I’m just kidding. I love fashion and I love Harleys. But had you mentioned that other F-word this past Saturday at the Brooklyn Invitational Custom Motorcycle Show, not related to a pair of Levi’s or a Schott Perfecto, and your ass would have become well acquainted with a steel toed boot, or just straight up knifed.
The day was full of pomade and motorcycle grease that had every biker’s hair slicked back and pasted tight to his skull—the kind of helmet these guys are particularly fond of. The bikes varied from eighty-year-old Harleys and Indians to completely custom $30,000 choppers. Not to mention the occasional European manufactured bike that shows up too (BSAs, Nortons, Triumphs and rare Russian URALs).
Bikers would arrive with a relatively quiet turn down the block, but once on it, they’d hunch down with black bandannas strapped high across their faces like outlaws, hit the clutch, shift and roar down the street turning as many heads as possible.
Inside, there were a slew of rebuilt and entirely custom bikes that had viewers drooling over chrome, single cam and knucklehead rocker engines. You could buy a T-shirt, get a tattoo, grab a brew and pay your respects to the quiet presence of a Hell’s Angels flag sitting framed in the corner, overseeing the day's festivities.
Zeph Colombatto is a writer and photographer living in NYC. See more of his personal work here and follow him on Twitter here.
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