again set standards.

For the first time, a moped build-off was held in Bad Salzuflen. During two days of the trade fair, the Töffliheizer Ostfriesland and the V.E.B.-Design team fought an exciting duel, which the V.E.B-Design team narrowly won with their “Interflug Schwalbe” after a dramatic finale and thus became the first winner of the “ German Räng-Däng- DängBuild-Offs” entered the trade fair history books.

Things got a lot bigger at the European Biker Build-Off, where two custom bikes were built on a large show stage in front of the audience: This year, the teams from USM Motorcycles from Germany and Vhard Motorworks from Poland took part over the three days of the trade fair exciting screwdriver duel. While USM created a gold-red racer based on a new Indian Sport Scout, the team from Poland opted for truly beautiful old-school lines in matt black with real gold leaf details on their Harley-Davidson Softail.

With a very narrow majority of 48 votes, USM was ultimately able to win the duel. So for the third year in a row, the title went to a conversion based on an Indian! But there were still no sad faces in Poland. Over the three days, the teams had become friends, the respect was mutual, the beginning of one of many custom friendships that this trade fair always produces.

The finale of the European Custombike Championship was no less exciting. The European Championship is endowed with a total of 12,000 euros, five thousand of which go to the best bike in the show. The European championship title went to England this year. Vic Jefford and his wife Lin won the title with their brilliant “Platinum”. Hardly any part of the motorcycle is not self-made, and it impresses with technical refinements such as the batteries installed in the rear hub drum. The other bike show participants and customizers also agreed that the home-built Harley V2 achieved a fully deserved victory.

There were also plenty of other highlights at the CUSTOMBIKE show. The lucky main winner of the competition, which took place as part of the vote for the CUSTOMBIKE competition, was able to receive a converted Royal Enfield Interceptor. There was a lot of heartwarming happening on the main stage. Three charity projects provided emotional moments. Among other things, Meik Reker’s patchwork bike was presented.

Numerous fans and companies donated parts for the Honda Shadow, and the structure was raffled off live at the trade fair among 700 lottery ticket buyers. The money raised is donated to children with cancer. The construction of the Starbridge bobber based on a Suzuki LS 650 also pursued similar goals.

The motorcycle that the “Hamburger Horde” built was auctioned off, with the proceeds of 10,050 euros being handed over to the Hamburg Sternenbrücke at the CUSTOMBIKE show. The builders of the “Fukker 2.0 project” also joined in the good deeds. Not only was their pink Honda Bosozoku build one of the most photographed motorcycles at the show, but proceeds from the sale of the Honda will also be donated.

The supporting program was complemented by an extensive range of shows, such as the daring devil rides on the steep face, where Jagath Perera and his team thrilled the audience with breathtaking performances. But the secret star of the trade fair was the 92-year-old Schwalbe designer Erhard Werner. As part of the special exhibition “60 Years of Simson Schwalbe”, he shared anecdotes and fulfilled numerous autograph
requests.

In addition to these highlights, a varied stage program was offered: Jimmy Cornett impressed on the guitar, the FUEL GIRLS fascinated with their spectacular fire show, and new conversions from Kawasaki, Custom Chrome Europe and Thunderbike attracted attention. The program was complemented by an impressive body painting show, the presentation of Clubstyle Culture from Berlin and exciting daily raffles.

So you can already look forward to next year when the CUSTOMBIKE show celebrates its 20th anniversary. It’s best to note the date in your calendar:

The winners of the European Custombike Championship 2024:

Craziest Bike: Self-built with Suzuki GS 500 drive – Krystian Winzer from Poland
Best Moped: Innocenti Lambretta Li 150 – Christian Schneider from Germany
Rookie of the Year: Kawasaki LTD 440 – Annabel Weiß from Germany

Best Paint Job: Harley-Davidson Softail – Carsten Vogels from Germany
Best Roadster: BMW R 100 RT – Wido Veldkamp from the Netherlands
Best Engineering: “Schwazuki” – Tobias Müller from Germany